Digital Commons Network^™

Mechanistic And Translational Studies On Skeletal Malignancies, Jeremy Mcguire

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

New treatment strategies are desperately needed for treating skeletal malignancy. Skeletal malignancies can be either primary cancer that originated in the bone, such as osteosarcoma, or metastatic cancer that spread from another organ to the skeleton, as in the case of breast or prostate cancer. In this thesis, I will detail two projects that focus on the discovery of new treatment strategies for both primary skeletal malignancy and metastatic skeletal malignancy.

The first project focuses on the primary skeletal malignancy, osteosarcoma, a rare cancer that is commonly diagnosed in children and young adults and metastasizes to the lungs. The survival …

Research On The Prevalence Of Bullying And Related Interventions: A Literature Review, Ashley Caliri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This literature review will first describe the definition of bullying and the prevalence of bullying across populations. Populations include individuals with intellectual disabilities, individuals who are typically developing as well as children, and adults. Several interventions have been implemented to help remedy bullying occurrences, decrease the negative outcomes of bullying, and prevent the initiation of bullying. Therefore, this review will also discuss interventions that have been implemented to decrease bullying with a focus on BST and IST as these specific interventions have shown some of the most promising outcomes. Additionally, a discussion will highlight the need for continued research using …

Evaluating The Effects Of Reinforcement Delay On Acquisition During Discrete Trial Training: A Literature Review, Theresa Barhold

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This review of literature analyzes the use of immediate and delayed reinforcement within discrete trial training (DTT). Criteria for inclusion in this review consisted of articles published in English, human participants, single subject design, targeting skill acquisition in a DTT format, and inclusion of at least one delay to reinforcement condition. Four articles, with a total of 18 participants and 23 datasets, were identified in this review. Data on participants’ characteristics and procedural modifications (i.e., target response, type of prompt, delivery of praise, use of an error correction procedure, type of reinforcer, and delay to reinforcement) were extracted. Results indicate …

Structural And Agricultural Value At Risk In Florida From Flooding During Hurricane Irma, Alexander J. Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Flooding is the most costly type of natural disaster, as well as the most frequent. To provide risk-based flood insurance, providers such as FEMA must be able to accurately determine an asset’s risk of flooding. Additionally, after a flooding event, providers need to quickly determine the direct damages that occurred to verify insurance claims and provide assistance to the affected communities. Many current approaches to flood risk and flood damage estimation involve the use of data or statistical extrapolation that can add various sources of uncertainty into the final damage estimate. In order to reduce uncertainties in flood risk analyses, …

Eppm And Its Effectiveness In Advertisements Of Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Young Adults, Anh T. Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer around the world and in the United States, yet it could be highly preventable by following the recommended guidelines of getting screened by the age of 50 and above. The focus of this study was on the Extended Parallel Process Model and sought to understand the efficacy and threat components in the fear appeal messages in the context of colorectal cancer screenings. Specifically, the study examined how young adults react when being exposed to those messages and whether they intended to discuss with their parents about it. The study also …

Horror’S Aesthetic Exchange: Immersion, Abstraction And Annihilation, Ashley Morgan Steinbach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uncovers a remote entanglement of phenomenological experience and abstract aesthetics in postmodern horror, a space that historically celebrates the former and critically undervalues the latter. Framed as a case study, I mobilize close readings of Alex Garland’s science fiction horror film, Annihilation (2018), to complicate the immersion/abstraction binary that implicitly structures much of contemporary horror scholarship. By recovering horror’s distanced and decentered forms and aesthetics I point to the interdependent faculty of a composite aesthetic collaboration.

These collaborations, which I refer to as aesthetic exchanges, place pressure on the localized emphasis of horror’s situated assaultive and reactive positions. …

Examining Role Breadth, Efficacy, And Attitudes Toward Trauma-Informed Care In Elementary School Educators, Mikayla J. Drymond

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children growing up below the poverty line are at heightened risk for developing complex symptoms of trauma caused by repeated exposures to a variety of traumatic events. The detrimental effects of repeated traumatic exposures on developing children living in low-income environments are now considered a public health concern (APA Presidential Task Force on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma in Children and Adolescents, 2008; Crosby, Howell, & Thomas, 2018). Increased awareness of the negative effects of trauma early in life and the need for combative care has accelerated the movement for educators to become trauma-informed, which can be demonstrated through altered …

Intensive Longitudinal Data Analyses And Sample Size Considerations In Intervention Studies With Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling, Zhiyao Yi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) has been proposed to analyze intensive longitudinal data (ILD). This dissertation provided a tutorial for the DSEM model specification practices in the context of intervention designs. Specifically, I illustrated using equations, verbal descriptions, and figures three two-level DSEM models based on three common intervention designs, including a single-arm trial with repeated measurements before and during intervention, randomized control trial (RCT) with repeated measurements during intervention, and RCT with repeated measurements before and during intervention. Mplus syntax and results from the analysis were also provided for each model along with the interpretations and inferences of parameter …

Biological And Proteomic Characterization Of Cornus Officinalis On Human 1.1b4 Pancreatic Β Cells: Exploring Use For T1d Interventional Application, Arielle E. Tawfik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease resulting in the loss of pancreatic β cells and subsequent loss of insulin production. Exogenous insulin coupled with continuous glucose monitoring is the only treatment for T1D. Therefore, novel interventional therapies are needed that can inhibit the autoimmune destruction and increase β cell proliferation and function. Based on initial in vitro studies, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) extract, Cornus officinalis, may be able to serve in this function. CO has been used for 2 millennia for its glucose regulating potential and has shown efficacy in animal models but rarely studied in the context …

Recurring Scream: Trauma In Wes Craven's Slasher, Ben Muntananuchat

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates trauma representation in the horror film trilogy Scream, by director Wes Craven and based on the story and characters by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. The franchise is a satirical body of work that uproots the formulaic narrative aspects of the slasher film subgenre, of which it belongs to. Craven and Williamson’s method of critiquing the subgenre employs the usage of its cinematic tropes, though elevating them to a level of postmodern parody. I analyze traumatic representation within the franchise’s layers of mediation and postmodern narrative elements, which are often highlighted in academic discussion. The trauma observed revolves around …

An Experimental Investigation Into The Impact Of Crisis Response Strategies And Relationship Management In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Nikoletta Pappas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how millennials view their relationship with the pharmaceutical industry and if that relationship changes when exposed to different crisis messaging strategies. The pharmaceutical industry is currently dealing with a preventable crisis because of companies in the industry, such as opioid companies, causing death, distrust, and lawsuits. Coombs suggests the rebuild message strategies will result in a stronger relationship between the industry and their publics. This study will test that theory. The millennial participants that contributed to this study were all born between 1980-1996. Their relationships were measured through the variables of trust, satisfaction, control mutuality, commitment, communal …

A Policy Analysis Of Performance-Based Funding In The State University System Of Florida, Monika Alesnik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Performance-based funding in the State University System of Florida is the principle legislative based funding method for the states 12 public universities. The system and the policy is governed by the Florida Board of Governors. However, Florida’s legislative branch has ultimate authority in regards to the policy. There is a gap of knowledge on the critical factors which led to the development, implementation and adoption of this policy. Data were collected using primary and secondary document analysis as well as through interviews with individuals in the following groups: elected officials, higher education leaders, staff, financial or policy influencers and other …

Before The Storm: Water And Energy Utilities, Human Vulnerability And Disaster Risk, Cori D. Bender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly communities are impacted by slow-onset and sudden hazards. With reports of disasters affecting millions of people and with severe impacts on lives and livelihoods, there is a focus on creating cities that make human settlement inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Within this focus are the mandates that safe drinking water, energy and wastewater sanitation are the right of all people living on the planet. This research addresses water and energy insecurity, highlights the gaps in community level perceptions of water and energy, and global-local dynamics that impact disaster vulnerability through a political-ecology lens.

This work examines how disaster resilience …

If At First You Don’T Succeed...Your Coworkers Just Might Be Pleased: A Story Of Workplace Schadenfreude, Kim Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two emotions that employees often experience in the workplace are schadenfreude (a positive reaction to others’ misfortune) and freudenschade (a negative reaction to others’ good fortune). Results of an ANOVA indicate that participants asked to imagine that they are employees were more likely to experience schadenfreude toward a hypothetical coworker if that coworker were arrogant, underperforming, rude, or deceptive. They were more likely to experience freudenschade toward a target when there was an issue involving justice. Results of an ANCOVA illustrated a negative relationship between the experience of schadenfreude and the personality variable Just-World Beliefs, but no association was found …

“Placing Our Breasts On A Hot Kerosene Lantern”: A Critical Study Of Microfinancialization In The Lives Of Women Entrepreneurs In The Informal Economic Sector In Ibadan, Nigeria, Olubukola Olayiwola

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses an anthropological perspective to investigate everyday lived experience of women borrowers and entrepreneurs (in the informal economic sector in Ibadan, Nigeria) relating to microfinancialization. Study such as this becomes important given the popular Yoruba metaphor “owo komulelanta” (“Placing our breasts on a hot kerosene lantern”) women borrowers use to express their experience particularly in their attempts to make repayments of MFB loans. Hence, there is a need to pay close attention and listen more carefully to operators of the informal sector and borrowers of MFB loans. This study employs ethnographic mixed methods to generate data in various …

Managing Off-Grid Power Use For Solar Fueled Residences With Smart Appliances, Prices-To-Devices And Iot, Donnelle L. January

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electricity availability has a profound impact in day to day life. Activities such as lighting homes, charging cellphones, and running appliances all depend on electricity use. Around 1 billion people around the world do not have access to electricity, and the majority of these people hail from developing countries in remote areas. Moreover, many of these remote areas lack utility grid access due to the infeasible cost of extending the grid to remote communities. To combat this, various projects on microgrids have been implemented in order to distribute power to these off-grid areas. Nanogrids are defined as “a single domain …

Using Observations From The Uaw-Ford Ergonomic Assessment Tool To Predict Distal Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders, Zachariah T. Brandes-Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distal upper extremity (DUE) musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) affect thousands of workers annually. Job tasks can have a significant amount of MSD risk depending on the presence of certain risk factors The UAW-Ford Ergonomic Surveillance Tool (EST) is a method specifically designed for the UAW and Ford Motor Company to assess MSD risk in its facilities. The purpose of this report is to evaluate which risk factors in the UAW-Ford EST predict the risk of developing DUE MSDs. Data collected by a previous study on four UAW-Ford automotive manufacturing plants were analyzed. Target jobs were selected based on associated First Time …

Microbial Community Structures In Three Bahamian Blue Holes, Meghan J. Gordon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used 16S rDNA metagenomics and water chemistry to conduct an examination of microbial community dynamics and biogeochemistry in three physically adjacent, sunlit blue holes with variable hydrologic regimes on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Church and Watling’s Blue Holes are holomictic with relatively clear waters, while Inkwell Blue Hole hosts density stratification and waters stained brown with tannins. Based on water color and clarity and physicochemical profiles, I hypothesized Church and Watling’s Blue Holes would be dominated by oxigenic photoautotrophs, and that the bottom layer of Inkwell would be characterized by euxinic (anoxic and sulfidic) conditions and host primarily …

A Case Study On Black Twitter’S Reactions To The Framing Of Blacks In Dove’S 2017 Facebook Advertisement, Shereena Farrington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Insensitivity to racial issues has long been one of the main causes of controversy in the marketing field. Among many brands to have caused outrage across social media, is the notable brand, Dove. The criticism that the veteran brand received has shown that even experienced marketers can still find themselves being accused of insensitivity or even racism (Ma, 2018). The gaffe of an advertisement released by Dove in 2017, serves as the impetus for the need for diversity in brands. Given today’s complex society, the purpose of this study is to identify themes that emerged in Black Twitter’s responses to …

An Analytical Approach To Information And Communication Technologies, Sahir Hismiogullari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The twentieth century was a century of scientific and technological development. Especially the fact of information and communication technologies, beyond being a technological leap, has led to different levels of development and changes / transformations. Therefore, developments, possibilities, changes and problems emerging in the Internet and other digital contexts have attracted the attention of communication scientists, sociologists, historians and philosophers, and have become a field of research that leads to interdisciplinary studies. Along with the mass media developed for the last two centuries (from the spread of newspapers to the invention of the internet), every social development or transformation is …

Biogeochemical Cycling Of Nutrients And Carbon In Subtropical Wetlands, Lauren N. Griffiths

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As human development intensifies, ecosystems around the word are being exponentially destroyed and degraded. Wetlands have the capacity to mitigate some of the possible problems by retaining nutrients and carbon, keeping them from harming downstream ecosystems or being released into the atmosphere. This project focuses on the processes that make wetlands successful by studying two unique ecosystems: 1) a created urban stormwater treatment wetland and 2) mangrove wetlands in Florida and Puerto Rico that were affected by hurricanes in 2017.

The first phase of this study investigates the role of sedimentation and vegetative and algal uptake of nutrients to retain …

Between Soledad And Attica Brothers: The Raiford Protests And Prison Activism In Florida, Alexander Obermueller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In February of 1971 prisoners staged a weeklong protest at Florida’s largest prison near the rural town of Raiford. Prior to the Raiford sit-in and hunger strike, George Jackson had only recently published his prison letters and six months after the Raiford uprising a similar protest would rock Attica Correctional Facility and bring prisoners’ rights into national news. This thesis situates Raiford prisoners’ protests in the context of an emerging prisoners’ rights movement. Prisoners made use of various protest forms, retracted their labor, and engaged in litigation to fundamentally challenge prison and achieve some improvements to their lives behind bars. …

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Organochlorine Pesticides, And Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Snapper (Family Lutjanidae) From Cuba And The Wider Gulf Of Mexico, Brigid E. Carr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Snapper species assemblage is economically and environmentally important to all three countries bordering the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were investigated in seven snapper species located in the GoM, with a specific focus on the those caught along the northwestern coast of Cuba. Hepatic samples were processed using QuEChERs extraction methodology and analyzed using gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Nearly all fish included in this study contained detectable amounts of all three groups of these contaminants, regardless of location, and across all regions of the Gulf, indicating …

Using Geophysical And Geodetic Data To Improve Natural And Human-Induced Hazard Assessments, Fanghui Deng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I use geophysical and geodetic data to study dynamics of the Earth System, including volcanoes and induced seismicity, aiming to improve related hazard assessment at different time and space scales. My dissertation consists of the following three projects: 1) Geophysical model for the origin of volcano vent clusters (Deng et al., 2017). We developed a conceptual model to simulate long-term magma transport to explain the origin of volcanic vent clusters in Quaternary Colorado Plateau volcanic fields. We used density contrast inverted from gravity data to constrain the magma transport model. The development of vent clusters appears to be influenced by …

Features Of Borderline Personality And Related Psychopathologies As A Contemporaneously And Temporally Connected Network, Haya Fatimah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In contrast with the latent variable models, network psychometricians have proposed that symptoms co-occur not because of an underlying common cause but because of direct dynamic associations among symptoms. This empirical study aims to elucidate how features of with borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety interact with one another and form a network. Specifically, I aimed to identify a potential causal structure among the features of BPD, depression, and anxiety while identifying the most influential features. Participants were 37 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 26 recruited from University of South Florida SONA pool. Following baseline assessment, participants …

Potential Roles Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Advancing Early Intervention And Prevention Within A Multi-Tiered System Of Supports (Mtss) Framework, Meaghan A. Mckenna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is a framework that promotes school improvement through tiered deployment of research-based academic and behavioral practices. MTSS employs a systems approach whereby data-based problem solving integrates effective assessment and instruction designed to meet the academic, behavioral, and social emotional needs of all students. Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are interested in better understanding their role within MTSS and others have a desire to lead efforts at their school site or the district level, but are unsure of where to begin. This dissertation includes three papers that explore potential roles and responsibilities of SLPs within a multi-tiered …

A Review Of Training Interventions To Teach Safety Skills To Children With Autism, Gabrielle Mondello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teaching safety skills to children with autism is a serious responsibility for caregivers, siblings, teachers, and other important people in the children’s lives. Finding the effective and most efficient way to teach these skills is important. Behavioral skills training (BST), in situ training (IST), video modeling, virtual reality, and the use of simulation training have all been evaluated for teaching safety skills. This paper discusses the safety threats faced by children with autism and reviews these various approaches to teaching safety skills.

Use Of Music To Improve Running Performance, Jeremy Buttice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Running is an exercise that requires minimal equipment and gear therefore, running is easily accessible for many people. Research has shown performance benefits when music is used while running such as increased cadence (steps per minute), increased speed, and decrease in perceived exertion. Since music is easily accessible during a run (e.g., smartphone or smartwatch), one can utilize the technology in these smart devices to track specific aspects of their run. Accelerometers, GPS, heart rate sensors, gyroscopes, and barometers can be utilized to track speed, distance, physical exertion, steps, and cadence. Software developers can take advantage of these features in …

Exploring A Boundary-Spanner's Beliefs, Tensions, And Decision-Making As A Methods Course Instructor And University Supervisor: A Self-Study, Wendy Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High quality teacher preparation is essential for the future of education. Researchers have examined the connection of theory and practice as an imperative to prepare preservice teachers. Methods course instructors and university supervisors are key players in bridge theory and practice, but rarely does the same individual get to be both methods course instructor and university supervisor. While it is important for teacher education programs to consider how to connect theory and practice, it is equally important to understand how to support preservice teachers when the same person acts as methods course instructor and university supervisor. Using self-study, the purpose …

Assessing Teacher Data Use: A Validation Study Of The Teacher Data Use Survey (Tdus), Alice Renee Foran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student achievement data have been the cornerstone of state and national accountability efforts for decades, and the focus on data-based decision making and evidence-based practices in education from policymakers, the public, and researchers continues to increase. Underlying the various pressures and incentives on educators to use data is a basic logic model: if teachers use data, their practice will change, and those changes will lead to improved student outcomes. The simplicity of the model belies the complexity of the practice of data use. Many individual- and organizational-level factors, such as attitudes and beliefs, competence, supports, and context play a role. …