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The Interrelatedness Of Homosexual Identity Development And Perceptions Of Campus Climate For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Students At The University Of South Florida, Tampa Campus, Frederic Drury Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of campus climate at the University of South Florida, Tampa Campus for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender students. Specifically, the study determined if there was any relationship between level of homosexual identity development acquired and perceptions of campus climate. If a relationship existed, it would influence the way that campus climate perceptions would be analyzed in future studies.

The population was the undergraduate student body at the University of South Florida taking at least six credit hours in the fall semester 2007. An online survey was created with two instruments …

The Geriatric Cancer Experience In End Of Life: Model Adaptation And Testing, Harleah G. Buck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The National Institutes of Health recommends the development of conceptual models to increase rigor and improve evaluation in research. Validated models are essential to guide conceptualizations of phenomena, selection of variables and development of testable hypotheses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a methodology useful in model testing due to its ability to account for measurement error and test latent variables. The purpose of this study was to test a model of The Geriatric Cancer Experience in End of Life as adapted from Emanuel and Emanuel's framework for a good death using SEM. It was hypothesized that the model was a …

Development Of An Fpga Based Autopilot Hardware Platform For Research And Development Of Autonomous Systems, Wendy Alvis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned vehicles, both ground and aerial, have become prevalent in recent years. The research community has different needs than the industrial community when designing a finalized unmanned system since the vehicle, the sensors and the control design are dynamic and change frequently as new ideas are developed and implemented.

Current autopilot hardware, which is available as on-the-market products and proposed in research, is sufficient for unmanned systems design. However, this equipment falls short of being able to accommodate the needs of those in the research community who must be able to quickly implement new ideas on a flexible platform.

The …

Resiliency In Lesbians With A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Implications For Clinical Practice, Amy R. Menna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This was a collective case where lesbian survivors of childhood sexual abuse were studied. Resiliency is a combination of personality traits and environmental influences that serve to protect an individual from the harmful psychological effects of trauma (Bogar & Hulse-Killaky, 2006). The focus of this study was resiliency skills that lesbians used in working through childhood sexual abuse and clinical applications. Using a qualitative approach, specific inquiries included (a) what resiliency skills were used to work through childhood sexual abuse, (b) how counselors can be helpful and unhelpful, (c) what were some barriers to getting counseling, (d) what are the …

Multiple Modes Of Mdmx Regulation Affect P53 Activation, Daniele M. Gilkes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

MDMX has emerged as a negative regulator of p53 transcriptional activity following DNA damage, loss of ribosomal integrity, and aberrant mitogenic signaling. Disruption of rRNA biogenesis by ribosomal stress activates p53 by releasing ribosomal proteins from nucleoli which bind MDM2 and inhibit p53 degradation. We found that p53 activation by ribosomal stress requires degradation of MDMX by MDM2. This occurs by L11 binding to the acidic domain of MDM2 which promotes its E3 ligase function preferentially towards MDMX. Further, unlike DNA damage which regulates MDMX stability through ATM-dependent phosphorylation events, ribosomal stress does not require MDMX phosphorylation suggesting p53 may …

West Indian Parents’, Guardians’, And Caregivers’ Perceptions, Understandings, And Role Beliefs About K-12 Public Schooling In The United States, Susan Chanderbhan Forde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the understandings and perceptions that West Indian parents and caregivers residing in the U.S. have about U.S. public schools. A second purpose of this study was to examine the consistency between these findings and the cultural-ecological theory advanced by Ogbu (1974) which posits that immigrant minorities to the U.S. hold different perceptions and expectations in relation to U.S. schools.

Using interviews with 13 families in the Tampa Bay area, the study examined West Indian parents' and caregivers' understanding of the American public schooling process, expectations for education, role beliefs, and roles …

Diarization, Localization And Indexing Of Meeting Archives, Himanshu Vajaria

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation documents the research performed on the topics of localization, diarization and indexing in meeting archives. It surveys existing work in these areas, identifies opportunities for improvements and proposes novel solutions for each of these problems. The framework resulting from this dissertation enables various kinds of queries such as identifying the participants of a meeting, finding all meetings for a particular participant, locating a particular individual in the video and finding all instances of speech from a particular individual. Also, since the proposed solutions are computationally efficient, require no training and use little domain knowledge, they can be easily …

Effects Of Electric Field On The Functions Of Cell Membrane Proteins, Zhongsheng Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most important and most common channels on cell membrane are voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels. In so-called "excitable cells" like neurons and muscle cells, these channels open or close in response to changes in potential across the membrane in order to accomplish muscle contraction and transmit signals. By controlling the membrane potential, we observe extraordinary inactivation behaviors of the voltage-gated Na+ channels and the voltage-gated delayed rectifier K+ channels, which shows that electric stimulation pulses can temporarily close the Na+ and K+ channels, just as drugs, like tetrodotoxin (TTX) and tetraethylammonium (ETA), do.

The Na/K pump is essential for …

Idiom Comprehension In Bilingual And Monolingual Adolescents, Belinda Fusté-Herrmann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A majority of Latino adolescents are reading below a proficient level, according to federal data, and there is a significant gap between overall reading proficiency of Latino and non-Latino, Caucasian adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the linguistic underpinnings of Latino students' text comprehension. A positive relationship appears to exist between idiom comprehension and academic achievement, as well as idiom comprehension and reading comprehension, in typically developing, monolingual adolescents. Since reading comprehension and idiom comprehension share many of the same linguistic processes, idiom comprehension may provide a unique perspective for investigating Latino adolescents' reading comprehension.

Using the …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Changing Role Of The Secondary Middle School Principal, Dawn E. Coffin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine perceptions of middle school teachers regarding the changing role of the secondary middle school principal and compare teachers' results with assistant principals' and principals' perceptions of their role, thus adding the voice of teachers, regarding the secondary principal's role, to existing literature.

Data was collected electronically using the survey method in one urban Florida school district. Qualitative and quantitative data were captured using the Principal's Role Questionnaire (PRQ) (Goodwin, 2002). Thirty-six principal role descriptor statements on the PRQ survey requested a level of agreement from research participants regarding changes, current and future …

Drug Resistance To Topoisomerase Directed Chemotherapy In Human Multiple Myeloma, Joel G. Turner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological malignancy characterized by the proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Myeloma represents approximately 20% of all blood cancers. In this research we have explored examples of both intrinsic and acquired drug resistance in myeloma.

Topoisomerases are enzymes that are critical for cell division, especially in rapidly dividing cells such as are found in cancer. Topoisomerase poisons are a common group of drugs that are used to treat cancer. Topoisomerase I and II poisons used in the treatment of multiple myeloma include topotecan, mitoxantrone, doxorubicin, and etoposide

In order for topoisomerase drugs …

Gender, Quota Laws, And The Struggles Of Women’S Social Movements In Latin America, Merav Frazier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assuming gender neutrality in comparative analysis, i.e. not including either explicit or implicit references to a particular gender or sex, runs the risk of camouflaging the unequal distribution of political power, economic influence, and political access for men and women. Unfortunately, in assuming such neutrality, one is blinded to the inherent flaws of political systems, the inequalities they create, and their lack of consideration of gender and women's rights. To counteract this inequality between the sexes, women's social movements are fighting to create gender awareness and establish formal policies that place them at the same level as their male counterparts, …

The Inflammatory Consequences Of Stress And Adiposity, Cathy A. Bykowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inflammatory process is important in protecting the body against the invasion of pathogens, but recent research has suggested that a long-term inflammatory response may lead to chronic diseases (e.g., Black, 2003; Wu, Dorn, Donahue, Sempos, & Trevisan, 2002). Two factors that have been implicated in the inflammatory and disease processes are stress and obesity (Black, 2003). While their individual lines of research continue to grow, few researchers have attempted to integrate these factors into one model to explain their effects on inflammation. This study aimed to replicate previous findings suggesting relationships between stress, obesity and inflammation and test an …

The Interplay Of Economic, Climatic And Cultural Change Investigated Through Isotopic Analyses Of Bone Tissue: The Case Of Sardinia 4000-1900 Bc, Luca Lai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the broader aim of reconstructing long-term resource use and ecological history for better policy making in times of environmental change, this study is an attempt to decode the mutual effects of human subsistence practices, climate and socio-cultural organization in Sardinia between 4000 and 1900 BC. Was economy changing due to climate change? Was the environment changing due to economic practices? And how were economic practices and socio-cultural factors interacting? The answer is complex, and some convergence of complex systems theory, historical ecology and agency supports this. Diet, at the interface of all of these as fulfilling biological needs constrained …

Do Dibels Nonsense Word Fluency Scores Predict Sat-10 Reading Scores In First Grade? A Comparison Of Boys And Girls In Reading First Schools, Diane E. Napier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency Scores in the fall of first grade as a predictor of SAT-10 results. A comparison of boys and girls, three ethnic groups (Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American), and three different reading risk groups were examined using multiple regression analyses. Analysis of data from a total of 27,000 participants from a cohort of Reading First schools in 2003/2004 confirmed Nonsense Word Fluency scores in the fall of first grade to be a significant predictor of the SAT-10 reading scores in the spring. Differences found between and within groups …

The Influence Of Anxiety And Depression On Cognitive Functioning In Parkinson’S Disease, Lynn E. Oelke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depression and anxiety are common psychiatric disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD). Past studies have demonstrated a relationship between depression and cognitive decline in PD; however, the unique influence of anxiety has not been well studied. The objective of the present study was to differentiate the unique influences of depression and anxiety on cognitive functioning in PD. Sixty-eight cognitively intact PD patients with mild to moderate motor disease severity completed self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tests. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with executive functioning performance as the criterion variable, and two additional hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with memory performance as …

Effect Of A Parent Reading Intervention On Elementary-Aged Children‘S Reading Fluency, Renee R. Corbett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a parent-implemented reading intervention on children's reading fluency. Five elementary school students identified as at-risk for reading failure participated in the study with their mothers. Baseline data for each student was collected before parents were trained by the researcher in implementation of the intervention procedure. Parents implemented the intervention four times per week for five weeks, while the researcher continued to collect assessment data twice per week. Follow-up data were then collected for each student two weeks after the intervention ended. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple baseline across participants …

A Study Of Cross-Border Takeovers: Examining The Impact Of National Culture On Internalization Benefits, And The Implications Of Early Versus Late-Mover Status For Bidders And Their Rivals, Tanja Steigner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two self-contained chapters that empirically examine bidder firm returns of U.S. companies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In chapter one I examine how cultural distance between bidder and target country impacts internalization benefits. The results suggest that shareholders are initially concerned about the acquisition in culturally distant countries, which outweighs any potential benefits from internalization. However, in the long-run we observe a significant reversal of these findings. In the second and third year following the announcement, greater cultural distance positively impacts the bidder firm's operating performance and the bidder experiences significant internalization benefits from technological know-how …

Designing An Autonomous Helicopter Testbed: From Conception Through Implementation, Richard D. Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently being researched for a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue, surveillance, reconnaissance, traffic monitoring, fire detection, pipe and electrical line inspection, and border patrol to name only a few of the application domains. Although small / miniature UAVs, including both Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) vehicles and small helicopters, have shown great potential in both civilian and military domains, including research and development, integration, prototyping, and field testing, these unmanned systems / vehicles are limited to only a handful of university labs. For VTOL type aircraft the number is less than …

Analysis Of Glycerol 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase And Sarco/Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Ion Channel Atpase For Use In Deep Metazoan Phylogenetics, Terry G. Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Genetic sequence data have been widely used to analyze metazoan phylogenies for two decades, and numerous datasets have been generated for testing relationships at many different taxonomic levels. The rapid divergence of major metazoan body plans during the Cambrian explosion confounds the determination of phylogenetic relationships among metazoan phyla. Few molecular analyses at this level have used both multiple genes and broad taxonomic representation. Furthermore, most studies have relied exclusively on the small ribosomal subunit rRNA gene (SSU). Many of the other genes that have been examined have possessed substitution rates that are inappropriate for resolving the relationships among metazoan …

Re-Islamization In Higher Education From Above And Below: The University Of South Florida And Its Global Contexts, Terri K. Wonder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores Islamism's interplay with higher education as the movement advances an agenda for worldwide reformation. Over an eighty-year period, Islamism has appropriated higher education institutions, professional associations, on- and off-campus organizations, and publications as a primary means to achieve its utopian objective of the Nizam Islami, or "Islamic Order." Findings show how the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt developed a Weberian bureaucratic organizational and administrative structure to exert influence not only in Egypt but also the world. A Qutb-inspired "hijra" of Muslim Brothers in universities proved itself adroit at filling macro-and micro-level policy vacuums in Soviet-aligned post-colonial societies, marginalizing …

Race, Class, And Real Estate: Neoliberal Policies In A “Mixed Income” Neighborhood, Ashley E. Spalding

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the impact of HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere), a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program, on Tampa's Greenwood neighborhood. The program represents a policy shift away from traditional public housing toward a "mixed income" model that has effectively privatized public housing. Through a HOPE VI program implemented in Tampa in 2000, two public housing complexes were demolished and redeveloped in this way. While some former residents of public housing relocated to other public housing complexes, many moved to apartments and houses in the private rental market with Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers-many to Tampa's Greenwood …

Transition Experiences Of Selected Emerging Adults With Emotional And Behavioral Difficulties In Higher Education, Kathleen M. Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transitioning into adulthood is an exciting and challenging time for emerging adults, and is even more difficult for young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD). Even though the number of transition-aged individuals with EBD is significant, few studies have explored the experiences of this population engaged in educational activities, and there is limited information regarding the personal experiences of emerging adults with EBD. The purpose of the study is to acquire a better understanding of the experiences of young adults diagnosed with an EBD who are working toward their academic goals. Further, this study may give voice to individuals …

Transducer Dynamics, Egor Dolzhenko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transducers are finite state automata with an output. In this thesis, we attempt to classify sequences that can be constructed by iteratively applying a transducer to a given word. We begin exploring this problem by considering sequences of words that can be produced by iterative application of a transducer to a given input word, i.e., identifying sequences of words of the form w, t(w), t²(w), . . . We call such sequences transducer recognizable. Also we introduce the notion of "recognition of a sequence in context", which captures the possibility of concatenating prefix and suffix words to each word in …

Effects Of Time-Compressed Audio And Adjunct Images On Learner Recall, Recognition, And Satisfaction, Albert Dieter Ritzhaupt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of time-compressed narration and representational adjunct images on undergraduate college students' 1) ability to recall and recognize information in a multimedia learning environment, and 2) overall satisfaction with this type of learning environment. The goals of this research were to shed light on time-compression technology incorporated into multimedia learning environments, help fill the existing gap in the research literature by merging two disjoint bodies of research, and aid instructors and instructional designers to better understand time-compression technology while creating rigorous multimedia materials.

This research was guided by the underlying principles …

The Effects Of A Structured Adherence Intervention To Haart On Adherence And Treatment Response Outcomes, Donald E. Kurtyka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) medications in excess of 90-95% is necessary for optimal response to suppress HIV replication and to maintain and/or restore immune function. A number of interventions have been shown to improve ARV adherence, but no research has been conducted which evaluates proactive monitoring of pharmacy refill adherence and subsequent intervention when inadequate adherence is identified.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to compare treatment response, pharmacy refill adherence and self-reported medication adherence between two groups of patients: those participating in an AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and those participating in a Medicaid-funded medication access program. …

Privacy In Database Designs: A Role Based Approach, Gary A. Poe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Privacy concerns have always been present in every society. The introduction of information technology information has enabled a reduction in the cost of gathering information, management of that information and the permitted that same information to become increasingly portable. Coupled with these reductions of cost has been an increase in the demand for information as well as the concern that privacy expectations be respected and enforced through security systems that safeguard access to private-type data. Security systems enforce privacy expectations. Unfortunately there is no consensus on a definition of privacy making the specification of security often over broad and resulting …

The Effect Of A Summer School Literacy Program On The Reading Attitudes Of Elementary School Struggling Readers, Katie Fradley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-method study explored and examined the reading attitudes of thirdgrade struggling readers (n=91) following six weeks of summer school using a scripted literacy program (Voyager Passport). During the quantitative portion of the study students (n=91) from five different summer school sites were given the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990). The survey, which was administered by the classroom teacher the first day of summer school and the last week of summer school, provided scores for academic, recreational and total reading attitude. Following data collection the results of the ERAS surveys were analyzed using a dependent …

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy For Children Diagnosed With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Demetria Soulounias-Arriaga

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is a probably efficacious, evidenced-based

treatment, which has been proven to decrease problem behaviors of children, as well as

improve parent-child interactions. The first phase is the Child-Directed Interaction (CDI),

which allows the child to lead the play session, while parents are taught to interact

without giving demands, asking questions, or providing criticism. According to the

DSM-IV-TR, Reactive Attachment Disorder is a rare diagnosis. Many attachment

therapists indicate that traditional approaches to treatment have not been demonstrated as

being effective with these children. This study will examine the CDI phase of Parent-

Child Interaction Therapy as a …

How Similar Are Personality Scales Of The “Same” Construct? A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Victoria L. Pace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, meta-analytic reviews have estimated validities for the use of personality scales in the prediction of job performance from an array of empirical studies. A variety of personality measures were used in the original studies, and procedures and decisions concerning the categorization of these measures into Big Five personality factors have differed among reviewers. An underlying assumption of meta-analysis is that the predictors across included studies are essentially the same, as is the criterion. If this is not the case, then problems arise for both theoretical reasons and practical applications. If predictors that are not highly correlated are …