Digital Commons Network^™

Learning To Dance While Becoming A Dancer: Identity Construction As A Performing Art, Matthew A. Caudill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a university undergraduate dance department, students seem to be learning more than pirouettes and pas de bourées; students are learning how to construct their identities and present themselves as ‘dancers’. As they progress through their undergraduate careers, the students are not only developing technical skills, but they are also learning the ins and outs of how dancers look, speak and behave. Based on three months of observation and in-depth interviews, it seems that developing into a dancer requires developing into an individual who shows unique commitment both to him/herself and to the art of dance itself. While many …

A Co-Orientational Analysis Of Public Involvement Perceptions In The Transportation Process: A Case Study, Kristen E. Carson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored public involvement within the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) using the co-orientational theory. Effective public involvement gives the public opportunities to be involved early in the planning and implementation of transportation projects that directly affect or may concern them. The co-orientational model looks at what an organization (FDOT) thinks about an issue (public involvement), what the public thinks of the issue, what the organization thinks the public thinks about the issue, and what the public thinks the organization thinks about the issue.

This study investigated whether the FDOT management has an accurate understanding of the perceptions of …

Social Construction Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women In Panama City, Panama, Arlene Calvo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To learn how to address health issues specific to Hispanic cultures in an effort to address health disparities, learning from cultural aspects that affect health from the countries of origin would be most useful. Community programs built on rigorous and systematic research prove to be more powerful than ad-hoc programs. Qualitative research techniques offer powerful alternatives for public health professionals to develop adequate and directed programs at the community level, especially among underserved communities and those represented by oral/spoken traditions. The study was conducted among 132 working class single and married Mestizo women between the ages of 20-40 living in …

Eros, Paideia And Arête: The Lesson Of Plato’S Symposium, Jason St. John Oliver Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Commentators of Plato’s Symposium rarely recognize the importance of traditional Greek conceptions of Eros, paideia and arête in understanding Plato’s critique of the various educational models presented in the dialogue. I will show how Plato contests these models by proposing that education should consist of philosophy. On this interpretation, ancient Greek pedagogy culminates in a philosophical education. For this new form of education, the dialogical model supplants the traditional practices of kléos and poetic mimēsis, inextricably bound to archaia paideia and traditional forms of education. Plato’s Socrates is searching for knowledge and immortality through an application of the philosophical method, …

Effects Of Constructed Response Contingencies In Web-Based Programmed Instruction On Graphing Compared To Cued-Text Presentation Of The Same Information, Reinaldo L. Canton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Web-based lessons teaching graph construction techniques (via the internet) were presented to 144 undergraduate and graduate college students. One group experienced program-controlled tutorials requiring them to construct answers in a defined sequence. A second group experienced identical lesson material in the form of typographically cued text presentations. The programmed instruction students performed significantly better than the cued-text group on an immediate computerbased posttest assessing comprehension of the graphing lesson material. The cuedtext group performed better on an applied graphing assignment. The experiment did not account for individual’s internet study habits or the metacognitive approaches to learning employed by the study …

The Articulate Remedies Of Dolores Lolita Rodriguez, Hyatt Kellim Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For eighty-six-year-old Tampa, Florida, native Dolores Lolita Rodriguez, yard decorating was more than just decoration; it was a form of therapy. Her yard was a massive assemblage of found objects arranged into a personalized visual vocabulary that involved honoring the deceased, her Spanish identity, and local spiritual practices. The yard also upheld a unique conception of beauty. Her creations were an articulation of, and remedy for, a life of tremendous loss. They were also the cause of her stroke and confinement to rehabilitation in November 2002.

Dolores property was visually cognate with a mode of yard decoration, called the African-American …

The Effect Of Direct Instruction Math Curriculum On Higher-Order Problem Solving, Pamela Christofori

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has examined the effectiveness of Direct Instruction Curriculum over the past thirty years in a variety of areas including rate of learning, effectiveness on different types of learners, and comparisons to other types of instruction. This study attempted to determine the effects of the use of a direct instruction math curriculum on higher-order problem solving. Two groups of 3 – 5 students each participated. The procedures included administering the Kauffman Achievement test to determine current grade level in math and reading. The Saxon Math Second Grade Curriculum was used to instruct the participants. The effects on higher-order problem …

From Strange Fruit To Fruitful Kitchens: The Space Of The Kitchen In Toni Morrison’S Novels, Betty J. Chroninger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toni Morrison's recovery of the African-American presence in her novels is uniquely tied to the space of the kitchen. The recovery of the African-American presence has been accomplished in various ways for various groups: historians, critics, authors, sociologists. They have named names, recalled incidents, and "discovered" texts. Recovery has been accomplished by reconstructing culture through songs, storytelling, folklore and myth. Morrison establishes a connection between the space of the Garden that represents a white male empowered world in which African-American women have difficulty establishing power to a space of the kitchen where we see how well each character has been …

Exploring Women’S Complex Relationship With Political Violence: A Study Of The Weathermen, Radical Feminism And The New Left, Lindsey Blake Churchill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I use the radical, pro-violent organization the Weathermen as a framework to examine women and feminisms complex relationships with violence. My thesis attempts to show the many belief systems that second wave feminists possessed concerning the role(s) of women and violence in revolutionary organizations. Hence, by using the Weathermen as a framework, I discuss various feminist essentialist and pacifist critiques of violence. I also include an analysis of feminists who, similar to the Weathermen, embraced political violence. For example, radical feminists Robin Morgan and Jane Alpert criticized the Weathermen's violent tactics while other feminists such as Ti-Grace …

Finding My Voice: Adolescent Girls’ Experiences With Speaking Up And How Recounting These Experiences Impacts Future Expression, Deborah A. Cihonski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of the Expression of Voice experience in adolescent girls using an existential-phenomenological interview approach and also to explore the impact of participation in an interview session talking about Voice. Two open-ended interviews were conducted. During the first interview, participants are asked to "Please think of a specific time when you had something important to say, and although it was difficult, you did speak up and say what you thought. In as much detail as possible, describe that experience." During the second interview, each girl was asked if she "... feel[s] …

Effects Of Hyperoxia In Alzheimer’S Transgenic Mice, April Cox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An association between major surgery in the elderly and precipitation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been reported. Hyperoxia (100%) oxygen is commonly administered after surgery to increase the oxygen content of blood. However, hyperoxia is a potent cerebral vasoconstrictor and generator of free radicals, as is β-amyloid (Aβ). This study was aimed at examining behavioral, neuropathological, and neurochemical effects of hyperoxia treatments in APPsw transgenic mice (Tg+), which have elevated brain Aβ levels by 3-4 months of age but are not yet cognitively-impaired. At 3 months of age, Tg+ mice were pre-tested in the radial arm water maze (RAWM) task …

Dissecting Out The Contribution Of Cognitive, Social, And Physical Activities To Environmental Enrichment’S Ability To Protect Alzheimer’S Mice Against Cognitive Impairment, Jennifer R. Cracchiolo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Retrospective studies suggest that lifestyle activities may provide protection against Alzheimer s Disease (AD). However, such studies can be inaccurate and prospective longitudinal studies investigating lifestyle protection against AD are both impractical and impossible to control for. Transgenic (Tg+) AD mice offer a model in a well controlled environment for testing the potential for environmental factors to impact AD development. In an initial study, Tg+ and non-transgenic (Tg-) mice were housed in either environmentally enriched (EE) or standard housing (SH) from 2-6 months of age, with a behavioral battery given during the last 5 weeks of housing. In the Morris …

Assessment Of The Community Healthcare Providers' Ability And Willingness To Respond To A Bioterrorist Attack In Florida, Jeffrey S. Crane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous findings have demonstrated that the preparedness and infrastructure of the public health system are inadequately developed for a biological and/or chemical terrorism attack. (1-4) Chen et al. reported that those primary care providers that would have to respond to such an attack do not feel prepared to diagnose and manage such an event.(5)

This research was an observational study using e-mail/web based survey to assess the levels of preparedness (PL) and willingness to respond (WTR) to a bioterrorism attack, and identify factors that predict PL and WTR of Florida community healthcare providers. The conceptual framework and questionnaire was designed …

Communicating Collaboration And Empowerment: A Research Novel Of Relationships With Domestic Violence Workers, Elizabeth A. Curry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an experiment in thinking with the story, not about the story in order to erase the boundaries between analysis and narrative. CASA, Community Action Stops Abuse, is the context for this research on the lived realities and meaning of working with an empowerment philosophy. A University-Community Initiative (UCI) grant with CASA and the University of South Florida is the occasion to study the communicative aspects of individual and collective perceptions of empowerment. The dissertation focuses broadly on two UCI project goals: developing a collaborative relationship and producing a booklet of stories about the work of paid staff …

Investor And Worker Response To Corporate Downsizing Of Esop Companies: Wealth Effects, Productivity, And Performance, Jeanean J. Davis-Street

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Finance, economic and management literature document the reduced agency problems, increased productivity, and greater financial benefits that accrue to firms that adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans, (ESOPs). The literature also documents the increased agency problems, decreased employee productivity, and poor operating performance that usually accompany corporate downsizing activity. To date, none of the studies have examined the effect that downsizing decisions have on companies with existing ESOP plans; this dissertation fills that empirical void. In this study, two essays are presented that examine the effect of corporate downsizing on ESOP versus non-ESOP firms.

In the first essay, I investigate the …

Fire And Ice In The Age Of Innocence, Alisa Mariva Deborde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study will explore the dichotomy of culture and psychological landscape in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. To lay the foundation for this study, I first consider how Ms. Wharton often employed dichotomy in her own life: her role as socialite and author, woman of old New York and European maverick, and her life as spouse or beloved. Compartmentalizing her life’s roles prevented her from having to compromise the distinct qualities of each paradigm. Similarly, in The Age of Innocence, Ellen and May are completely opposite representations of life and culture in the 1870’s who cannot happily coexist …

Development And Validation Of A Systematically Designed Unit For Online Information Literacy And Its Effect On Student Performance For Internet Search Training, Emily K. Dunsker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As online learning increases and classroom use of print textbooks are gradually replaced by web-based instruction, what features of online instruction prove beneficial to student learning? The present study has three purposes; (1) To examine the effects of conversion of textbook content to web-based instruction for an extant Internet search course. The researcher examined performance differences of an online textbook to web tutorial compared to a second version that included interactive features found in classroom instruction. (2) To investigate students’ perceptions of material that afforded high levels of learner control and compared responses to a more structured instructional module. (3) …

Design, Construction And Testing Of A Wheelchair-Mounted Robotic Arm, Kevin D. Edwards

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A wheelchair-mounted robotic arm (WMRA) was designed and built to meet the needs of mobility-impaired persons, and to exceed the capabilities of current devices of this type. The mechanical design incorporates DC servo drive, with all actuator hardware at each individual joint, allowing reconfigurable link lengths. It has seven principal degrees of freedom and uses a side mount on a power wheelchair. A simple, scalable control system allows coordinated Cartesian control, and offers expandability for future research, such as coordinated motion with the wheelchair itself. Design payload including gripper is 6 kg, and the total arm mass with controller is …

Political And Economic News During The Argentine Crisis Of 2000-2002: An Agenda-Setting Analysis Of Major Newspaper Coverage, Mariana Eberle-Blaylock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the years 2000-2002, the Republic of Argentina experienced one of the most, if not the most, devastating social/political/economic crises ever seen. President Fernando de la Rua, elected in 1999, was forced to resign on December 20, 2001, after several months of protests, public demonstrations, and a colossal economic recession. This unprecedented event in the history of the country created a state of chaos and confusion in a frantic population desperately searching for answers.

During the crisis, the media played a vital role in providing the public their daily updates. This study analyzed the newspapers’ role during the crisis using …

Immigrant Vulnerability In High-Risk Industry: A Socio-Occupational Examination Of Counties With Large Meatpacking Plants In Iowa And Nebraska, Mary Patricia Everist

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decade of 1990-2000 saw a 53 percent increase in the number of Hispanics to 35.3 million, 20.6 million whom are of Mexican origin, signifying the fastest growing cohort in the U.S. today. This decade has also seen a surge in Hispanic migration to the Midwest region, particularly to communities with large meatpacking plants (LMPPs). Although overall literary consensus underscores the fact that this educationally disadvantaged ethnic group is over-represented in service and labor-based industries, few attempts have been made to empirically link the ir growing participation in high-risk industries like meatpacking with socioeconomic and occupational indicators of immigrant vulnerability. …

Oral/Written Contrast Of Mental State References In Older Children, Jeanne E. Federico

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in the use of mental state references by typically developing 9- and 11-year-old children. Following a priming task that emphasized distinctions between physical and mental acts, children watched an 11- minute textless video and then were asked to generate an oral and a written story that focused on the mental states of the multiple characters. Narratives were transcribed, and all mental state references were classified into motivational, experiential, and belief categories. Specific mental state references were also analyzed to determine levels of semantic complexity. The study attempted to answer: 1) whether …

"No, We Don't Have Any T-Shirts": Identity In A (Self-Consciously) Consumerist Punk Subculture, William Force

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an ethnographic examination of a local punk subculture. Its focus is the processes of meaning construction and subcultural identity formation and maintenance. Through in-depth interviews and on-site observations, the meanings of punk emerge in acts of social co-construction. An empirical analysis of the ways by which individuals define and explore what is involved and valued in a punk identity provides insight into this subculture. The concept of punk as a social practice is investigated discursively through interviews and documented discussions. My goal is to uncover thematic ideas, beliefs, and values in these interactions that form a matrix …

Cuidate: Tourism, Drugs, Sex And Hiv Among Young People In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Andrea Lee Freidus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this thesis is to understand a community’s perceptions of the potential impact of tourism on the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS in Monteverde, Costa Rica. In particular, I examine the ways in which globalization and increased travel affect the overall health and behavioral patterns among young people from a community reliant on tourism. The impact of migration and population movement on the spread of infectious diseases has already been well documented. Moreover, there is a clear understanding of the impact of sex tourism on the spread of STIs. However, this project seeks to …

Negotiating Artistic Identity Through Satire: Subreal 1989-1999, Anca Izabel Galliera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research study is on major art works produced during the nineteen-nineties by the Romanian collective subREAL, composed of Calin Dan and Josif Kiraly. The thesis is an alternative to the literal-minded and politically biased Western view typified in two major exhibitions of art from Eastern Europe: Beyond Belief: Contemporary Art from East Central Europe (Chicago, 1995) and After the Wall: Art and Culture in Post-Communist Europe (Sweden, 1999). Both exhibitions presented Post-Communist nations as a monolithic bloc, in which art was primarily a passive reflection of political and social events. It will be demonstrated that …

The Effect Of Conducting Gesture On Expressive-Interpretive Performance Of College Music Majors, Ronald Wayne Gallops

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of non-verbal conducting gesture on musicians’ stylistic response and whether conducting gestures alone elicit consistent musical responses from musicians. Through an analysis that utilized a Gestural Response Instrument (GRI) it was determined that, even if the use of verbal and facial cues were eliminated, some experienced conductors successfully utilized non-verbal conducting gestures to communicate specific musical interpretations. It appeared that musicians responded in specific ways to the musical interpretation of conductors who had command of a variety of conducting gestures. The results illustrated the existence of a perceptual contract that …

Aortic Valve Analysis And Area Prediction Using Bayesian Modeling, Miheer S. Ghotikar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aortic valve stenosis affects approximately 5 out of every 10,000 people in the United States. [3] This disorder causes decrease in the aortic valve opening area increasing resistance to blood flow. Detection of early stages of valve malfunction is an important area of research to enable new treatments and develop strategies in order to delay degenerative progression. Analysis of relationship between valve properties and hemodynamic factors is critical to develop and validate these strategies.

Porcine aortic valves are anatomically analogous to human aortic valves. Fixation agents modify the valves in such a manner to mimic increased leaflet stiffness due to …

The Role And Regulation Of Argininosuccinate Synthase In Endothelial Function, Bonnie L. Goodwin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While cellular levels of arginine greatly exceed the apparent Km for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), nitric oxide (NO) production is limited by availability of arginine. Results from this work have provided a unique understanding of endothelial NO production, showing that arginine regeneration, that is the recycling of citrulline back to arginine by argininosuccinate synthase (AS) and argininosuccinate lyase (AL), defines the essential source of arginine for NO production. Using RNA interference analysis, selective reduction of AS expression was shown to directly correspond with a diminished capacity of endothelial cells to produce NO, despite saturating levels of arginine in the …

Asperger Syndrome: A Case Study On One Family’S Understanding, Ben Graffam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the way members of one family understand the presence of developmental delays, especially Asperger Syndrome, in the children of that family. Specifically the study sought to glean how each parent constructed individual understanding of the presence of Asperger Syndrome in their twin, 13 year-old boys. It also sought to explore how each twin experienced the phenomenon of being labeled a child with Asperger Syndrome, and how their experiences affected their growing understanding of the syndrome. A third son, 10 years old, with PDD-NOS, was also a central focus in this study in that he also created and …

Reducing Pollutants In Industrial Stormwater Runoff: Improved Water Quality Protection Using Prioritized Facility Regulation, Lindsay M. Griffen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater pollutants originating from industrial facilities can lead to degraded water quality, even in residentially dominated regions of the country. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program regulates stormwater pollutants generated at industrial sites using Multi-Sector General Permits (Generic permits) for industrial facilities and a permit requirement for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) operators. All industrial facilities within 11 broad categories of industry are responsible for self-identifying the need to comply with the Generic permit, and subsequently, implementing self-selected pollution prevention strategies. MS4 operators are required to identify and inspect “high risk” industrial and commercial facilities that may …

Ground Penetrating Radar Response To Thin Layers: Examples From Waites Island, South Carolina, Swagata Guha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin layers (layers that are not resolvable in terms of GPR wavelengths) are very common in sedimentary deposits. To better understand ground penetrating radar (GPR) wave behavior in sequences of thin layers with contrasting electromagnetic parameters, 1D FDTD simulations are run for simple layer distributions. Laminated (mm-scale) sequences can produce reflected energy with 10-20% of the amplitude of reflections from equivalent isolated contacts. Amplitude spectra from laminae packages are shifted toward higher frequencies. Such spectral shifts in radar profiles may potentially be used as indicators of fine-scale laminations. A comparative study of GPR records and models generated from core data …