Digital Commons Network^™

“This Is Not A Politburo, But A Madhouse,” The Post World War Ii Sovietization Of East Germany Up To The 1953 Worker’S Uprising, Rush H. Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The end of World War II brought forth many problems for the allies that had not been completely resolved by the victors. One of the most important was what to do with the defeated Germany. Within the first decade after World War II, the division of the former German superpower had become the front line of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the first eight years after the war (1945-53) East Germany, the Soviet controlled sector, quickly became 'Stalin's unwanted child' and was the first communist country to rebel against the imposed Soviet style …

Community Of Practice As Community Of Learners: How Foreign Language Teachers Understand Professional And Language Identities, Ruth Ban

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand the transmogrification of four Mexican foreign language teachers as they participate in a teaching exchange in American schools throughout the United States. Previous research into development of competent membership in given communities of practice points to the need for mutual engagement with other community members, an understanding of the community activity, and a shared repertoire among community members. Framed within an activity theory perspective, the present study examined how the teachers's socio-historical background, cultural tools and artifacts, along with other pedagogical activities, community rules, and division of labor mediated the teachers' understanding of their professional …

Teaching Philosophy And Practices Among Chemistry Faculty Attending Mid Project Workshops : Implications For Reform In Chemistry, Beverly Dee Barker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade over 600M in funding has been devoted to bringing about reform in science education, but little is known about who is implementing reform, the extent of reform implementation and how educational contexts differentially impact reform innovations. This dissertation explores the results of the Multi-Initiative Dissemination Project (MID Project), a national curriculum reform program that was designed to propagate reform pedagogy among undergraduate chemistry faculty in faculty development workshops. We analyzed data from surveys, in-class observations and faculty interviews to explore the relationships between the participant faculty demographic features and their pedagogy and teaching philosophy before and …

Rsvp: An Investigation Of The Effects Of Remote Shared Visual Presence On Team Process And Performance In Urban Search & Rescue Teams, Jennifer L. Burke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This field study presents mobile rescue robots as a way of augmenting communication in distributed teams through a remote shared visual presence (RSVP) consisting of the robot's view. It examines the effects of RSVP on team mental models, team processes, and team performance in collocated and distributed Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) technical search teams, and tests two models of team performance.

Participants (n=50) were US&R task force personnel drawn from high-fidelity training exercises held in California (2004) and New Jersey (2005). Data were collected from the 25 dyadic teams as they performed a 2 x 2 repeated measures search …

Framing Requests For Parental Participation In Family Research, David Clay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on fathers and their willingness to participate in family related research studies. Traditional expectations of parental roles have hindered the inclusion of fathers in research studies despite gradual changes in cultural norms and research studies that indicate fathers have a significant influence on the developmental outcomes of children. Recent work in this area indicates that fathers are just as likely as mothers to participate in family related research. This study sought to shed light on this issue. Employees at three large Southeastern Universities were asked to participate in one of three different types of research: Academics, Athletics, …

Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Exploring The Influence Of Socio-Cultural, Academic, Behavioral, And Implementation Process Variables, Rachel Mara Cohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the influence of academic, behavioral, and sociocultural variables on the implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), a system intended to improve discipline in school buildings. The number of schools that are implementing SWPBS has been increasing dramatically over the years as school violence continues to rise and solutions are needed to improve school climate. This study examined the relationship between three categories of variables and the level of implementation of SWPBS in three multiple regression analyses. The categories were school demographic variables (i.e., ethnicity, socio-economic status, teacher: student ratio, percentage of teachers who are out-of-field), severity …

The Effects Of Community-Based Service-Learning On Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs About Equitable Science Teaching And Learning, Neporcha T. Cone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and Science for all Americans (AAAS, 1989) explicitly state that all students regardless of their age, cultural or ethnic backgrounds, gender, abilities, aspirations, or interest in science should have access to equitable educational resources in science. These equitable resources also include access to efficacious teachers of all students. However, the Standards fail to explicate what practices, if any, lead to the development of these teachers. The primary purpose of this study was to identify teacher education practices that positively influenced preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about equitable science teaching and learning. More specifically, …

Biomechanical Evaluation Of Independent Transfers And Pressure Relief Tasks In Persons With Sci: Pilot Study, Tony J. Cresta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persons with paraplegia who use a manual wheelchair for mobility are at high risk for overuse injuries in the upper extremities. Years of shoulder overuse performing transfers, wheelchair propulsion, dressing, bathing, and household chores, (activities of daily living or ADL) leads to an increased incidence of cumulative trauma to the shoulders. Few studies have addressed the stressful task of wheelchair transfers among SCI individuals. The goal of this pilot study is to develop valid and reliable measurement technologies to quantify shoulder musculoskeletal stressors during wheelchair transfers and pressure relief tasks among individuals with SCI. Using a standard wheelchair, 10 participants …

An Examination Of The Experiences Of Five African American Male Students With Regard To School Discipline Practices, Simon Yohann Earle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are numerous studies that address the issue of discipline practices in schools. Within the last decade there have been an increasing number of scholars and school district personnel who have written about discipline, and more specifically, the discipline of specific populations of students such as African Americans. Although many of these studies address the disparate disciplinary practices that occur in many school districts, little attention is devoted to how students understand these practices in the larger context of their general school experiences. This research intends to fill the void in the literature that utilizes the experiences of students to …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Presence Of Critical Components Of Classroom Positive Behavior Support And Student Behavior, Gregory S. Ern

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the presence of classroom components of positive behavior support and student behavior outcomes. Data were collected using the Tool for Assessing Classroom Level-Positive Behavior Support (TACL-PBS) developed by Ern (2004) to assess the presence or absence of critical components of positive behavior support at the classroom level. Descriptive data on the instrument including the internal consistency, interrater agreement, and concurrent validity were analyzed and are included in this report. Forty classrooms from ten diverse elementary schools in three school districts were selected to participate in this study. Office discipline …

Investigation Into The Hydrogen Gas Sensing Mechanism Of 3c-Sic Resistive Gas Sensors, Timothy J. Fawcett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hydrogen (H2) gas sensing mechanism driving 3C-SiC resistive gas sensors is investigated in this work in which two hypotheses are proposed. One hypothesis involves the surface adsorption of H2 on the sensor surface with the adsorbed molecules influencing the flow of current in a resistive gas sensor, termed the surface adsorption detection mechanism. The second hypothesis includes the transfer of heat from the sensor to the gas, producing a change in the temperature of the device when the heat transfer characteristics of the gas change, termed the thermal detection mechanism. The heat transfer characteristics of the gas are dependent …

Linking Pretreatment Therapist Characteristics To The Therapeutic Alliance In Youth Treatment: An Examination Of Professional Burnout, Counseling Self-Efficacy And Gender Role Orientation, Jessica B. Handelsman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated three pretreatment therapist characteristics (professional burnout, counseling self-efficacy, and gender role orientation) in relation to the therapeutic alliance within the context of youth treatment. It was hypothesized that the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout would be negatively associated with the alliance, while the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout and counseling self-efficacy would be positively associated with the alliance. In addition, it was hypothesized that androgynous therapists would have superior alliances, relative to stereotypically masculine or feminine therapists. Participants were 42 pairs of therapists and youth clients. Prior to intake, therapists completed the Maslach Burnout …

A Study Of The Effects Of Completing An Instructor Effectivness Course On The Accountability Measures Of Adjunct Community College Faculty, Ivan Franklin Harber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an Instructor Effectiveness Course designed specifically to retain adjunct faculty and improve their overall success in teaching. The study also investigated the "online" and "face-to-face" groups of the Instructor Effectiveness Course and compared faculty who take this course to those who do not in order to detect any significant differences. Differences were measured through students' class grade point averages, (GPA's), and course completion rates for the three groups of faculty, as well as through the faculty performance on student evaluations. This mixed method, causal/comparative study looked at the adjunct …

Using Emergent Outcome Controls To Manage Dynamic Software Development, Michael Loyd Harris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Control and flexibility may appear an unlikely pair. However, I propose that effective management of dynamic environments, such as systems development under conditions of uncertainty, must still provide clear control mechanisms to manage the progress and quality of the resulting products. This dissertation presents research to understand the types of control used in the context of flexible software development processes. The dynamic capabilities extension to the resource-based view of the firm is used to understand dynamic environments. Within those environments, control theory is used to understand how activities are guided and controlled to achieve management objectives. Specifically, control theory acts …

Mentor And Mentee Perceptions Of The Importance And Effectiveness Of Mentor Support, Cenira Holcomb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study explored the congruence between mentor and mentee perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of 12 district-specific focus areas of mentor support. While reviewing current data pertaining to teacher attrition, the researcher observed a limited availability of investigations relating to the perceived role of the mentor teacher based on the experiences and observations of both the novice and mentor teacher.The target population for this study was 70 novice and mentor special education teachers during the 2005--2006 school year employed at 13 middle schools in a school district located in Florida. Of the 70 beginning and mentor …

A Marriage Of Convenience: Batista And The Communists, 1933 – 1944, Charles Clayton Hollenkamp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the relationship between Fulgencio Batista and the Communist Party of Cuba. At odds during the first several years of Batista's rule, when strikes and repression were the topics of the day, the two sides eventually saw in each other a means to an end. In efforts to understand the Cuban Revolution of the late 1950's, historians often portray Batista as a dictatorial puppet of American business and policy. Contrary to this image, in his first regime (1934 until 1944), Batista presided over the creation of a nominal constitutional democracy. To do this he needed the support and …

The Relationship Between Nurses' Anxiety And Attitude Related To Pediatric Hospice, Teresa Lyn Hoover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To lose a child is a profoundly emotional experience. Even if it is not your own, the experience involves deeply held beliefs about death, the quality of death, ethics, and perhaps personal experience. Left unexplored, these beliefs and the anxiety they may produce, can become barriers to providing quality end-of-life care for children with life limiting conditions and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between hospice nurses' attitudes toward providing pediatric hospice care and the level of anxiety they may experience related to pediatric hospice care. A self administered questionnaire was completed by 30 …

Gubernatorial Foreign Policy, Julian G. Ku

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In a variety of circumstances, state governors exercise independent decision-making power over matters affecting the foreign policy of the United States. This Essay describes and defends this emerging system of gubernatorial foreign policy on both legal and functional grounds. Recent Supreme Court decisions retreating from federal exclusivity in foreign affairs and prohibiting the commandeering of state executive officials leave a small doctrinal space for governors to act independently on matters affecting foreign policy. This small space has been further expanded by the federal government's practice of imposing limitations on the preemptive effect of treaties and international agreements. A system of …

International Delegations And The New World Court Order, Julian G. Ku

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In Medellin v. Dretke, the U.S. Supreme Court squarely considered the domestic judicial enforceability of a judgment by the International Court of Justice for the first time. Although the Court ultimately dismissed the case due to President George W. Bush's intervention, the issue that won the Court's attention - the domestic legal status of international tribunal judgments - will almost certainly return to the Court in the near future. When it does, the Court will be faced with calls from leading scholars to enforce the judgments of international courts and tribunals as part of a new world court order, …

Do International Criminal Tribunals Deter Or Exarcebate Humanitarian Atrocities?, Julian G. Ku, Jide Nzelibe

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Contemporary justifications for international criminal tribunals (ICTs), especially the permanent International Criminal Court, often stress the role of such tribunals in deterring future humanitarian atrocities. But hardly any academic commentary has attempted to explore in depth this deterrence rationale. This essay utilizes economic models of deterrence to analyze whether a potential perpetrator of humanitarian atrocities would likely be deterred by the risk of future prosecution by an ICT. According to the economic theory of deterrence, two factors-certainty and severity of punishment-are central to the reduction of crime after taking into account a particular individual's preference for risk. In the context …

A Hundred Osamas: Islamist Threats And The Future Of Counterinsurgency, Sherifa D. Zuhur Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph takes its title from President Hosni Mubarak's prediction that American involvement in Iraq would give rise to a "hundred Osamas." The author explores "the new jihad" and the regeneration of Islamist insurgencies and extremist movements in the context of religious and political movements throughout the Muslim world. It describes the contributions of various Islamist leaders to this discourse of extremism and how their strategies of recruitment, retention and engagement function. In contrast, various U.S. responses to extremists are critiqued, and new elements of a counterstrategy are proposed.

Greater Sage-Grouse Ecology In Western Box Elder County, Utah 2005 Annual Report, Jan S. Knerr, Terry A. Messmer

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Intuition Versus Analysis- Which Process Is Most Appropriate For Solving Everyday Problems With Differing Levels Of Social Content And Complexity?, Amy E. Kowalski '06

Honors Projects

The investigators wanted to test the theories laid out by Hammond (1987) and McMackin and Slovic (2001) that problem attributes affect the appropriateness of intuition for solving problems. The study investigated the appropriateness of strategy (intuition, analysis, or no strategy) for everyday problems that varied in social nature and complexity. It was hypothesized that problems high in social nature and complexity would be solved more accurately using intuition. Results were partially supported but only among novice participants. Results indicate that highly intuitive novice individuals score more accurately than those who are highly analytical when solving everyday problems. One of the …

Social Interactions Of Siblings Of Children With Autism: A Pilot Experiment, Sarah Janota '06

Honors Projects

Despite the overwhelming amount of typical sibling relationship research available, there are few studies regarding sibling relationships involving autism. Of those, even fewer use experimental designs. The present study explored the hypothesis that siblings of children with autism-spectrum disorders develop increased compassion for others. Compassion was operationally measured through three dependent variables: participants' willingness to help, like, and interact with others. The study used an experimental design testing the social response of siblings of children with autism to potential peers who varied with respect to three independent variables: disability status (cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, or typically-developing), priming …

An Evaluation Of Envy Within Adolescent Friendships, Natalie A. Pawluk '06

Honors Projects

Envy may be an unexplored component of adolescent social relationships. The main goal of the study was to determine if envy is experienced to a higher degree between best friends than with non-friends. A second goal was to assess the correlations between envy and friendship characteristics. A total of 109 seventh-grade students responded to 3 questionnaires, the Friendship Grid, the Best Friend/Non-Friend Envy Survey and the Friendship Qualities Questionnaire. No significant differences were found between reported envy for friends and non-friends. Envy significantly correlated with conflict (p < .01) and exclusivity (p < .05). A major challenge for future research is to develop a more accurate measure of envy-a survey format may not be the most useful technique. The relationship between envy and conflict and exclusivity demonstrates the importance of further research of envy in order to better understand the potentially negative effects of envy on friendships.

Conflict In Adolescent Friendships Across Cultures: Indonesia, South Korea And The United States, Melissa Mccandless '06

Honors Projects

Traditionally, adolescence is conceptualized as a period of turmoil during which adolescents are moody, hostile and behave in maladaptive ways. In reality, this stage of development is not as terrible as the stereotypes suggest. Of particular interest during this time is an adolescent's experience of rapid physical, cognitive, and social changes which necessitate interpersonal adjustment to maintain positive relationships with others (Collins & Laursen, 1992). During this developmental period, there is a transformation in children's networks of interpersonal relationships in that there is a substantial increase in the relative importance of friends as confidants while dependence on parents falls as …

Interactive Technologies For The Public Sphere Toward A Theory Of Critical Creative Technology, Pamela Lynnette Jennings

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Digital media cultural practices continue to address the social, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the global information economy, perhaps better called ecology, by inventing new methods and genres that encourage interactive engagement, collaboration, exploration and learning. The theoretical framework for creative critical technology evolved from the confluence of the arts, human computer interaction, and critical theories of technology. Molding this nascent theoretical framework from these seemingly disparate disciplines was a reflexive process where the influence of each component on each other spiraled into the theory and practice as illustrated through the Constructed Narratives project. Research that evolves from an arts …

The Compact, Issue 11, December, 2006, Dit: Students' Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

The Compact, Issue 9, October, 2006, Dit: Students' Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

The Compact, Issue 6, 22nd Of February, 2006, Dit: Students' Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.