Digital Commons Network^™

The Pedagogy And Politics Of Online Education In Anthropology, Linda J. Hose

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on the key findings of an exploratory study of online education in anthropology. The study was designed to collect information on the extent and types of online offerings at four-year and above degree-granting public institutions in the US. It was also designed to report on the teaching strategies and methods that anthropologists employ online, and to inquire into the conditions and institutional structures that encourage or discourage the development of online education in anthropology. Recent growth in online education has been explosive in many disciplines, but little is known about anthropology's participation in the trend, or lack …

Attitudinal Factors Related To Driving Behaviors Of Young Adults In Belize: An Application Of The Precaution Adoption Process Model, Ismael A. Hoare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Young adults' risk-taking attitudes, risk perception, and knowledge of road laws and signs influence their driving behaviors. The adoption of risky driving behaviors increases young adults' risk of motor vehicle crashes. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the factors that lead to increased risks of MVC-related mortality and morbidity for young adults in Belize, to provide support for the development of evidence-based programs, and, more importantly, to investigate the relationships involving young adults' risk-taking attitudes, risk perception, and knowledge of road laws and signs and their relation to driving behaviors. The Precaution Adoption Process Model …

Antibody Targeting Of Non Ionic Surfactant Vesicles To Vascular Inflammation, Elizabeth D. Hood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and particularly atherosclerosis is a leading cause of morbidity in the developed world. Atherosclerosis and the rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque cause 70% of deaths from CVD. The progression of atherosclerosis has been identified as a pathological inflammatory process. Targeting atherosclerotic drug therapies to inflammatory markers has emerged as an important and growing research area. The adhesion molecule CD44 has been implicated in the onset and build-up of atherosclerotic lesions throughout the course of development. The research in this dissertation is aimed at targeting anti-inflammatory therapy to activated vascular endothelium with directed with an anti-CD44 antibody, IM7, …

High-Stakes Testing In Florida: Media Portrayals And Parental Realities, Jennifer Gilroy Hunsecker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1998, Florida implemented a system of standardized testing known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). While initially designed as one among many tools to assess student and school progress, the FCAT has become a high-stakes test. Schools whose students fail to meet certain benchmarks are in danger of losing their students to "school choice plans" (which enable parents of children attending failing schools to choose another, more highly rated school) while parents must contend with ever broadening educational policies. The implications of this policy have been far reaching. Textbook makers now market individualized textbooks that teach FCAT content, …

(Dis)Continuity Between Sikhism And Islam: The Development Of Hukam Across Religions, Mark Horowitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of the Sikh concept of hukam, which is usually translated as a divine command or order. The concept is prominently featured in the Sikh sacred scripture (Guru Granth) and is an important aspect of daily ritual life for the Sikhs. The goal of this study is to provide initial insight into how the concept developed in the Sikh scriptural tradition, as well as the implications that the concept had for the Sikh community. This paper traces the development of hukam from the concepts origin in the Islamic tradition, the writings …

A Revitalization Strategy For Central New York United Methodist Churches, Robert J. Norrix

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Raman Spectroscopy Of Inas/Gaas Quantum Dots Patterned By Nano-Indentation, Lindsay K. Hussey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Patterns of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by the combination of nanoindentation technique and molecular beam epitaxy were studied. The resulting QDs tend to preferentially nucleate on indented areas rather than other regions. We studied the strain on the indentations, regions surrounding the indents, and non-indented areas. The QD LO mode for the patterned areas shifts by 7 cm-1 when compared to the non-patterned area. The biaxial strain in the indented areas producing this shift is four times larger than that in non-indented areas, explaining the QD preferential formation within these areas. This larger strain suggests that QDs on the …

The Development Of Leadership Skills Through Diversity Of Student Organizational Leadership, Daniel M. Jenkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The steady increase of racial and ethnic diversity in public universities has provided student leaders with many challenges. However, little is known about the effects of racial and ethnic diversity on the development of these student leaders. This study aims to evaluate the effects of racial and ethnic diversity in college student organizations on the development of student leaders and the perceived value of such diversity on their development. The sample consists of 833 student leaders from Florida's ten public universities who completed online surveys. The questions asked were designed to evaluate their past and present leadership roles and skills, …

Numerical Simulation Of Steady State And Transient Heat Transfer In Microchannels, Phaninder Injeti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this project we studied the effect of different parameters on heat transfer in two-dimensional microchannels, microtubes and also tube-in-block heat exchangers for various engineering applications. These included the use of flow restrictions to enhance local heat or mass transfer rate, enhancement of conjugate heat transfer with discrete heating and magnetic coolers (or heaters) associated with magnetic refrigeration system. The results of this research will help in designing the heating or cooling systems and selection of their appropriate geometrical dimensions and materials for specific applications. Types of problems studied in this project are: steady state analysis of forced convection around …

Virtue And Inquiry, Knowledge And Ignorance: Lessons From The Theaetetus, Jennifer F. Ingle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plato's dialogues are set in fifth century Athens but they are performed for a fourth century audience. The context of his dialogues, then is wider perhaps than other philosophers and because of the difference in periods, it is clear that it is necessary for an audience member to possess knowledge of the events of the previous generation, viz., the fifth century BCE. When its cultural context is taken into account, the Theaetetus can not be read as an attempt by Plato to establish an epistemology in the modern sense of the term. While the characters of the dialogue are searching …

The Principal’S Role In Building Teacher Leadership Capacity In High-Performing Elementary Schools: A Qualitative Case Study, Rahim Jamal Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how public elementary school principals develop teacher leadership capacity within their schools, as well as the effect of this effort on a school's performance. After examining a variety of sources, such as journal articles and web-based search engines, the researcher determined that there was scant information explaining the process principals undergo to create teacher leadership roles in an effort to develop a high-performing school. To accomplish the goals of this study, salient reports in the field of teacher leadership were reviewed. The insights afforded from these reports guided the researcher in developing …

Service With A Smile: Antecedents And Consequences Of Emotional Labor Strategies, Hazel-Ann Michelle Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations across the United States and in many parts of the globe are increasingly focused on providing their customers with an excellent service experience by implementing organizational emotion display rules (Hochschild, 1983). These display rules dictate the requisite employee emotions for a particular encounter (Ekman, 1973). However, over the course of a work day display rules may call for expressions that contradict an employee's genuine emotions, thus prompting a discrepancy between felt emotions and required emotions -- emotional dissonance (Hochschild, 1983). Emotional labor involves employee efforts to reduce emotional dissonance in order to adhere to organizational display rules (Hochschild, 1983; …

My Lord Lackbeard: Enfranchisement And Expressions Of Beardlessness In Shakespeare’S Canon From 1594 To 1601, C R. Junkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

William Shakespeare employs a series of male characters specifically described as beardless in those plays performed from 1594 to 1601. Will Fisher argues that such characters reveal early modern conceptions of masculinity; the beard was used in conjunction with other forms of material such as dress and weaponry to construct gender. Mark Albert Johnston notes that beards performed as currencies of exchange, denoting not just masculinity but economic power as well. Rather than signifying a lack or deficiency, the hairless chin is an active participant in a deeply complex tangle of competing political, economic and religious ideologies. Shakespeare's commentary on …

The Relationship Between Technology Integration And Achievement Using Multi-Level Modeling, Tina N. Hohlfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between technology integration indicators and school level achievement. Four years of school level secondary data from publicly available databases maintained by the Florida Department of Education were combined for all public elementary, middle, and high schools in the state. This study examined approximately 2300 schools that participated each year in the Florida Innovates Survey about technology integration between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Complexity theory supported the use of multi-level modeling to examine the relationships between technology integration and outcomes. Three achievement outcomes (reading, mathematics, and writing) and two mediating behavioral …

Computer-Mediated Peer Response In A Level-Iv Esl Academic Writing Class: A Cultural Historical Activity Theoretical Perspective, Li Jin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Very few studies focus on how English as a second language (ESL) students' agency and their unique histories as an integral part of the social cultural environment influence his or her participation in computer-mediated peer response tasks, particularly in a multimedia-based synchronous communication environment. Considering each ESL student as an active agency with unique historical bearings, the dissertation investigated ESL students' participation in computer-mediated peer response (CMPR) tasks that used instant messenger (IM) as the communication technology between students from the cultural historical activity theoretical (CHAT) perspective, which views all human interaction as a dynamic developmental process. A case study …

Public Relations Practices In Puerto Rico: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Delia R. Jourde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This explorative study is a qualitative assessment of culture as a critical aspect of public relations practice in Puerto Rico. Reviewing definitions of culture, Hofstede's dimensions of cultural values, the Excellence Theory, and international case studies, this study sought to answer the following research questions: What national cultural traits have an impact on the practice of public relations in Puerto Rico? Do Puerto Rican practitioners feel their own cultural characteristics have an impact on their practice of public relations? Does the cultural diversity of Puerto Rico have an impact on public relations practice in that country? Does the country's strong …

Optimization Of Anti-Abeta Antibody Therapy, Rachel Anne Karlnoski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, a disease that gradually destroys brain cells and leads to progressive decline in mental function. The presence of high densities of neuritic plaques composed of Abeta in the cerebral cortices is a criterion for the post-mortem diagnosis of AD. The view that Abeta deposition drives the pathogenesis of AD (amyloid hypothesis) has received support from a wide range of molecular, genetic, and animal studies. This hypothesis has been the focus of therapeutic intervention leading to the development of anti-Abeta immunotherapy as a potential treatment. There is a great deal of …

The Gothic As Counter-Discourse: Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt And Toni Morrison, Hyejin, Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Revisiting the American Gothic via Julia Kristeva's theory of "the abject" demonstrates how Gothic strategies expose the historical contradictions of race in works by Mark Twain, Charles W. Chesnutt, and Toni Morrison. As theorized by Kristeva in Powers of Horror, the archaic process in which the subject attempts to constitute itself as homogeneous by casting off or "abjecting" all that cannot be assimilated to the self-same necessarily opens the way to repeated returns of the abject(ed) and the "horror" it provokes. Because the Gothic enacts the return of the abject, it was itself abjected from the literary canon until recently. …

Source Credibility And Public Information Campaigns: The Effect Of Audience Evaluations Of Organizational Sponsors On Message Acceptance, Deena G. Kemp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study establishes a link between research on organizational source credibility and the effects of public information campaigns. Research has established that source credibility is one factor audiences evaluate when responding to messages and that credible information sources enhance message acceptance, while untrustworthy sources can interfere with desired message effects. Although source credibility studies have typically focused on the person delivering a message, recent studies indicate that audience perceptions of the organization sponsoring a message has a direct effect on message acceptance as well. Additionally, a few studies indicate that non-profit sources of health information are viewed as more credible, …

Rkem Implementation For Strain Gradient Theory In Multiple Dimensions, Abhishek Kumar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Reproducing Kernel Element Method (RKEM) implementation of the Fleck-Hutchinson phenomenological strain gradient theory in 1D, 2D and 3D is implemented in this research. Fleck-Hutchinson theory fits within the framework of Touplin- Mindlin theories and deals with first order strain gradients and associated work conjugate higher-order stress. Theories at the intrinsic or material length scales find applications in size dependent phenomena. In elasticity, length scale enters the constitutive equation through the elastic strain energy function which depends on both strain as well as the gradient of rotation and stress. The displacement formulation of the Touplin Mindlin theory involve diffrential equations …

Responsibility And Practice In Notions Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Denise Kleinrichert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This treatise presents a transcendental argument for corporate social responsibility. The argument is that corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is best understood as a collective moral practice that is a precondition for sustainable business. There are a number of theories and definitions of CSR in the contemporary business literature. These theories include considerations of economic, legal, social, and environmental notions of what a corporation ought to take responsibility for based on either motives or concerns of accountability for corporate acts. This work focuses on economic theories. I analyze the distinction between the technical terms "responsibility" and "accountability" found in these …

The Effects Of Organizational Structure On Faculty Job Performance, Job Satisfaction, And Counterproductive Work Behavior, Stacey R. Kessler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational researchers focus on group level variables such as organizational climate and organizational structure. The purpose of the current meso-level study is to examine the effects of the structure of an academic department on faculty members' job performance, job satisfaction, and prevalence of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), or harmful behaviors while at work. The sample consisted of 1135 full time faculty members working in 229 academic departments throughout the United States and Canada. Results of the study suggested that faculty members working in a more organically structured department report higher levels of job satisfaction. Additionally, productive faculty members working in …

Natural And Anthropogenic Influences On Flow Patterns And Sediment Characteristics In The Dona And Roberts Bay Estuarine System, Sarasota County, Florida, Kyle W. Kelso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Dona and Roberts Bay watershed comprises one of the five major watersheds in Sarasota County, Florida. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico via Venice Inlet. Like many estuaries in the Florida, significant modifications have been made to the drainage basins, principally to the main tributaries. The system has undergone several anthropogenic modifications to enhance water management efforts. Creeks that comprise fresh water input into the system have been dammed in order to inhibit the upstream flow of salt water during the dry season. They are also deepened or lengthened to allow for better drainage. In addition, biogenic …

Crystallization Studies Of Epigallocatechin Gallate, Sheshanka Kesani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Flavonoids are a long and well known class of natural products. Their potential health benefits can be attributed to their antioxidant activity, and modulation of cell signaling pathways. Green tea one of the most widely consumed beverages, consist of flavonoids such as catechins and tannins. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) the major catechin of green tea exhibits multiple health benefits due to its antioxidant nature. The radical scavenging activity of EGCG is attributed to its structure. Therefore, a study on molecular features of EGCG would provide valuable information on structural modifications, which may change the physiochemical properties such as bioavailability and solubility. …

Adolf Reinach’S Contribution To The Early Phenomenological Movement, Kimberly Jaray

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Adolf Reinach made significant contributions to the early phenomenological movement with his work on states of affairs, the ontological categorization of the a priori, and a realist interpretation of essences, yet today his name and contributions go largely unrecognized. To make matters worse, the few who have contributed to Reinach scholarship have seriously misinterpreted central features of his thought. This thesis seeks to rectify this situation by offering an historical account of the origin and development of some of Reinach’s key notions and of their significance to the development of phenomenology in the early twentieth century. This thesis is …

“To Thine Own Self Be True”: A Narrative Analysis Of Social Group Disengagement And Associated Identity Implications, Catherine De Boer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of individuals who had voluntarily disengaged from social groups that had once been central to their self-understandings. Theoretical underpinnings of the study proceeded from the distinction made by social psychologists between personal identity, self-definitions derived from an understanding of one’s self as unique, and social identity, self-definitions derived from an understanding and identification of one’s self as a member of social groups. The overarching aims were to: 1) determine if a disengagement process exists, and if so, to discover its defining characteristics and phenomenological aspects; 2) describe the shifts …

Descartes’ Concept Of Will, Andreea Mihali

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation focuses on Descartes’ concept of will. Following the Scholastics Descartes takes the will, alongside intellect, to be the main faculty of the mind. The essence of the Cartesian mind is thinking. Most Cartesian scholars take this to mean that for Descartes the essence of the mind consists of thoughts as objects of awareness. I argue that willing is not just another type of thought on a par with conceiving, imaginging, and having sensory perceptions but that willing is as much an essential feature of the Cartesian mind as awareness. Without willing there would be no thinking; willing pertains …

The Examination Of Fixed And Multi-Tier Source Monitoring Training With Children, Sean Curtis Cameron

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current research consists of two studies examining children’s source monitoring training. As previous research (e.g., Thierry & Spence, 2002; Poole & Lindsay, 2002) on source monitoring training is somewhat inconsistent, this research examined two different types of source training with 3–8 year old children. In Study 1, 131 children across two age ranges (3–4 and 7–8 years) were given comparable source training to that completed by Thierry and Spence (2002). General results indicated that the training benefited 7–8 year olds at two delay times, but only benefited younger children that met the established criterion in training. In Study 2, …

A Comparison Of The Perceptions Of Risk And Health Between Old Order Mennonites And Mainstream Society In The Grand River Valley: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Ewa Dabrowska-Miciula

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The role of culture in the geography of health and technological hazard perception research is an important and relatively recent avenue of research. This dissertation contributes to this research by exploring cross-cultural differences in health and risk perceptions and by examining the relationship between health and place. It involves an in-depth examination of perceptions and meaning of health, as they exist in the local context. It is the first geographical research conducted with individual members of the Old Order Mennonite community considering perceptions of health, technological hazard and understandings of environmental risk.

The studied communities are situated at an agricultural/industrial …

Environmental Information Systems And Community-Based Resource Management In Ghana: An Investigation Of Institutional Policy And Implementation In Context, Abednego Ayitey Aryee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study employed a case-study approach and cross-case analysis to investigate the impact of Environmental Information Systems (EIS) and Local Knowledge Systems (LKS) on agro-forestry management and biodiversity conservation. Questionnaire-based interviews with service providers, resource managers and focus group discussions with farmers associated with the United Nations Capacity 21, the Netherlands Tropenbos International (TBI) and the United Nations Project on People Land Management and Conservation (UNPLEC), projects yielded in-depth information on agro-forestry practices in southern Ghana. The findings of the survey revealed that computer-based information systems have been used to identify areas of resource degradation. This has served as a …