Digital Commons Network^™

Internationalizing General Education From Within: Raising The Visibility Of Heritage Language Students In The Classroom, Evguenia Davidova

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article analyzes the findings of a pilot project conducted in 2008–2009 as a partnership between University Studies, Portland State University’s interdisciplinary general education program, and the University’s Russian Flagship Language Partner Program. The project proposes a new approach of integrating non-English speakers’ language skills, culture, and life experiences into classroom activities of general education courses. By engaging the students as facilitators in the exploration of their own cultures and languages, the project offers a model of enriching collaborative student teaching and learning that could be applied to various interdisciplinary courses.

Re-Interpreting The Past: Shifting Perspectives From A Commercial Archival Fond In The Bulgarian Historical Archive, Evguenia Davidova

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article offers a historiographical interpretation of an exceptionally rich personal archive; namely, fond Number 6: “Tŭrgovska kŭshta [Commercial Company] ‘Khristo P. Tŭpchileshtov’”, kept in Bŭlgarski istoricheski arkhiv (Bulgarian Historical Archive), Narodna Biblioteka (National Library) “Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodiĭ” in Sofia. The analysis is organized around three issues: the biography of the archive’s founder; the acquisition of the archive by the National Library; and the ways the archival material has been interpreted in the Bulgarian historiography. More specifically, I am discussing the ideological motivation behind the arrangement of the documents and their multiple uses in the historical studies during …

Structuring Expert Input For A Knowledge-Based Approach To Watershed Condition Assessment For The Northwest Forest Plan, Usa, Sean N. Gordon, Kirsten Gallo

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Assessments of watershed condition for aquatic and riparian species often have to rely on expert opinion because of the complexity of establishing statistical relationships among the many factors involved. Such expert-based assessments can be difficult to document and apply consistently over time and space. We describe and reflect on the process of developing a computer-based decision support application from expert judgments for assessing aquatic and riparian conditions over the 100,000 km2 managed by the US federal government under the Northwest Forest Plan. The decision support system helped structure and document the assessment process and provided consistency and transparency to the …

Application Of Swat For Impact Analysis Of Subsurface Drainage On Streamflows In A Snow Dominated Watershed, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman

Agribusiness and Biosystems Engineering

The wet weather pattern since the early 1990's has created two problems for the people living in the Red River Valley (RRV): (1) wet field conditions for farmers and (2) more frequent major spring floods in the Red River system. Farmers in the region are increasingly adopting subsurface drainage practice to remove excess water from their fields to mitigate the first problem. However, it is not clear whether subsurface drainage will deteriorate or mitigate the spring flood situation, the second problem. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied to evaluate the impacts of tile drainage on the …

Towards A New Ethnicity: Canada’S Western Plains First Nations, John W. Friesen

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Although social scientists have for a long time refrained from employing the term "ethnic" when describing First Nations cultures, recent developments in those communities have necessitated a second look at this practice. If the ethnic designation is applicable to any group of people typically related through common filiation, or blood, and whose members also usually feel a sense of attachment to a particular place, a history, and a culture (including a common language, food, and clothing), then Canada’s First Peoples may also be considered ethnic. The educational implications of this reality are that the needs of Indigenous students are more …

“I Feel Fairly Confident…”: Investigating Literacy Candidates’ Self Confidence Through An On-Line Standards-Based Survey, Sharryn Larsen Walker, Janet Finke, Carol Butterfield, Judy Backlund

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article presents the perceived self-confidence of teacher education candidates who were pursing certification in elementary education or elementary education with an endorsement in reading. Using the state standards toward a reading endorsement as the basis for the statements, each candidate completed an on-line common core survey stating her/his confidence in teaching to the standard. To further support her/his selfrating, these candidates also added comments for each of the six common core standard areas. Results indicated that those pursing an endorsement in reading viewed themselves as more confident than those who were not. Additionally, the data provided strengths and weaknesses …

Using A Smartboard Smartly: Considering Digital Tools For Interaction, Collaboration And Storytelling, Susan Crichton, Jennifer Mccaffrey, Barb Brown

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper shares a book project completed in an urban Grade 1 school. While the project itself is not unique, the authentic use of multiple technologies to support the process to develop it is. The terms interaction, collaboration, and student ownership are often used to describe inquiry-based teaching and learning, and the project described here illustrates what they might mean in actual practice. Further, this paper situates the book project within the literature of Information, Communication Technology (ICT) and arts based instruction, providing an example of classroom-based technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

Literacy And Hazard Communication Comprehension Of Employees Presenting To An Occupational Health Clinic, Christine Bouchard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than 100 million American workers, 7 million workplaces, and 945,000 hazardous chemical products are covered under the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There were a total of 1,183,500 recordable non-fatal illnesses and injuries in private industry workplaces in 2006 resulting in days away from work. Of these, 19,480 were due to chemicals and chemical products. In addition, there were a total of 5,703 work-related fatalities in 2006. In 191 of these, chemicals and chemical products were listed as the primary source of injury and as the secondary source of injury in 104 …

Making Meaning With "Readers" And "Texts": A Narrative Inquiry Into Two Beginning English Teachers' Meaning Making From Classroom Events, Christi Underwood Edge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Situated in a transactional paradigm, connections between the constructs of meaning and experience in both teacher education and reading in English education guided my construction of a theoretical framework called Classroom Literacy. This framework extends Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory of Reading (1978, 1994, 2005), broadens the concept of text to include the verbal and non-verbal communicative signs related to the context of the classroom, and positions teachers as "readers" of their classrooms as texts. The Classroom Literacy theoretical framework guided my thinking as I re-conceptualized three persistent problems in learning to teach (Hammerness, Darling-Hammond, Bransford, Berliner, Cochran-Smith, McDonald, & Zeichner, 2005)--an …

The Relationship Between American Media Exposure And Trinidadian Female Adolescents' Body Image Satisfaction, Clarabelle Ferguson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have examined the development of body image among people, especially girls and young women. Many factors have been associated with the development of body image dissatisfaction. Especially important are exposure to mass media and its relationship with three theoretical constructs: Awareness of a thin ideal, internalization of a thin ideal, and perceived pressures to be thin. Extending existing research, this study examined through experimentation the relationships among exposure to American media content and the awareness and internalization of the American norms and expectations for thinness, pressures to adopt these norms, and Trinidadian female adolescents' body image satisfaction. Based …

Cyber-Bullying In High School: Associated Individual And Contextual Factors Of Involvement, Marissa Alexis Feldman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past several decades, researchers have extensively investigated the impact of bullying on the nation's youth. Although we may now have a better understanding of these maladaptive behaviors, recent technological advances have created a new forum for bullying. The current study investigated adolescent experiences with cyber-bullying using a self-report survey. Youth (N=2,086) from five high schools (grades 9-12) were surveyed to identify individual, peer, parenting, and school factors hypothesized to be related to involvement in cyber-bullying as a victim, perpetrator, or both. Results indicated that cyber-involvement was related to a variety of psychosocial factors, with students who were both …

The Development Of The Personal Strengths Intervention (Psi) To Improve Self-Determination And Social-Emotional Levels In Postsecondary Students With Learning Disabilities And/Or Adhd: A Multiple Baseline Study, Jennie L. Farmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience decreased academic and social-emotional outcomes when compared to their peers without disabilities. Self-determination, positive psychology, and cognitive theories of learning offer suggestions for improving these outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop The Personal Strengths Intervention (PSI) and investigate its impact on levels of self-determination and the social-emotional functioning of postsecondary students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. PSI integrates key elements of self-determination, positive psychology, and cognitive theories. ADHDA multiple baseline design with seven participants was used to examine the intervention effects over time. Results indicate PSI …

Navigating The Child Welfare System: An Exploratory Study Of Families' Experiences, Lianne Fuino Estefan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing up in a family environment that includes child maltreatment can result in an array of negative consequences for children, including health, behavioral, developmental, and social difficulties, and these consequences can persist over the lifetime. Families who have come to the attention of child welfare services for child maltreatment are at particularly high risk for experiencing multiple concurrent problems, including intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues, as well as other family challenges. It is essential to intervene effectively with this population. However, there are few qualitative studies of parent experiences in the child welfare system through which …

Secondary Principals At The Center Of School Reform: Portraits Of Leadership, Daniel James Evans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of studies related to school reform and principal leadership styles confirms both the interest in how the two might be related and the enigma that schools and principals present as research topics. The art and science of school reform is hard to figure. While many studies attempt to make sense of an overlapping and competing set of variables that are found in good schools, nearly all studies have confirmed some support for principals as a key ingredient to school improvement.

This study seeks to add to the increasing amount of research related to principal leadership styles in an …

Mentoring Experiences Among Female Public Relations Entrepreneurs: A Qualitative Investigation, Sabina Gaggioli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study expands from current mentoring literature within the mass communication field in understanding how mentoring can contribute to the successful careers of public relations entrepreneurial women. While many scholars indicate that mentoring is effective for women, the present study describes how mentoring has affected the women participants' public relations careers and personal lives. In-depth interviews focused on following five research questions: What have been the key contributing factors in the success of public relations women entrepreneurs? How has mentoring helped the women participants achieve their goals in a public relations career and in starting their own company? Which …

A Meta-Analysis Of Cultural Competence Education In Professional Nurses And Nursing Students, Ruth Wilmer Gallagher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence learning interventions have been suggested to positively improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in both professional nurses and nursing students. A meta-analysis was used to examine the effectiveness of learning interventions designed to increase the cultural competence in professional nurses and nursing students. This is the first known meta-analysis of studies on cultural competence learning interventions in professional nurses and nursing students.

The meta-analysis was done using 13 research studies on cultural competence educational interventions from 1999 to 2010 that were published peer-reviewed literature found in electronic databases. Analyses were computed using a fixed-effect model and effect size data …

Hiv Education For Youth In Transition To Adulthood, Peter Eugene Gamache

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the role of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) stigma in program implementation. A case study design comprising qualitative methods provided in-depth, context-sensitive comparisons of adult educator (n = 8) and youth (n = 67) perspectives among programs that provide HIV services and those that provide risk reduction services. Nearly half of the youth participants were male, 42% were female, and 6% identified as transgender. Two thirds of participants were Black or African American, one quarter of participants were Hispanic or Latino, and the average participant age was 19. Although program personnel from all youth service programs in this …

A Reflective Exploration Of A Multiyear Elementary School Learning Community Experience, Susan Jean Ganley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study reports a reflection upon the experience of a multiyear elementary school learning community designed for improved teaching and learning. The exploration uses interview data to describe the perceptions and reflections of the principal and teachers directly engaged in this project of educational reform. The goal of this process is to gain a deeper understanding of the experience and to determine to what factors the participants attribute the outcomes of this project.

Through an auto-ethnographic reflective critical practice inquiry and extended interviews, this study describes the context and environment of this learning community and how the participants reflect on …

Kujichagalia! Self-Determination In Young African American Women With Disabilities During The Transition Process, La Tonya L. Gillis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role that self-determination played in the transition process for young African American women with disabilities who exited high school with a special diploma and participated in a local transition program. Factors under study included the young women's autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization (Wehmeyer, 1996).

This examination of the perceptions of the transition process of young African American women with disabilities involved in-depth interviews with five young women and their parent or guardian. Additionally, The Arc's Self-Determination Scale (ASDS) and the Parent Self-Determination Practice Survey (PSDPS) were administered to determine the …

"The Wound And The Voiceless: The Insidious Trauma Of Father-Daughter Incest In Six American Texts", Christine Lynn Grogan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cathy Caruth's pioneering study of trauma and the posttraumatic forges a connection between the psychoanalytic theory of traumatic experience and the literary as such. Since trauma defies linguistic processing, she explains, the language used to describe it will always be figural. For this reason Caruth privileges imaginative literature, with its highly mediated nature, as a means of representing the otherwise "unclaimed" experience of trauma. Her influential reflections inform a crucial direction within trauma studies: the search for a narrative voice that articulates trauma effectively.

But how should we think about trauma that is not a singular "event" but a chronic …

The Mediating Role Of Social Support And Fulfillment Of Spiritual Needs In End Of Life Care, Kimberley A. Gryglewicz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

End of life (EOL) caregiving can be a daunting and challenging endeavor as caregivers adjust to the ever-changing care demands associated with dying. Increased personal care, assisting with symptom and medication management, and attending to the emotional and spiritual needs of the dying person require caregivers to learn new tasks and to assume new roles such as social worker, nurse, and chaplain. As families continue to play an essential role in meeting the health care needs of their dying loved ones, it is imperative for social workers to understand the complexities of the end of life caregiving experience in order …

Internships In Public Relations And Advertising: The Nature Of The Experience From The Student's Perspective, Catherine Ann Gugerty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative content analysis examines the nature of experience of public relations and advertising interns. Three decades of scholarly inquiry into the internship experience has provided little insight into the actual experience of the interns themselves. Yet what is learned directly from their individual experience can provide both educators and professionals valuable insight for enhancing the learning process. The following study is a qualitative content analysis of journals and focus groups of undergraduates enrolled in public relations and advertising internships/practicums. The interns' experience follows four themes: (1) the perception of importance; (2) perceived learning benefits; (3) influence of supervisors; and …

Evaluating Lethal And Sub-Lethal Effects Of Catch-And-Release Angling In Florida's Central Gulf Coast Recreational Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops Atlanticus) Fishery, Kathryn Yvonne Guindon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atlantic tarpon are sought after because of their fighting ability on various tackle and support a popular, lucrative and predominantly catch-and-release recreational fishery in Florida. They are not commercially harvested or consumed by the general public, therefore assessing effects of catch-and-release angling on tarpon survival is critical to a sustainable fishery. Tarpon caught on artificial breakaway jig and traditional live bait fishing charters in Boca Grande Pass (n=42) and trips from the recreational fishery of Tampa Bay (n=40) were tagged with ultrasonic transmitters and tracked up to 6 hours immediately following release to estimate post-release mortality. Of the 82 tagged …

Self-Directed Learning Characteristics Of First-Generation, First-Year College Students Participating In A Summer Bridge Program, Jeffrey Drummond Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to advance understanding of self-directed learning characteristics of first-year, first-generation college students participating in a summer bridge program. Understanding the experience of these students in higher education can lead to the development of programmatic and pedagogical strategies to better meet the needs of this at-risk student population.

This study was conducted at the University of South Florida (USF), a large, public research university in Tampa. Participants were recruited from the Freshman Summer Institute (FSI), a summer bridge program for first-generation students at USF.

Theoretical frameworks from higher education and adult education literature merged to …

Using Multi-Paradigmatic Interventions: Gauging The Possibilities Of Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Within A Response To Intervention Framework, Vanessa Hein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There exists a highly charged debate about whether or not the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) model works alone in lowering the rate of special education referrals for students in an inclusive learning environment. This study seeks to explore the incorporation of a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) into the PS/RtI framework, with the assumption that it would assist teachers with PS/RtI implementation as well as enhance their classroom learning environment. Interviews with PS/RtI coaches and elementary school teachers implementing PS/RtI are coded using inductive and deductive strategies, using salient factors of both CRP and PS/RtI as indicators for a comparative …

Framing And The End Of Operation Iraqi Freedom, James Robert Hickman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative framing study is to analyze the dominant frames that were reflected in the news coverage of two separate Presidential speeches marking the proposed cessation of combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In order to determine which frames emerged in the coverage of each speech, a content analysis of 105 articles from 4 national newspapers was conducted. Analysis included the week preceding and the week following each speech in an effort to capture the immediate coverage surrounding each address. The findings suggest that the dominate frames utilized were the economic consequences frame, the responsibility frame and …

Book Review. Louis D. Brandeis And The Making Of Regulated Competition, 1900-1932 By Gerald Berk, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Collaboration Strategies In Non-Traditional Cbpr Partnerships: Lessons From An Academic-Community Partnership With Autistic Self-Advocates, Christina Nicolaidis, Dora Raymaker, Katherine Mcdonald, Sebastian Dern, Elesia Ashkenazy, Cody Boisclair, Scott Robertson, Amelia E.V. Baggs

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Most community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects involve local communities defined by race, ethnicity, geography, or occupation. Autistic self-advocates, a geographically dispersed community defined by disability, experience issues in research similar to those expressed by more traditional minorities.

Objectives: We sought to build an academic-community partnership that uses CBPR to improve the lives of people on the autistic spectrum.

Methods: The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) includes representatives from academic, self-advocate, family, and professional communities. We are currently conducting several studies about the health care experiences and well-being of autistic adults.

Lessons Learned: We have learned …

Work-Life Integration Issues For Parents Raising Children With Adhd. Community, Work And Family, Eileen M. Brennan, Judy Kendall, Gail M. Houck, Michael Charles Leo

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at Community, Work and Family: IV International Conference Actors, Structures, and Theories. Tampere, Finland, May 2011.

Building Layers Of Support At Kpmg Llp: Training Human Resource Professionals For Collaborative Conversations, Eileen M. Brennan, Barbara C. Wankoff, Julie M. Rosenzweig

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

When an employed parent is raising a child with mental health difficulties, there are times when reaching out for support at the workplace is essential. At crisis points when family members must leave work to arrange for immediate mental health assistance and at times when special child care arrangements break down or when children or young people have difficulty at school or in the community, workplace support can be a life saver. KPMG LLP and Portland State University partnered to develop and test a new training program to prepare human resource (HR) professionals to confidently provide workplace supports for the …