Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Historical Analysis Of Post-War Moral Panics And The Construction Of Youth From 1938 To 2010, Judy L. Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past 50 years, various moral panics have emerged in response to concerns about children and teens. In particular, interest in entertainment appealing to youth has been the focus of social and legislative changes aimed at protecting youth from increased sexual and violent content associated with comic books, music lyrics, Internet content, and film and television.

The intent of this study is to compare the emergence and progression of moral panics related to entertainment appealing to youth, such as comic books, music lyrics, the Internet, and film and television, since 1938 to 2010 to better understand the ways we …

A Focus Group Study Of Baby Boomers' Processing And Interpretations Of Fear Appeals In Health Care Reform Political Advertising, Allyson Dawn Calandro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study describes the processing and interpretations of "Baby Boomers" in response to fear appeals from two health care reform political advertisements. Research suggests that scholars continue to disagree on the audience's interpretations of fear appeals, based on studies comparing different levels of fear, emotions, and interpretations by specific members of the population. However, little is known about how "Baby Boomers" interpret fear used in health care reform advertising. The method included six focus groups. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes: "Baby Boomers'" processing produced a range of emotions, they demand more facts, the fear expressed was fear …

Novel Magnetic Materials For Sensing And Cooling Applications, Anurag Chaturvedi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The overall goals of the present PhD research are to explore the giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) and giant magnetocaloric (GMC) effects in functional magnetic materials and provide guidance on the optimization of the material properties for use in advanced magnetic sensor and refrigeration applications.

GMI has attracted growing interest due to its promising applications in high-performance magnetic sensors. Research in this field is focused on the development of new materials with properties appropriate for practical GMI sensor applications. In this project, we have successfully set up a new magneto-impedance measurement system in the Functional Materials Laboratory at USF. We have established, …

Repression/Incitement: Double-Reading Vita Sackville-West's The Edwardians Through Freud And Foucault, Aimee Elizabeth Coley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vita Sackville-West's autobiographical novel The Edwardians lends itself to a double reading: both Freudian and Foucauldian. The Freudian conflict between desire and prohibition plays out in the unresolved Oedipus complex of its protagonist Sebastian, son of the Duchess of Chevron; repression drives Sebastian's behavior in all his relationships. The novel also depicts an upper-class Edwardian society incited to discourse in a Foucauldian sense--a society in which sexual gossip functions as a discourse of power. From a psychoanalytic perspective, this incitement is produced by repression, and functions as a symptom of it. The relationship between repression and incitement suggests the possibility …

Analysis Of Ahr Expression And Stability In A Recombinant Yeast Model System, Sarah Elizabeth Cuccinello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (Arnt) are well characterized bHLH-PAS transcription factors shown to regulate expression of xenobiotic metabolism genes. Extensive study has shown that upon treatment with certain aromatic hydrocarbons, mammalian cells rapidly activate the Ahr signaling pathway in order to stimulate gene expression and attempt to metabolize the xenobiotic compounds. It has been shown that after DNA-binding, the Ahr but not the Arnt protein, is quickly eliminated from the nuclear compartment thereby attenuating the dose of gene regulation administered by the Ahr*Arnt transcription factor complex. Previous studies have implicated involvement of …

Microbial Landscapes Of Corals And Ctenophores, Camille Arian Daniels

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technology and engineering allow mankind to survey nature at finer scales, the importance of bacteria has been elucidated in their metabolic diversity, ability to transfer genetic information, involvement in biogeochemical cycling, and sheer abundance. With an individual domain of life unto themselves, this diverse group of microorganisms plays an integral role in facilitating life on land and in the oceans, and is second only to viruses in abundance on Earth. They carve niches in a wide range of environments, including those inhospitable to other life forms, and reside in concert or to the detriment of other microbes and/or hosts …

The Hero Soldier: Portrayals Of Soldiers In War Films, Gavin Davie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The mythos of the hero has existed within the stories of humanity for as long as we can remember. Within the last hundred years film has become one of the dominant storytelling media of our culture and numerous films, especially war films, about heroes and their inspirational actions have been made. This study focuses on war films and the hero soldiers and their actions portrayed in those films. It uses a narrative analysis of five war films to accomplish this. The findings suggest that the hero soldier has become more human and fallible over time and that heroes are a …

The Dirt On Prehispanic Water Management At Palmarejo, Honduras, Zaida Darley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water is an essential resource for human life. Even in the tropical environment of the Maya Lowlands, water scarcity is a concern, because the region cycles between abundant rainfall and seasonal droughts. To understand how societies flourished during periods of water scarcity, archaeologists have studied prehispanic water management in the Maya Lowlands. Yet, water management research has tended to focus predominantly on large urban Maya populations, excluding smaller-scale societies that face the same challenges associated with water scarcity. This study investigates the neighboring non-Maya society of Late Classic (A.D.650-900) Palmarejo in northwestern Honduras to explore how water management was organized …

Adolescence Is An Ocean: A Biocultural Investigation Of Youth Food Consumption In Tanzania, Elizabeth J. Danforth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates adolescents' relationships with food and other community and household members' perceptions of youth and their food consumption to understand the multifactorial dynamic processes which create nutritional outcomes among urban and rural youth in central Tanzania. Youth are an important and demographically large population in developing countries. The identities created during this distinct stage of cultural production can be reflected in youths' food consumption and relationships with food. Nutrition likely affects how youth transition through a variety of states, including their growth and development stages, primary to secondary to higher education, child to parent, or unemployed to employed. …

Development Of A Non-Invasive Electrode For Intradermal Electrically Mediated Dna Vaccination, Amy Lynn Donate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current progress in the development of vaccines has decreased the incidence of fatal and non-fatal infections and increased longevity. However, new technologies need to be developed to combat an emerging generation of infectious diseases. DNA vaccination has been demonstrated to have great potential for use against a wide variety of diseases. Alone, this vaccine technology does not generate a significant immune response for vaccination, but combined with delivery by electroporation (EP), can enhance plasmid expression and immunity against the expressed antigen. Most EP systems, while effective, can be invasive and painful making them less desirable for use in vaccination. Our …

The Tyranny Of Plot: Anzia Yezierska's Struggle To Free The Voices Of Her Community Through The Autobiographical Self, Kristie Kelly Dowling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the very different ways that both the novel and autobiography mediate individual and group identities by comparing Anzia Yezierska's novel Salome of the Tenements to her autobiography Red Ribbon on a White Horse. Yezierska's texts establish the inherent difference between the novel and autobiography in that her novels contribute to the dominant ideology by colluding with the capitalist narrative of individualism while her autobiography resists that very narrative. In calling forth the multiple voices of her community, her autobiography reveals, in a series of metatextual comments, the fictional nature of the self and autobiography. Comparing these …

Postnatal Dental Mineralization: A Comparative Analysis Of Dental Development Among Contemporary Populations Of The Southeastern United States, Meryle Akeara Dotson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the strong genetic component of dental development, research has shown that mineralization patterns of the human dentition are relatively buffered against environmental influences that normally affect bone growth and development. It is because of this resistance to environmental factors and the continuous growth of the permanent dentition throughout childhood and adolescence that the evaluation of dental development patterns has become the preferred method of age estimation in living and deceased children.

Researchers (Harris and Mckee 1990; Tompkins 1996; Blankenship et al. 2007; Kasper et al. 2009) have suggested that the timing of dental development varies by …

Elections And Tensions And Constitutions! Oh, My! A Process-Oriented Analysis Of Bolivian Democratization From 1993 To 2009, Laurel Kristin Dwyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many Latin American countries which underwent democratic regime transformations within the last thirst years have seemingly stalled. Unable to meet the demands of their citizens, which grow increasingly restless and confrontational, they have become subjected to a series of economic and political crises. Contemporary democratic theorists are at a loss to explain why this region has failed to deepen over time. The purpose of this paper is threefold: it questions the analytic utility of contemporary liberal and representative models, it argues for the inclusion of an alternative process-oriented model provided by Charles Tilly (2007), and tests this model through a …

Real Options Methodology In Sportswear Retail Investment Valuation, Hairong Karen Gui

Dissertations and Theses

The net present value (NPV) approach has been widely accepted by corporate practitioners and academics as the principle tool for evaluating the feasibility of corporate financial investment opportunities. It conceptually provides an estimate in present value terms of a proposed investment's incremental contribution to the firm, enabling the company to pursue its goal of value maximization with more assurance. NPV uses a discount rate that in theory captures market risks. In the stable growth or mature industries, NPV works well. However, in high investment/high risk-return (HI/HRR) industries, where the investment environment is often profiled as highly uncertain with high returns, …

A Strategic Approach For Managing Conflict In Hospitals: Responding To The Joint Commission Leadership Standard, Part 1, Debra Gerardi, Charity Scott

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Strategic Approach For Managing Conflict In Hospitals: Responding To The Joint Commission Leadership Standard, Part 2, Debra Gerardi, Charity Scott

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Same Skills, Different Genres: The Importance Of Encouraging More Creative Writing In The First-Year Composition Classroom As A Means Of Fostering Student Learning And Understanding, Sarah Delaney Ben-Zvi

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

After examining several books and articles that explore the links between creative writing and composition, it is evident that many authors and theorists support bridging the two and encouraging teachers to introduce the construction of creative pieces into the composition classroom. However, most of the articles delve into this topic in a theoretical sense, and address issues such as finding one's voice through the personal narrative and other creative nonfiction pieces. This project addresses how specific elements of craft involved in fiction writing and creative nonfiction writing would likely enhance composition skills, especially in regards to rhetorical choices, considering aspects …

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf In The Community College Classroom?, Kaylee Suzanne Baucom

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This unbound project investigates the place and purpose of twentieth-century British modernist writer Virginia Woolf in the community college classroom as well as the fear associated with this author at this level. Using critical interpretations of Woolfs life, influence and work, as well as critical articles detailing instructor experiences teaching Woolfs work, this project aims to situate Virginia Woolf within the community college classroom, analyze the various fears associated with Woolf's personal life and unconventional works, and uncover the instructional and learning challenges associated with this author. This project also argues that Woolf should be taught at the community college …

Visual Rhetoric In English Composition, Caroline Nilsson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Much discussion of visual rhetoric in the discipline of English composition revolves around the use of electronic media. This unbound project, through the use of reviews of scholarly research and publicly available data, examines the usually overlooked visual rhetoric inherent to compositions produced on paper, how it has been affected by technological changes and cultural shifts, and how it provides an entry point for the inclusion of visual literacy in the composition classroom.

Responding To Narratives Of Sexualized Violence In The College Composition Classroom, Tessa M. Pitré

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project examines the multiple challenges inherent in instructor response to narratives of sexualized violence within the college composition classroom. Rape, as well as other forms of sexualized violence, on university campuses is an endemic problem that affects the lives and safety of those who belong to these communities. This project considers, the multiple ways in which narratives of survival or experience of rape and other forms of sexualized violence enter the composition classroom. Drawing from the fields of trauma studies and feminist pedagogy, this paper suggests that there is an institutional failure to talk about sexualized violence in ways …

Changing The Way We Think In The Ecocomposition Class: A Move Toward A Sustainable Human Future, Mary Sue Prangley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Western culture is limited by a Cartesian-Newtonian way of thinking, the sense of self as separate from the rest of the world. This mindset prohibits our perception of the interrelatedness of ourselves and the world and, thereby, frustrates efforts to create a "sustainable human future." Ecocompositionists seek to counter this Western propensity. Despite their efforts, however, students may still come out of ecocomposition classes harboring the same notions of themselves as separate from the rest of the world, retaining their conceptions of themselves as somehow removed from the environmental crises we face today. This project analyzes the scholarship on certain …

Academic Libraries In Nigeria In The 21st Century, Bappah Magaji Abubakar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Academic libraries in Nigeria must meet the demands the 21st century. The world is witnessing a revolution as a result of developments in ICTs that has permeated all sectors. This paper discusses the paradigm shift in academic library services. It also analyzes academic libraries situation in Nigeria within the context of inadequate funding. If academic libraries in Nigeria are to measure up to expectations in the 21st century, they must develop coping strategies to overcome some of the major challenges.

Icts And Information Needs Of Rural Female Farmers In Delta State, Nigeria, Edwin I. Achugbue, Sylvester O. Anie

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Female farmers in Delta State play an important role in crop production, poultry farming, and socioeconomic development of the communities. This research work investigates ICTs and information needs of rural female farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. It also ascertains the level of their ICT-compliance in the management of agricultural information for increased productivity. The paper uses descriptive survey method to determine the information needs of rural female farmers and the impact of ICTs on rural female farmers. It was discovered that female farmers in Delta State, Nigeria, are very keen to know more about treatments of animals, application of fertilizers, …

Recognition Of Library Terms And Concepts By Undergraduate Students, Lydia Ola Adedibu, Isaac Olugbenga Ajala

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated the recognition of library terms and concepts used by undergraduate students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology students, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. 2,039 questionnaires were analysed. Four hypotheses were tested using Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study revealed that the variables; age, gender, use of library, visitation to library, educational level, and familiarity with library before admission into the university were all significantly positive (P<0.01) thus influencing the extent of awareness of the respondents to the library terms, and concepts. Various recommendations such as librarians to always try to define terms, concepts, and jargon used for the first time, request for feedbacks from students either monthly, quarterly or bi-annually, and try to make access and retrieval of library resources more efficient and user friendly by using the language that users understand.

Work-Related Stress Among Librarians And Information Professionals In A Nigerian University, Emmanuel Babatunde Ajala

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Workers all over the world face stress. A Nigerian worker has many stress factors in the workplace. Life expectancy is dropping in an alarming rate, from 51.56 to 47.44, between the years 2000 and 2007. The library and information professions have become high stress. An anthropological approach was adopted to look at stress among librarians in the University of Ibadan Library System in Nigeria, using group and individual interviews as a data collection instrument. There were no significant differences between male and the female workers in their perception if workplace stress. Factors of stress in the library include work environment, …

Indispensability Of Library Services To All Professions, C. O. Ajidahun

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Delivered at the Annual Lecture organised by the Nigerian Library Association, Ekiti State Chapter on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at the Conference Hall, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti.

Computer And Internet Facilities Use In Distance Education: A Survey Of Sandwich Students Of University Of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, Samson Oyeniyi Akande

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Education is an agent of transformation and change. Many people who cannot afford traditional educational delivery have opted for distance education.Distance education emphasizes electronic communications and use of ICT facilities, but few studies have been conducted to investigate the level of use of computer and Internet facilities by sandwich students in Nigerian universities. "Sandwich students" take an extra year to complete their degrees. The extra year is spent gaining relevant work experience.This study investigates the extent to which the sandwich students make use of computer and Internet facilities for their programme using the University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, as a case …

Information Needs Of Policy Makers In Nigeria: The Case Of Imo State Civil Service, Emmanuel U. Anyanwu, Enyinna Zander, Desmond Oparaku

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A questionnaire was used to conduct a study of the information needs of policy makers/senior civil servants in Imo State Nigeria. Work activities and information needs of the policymakers were identified and resources of government libraries were evaluated. It was discovered that the government libraries are not adequate in all aspects. They are underfunded. The sources of information and factors affecting access to information needs were identified. Recommendations include the implementation of Information and Communication Technology.

Information Seeking Behaviours Of Rural Women In Malaysia, Ahmad Bakeri Abu Bakar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examines the information needs and seeking behaviours of women in a rural setting of Malaysia The aim of the study is to identify the information needs of women, and to determine the information sources used by women in a rural village, to determine their information seeking behaviours and to identify any accessbarriers to those sources of information. A sample was selected and given a questionnaire. The return rate was 64 percent. The study revealed that respondents were concerned with information related to food and child education. When seeking information on food and child education, respondents used family or …

Use Of Newspapers By Students Of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria, O. M. Bankole, S. O. Babalola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigates the relative importance of newspaper information, purposes for consultation, types of information sought, the extent and satisfaction derived from the use of library newspaper services, and problems that might constrain students from visiting the newspaper sections of Olabisi Onabanjo University library, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria. A survey research design and interviews were used for data collection. A self-administered questionnaire was given to 456 who had used the library newspaper services in the past, of which 92.1% were found usable. The students ranked newspaper information as their third most important source of overall daily information. The respondents …