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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 …

Design And Testing Of A Motion Controlled Gait Enhancing Mobile Shoe (Gems) For Rehabilitation, Ismet Handzic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persons suffering central nervous system damage, such as a stroke, coma patients, or individuals that have suffered damage to the spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, and motor cortex, sometimes develop an asymmetric walking pattern where one leg does not fully swing backward. This uneven gait hinders these individuals in properly and efficiently moving through everyday life.

Previous research in humans and various animals has introduced a split belt treadmill to analyze possible rehabilitation, which can recreate a correct gait pattern by altering the speed of each track. Gait adaptation was achieved by having the split belt treadmill move each leg at …

Statistical Analysis And Mechanistic Modeling Of Water Quality: Hillsborough Bay, Florida, Keith Hackett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient pollution has been identified as a significant threat to U.S. coastal and estuarine water quality. Though coastal and estuarine waters need nutrients to maintain a healthy, productive ecosystem, excess nutrients can lead to eutrophication. There are significant potential negative consequences associated with eutrophication, including loss of habitat, loss of economic activity, and direct threats to human health. Hillsborough Bay experienced eutrophication in the 1960s and 1970s due to a rapidly growing population and associated increases in nutrient pollution. These eutrophic conditions led to more frequent phytoplankton and macroalgae blooms and declines in seagrasses. To address these problems, a series …

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 …

Physical Models Of Amyloid Fibril Assembly, Shannon Elizabeth Hill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Formation of large fibers and plaques by amyloid proteins is recognized as the molecular hallmark of an increasing number of human disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and even type II diabetes. The broader objective of my research is to unravel the basic mechanisms that initiate and regulate fibril formation by amyloidogenic proteins. This objective is significant because even basic aspects of how fibril formation proceeds from a soluble, monomeric protein to an insoluble amyloid fibril remain much debated. Furthermore, there is increasingly strong evidence suggesting that intermediates of the aggregation process, with properties distinct from those of mature fibrils, …

Park Access And Distributional Inequities In Pinellas County, Florida, Kyle Ray Hirvela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although environmental justice research has traditionally focused on environmental disamenities and health hazards, recent studies have begun to examine social inequities in the distribution of urban amenities such as street trees and parks that provide several direct and indirect health benefits to local residents. This thesis adds to this knowledge by evaluating distributional inequities in both distribution and access to parks in Pinellas County, the most densely populated and one of the most racially segregated counties in Florida. An important objective was to determine if neighborhoods with lower levels of park access are more likely to contain a significantly higher …

Utilizing A Computational Model For The Design Of A Passive Dynamic Walker, Craig Alan Honeycutt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent interest in using passive dynamic walkers (PDWs) for gait rehabilitation studies has presented a need for a robust, easily built mechanism. Unfortunately, these passive robots are hypersensitive to many variables outside of the usual design considerations that are studied when constructing them. By accentuating previous failures instead of suppressing them, this thesis presents a number of problematic situations commonly experienced when testing and tuning a PDW.

Further, through a complete design of a 4-legged PDW with knees, simple design axioms brought about by myself and others are put into a practical context and applied directly to design. This thesis …

From Source To Sink: An Isotopic Perspective On The Biogeochemical Relationship Between The Everglades And Florida Bay, Ana Maria Hoare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing human populations and activities in coastal areas have led to high nutrient loading and estuarine ecosystem decline. Natural hydrological patterns in South Florida have been drastically altered by changes in water management and land use practices. As a result Florida Bay has experienced a series of negative ecosystem effects including hypersalinity events, degradation of water quality, and harmful algal blooms and declines in upper trophic level populations. To remediate ecosystem decline in Florida's coastal ecosystems, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan proposes to restore a more natural hydrologic flow in the Everglades. It is expected hydrologic restoration efforts will change …

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.

University Studies Annual Assessment 2010-2011, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

Annual in-depth examination and assessment of Portland State University's general education model, the University Studies Program. The tools and methods used to assess student learning are faculty driven and developed.

Introduction, Ananta Sukla

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.

Aura, Self, And Aesthetic Experience, Marshall Battani

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Aesthetic experiences are generated in encounters with cultural objects and such experiences are marked by the free play of cognitive and numinous experience unstructured by concepts. Kant’s famous three types of pleasure, made infamous in social theory by Pierre Bourdieu, are examined in relation to the critical theoretical concept of aura, the social psychology of “flow,” and cognitive explanations of perception to explain experience in aesthetic fields. Theories of aesthetic experience developed at the crossroad of critical social thought and cognitive science hold promise for a social analysis able to avoid the usual sociological pitfalls of either ignoring aesthetics or …

Investigating Technological Organization At The Buck Lake Site (45pi438) In Mount Rainier National Park Using A Lithic Debitage Analysis, Michael Charles Schurke

Dissertations and Theses

Few lithic analyses have been conducted or published on collections from Mount Rainier National Park (MORA). This study's lithic debitage analysis, and investigation of hunter-gatherer technological organization through time, contributes to the knowledge base and understanding of how hunter-gatherers used subalpine environments in MORA. The debitage sample is from archaeological excavations between 2005 and 2007 at a Buck Lake Site (45PI438) activity area in the subalpine environmental zone. Two cultural components were examined: the pre-Mount St. Helens Yn tephra component (before 3500 RCYBP) is thought to represent a forager-like mobility strategy and the post-Mount St. Helens Yn tephra component (after …

Deforestation, Drought And Humans: New Discoveries Of The Late Quaternary Paleoenvironment Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Candace Lynn Gossen

Dissertations and Theses

The mystery of the trees of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a complex problem within a dynamic ecosystem. With new physical cores from the volcanic crater lake Rano Kao, this dissertation uncovers a detailed 15,000 year ecological history of Easter Island and its climatic variability. New radiocarbon dating methods establish a more precise chronology which shows that the island before human habitation was very different than what we know today. It had a simple but prolific ecology that transitioned into a barren grassland. What factors caused the transition are unclear but are likely to be human related. As the forests …

Informal Karst Education In The United States And Internationally, Leslie A. North

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the abundance of karst terrains and the important role they play in a wide variety of roles including supplying freshwater drinking supplies, no single, comprehensive study investigates the role of informal education for the improved understanding and protection of the terrains. Commonly overlooked anthropogenic karst disturbances partially occur because of the poor dissemination of scientific information to the general populace and policymakers and budgetary and time constraints of municipalities, thus generating a need to use informal education to fill these shortcomings. The purpose of this study was to: 1) establish the status of and quantify the amount of karst-related …

Middle School Physical Education Programs: A Comparison Of Moderate To Vigorous Physical Activity In Sports Game Play, Marcia Ann Patience

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is believed that Flag Rugby may produce physical activity (PA) in middle school students that is more vigorous than other sports. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of different sports on physical activity in middle school students. METHODS: 101 (55 M; 46 F, ages 11-14, grades 6-8 ) middle schoolers were randomly selected to participate in three different sports on three separate days during their regular scheduled PE class. The participants engaged in flag football on day one, basketball on day two and flag rugby on day three of the research study. These days were not consecutive. All physiological-related variables …

An Examination Of Demographic Variables And Their Relationships With Perceived Stress Among Caregivers Beginning A Parent Training Program, Amy Heath Patenaude

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how levels of stress among caregivers beginning a behavioral parent training program are related to caregiver and child variables. Research questions were answered using archival data collected from 474 caregivers who participated in HOT DOCS, a behavioral parent training program, between January 2009 through July 2010. The three objectives of the study were to (a) examine caregivers' perceived stress in relation to caregiver demographic variables (i.e., gender, marital status, level of education); (b) examine caregivers' perceived stress in relation to child demographic variables (i.e., levels of externalizing and internalizing behavior and …

My Bad Romance: Exploring The Queer Sublimity Of Diva Reception, Blake Paxton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the historic relationship between pop music divas and gay male fandom. It charts fan experiences from the early 60s with Judy Garland to contemporary times with pop diva Lady Gaga. This project also gives a description of the embodied experience of Brett Farmer’s “queer sublimity of diva reception.” Farmer (2005) argues that diva worship among gay men has become a queer sublimity, “the transcendence of a limiting heteronormative materiality and the sublime reconstruction, at least in fantasy, of a more capacious, kinder, queerer world” (p. 170). Using the methods of participant observation in drag performance and karaoke …

The Relationship Of Principal Resiliency To Job Satisfaction And Work Commitment: An Exploratory Study Of K-12 Public School Principals In Florida, Jason Pepe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics associated with resilient school leaders. Principals juggle multiple responsibilities and work under increasingly stressful conditions. Despite recent role changes, added job responsibilities, and increased accountability, some principals remain remarkably resilient while working in a tumultuous environment. Using Henderson and Milstein's (2003) definition, principal resiliency was described as "the capacity to spring back, rebound, successfully adapt in the face of adversity, and develop social, academic, and vocational competence despite exposure to severe stress or simply to the stress that is inherent in today's world" (p. 7). This empirical study tested the theory …

Role Of Protein Kinase C-Iota In Neuroblastoma And The Effect Of Ica-1, A Novel Protein Kinase C-Iota Inhibitor On The Proliferation And Apoptosis Of Neuroblastoma Cells, Prajit P. Pillai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein Kinase C-iota (PKC-é), an atypical protein kinase C isoform manifests its potential as an oncogene by targeting various aspects of cancer cells such as growth, invasion and survival. PKC-é confers resistance to drug-induced apoptosis in cancer cells. The acquisition of drug resistance is a major obstacle to good prognosis in neuroblastoma. The focus of the dissertation was three-fold: First to study the role of PKC-é in the proliferation of neuroblastoma. Secondly, to identify the efficacy of [4-(5-amino-4-carbamoylimidazol-1-yl)-2,3-dihydroxycyclopentyl] methyl dihydrogen phosphate (ICA-1) as a novel PKC-é inhibitor in neuroblastoma cell proliferation and apoptosis. Finally, to analyze whether PKC-é could self-regulate …

"We Have Never Known What Death Was Before"--A Just War Doctrine Critique Of U.S. History Textbooks, Mark Pearcy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Textbooks are a significant element of the social studies curriculum and teacher pedagogical choice (Apple, 2004; Apple & Christian-Smith, 1991). Students' views of American history are dramatically affected by the textbook narratives to which they are exposed, and teachers often tilt their curricular choices based on the textbooks available to them (Luke, 2006; Schug, Western & Enochs, 1997). The history of our nation's armed conflicts is often presented, through our textbooks and our pedagogy, as a history of reluctant violence, which promotes a particular moral agenda that exerts control over our students' future beliefs and decisions. This is particularly important …

A Case Study Of Women Educational Administrators And Their Perspectives On Work And Life Roles, Krissy Perkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women are persistent in their pursuits to obtain advanced degrees in higher education, as evidenced by the growing percentage (53% in 2009 according to NCES, 2010). Their purposes for degree attainment are multiple and varied, as are their experiences in higher education. This case study investigated the perspectives of five females managing the roles of woman, mother, educational administrator, and doctoral student. Previous research has paid little attention to women who manage three roles, let alone four. Feminist Standpoint Theory undergirds this study and allows a conversation about power relations within the broader social order, allows the asking of questions …

An Investigation Into High Quality Leader Member Exchange Relationships And Their Relation To Followers' Motivation To Lead, Michael Rossi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research further investigates the motivation to lead (MTL) construct and its antecedents. While existing research has investigated culture, personality, and direct experience as an antecedent to MTL, the indirect experience of observing an effective leader has not been studied. It was hypothesized that having an effective supervisor would be related to followers' leadership self efficacy and MTL. It was also hypothesized that this relationship would be moderated by the quality of the relationship between leader and follower. Little evidence was found supporting these hypotheses. In addition, the existing research into MTL has failed to establish the link between MTL …

Synthesis And Antimicrobial Activities Of S,S'-Heterosubstituted Disulfides, Praveen Ramaraju

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance is a particularly critical health concern and has increased dramatically over the past two decades. For over a decade the Turos laboratory has been designing small molecules to target pathogenic microbes such as Staphylococcus aureus and the resistant variants like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Previously, N-thiolated Β-lactams, N-thiolated 2-oxazolidinones and aromatic disulfides that were synthesized in Dr. Turos' lab have shown strong activity against these bacteria. The present work describes the synthesis and antimicrobial activities of a related structural class called S,S'-heterosubstituted disulfides. For ages, sulfur (elemental) has been used as an antibacterial for controlling infestation and bacterial …

The Effects Of Pre-Exercise Carbohydrate Supplementation On Resistance Training Performance During An Acute Resistance Training Session, Kelly Raposo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It appears that "carbohydrate loading" may enhance the performance of resistance training, but studies on CHO supplementation prior to a resistance-training bout are limited and have resulted in conflicting findings. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of pre-exercise CHO supplementation on high-intensity (>75% 1RM) resistance training performance for resistance-trained women during an acute bout of resistance exercise. METHODS: Thirteen resistance trained female participants (21.9 ± 4.8 yrs; 64.5 ± 3.0 in; 137.0 ± 14.8 lbs) came to the Exercise and Performance Nutrition Laboratory on three separate occasions; the day of the Familiarization Trial (FT) and the two Exercise Testing sessions …

Physically Meaningful Harmonization Of Tire/Pavement Friction Measurement Devices, Madhura Priyanga Nishshanke Rajapakshe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate characterization and evaluation of tire/pavement friction is critical in assuring runway and highway safety. Historically, Pavement Friction Measurement Devices (PFMDs) employing different measuring mechanisms have been used to evaluate tire/pavement friction. They yield significantly disparate friction coefficients under the same contact conditions. Currently, an empirically developed data harmonization method based on a reference device (Dynamic Friction Tester (DFT)) is used in an attempt to overcome the disparities between the measurements using various different PFMDs. However, this method, which has been standardized by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM E1960), has been criticized for its inconsistency by researchers …

Delinquencies, Bryan Thomas Rice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Delinquencies brings together forty-eight poems that reflect some of the aesthetic, philosophical and cultural interests I've attended over the last five years or so--namely, ideas related to failure and abhorrent behavior.

Egyptian Body Size: A Regional And Worldwide Comparison, Michelle H. Raxter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human body size and limb proportions can provide important information about adaptation, population movements, and health disparities. This study investigated changes in body size and limb proportions of adult Egyptians temporally and geographically in relation to climatological, sociopolitical and economic developments. It was predicted that Egyptian groups that experienced more environmental stress would be shorter and exhibit less sexual dimorphism. It was also predicted that Egyptians would be intermediate between higher and lower latitude populations in body form and limb length ratios. The main skeletal sample consisted of 492 males and 528 females, all adults from the Predynastic and Dynastic …

Guiding Electric Fields For Electroporation Applications, Jose Rey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electroporation is the critical step in an electric field mediated drug or gene delivery protocol. Electroporation based protocols have been successfully demonstrated in cancer clinical trials, however, its impact in other applications is still under investigation. A significant roadblock to long term functioning of implantable biosensors in vivo is the tissue reaction in the form of fibrous encapsulation that results in reduced transport to the sensing element of the biosensor. In vivo gene electroporation has a great potential as a means to modify the transport properties of tissues in the proximity of the sensing element of implantable biosensors.

This dissertation …