Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Small Ponds: The Challenges Facing Gifted Students In Rural Communities, Julian Burton

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Gifted students in rural schools often face academic and personal challenges not faced by their urban and suburban counterparts, a result of the unique educational and community environment of rural settings. New technologies and programs have had some success in mitigating the effect of the lack of academic resources and opportunities available to gifted ruralites, but challenges arising from the educational, socioeconomic, and cultural environments of rural communities remain. This paper examines several studies of the educational and affective development of gifted ruralites, with reference to the author's experience as a student and teacher in rural and remote educational settings. …

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 …

Children Who Die Of Abuse: An Examination Of The Effects Of Perpetrator Characteristics On Fatal Versus Non-Fatal Child Abuse, Donald L. Dixon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 2000 children die annually in the United States from abuse and neglect, but the interplay of factors such as perpetrator characteristics and family composition which place these children at risk have not been wellestablished. The review of the literature focuses on the correlation between child deaths resulting from abuse and perpetrator characteristics most associated with these deaths. Characteristics such as the perpetrator’s age, race/ethnicity, gender, alcohol and substance use/abuse and/or sale, and prior history of abuse are among those examined. Additionally, these factors are examined within ecological and risk and protective factor theoretical frameworks. It is argued that further …

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 …

The Effect Of Unexpected Exercise Duration On Rating Of Perceived Exertion In An Untrained, Sedentary Population, Lisa M. Giblin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale is a primary tool for researchers and practitioners in exercise science to describe the intensity level subjects are experiencing when participating in exercise sessions. It has recently been suggested that RPE is not simply the direct result of interpretation of physiological changes as originally postulated, but is also influenced by affect, past experience, and time to completion, a concept coined as teleoanticipation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of teleoanticipation in a sedentary population, by examining the effect unexpected increases in exercise duration on rating of perceived exertion …

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 …

Relationship Between Cancer-Related Fatigue And Depression: A Pilot Study, Gloria Michelle Guess

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatigue is one of the most bothersome symptoms reported by patients diagnosed with cancer, and research indicates that the majority of patients receiving chemotherapy report symptoms of fatigue. Fatigue can have an effect on quality of life; therefore, it is essential that healthcare providers gain a better understanding and recognition of fatigue.

Fatigue can also be a symptom of depression. Depression is another prominent symptom reported by patients diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, there are similarities between the symptoms of depression and fatigue making it difficult for health care providers to distinguish between the two. This study utilizes the subscale of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Resolving Work-Family Issues Of Parents Raising Children With Disabilities: A Human Resource Training Intervention, Eileen M. Brennan, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Anna M. Malsch, Lisa Maureen Stewart

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work and Social Research, Tampa, FL, Jan. 2011.

Community-Based Approaches For Supporting Positive Development In Youth And Young Adults With Serious Mental Health Conditions, Janet S. Walker, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our goal in this chapter is to describe empirically- supported and promising community-based programs or approaches that are designed to promote positive development and to achieve better outcomes for young people with SMHC. We begin by providing more detail regarding the nature of the challenges that these young people face, as well as some of the challenges that systems and providers currently face in trying to serve the population. We then go on to describe recent theory and research on positive development, particularly as it applies to older adolescents and young or “emerging” adults. The next sections of the chapter …

The Influence Of Military Culture And Veteran Worldviews On Mental Health Treatment: Practice Implications For Combat Veteran Help-Seeking And Wellness, Eugenia Weiss, Jose E. Coll

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The influence of military cultural values consisting of unit cohesion (or the subordination of individual needs over the needs of the collective)the devotion to duty and to the mission,stoicism (emotional restraint)and the importance of adhering to the chain of command become guiding belief systems for military personnel.In fact,military culture has been recognized as a distinct sub-culture of American civilian society.

Veterans In Higher Education: What Every Adviser May Want To Know, Jose Coll, Hans Oh, Craig Joyce, Lazara C. Coll

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

With the current influx of soldiers returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the newly revised Post-9/11 GI Bill affords veterans the opportunity to attend state colleges free of charge, which may result in a dramatic increase in enrollment of veterans in colleges across the country. However, most learning institutions are ill-equipped to accommodate the special needs of those veteran students who may experience adjustment problems when reintegrating into a civilian setting. Veterans return with a newly acquired value system shaped by military service that can create dissonance when interacting with non-military people. Moreover, veterans may suffer from complex physical …

Strengths-Based Practice And Motivational Interviewing, Trevor Jay Manthey, Bryan Knowles, Dianne Asher, Stéphanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There has been recent concern that many practices and programs erroneously claim to be strengths-based. In reaction some have called for researchers to make systematic comparisons to the tenets of strengths-based practice (SBP) before making the contention that an intervention is strengths-based. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an intervention which has been described as being strengths-based; however, no systematic efforts have yet been made to compare the two. This article takes a methodical approach to comparing SBP and MI to determine level of cohesion and how they might be used together. A case-example is used to illustrate how MI and SBP …

Travel Behavior, Residential Preference, And Urban Design: A Multi-Disciplinary National Analysis, Jessica Greene, Nico Larco, Yizhao Yang, Marc Schlossberg, Daniel Rodriguez, Noreen Mcdonald, Tabitha Combs

TREC Final Reports

This report summarizes the findings of a national project to examine the travel behavior, social capital, health, and lifestyle preferences of residents of neotraditional developments (NTD) compared to more standard suburban developments. We compare survey results from residents of matched pairs of neighborhoods in seventeen U.S. cities and towns, with each pair comprised of one NTD and one typical suburban neighborhood of similar size, age, and socio-demographic composition. The study addresses salient themes in the transportation, planning and health literatures: a national study, surveying populations of diverse incomes, collecting resident information on preferences for and attitudes towards neighborhood qualities, and …

Personal Knowledge And The Inner Sciences, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper conceptualizes spiritual disciplines as sciences. It uses this conceptualization to probe into the similarities and differences between modern science and religious tradition, and into the cultural significance and possible future impact of the “new religions”. The paper draws upon the ideas of Michael Polanyi as a possible bridge between science and religion, and proposes that these ideas are relevant not only to the major Western religions, but to Eastern and non-mainstream Western religions as well. Imagining science as a spiritual path, or gnosis, would challenge an exclusivist understanding of scientific knowledge, and suggest the relevance of such knowledge …

Threshold Concepts And Information Literacy, Lori Townsend, Korey Brunetti, Amy R. Hofer

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

What do we teach when we teach information literacy in higher education? This paper describes a pedagogical approach to information literacy that helps instructors focus content around transformative learning thresholds. The threshold concept framework holds promise for librarians because it grounds the instructor in the big ideas and underlying concepts that make information literacy exciting and worth learning about. This paper looks at how this new idea relates to existing standards and posits several threshold concepts for information literacy. This article won the 2013 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section (IS) Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the …