Digital Commons Network^™

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

Effects Of Associated Subcortical Beetles On Oviposition Behavior And Early-Stage Survival Of Sirex Nigricornis F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), Ace J. Lynn-Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sirex (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) woodwasps develop within xylem of host conifers. Sirex females drill through the bark, phloem and into xylem tissues where they deposit eggs along with a symbiotic Amylostereum fungus. The presence of Amylostereum is necessary for successful development of Sirex immatures as the larvae are unable to derive adequate nutrition from xylem in the absence of the fungus. The Eurasian woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F., was discovered in northeastern North America in 2004. Sirex noctilio has caused significant economic damage in Pinus radiata D. Don plantations of the southern hemisphere, but is of little economic significance in its native …

The Lived Experience Of The Parents Of High School Dropouts: A Phenomenological Study, Christine Ann Silano

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children did not receive a high school diploma. This subpopulation has been rarely studied. The central question is, "What are the perceptions and experiences of the parents of public high school dropouts as they pertain to schools, their children, and themselves?"

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of the parents of high school dropouts. Five women and one man participated in the study by sitting for interviews. The collected interview data was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methodology including open and axial coding as …

Effects Of Computer Assisted Tier Ii Interventions By Gender On Math And Reading Achievement For Remediated Students, Kathi (Lutz) Sweere

College of Education Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a current reform initiative being examined by educators, politicians, and proponents of differentiated education. RtI has tiers of intervention designed to meet the various academic needs of all students. RtI has been developed as an educational methodology to increase student achievement through various problem-solving techniques, through the implementation of specific interventions based on each student’s individual needs, and through data-based decision making regarding the interventions used. The implementation of RtI requires schools to shift current educational paradigms of how services are delivered to students.

This quantitative causal comparative study compared the effectiveness of PLATO alone, …

Deliberate Use Of Creative Problem Solving In Art Making, Rebecca Dame-Seidler

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores the productivity of the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) tools in the visual art making process. The project offered the opportunity for high school student volunteer’s to participate in an after school program called Creative Art Group Experience (CAGE). Volunteers learned and made use of CPS tools to guide their art making. The project researched the effectiveness of using CPS tools in art making documenting volunteer progress and feedback. As an art educator, I had the opportunity to evaluate the impact of using CPS tools with the art-making process. The results of CAGE will benefit how CPS tools …

"Apps"—An Innovative Way To Share Extension Knowledge, Joseph S. Dvorak, Tanya C. Franke-Dvorak, Randy R. Price

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Extension professionals across the country are continuously seeking innovative ways to reach clientele and to disseminate timely, educational information. A new avenue to reach clientele includes the use of smartphone "apps." The "Machinery Sizing" app, which was developed to ease the estimation of tractor horsepower to implement sizing for Extension clientele anytime, anywhere, is explained as a key example for Extension professionals to utilize apps in disseminating information to clientele. There are many benefits to using apps, including information availability wherever Internet service is available on the smartphone, ease of computations of equations, and automatic updates being sent to users.

Safe: Simulation Automation Framework For Experiments, Luiz Felipe Perrone, Bryan C. Ward, Christopher S. Main

Faculty Journal Articles

The workflow of a network simulation study requires adherence to best practices in methodology so that results are credible and reproducible by third parties. The opportunities for one to introduce errors start at model description and permeate the process through to the reporting of results. The literature indicates that even publications in respected venues include inadvertent mistakes and poor application of methodology. When experts are liable to fail, it is unreasonable to expect that students would fare any better. This paper presents a system designed to provide guidance for inexperienced users of the popular ns-3 network simulator. SAFE automates the …

Radical Buddhism, Then And Now: Prospects Of A Paradox, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Educating Health Professionals In The Era Of Ubiquitous Information, Charles Friedman

Historical and Administrative Collection

Dr. Charles "Chuck" Friedman, an internationally known biomedical informatics scholar and health IT expert, will give a talk as part of the Chancellor's Leadership Forum on Monday, December 17. This is a reprise of a highly acclaimed talk he gave at a recent national meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Friedman will discuss the following: • How the ubiquity of information available from the Internet will impact medical student learning • The implications of medical education we can reasonably expect by 2020'

Methods For Speculatively Bootstrapping Better Intrusion Detection System Performance, Sunny Fugate

Computer Science ETDs

During the last three decades, the designers of computer IDSs have been continuously challenged with performance bottlenecks and scalability issues. The number of threats is enormous. The performance of ID systems depends primarily on the quantity of input data and complexity of detected patterns. During noisy attacks, system load tends to increase proportional to increasing data rates, making ID systems vulnerable to flooding and denial-of-service attacks. Unfortunately, the number, type, and sophistication of threats is quickly increasing, outpacing our ability to detect them. The more we try to detect, the more computing and economic resources must be reserved solely for …

Multivalent Random Walkers:A Computational Model Of Superdiffusive Transport At The Nanoscale, Mark Joseph Olah

Computer Science ETDs

We present a stochastic model and numerical simulation framework for a synthetic nanoscale walker that can be used to transport materials and information at superdiffusive rates in artificial molecular systems. Our \emph{multivalent random walker} model describes the motion of a walker with a rigid, inert body and flexible, enzymatic legs. A leg can bind to and irreversibly modify surface-bound chemical substrate sites arranged as nanoscale tracks. As the legs attach to, modify, and detach from the sites, the walker moves along these tracks. Walkers are symmetrical and the tracks they walk on are unoriented, yet we show that under appropriate …

Evolution Of The Calcareous Nannofossil Genus Biscutum In The Mid- To Upper Cretaceous North American Mid-Latitudes, Bobbi J. Brace

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The calcareous nannofossil genus Biscutum is ubiquitous in mid to Upper Cretaceous pelagic sediments and is an important paleoceanographic proxy for surface water fertility. Most work on the evolution of Biscutum has been conducted on high latitude sections or Lower Cretaceous or Jurassic sediments, leaving a gap in the understanding of Biscutum evolution in mid-latitudes during the mid to Late Cretaceous. This study documents the evolution of Biscutum during the mid to Late Cretaceous in a mid-latitude composite section from North America. Six new species of Biscutum are presented herein, in addition to an emended Biscutum constans species concept. An …

Making Room For Formative Assessment Processes: A Multiple Case Study, Rob Mcentarffer

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative instrumental multiple case study (Stake, 2005) explored how teachers made room for formative assessment processes in their classrooms, and how thinking about assessment changed during those formative assessment experiences. Data were gathered from six teachers over three months and included teacher interviews, student interviews, participant-observation notes, videos of classroom experiences, and classroom artifacts. These data were analyzed using a category construction method (Merriam, 2009) that involved open coding, axial coding, and finally a cross-case analysis that grouped axial codes according to themes relating to the two research questions. Four case studies describe the process of co-created work with …

Investigations On Rangeland Grasshoppers: Ecoregion Level Distribution, Identification, Feeding Performance, And Vegetation Clipping, Muhammad Ullah

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Short-horned grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) were studied in the field as well as in laboratory for their distribution, identification, preferred food plants and feeding damage. These grasshoppers are important potential pests of rangelands where they compete for forage with cattle. Examination of the 20 most common grasshoppers by levels 3 and 4 of Nebraska ecoregions revealed specific habitat use and may be helpful in predicting hotspots. The relative abundance of all species analyzed showed at least some significant differences at ecoregion level 4 and two species showed single ecoregion that differed from all others at level 3.

Grasshoppers belonging to subfamilies …

Processing Facial Emotions: An Eeg Study Of The Differences Between Conservatives And Liberals And Across Political Participation, Karl Evan Giuseffi

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Behavioral differences have been reported between conservatives and liberals when categorizing facial expressions, yet no study explores potential differences in the manner in which the two groups process facial expressions, let alone how partisanship contributes or how political engagement may vary with brain processing of facial expressions. In this context, processing refers to brain patterns following exposure to a facial expression and participants’ subsequent attention to the presented facial expressions. This thesis addresses the question of whether political temperament is associated with differences in neural processing. Research subjects participated in an emotion discrimination task while event-related potentials (ERP) were captured …

Since You're Here, Volume 6, No. 12, December 2012, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg. Nelson Poynter Memorial Library

Since You're Here

The December 2012 issue of the newsletter "Since You're Here."

A Comparative Analysis Of The Immigration Policy In Italy, France, Norway, And The Role Of The European Union, Christina Belmonte

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis analyzes the differing immigration policies and issues within Italy, France and Norway by looking at the factors of historical background, politics, and economics. Each of these factors plays a different role in shaping immigration. Italy with a shift to the center right politically although currently with a technocratic government in power; a large unstable economy; and also a society not quite standardized culturally yet becoming increasingly multi-ethnic with immigration, is beginning to become stricter with immigration policy as it has been increasing in recent years. France with a newly left-wing socialist political party in power after a many …

Pepsin And Amylase In Oral And Tracheal Secretions Of Patients With Standard Versus Continuous Subglottic Suctioning Endotracheal Tubes, Katherine Allen

HIM 1990-2015

The aspiration of oral and gastric substances is a well-known risk for ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) in the intubated, mechanically ventilated (MV), patient of the intensive care unit (ICU) population. The gastric biomarker pepsin and the oral biomarker salivary amylase have been identified as evidence of aspiration prior to the manifestation of acute pulmonary illness. In an effort to decrease the risk for aspiration, several evidence based nursing practices are in place. Actions include 30 degree head of the bed positioning, oral care, suctioning, and circuit change interval protocols, as well as the administration of medication with the objective of …

The Impact Of Islam On Women In The Middle East A Discussion Of The Political Role Of Islam In Turkey, Saudi Arabia, And Lebanon, Elise Barimo

HIM 1990-2015

The social instability of the Middle East is often assumed to be consequential predominantly from the influences of extreme traditional Islamic practices; with substantial prominence placed upon the treatment of and violence against Middle Eastern women. This discussion seeks to directly prove the prevalence of Islamic influence on Middle Eastern politics and the resulting social instability. This assessment is designed around an interdisciplinary examination of coalescent factors. By assessing the political history, social and cultural lifestyle, and political and legal situation of the region, the assessment examines the contributors to the social instability of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Turkey. The …

The Importance Of Self-Esteem In Learning And Behavior In Children With Exceptionalities And The Role Magic Tricks May Play In Improving Self-Esteem And In Motivating Learning, Shannon Bauman

HIM 1990-2015

This paper was written using various research based sources to determine the effects of self-esteem on learning and behaviors and whether or not the use of magic tricks can play a role in raising self-esteem and in motivating learning for children with exceptionalities. There have been multiple studies that show self-esteem has a significant effect on a child's ability to learn as well as studies that show self-esteem plays a role in a child's behavior. There are opposing studies showing that self-esteem has no effect on learning and behavior in children with and without exceptionalities. There was no information found …

Women's Rights In Iran During The Years Of The Shah, Ayatollah Khomeini, And Khamenei, Andrea De La Camara

HIM 1990-2015

Women's rights have been a historically controversial issue. This is no exception in Iran, where the struggle between modernization and keeping with traditional Islamic values has been a topic of constant disagreement between political leaders. Women in Iran have experienced many changes in their personal rights and freedoms throughout the decades. This research focuses on religion and culture, the policies of the main leaders of Iran in the past decades, and the role of non-governmental organizations as factors that expand or limit the rights and freedoms of women. It attempts to identify which factor is mostly responsible for the position …

Brown Study An Original Musical Recording, Alan Clark

HIM 1990-2015

For a year and a spring semester, I have been in the works of a school music project. I set out to make a record of ten self-penned songs. Along the length of the project, I would discover musicians and recording artists. I notated my songs on a staff and recorded demos to assist players of drums, electric bass, French horn, and violin. I play guitar, percussion, synthesized instruments, and do all of the singing on Brown Study, the record's title. The technology used to create the songs include a Tascam 2488 (home digital recording device), computers, printers, cell phones …

Immigration Policies In Times Of Crisis A Comparative Study Of The United States And Australia, Nicholas Corvino

HIM 1990-2015

Although they are two very similar net immigration countries, Australia and the US took very different approaches to immigration policy adoption and implementation and to immigration control, in the last two decades of the 20th century. The literature explains these different approaches by invoking the influence of interest groups, human rights initiatives and the reaction of state institutions to public pressure. This paper proposes an alternative explanation for the difference in immigration policy and control: crisis. Crisis, or a sense thereof, is what leads the population to mobilize and to put pressure on the government for more efficient policies and …

The Influence Of Beliefs On People's Perception Of Illness In The Spanish Golden Age, Nicole Cruz

HIM 1990-2015

Medicine is a field of science that is always changing and promoting new ideas and innovations. Throughout history, medicine has been an important factor in the lives of people around the world since the beginning of civilizations. This study focused on the literature of medicine as it relates to the Spanish Golden Age period. By looking at the history and critical studies in medicine during sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain as well as during the pre-colonial period in America, this thesis overviews the effects and influences in regards to health and illness in Spain and the Americas during the Spanish …

The Investigation Of A Potential Link Between Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Lucas Driskell

HIM 1990-2015

With the advancement of protective gear and medical aid, soldiers are now surviving traumatic experiences that were once fatal. As a result, the prevalence of brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in military service members has grown. Those who have obtained brain injury are at risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative syndrome. To date, there is no cure, treatment, or diagnostic method (besides autopsy) for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Because chronic traumatic encephalopathy and posttraumatic stress disorder present many of the same symptoms and have the possibility of deriving from the same traumatic experience, an investigation of a potential …

Digitization Protocols And Applications For Laser Scanning Human Bone In Forensic Anthropology, Matthew Filiault

HIM 1990-2015

In medico-legal investigations involving unidentified skeletal remains, forensic anthropologists commonly assist law enforcement and medical examiners in their analysis and identification. The traditional documentation techniques employed by the forensic anthropologist during their analysis include notes, photographs, measurements and radiographic images. However, relevant visual information of the skeleton can be lacking in morphological details in 2D images. By creating a 3D representation of individual bones using a laser-scanner, it would be possible to overcome this limitation. Now that laser scanners have become increasingly affordable, this technology should be incorporated in the documentation methodologies of forensic anthropology laboratories. Unfortunately, this equipment is …

Arts Targeted Local Economic Development Florida Cities With Flair, Jessica Ghersetich

HIM 1990-2015

Promoting economic development is important for many local governments. Economic development plans provide guidance for how local governments can nurture existing businesses as well as attract new industries. Arts and culture can represent a significant component of local economic development efforts. An "arts development strategy" can focus on human capital, the development of local public spaces, and the promotion of culture. Based on a literature review of the concepts of traditional local economic development, this research provide a framework for analyzing local arts strategies and presents the results of in-depth case studies of how a sample of cities in Florida …

The Effects Of Adoption On Identity Formation A Qualitative Analysis, Lisa Heath

HIM 1990-2015

While evidence suggests that adoptees do not differ from non-adoptees in their ability to achieve a stable sense of identity, much is still unknown about how specifically the fact of being adopted affects one's identity. The purpose of this research is to take a deeper look at the significance and meaning of being adopted to one's sense of identity through qualitative analyses of in depth interviews with adoptees. Participants were recruited from Psychology classes via the SONA system. The participants (N = 16) took part in an in-depth structured interview and completed a survey battery which included a demographic questionnaire, …

Influencing Opinions About Bats The Impact Of Levels Of Interaction During Educational Presentations, Samantha Hynes

HIM 1990-2015

This experiment was run to see whether the educational presentations done at zoos and other educational facilities are effectively changing patrons' negative misconceptions about the animals they were seeing. Participants were invited to attend one of three educational presentations, where they were exposed to either a low, intermediate or high level of interaction involving a bat. I hypothesized that regardless of the level of interaction, participants would learn the information, but that a higher level of interaction would cause the biggest perceptual change in terms of how participants felt about the bat and the highest degree of learning. Across the …

Optimal Investment Strategies Using Multi-Property Commercial Real Estate Analysis Of Pre/Post Housing Bubble, Kyle Kundiger

HIM 1990-2015

This paper analyzes theperformance of five commercial real estate property types (office, retail, industrial, apartment, and hotel) between 2000 and 2012 to determine the U.S. housing crisis'simpact on Real Estate investing. Under the concept of Modern Portfolio Theory, the data was analyzed using investment analysis programs to determine correlation, risk/return characteristics, and trade-offs (Sharpe ratio) as well as the optimal allocation among the individual property types. In light of the results, each property type plays a different role in investment strategies in various economic cycles. Some assets are attractive solely based onpotential return, or risk for return tradeoffs; however, through …