Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Relationships Among Language Use, Phonological Skill, And Vocabulary In English Language Learning Preschoolers, Timothy D. Hill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study present study explored the relationships among language use, phonological skill, and vocabulary development for 36 Cuban and Puerto Rican ELL preschoolers. Family-level variables included mother's education level and mother's language ability. Three-way ANOVAs were used to investigate the relationships among child- and family-level variables and children's performance on articulation (completeness of phonetic inventory (CPI) and proportion of whole-word proximity (PWP)) and language measures (Picture Vocabulary (PV) and Memory for Sentences (MS) subtests of the WLPB-R) in English and Spanish. Regression and correlational analyses were conducted to describe relationships between variables.

Findings indicated that children in all language …

Religious Exiles And Emigrants: The Changing Face Of Zoroastrianism, Tara Angelique Migliore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Zoroastrianism was founded by the prophet Zarathushtra ca 1400 to 1200 BCE and is generally acknowledged as the world's oldest monotheistic and revealed religion. It dominated three great Iranian empires, and influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Mahayana Buddhism. At one point in time, their numbers surely seemed limitless. Today, however, roughly 150,000 Zoroastrians are scattered all over the globe in very small numbers. The faith is at a crossroads, and its very existence is threatened.

This is an examination of the decline and subsequent change of this previously influential and vital religion. Zoroastrians have been able to maintain the major …

The Effect Of Multidimensional Information Presentation On The Effectiveness And Efficiency Of A Spatial Accounting Judgment, John K. Tan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is the first in a series of planned studies on the application of multidimensional visualization of business information and data within the context of accounting. The study's research question is: When is multidimensional visualization of information a better problem representation, improving both the effectiveness and efficiency of a spatial accounting judgment?

To examine when multidimensional visualization can assist auditors in configural cue pattern recognition, the study employs the traditional DuPont analysis as the three pieces of key information to be represented on the X, Y, and Z axes of a single 3-D perspective display. To help determine when …

Directed Self-Assembly Of Gold Nanorods Using Surface Modification, David A. Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metallic nanoparticles are unique materials for optical, electronic, catalytic, and sensing applications. Due to the vast flexibility in controlling the surface chemistry of these particles through functionalization there is a great deal of interest in using metallic nanoparticles as building blocks in the development of more complex nanostructures through the use of a 'bottom-up' approach. Using self assembly techniques, one can exploit spontaneous chemical interactions to build complex constructs on the nanometer scale.

Towards this end, gold nanorods have been synthesized and modified with various polymers, inorganic oxides and organic ligands to establish principles for self-assembly of these unique nanomaterials. …

A Biomechanical Evaluation Of A Novel Surgical Reconstruction Technique Of The Ulnar Collateral Ligament Of The Elbow Joint, Nicole Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to biomechanically evaluate a novel Double bundle technique for UCL reconstruction designed to accelerate recovery time and minimize gap formation. Excluding UCL surgery, ligament reconstruction procedures typically require an average of 6 months of recovery time. UCL reconstructive surgery requires approximately 1-2 years of recovery time. Valgus instability of the elbow is characterized by attenuation, or frank rupture of the UCL from repetitive and excessive valgus loads. This research compared the valgus stability, gap formation, and ultimate strength that resulted from the cyclic valgus loading at 30 ° of flexion of 3 techniques for …

Role Of Foxo Factors As The Nuclear Mediator For Pten-Ar Antagonism In Prostate Cancer Cells, Qiuping Ma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

FoxO proteins are transcriptional factors acting downstream of the tumor suppressor PTEN. Their activity is negatively regulated by AKT-mediated phosphorylation. Our previous studies showed a mutual suppression between PTEN and the androgen receptor (AR) in regulating growth and apoptosis in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. We hypothesize that nuclear FoxO proteins are involved in mediating this mutual antagonism. In this dissertation, we report that PTEN inhibits AR activity through FoxO1 and provide evidence for the involvement of FoxO factors in the androgen-mediated suppression of PTEN-induced apoptosis. Our studies identify a novel mechanism for AR inhibition by FoxO1 and demonstrated the participation …

Structural Diversity In Metal-Organic Materials, Gregory J. Mcmanus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interest in metal-organic materials namely, coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks has risen dramatically over the past few years. To a certain extent this interest is a consequence of the realization chemists have discovered how to play a form of molecular Lego® in which metal cations or metal clusters represent the bricks (or nodes) and organic ligands such as 4,4-bipyridine (bipy) or benzene-dicarboxylate represents the glue (or spacers). The "node-and-spacer" approach to self-assembly can be invoked in such a manner that a plethora of infinite architectures and discrete polyhedra can be generated from geometric principles, some of which are unprecedented …

Gardens At Home, Gardens At School: Diet And Food Crop Diversity In Two Q'Eqchi' Communities In Southern Belize, Douglas Carl Reeser

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A district-wide school garden project has been initiated in the Toledo District of Southern Belize in response to reported high rates of poverty and undernutrition. This paper will discuss research conducted in the summer of 2007 with Q'eqchi' Maya in the Toledo District to determine the effect of school gardens on household diet and gardening, the composition of the household diet, and the makeup of homegardens. Food frequency questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were conducted in two rural villages, one with a school garden program and one without. Various members of NGOs working on school garden projects in the district were …

Can Using One Trainer Solely To Deliver Prompts And Feedback During Role Plays Increase Correct Performance Of Parenting Skills In A Behavioral Parent Training Program?, Michael M. Cripe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral Parent Training refers to a broad range of instructional programs that teach parents and other caregivers ways to build and change behavioral repertoires of children. Most, if not all, such programs employ Behavioral Skills Training (modeling, prompting, role-play practice and feedback) to teach parenting skills. However, specific ways to use prompting during role plays have not been described in the behavioral parent training literature. The present study compared two methods of conducting role plays during parent training. A between group, pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate and compare the effect of using one versus two trainers on the role-play …

Effects Of Supervisor’S Presence On Staff Response To Tactile Prompts And Self-Monitoring In A Group Home Setting, Judy M. Mowery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Staff management research in group home settings has involved direct observation of staff performance during pre-treatment and treatment conditions. Collecting accurate research data is crucial to analyze treatment effects; however, reactivity to being observed has been cited as a limitation in several studies. The current study evaluated the use of a tactile prompt, self-monitoring, and feedback to increase positive interaction in a group home setting. Direct support professional staff were trained on the purpose and use of the MotivAider which provided tactile prompts to remind them to engage in positive client interaction. Reactivity was assessed by having a confederate observe …

Health Decision Behaviors: Appropriateness Of Dietary Choice, Daryle Hermelin Wane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dietary choice is a complex mechanism that is influenced by multiple internal and external factors that impact individuals across the life span. The study was designed to examine how individuals make snack food choices based on integration of food motives (cues), appropriateness (nutritional index) as functions of nutritional knowledge, food-related motives, and information processing styles. Community college students participated in a multi part on line survey that ascertained food motives (FCQ), nutrition knowledge (FNQ), information processing (NFC), food pairing task and demographic background data. The single sided Lens model was used to determine the regression weights of the nine food …

Regional Differences In Demographic Characteristics, Professional Practices, And Employment Conditions Of School Psychologists Across The United States, Dama W. Abshier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The field of school psychology has grown tremendously within the past 100 years, and legislation has played a major role in many changes related to the field. A review of the literature revealed that many studies have been conducted that explored demographic information, professional practices, and employment conditions. The studies tend to be somewhat narrow in focus (e.g., one study may look at demographic characteristics, while another considers only professional practices) and consider state differences rather than regional differences. In accordance with a policy established by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) that a study be conducted every five …

Perceptions Of Programming: Cultivation And Third Person Influences On College Students, Suzette Marie Fisher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been many studies conducted on television and its effects. Since the 1950's, when television emerged, there has been an influx of patterns and behaviors associated with television viewing and programming. Many researchers are fascinated with television and the reactions of those who are directly affected by it. People have been known to act out in many ways as a result of something they saw on television. Many believe that television viewing directly affects a person's mind.

An analysis of the results of this qualitative study indicates that college students perceive television has an impact on viewers. Throughout the …

Mechanical Properties Of Particulate-Reinforced Boron Carbide Composites, Lorenzo W. Hankla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The mechanical properties of boron carbide (B₄C) with 10 and 20 vol% particulate inclusions of commercially available nano-sized alpha-phase silicon carbide (a-SiC) or micron-sized titanium diboride (TiB₂) were investigated so as to produce a fine-grained material with high hardness, toughness, and overall strength in order to increase the effectiveness of B₄C as a structural ceramic, whose use in the field has been limited because of the extreme brittle nature of the material.

Full density sintering of the ceramics (≥99% theoretical) was completed using the novel Plasma Pressure Compaction (P²C®) technique, which limited grain growth …

Molecular Mechanism Of Aurora-A Kinase In Human Oncogenesis, Lili He

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aurora-A is a mitotic kinase, which regulates cell cycle progression through modulating centrosome function. Aurora-A expression is frequently altered in human malignancies. The discrepancy between overexpression and amplification suggests that elevated Aurora-A level is likely to be regulated also by transcriptional and/or translational modifications. In this study, we have demonstrated: 1) transcriptional regulation of Aurora-A by E2F3; 2) feedback regulation between tumor suppressor CHFR and Aurora-A; 3) CNTD2 as a novel Aurora-A partner and oncogene to activate Aurora-A and induce transformation.

Aurora-A expression and activity are cell cycle regulated. The mechanism of Aurora-A upregulation at onset of mitosis is largely …

Improving Staff Performance By Enhancing Staff Training Procedures And Organizational Behavior Management Procedures, Dennis Martin Mcclelland Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ability of direct care staff members to carry out behavior programs, specific protocols written by a behavior analyst, or recommendations made after completion of a functional behavioral assessment is an essential tool needed for such documents to actually be meaningful to patients. Since direct care staff members spend the most time directly working with patients, it is imperative that they carry out intervention procedures with reliability and fidelity. This study evaluated the effectiveness of staff training procedures as well as organizational behavior management techniques used to ensure that staff members are equipped with the tools they need and are …

Investigating Environmental Change Due To Hypoxic Conditions On The Louisiana Continental Shelf: A Geochemical Approach, Marianne E. Dietz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Louisiana (LA) shelf is chronically affected by seasonal hypoxia that has been shown to be spatially expanding and growing progressively more severe. Hypoxic conditions on the shelf have been closely linked to the large quantities of nutrients delivered to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Multiple geochemical proxies on a suite of sediment cores from the LA shelf provide a record of environmental change that parallels the onset of hypoxic conditions over the last century and prior to anthropogenic influences. The sedimentary record for the last century shows a shift from terrestrial to algal sources to the …

Enantioselective Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed Reaction Methodology Part A: Enantioselective Mannich Reaction Part B: Enantioselective Desymmetrization Of Meso-Aziridines, Emily Bretherick Rowland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds is of vital importance. Most biologically active natural products are chiral and require asymmetric synthesis, chiral resolution, or the use of naturally chiral starting materials for their preparation. Organocatalytic enantioselective reaction methodology is a continuously growing area in organic chemistry. The use of organocatalysts as a potentially environmentally friendly alternative to metal catalysts is appealing to the pharmaceutical industry.

In this dissertation an enantioselective Mannich reaction using an organocatalyst was investigated. The reaction was between a ß-keto ester and an imine electrophile catalyzed by vaulted biphenanthrol (VAPOL) phosphoric acid. The reaction resulted in products …

Enantioselective, Bronsted Acid-Catalyzed Additions Of Nitrogen And Carbon Nucleophiles To Imines, Gerald B. Rowland Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development of enantioselective reaction methodology has been at the forefront of research in both academic and industrial research laboratories due to the importance of chiral molecules in biological systems. An emerging area of research in the development of enantioselective reaction methodology has been the development of organocatalytic reactions. Organocatalysis, the use of small, chiral organic molecules as catalysts, has the advantage over traditional Lewis acid catalysis in that the reactions in general produce less toxic by-products. One recent breakthrough in the development of enantioselective methodology has been the development of chiral phosphoric acids as organocatalysts. Chiral phosphoric acids have …

Pandemic Vibrio Parahaemolyticus: Defining Strains Using Molecular Typing And A Growth Advantage At Lower Temperatures, Carisa Renee Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a leading cause of seafood-borne illness with a newly emerged pandemic strain. Previous studies compared the pandemic and non-pandemic strains to understand the evolution of the pandemic strain but no definitive explanation for its emergence has been discovered. This study investigated the molecular characteristics of the pandemic strain and growth characteristics at different temperatures. The hypothesis tested was that pandemic strains of V. parahaemolyticus have modifications to their proteome that give a selective advantage over the other V. parahaemolyticus strains at temperatures normally encountered in the environment. Molecular typing techniques; automated ribotyping, pandemic specific PCR and multilocus …

Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Performance Degradation, John Andrew Fedock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to quantify the degradation experienced by a polymer electrolyte fuel cell after storage at subzero temperatures ranging from 0 to -40°C. The performance loss was determined by comparing the polarization and other applicable power curves before and after the subzero storage cycle. The causes of this performance degradation were investigated by the use of Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy, and porosity scanning technologies. It was found that there are two distinct types of degradation experienced by the membrane. The first type was identified as a variance of the actual voltage - current …

Psycho-Socio-Cultural Risk Factors For Breech Presentation, Caroline Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Breech Baby Study is a mixed methods study which combines qualitative and quantitative inquiry. This study explores psycho-social-cultural risk factors for breech presentation from an evolutionary perspective. The quantitative component of the study uses Florida birth certificate and Medicaid data sets from 1992-2003 to evaluate the influence of ethnicity and socio-economic status on breech presentation.

Ethnicity and socio-economic status account for less than two percent of the variance of risk factors for breech presentation. The qualitative study includes 114 mothers of breech and cephalic presentation babies who completed the State Trait Personality Inventory and a socio-demographic survey. Of these, …

The Efficacy Of Florida’S Approach To In-Service English Speakers Of Other Languages Teacher Training Programs, Ronald D. Simmons Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of how Florida and other states across the country justify the practice of mainstreaming English language learners into regular content classrooms rests on the premise that with the guidance of state officials, local school districts adequately train content teachers to work with English language learners. Yet little to no research exists that can help identify and analyze the overall efficacy of these programs. Consequently, this study has attempted to determine whether district training sessions in Florida are sufficiently covering the state-mandated content areas that teachers are required to learn and to what extent in-service teachers agree or disagree that …

Correlates And Predictors Of Cognitive Complexity Among Counseling And Social Work Students In Graduate Training Programs, Christopher Simmons

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For this study, a web-based survey method was used as a means of collecting data to test a predictive model of education, supervised clinical experience (SCE), age, human services experience (HSE) and cognitive complexity. The theoretical framework for the study was Perry's (1970; 1999) scheme of intellectual development. The sample consisted of 332 counseling and social work students in graduate training programs in four different regions of the United States. The instruments used in the study were a researcher-developed demographic questionnaire and the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) instrument (Moore, 1987). The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated that education …

Eutrophication Trend Of Lakes In The Tampa Bay Watershed And The Role Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Buffering Lake Water Phosphorus Concentration, Max Jacobo Moreno Madriñan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Twentieth century human settlement within the Tampa Bay watershed was linked to a dramatic mid-century decline in bay water quality and loss of seagrass acreage. Decades of direct and indirect nutrient discharges to the bay from phosphorus mining, fertilizer manufacturing, and wastewater treatment, as examples, impaired the estuary. In the past twenty years, regional stakeholders have worked to improve the bay water quality by reducing point and non-point source nutrient loading to the bay.

Lakes within the Tampa Bay watershed may play an important role in attenuating the flow of nutrients into the bay. This study hypothesized that between 1990 …

Distribution Patterns Of Larger Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Of The Florida Reef Tract, Usa, Rebekah Duncan Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of larger symbiont-bearing foraminifers on reefs have revealed their potential as indicators of environmental stress because of their physiological analogies to corals (dependence on algal symbionts for growth and calcification) and relatively short life cycle (a few months to 2 years or more). The purpose of this study is to report distribution patterns and population densities of larger benthic foraminifers (LBF) of the Florida reef tract, specifically reporting abundance data collected from offshore (1995-2000, 2006, 2007) and patch reefs (1996, 2006, 2007).

Six years of quarterly data collected from two offshore reefs, Conch (10, 18 and 30m) and Tennessee …

Evaluation Of A Functional Treatment For Binge Eating Associated With Bulimia Nervosa, Tamela Cheri Deweese-Giddings

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Binge-eating disorders are a common problem affecting up to 5 percent of the American population in any given 6-month period. Currently, the most widely accepted treatment is some variation of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Although there is an abundance of research showing positive effects, the abstinence rates following this type of treatment are currently around 50%. A recent study by Bosch, Miltenberger, Gross, Knudson, and Brower-Breitwieser (2008) explored the effects of extinction on binge-eating behavior that was hypothesized to be maintained by relief from negative emotional responding. The study involved four women who engaged in binge-eating behavior, one of whom met …

The Role Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior In Therapists’ Involvement Of Parents In Youth Treatment, Sherecce Antoinette Fields

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The theory of planned behavior has been studied in a wide variety of health related research. One area that has not evaluated the relevance of the TPB is that of therapists' attitudes for involving parents in treatment. The current study examined the feasibility of Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior for explaining whether or not therapists include parents in treatment. Participants in this study were therapists with at least one-year experience in treating youth under the age of 11. It was hypothesized that all of the variables of the TPB would be significant predictors of therapists' intention to include parents …

Sustainable Control Of Ascaris Lumbricoides (Worms) In A Rural, Disease Endemic And Developing Community: A Systems Approach, Monica Annmarie Gray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic infections, inadequate sanitation, and poor nutrition represent major etiologies that operate in synergy to cause some of the world's most disabling diseases. Citizens of developing nations, especially children living in rural areas, are the most affected. Current research and subsequent interventions have attempted to solve these issues using vertical interventions aimed at minimizing specific health outcomes. This approach does not consider the interaction among causes and the interrelationship between human beings and their environment. Challenges solved in this manner often fail to produce sustainable results or worse, create new problems.

This project proposed the systems approach framework to address …

Background Subtraction Using Ensembles Of Classifiers With An Extended Feature Set, Brendan F. Klare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The limitations of foreground segmentation in difficult environments using standard color space features often result in poor performance during autonomous tracking. This work presents a new approach for classification of foreground and background pixels in image sequences by employing an ensemble of classifiers, each operating on a different feature type such as the three RGB features, gradient magnitude and orientation features, and eight Haar features. These thirteen features are used in an ensemble classifier where each classifier operates on a single image feature. Each classifier implements a Mixture of Gaussians-based unsupervised background classification algorithm. The non-thresholded, classification decision score of …