Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Effects Of Non-Surgical Interventions On Osteoarthritis-Like Changes In The Mouse Knee, Wendy K. Anemaet

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating condition affecting over 21 million persons in the United States. This number is expected to rise in the coming decades. Treatment approaches for OA focus on symptom modifying measures (i.e., pain relief) as disease modifying interventions do not currently exist. However, some of the interventions used to alleviate the symptoms of OA are also thought to have disease-modifying benefits. Two such non-surgical interventions for OA are intra-articular hyaluronan (HA) injections and physical exercise. In order to effectively study their effects in human OA, animal models that are amenable for studying intervention outcomes are needed.

The …

The Influence Of Apathy And Depression On Cognitive Functioning In Parkinson’S Disease, London C. Butterfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depression and apathy are two of the most common psychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) with prevalence estimates at higher rates than in medical populations with similar levels of disability. Several studies have provided evidence to suggest that apathy and depression are independent clinical phenomena that may differentially affect cognition. Recent research suggests that apathy may account for cognitive deficits over and above that of depression, especially in the domain of executive functioning. However, few studies have examined the independent influence of depression and apathy on cognitive abilities in patients diagnosed with PD using sensitive measures of specific cognitive domains. …

A Historical Perspective Of The Development Of Prekindergarten And The Evolution Of Quality Elements, Catherine C. Cross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a historical study of preschool nationally and partly internationally with a focus on elucidating the development of quality elements. The study will trace the beginnings of perkindergaten and how the programs have evolved to their current state.

The study contains a look at the current state of prekindergarten programs within the United States and how the differing states are measuring their programs. The use of the word quality is examined as it relates to how programs are designed and implemented. The study will also examine several different states that have been acknowledged as the front runners in prekindergarten …

Temporal And Spatial Patterns In Optical Properties Of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter On Florida’S Gulf Coast: Shelf To Stream To Aquifer, Robyn Nicole Conmy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Characterization of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) in surface and ground waters in South Florida was conducted using fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Waters of the West Florida Shelf are heavily influenced by many river systems on Florida's Gulf Coast that, to the first order control CDOM distributions on the shelf. Seasonal surveys revealed that changes in the underwater light field as a result of major hurricanes and resuspension events are linked closely with a number of factors prior to a storm's passing such as the presence of persistant blooms, rainfall and discharge. Additionally, storm track and wind direction were found …

Supporting Teachers And Children During In-Class Transitions: The Power Of Prevention, Sarah M. Mele

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In early childhood classrooms, transitions are often targeted as times of the day during which teachers encounter problems with deficiencies in child engagement, as well as frequent occurrences of challenging behavior. Studies to date on improving child behavior during in-class transitions have focused on providing supports for individual children, as well as on reducing transition duration. The present study evaluated the effects of systematic transition strategies, as applied to three Head Start preschool classrooms during targeted in-class transitions. Strategies encompassed an accumulation of antecedent and consequent manipulations and were selected on the basis of environmental fit with individual classroom environments. …

Biogeochemical Cycling Of Arsenic In The Marine Shallow-Water Hydrothermal System Of Tutum Bay, Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea, Roy E. Price

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The marine shallow-water hydrothermal vent system of Tutum Bay, Ambitle Island, PNG discharges hot, acidic, arsenic-rich, chemically reduced fluid into cool, alkaline, oxygenated seawater. Gradients in temperature, pH, total arsenic (TAs) and arsenic species, among others, are established as the two aqueous phases mix.

Hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) are precipitated around focused venting, and coat the surrounding sediments visibly to 150 m away. HFO coatings, mechanical transport and weathering of volcanoclastic sediments, as well as dissolution of carbonate sediments nearer to venting, combine to alter sediment chemistry substantially.

Tutum Bay surface sediments have a mean As concentration of 527 mg/kg. …

Brevetoxin Body Burdens In Seabirds Of Southwest Florida, Karen E. Atwood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful algal blooms (HABs, or "red tides") of the brevetoxin-producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis occur periodically along Florida's Gulf coast. Mass mortalities of marine birds have long been associated with these blooms, yet there are few data documenting the accumulation of brevetoxins (PbTx) in the tissues of birds.

Post-mortem evaluations were performed on 185 birds representing 22 species collected from October 2001 through May 2006 during red tide and non-red tide events to quantify their body burdens of brevetoxins. A variety of tissues and organs were selected for brevetoxin analysis including blood, brain, heart, fat, stomach or gut contents, intestinal contents …

Dental Hygienists' Beliefs, Norms, Attitudes, And Intentions Toward Treating Hiv/Aids Patients, Barbara Clark-Alexander

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a great demand and need for oral health care during the course of HIV disease (HIV Costs and Services Utilization Study; Marcus et. al., 2005). HIV+ patients identified three key barriers to obtaining oral health treatment: 1) beliefs and attitudes of dental health care providers (DHCPs) may have lead to their unwillingness to treat HIV/AIDS patients; 2) the existence of racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the United States, and 3) how DHCPs perceive their risk of contracting HIV. The fear and stigma associated with treating patients with HIV further compromises their access to care and …

Fashion Advertising, Men’S Magazines, And Sex In Advertising: A Critical-Interpretive Study, Jennifer Ford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines sexualized portrayals of women in fashion advertising found in metro-sexual men's magazines as visual rhetoric. Historically, studies on sexual images of women in advertising have focused on content analyses of these images and how they affect women. This study asks how sexualized imagery of women functions rhetorically as part of a branding message designed to sell products. The exemplar advertisements were chosen specifically for their sexual imagery from an earlier study by the researcher on sexual images of women in fashion advertisements found in men's magazines.

The messages interpreted within the visuals of this study reveal a …

Predator Behavior And Prey Demography In Patchy Habitats, Brian J. Halstead

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the greatest threats to biodiversity, and these threats can be exacerbated or alleviated by the presence of interacting species. The effect of habitat loss and fragmentation on predator-prey systems has received extensive theoretical attention, but empirical studies of these systems yield few clear patterns. I examined the influence of prey abundance and spatial distribution on the foraging ecology and spatial ecology of Masticophis flagellum (Coachwhip) using capture-mark-recapture and radio telemetry techniques. I also examined the influence of saurophagous snake abundance on the survival rate of Sceloporus woodi (Florida Scrub Lizard) populations. Masticophis flagellum positively …

The Impact Of Computer Mediated Communication Systems Monitoring On Organizational Communications Content, Carolyn F. Holton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employer monitoring of communications is prevalent and on the rise due in part to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Health Insurance Privacy Protection Act, and other legislation in the U.S. and other countries. However, the critical effect of this new activity on what is communicated in companies has not been assessed. This dissertation examines the impacts of computer mediated communication systems monitoring on neutral, incriminating and exculpatory content, as well as the overall volume of communications issued on monitored and non-monitored computer mediated communication systems. Incriminating communication is cataloged in a hazard communications taxonomy for this investigation. A controlled laboratory experiment …

Hollywood Forever: Culture, Celebrity, And The Cemetery, Linda Levitt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the final resting place of celebrities and notable public figures such as Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Jr., Janet Gaynor, Mel Blanc, and Barbara La Marr, Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles has long served as a tourist attraction and a site of public memory. The touristic visit or pilgrimage to the cemetery can be, like the visit to a sanctioned memorial, a means of stitching oneself into the cultural past. This dissertation considers the articulation and performance of commemoration in contemporary culture, specifically situated at Hollywood Forever. I examine how the cemetery leverages its rich resources from …

Effects Of U-Turns On Capacity At Signalized Intersections And Simulation Of U-Turning Movement By Synchro, Xiaodong Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the operational effects of U-turn movement at signalized intersections. More specifically, the research objectives include the following parts:

• To identify the factors affecting the operational performance of U-turning vehicles. In this case, we are particularly interested in the U-turn speeds of U-turning vehicles.
• To evaluate the impacts of U-turns on capacity of signalized intersections, and
• To simulate U-turn movement at signalized intersections using Synchro and validate the simulation results.

To achieve the research objectives, extensive field data collection work was conducted at sixteen selected sites at Tampa Bay area of Florida. …

An Evaluation Of The Technology Acceptance Model As A Means Of Understanding Online Social Networking Behavior, Timothy J. Willis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations invest sizable amounts of financial and human capital toward developing and implementing innovative technology solutions that will help them achieve organizational objectives. Professionals are now able to use online social networking technology to maintain and grow their network of business contacts virtually, resulting in increased efficiency and the ability to foster relationships with colleagues who otherwise would not be accessible. Organizations can use the benefits of online social networking to their strategic advantage if they understand the nature of the technology and how it is used. The Technology Acceptance Model is often used to explain the acceptance of new …

The Drowned Girl, Karen Brown Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Drowned Girl is a novel-in-stories that depicts the lives of eight characters living in a small Connecticut town. This work is one told through varying perspectives. Characters are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, daughters, sons, and lovers. Their lives intersect physically, and emotionally, and the separate stories reveal the facets and repercussions of events both past and present: the death of a son and brother in a car accident, the life and death of a notorious town figure, the past and tragic future of a young woman, Jules, whose body is found one spring in the Connecticut river. …

Assignment Of Estimated Average Annual Daily Traffic Volumes On All Roads In Florida, Tao Pan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first part, this thesis performed a study to compile and compare current procedures or methodologies for the estimation of traffic volumes on the roads where traffic counts are not easily available. In the second part, linear regression was practiced as an AADT estimation process, which was primarily based on known or accepted AADT values on the neighboring state and local roadways, population densities and other social/economic data.

To develop AADT prediction models for estimating AADT values, two different types of database were created, including a social economic database and a roadway characteristics database. Ten years social economic data, …

Expert Video Modeling With Video Feedback To Enhance Gymnastics Skills, Eva Boyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to develop more efficient and practical interventions for athletic performance, some behavioral researchers have incorporated a variety of technological innovations. In sports research, only a few studies have examined the effects of video feedback on athletic skill development. The effects of combining expert video modeling with self video feedback as an adjunct to standard coaching techniques were analyzed in this study. Participants in this study were four 7-10 year old competitive gymnasts. During the intervention, each gymnast performed a specific gymnastics skill and then viewed a pre-recorded video segment showing an expert gymnast performing the same skill. …

Physical Volcanology And Hazard Analysis Of A Young Monogenetic Volcanic Field: Black Rock Desert, Utah, Amanda Rachelle Hintz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Black Rock volcanic cluster consists of 30 small volume monogenetic volcanoes. The volcanoes of this cluster have exhibited bimodal volcanism for > 9 Ma. The most recent eruption of Ice Springs volcano ~600 yrs. ago along with ongoing geothermal activity attests to the usefulness of a hazard assessment for this area. The likelihood of a future eruption in this area is estimated to be between a 0.16 and 24% chance over the next 1 Ka (95% confidence). The explosivity and nature of many of these eruptions is not well known. In particular, the physical volcanology of Tabernacle Hill suggests a …

Integrating Leader-Member Exchange And Organizational Justice: Why Justice Depends On Relationship Quality, Erin M. Jackson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to integrate research on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and organizational justice by proposing and evaluating plausible interactions between LMX and the various dimensions of organizational justice. In addition, this study contributes to the sparse literature on antecedents to LMX by including three previously unexamined antecedents, which consist of basic intra- and interpersonal motivations (i.e., attachment, identity, and regulatory focus), that are under-researched compared to personality and demographic variables. Data were collected from 150 supervisor-subordinate dyads. Results revealed several significant LMX by justice interactions and indicated that interdependent identity levels (relational and collective) and promotion regulatory …

Recognition Memory For Emotional Words: An Event Related Potential Study, Catherine C. Balderston

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evidence suggests that emotion affects memory often yielding enhanced recall and recognition of stimuli with emotional content. The nature of the relationship between emotion and memory for words has been particularly difficult to parse in part because of the stimulus characteristics. For example, emotional words tend to engender greater levels of physiological and psychological arousal, which have also been shown to enhance memory. Inter item relatedness has also been suggested as playing a part in the observed effects (i.e., emotional words belong to a closed semantic category compared to neutral words and are therefore easier to remember). While the enhancement …

Effects Of Zn Doping And High Energy Ball Milling On The Photocatalytic Properties Of Tio2, Paula C. Algarin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

TiO₂ photocatalysis is been widely studied for air and water purification applications; titanium dioxide is the most used semiconductor principally because its low cost, stability and chemical properties. However it only utilizes the UV portion of the solar spectrum as an energy source (less than 4% of the total sunlight energy). This behavior is due to its high band gap value of 3.2 eV. The modification of light harvesting properties of TiO₂ by doping has become an important research topic to achieve an efficient operating range under UV and visible light. In addition, the structure and surface properties …

Time Bending: Temporal Malleability And Organizational Response In Crisis Situations, Gary W. Carson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 created a crisis of epic proportions for the airline industry. The attacks, on the heels of the first financial losses in four years, threatened the existence of many airlines. It was incumbent on the CEO to make sense and offer a plan to control the crisis and move forward. There were fewer audiences more attentive to this senemaking activity than the stockholders. On the cusp of the organization, shareholder management is a central job of CEOs in the 21st century. This study focuses on CEO presentations to shareholders for American, Delta and Frontier Airlines before …

High School Outcomes Of Middle School Bullying And Victimization, Marissa A. Feldman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has revealed that bullying behaviors are negatively related to psychological, behavioral, social, and academic development. However, much of what is known has been determined from cross-sectional or year-long longitudinal studies conducted in elementary or middle school. The present study examined the longer-term correlates of bullying and victimization during the critical transition from middle to high school. Archival data from a large southern school district examined the longer-term implications of bullying and victimization of a middle school cohort (N=1,249). Results revealed that, during the initial survey year and over the following four-year period, self-identification as a bully was related …

Perceptions Of Effective Teaching And Pre-Service Preparation For Urban Elementary General Music Classrooms: A Study Of Teachers Of Different Cultural Backgrounds In Various Cultural Settings, Lisa J. Lehmberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined perceptions of effective, urban, elementary general music teachers concerning effective teaching and pre-service preparation for urban, elementary general music classrooms. The study was conducted in two phases: survey and interview. Survey phase participants were experienced, urban, elementary general music teachers from different geographical areas of the United States, who had been identified as effective teachers by music teacher educators or music supervisors. Interview phase participants comprised a subset of survey participants who achieved high levels of potential cross-cultural adaptability on the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (Kelley & Meyers, 1995). A comprehensive interview instrument was administered to each participant …

Mechanistic Studies Of Peptidylglycine Alpha-Amidating Monooxygenase (Pam), Neil R. Mcintyre

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peptide hormones are responsible for cellular functions critical to the survival of an organism. Approximately 50% of all known peptide hormones are post-translationally modified at their C-terminus. Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) is a bi-functional enzyme which catalyzes the activation of peptide pro-hormones.

PAM also functionalizes long chain N-acylglycines suggesting a potential role in signaling as their respective fatty acid amides. As chain length increases for N-acylglycines so does the catalytic efficiency. This effect was probed further by primary kinetic isotope effects and molecular dynamics to better resolve the mechanism for improved catalytic function. The 1°KIE showed a linear …

Social Skills Training With Typically Developing Adolescents: Measurement Of Skill Acquisition, Jessica Anne Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The term social skills has been specifically defined as learned behaviors that allow an individual to engage in socially acceptable interactions with other individuals such that the interactions lead to positive responses from others and aid in the avoidance of negative responses (Elliott & Gresham, 1993). The current study investigated the ability of six adolescent females between the ages of 13 and 16 years to acquire a set of social skills through training. Participants' acquisition of the skills before and after training was assessed through role-play assessments and was experimentally demonstrated using a multiple-baseline across skills design. Secondary survey information …

Modeling The Impacts Of An Employer Based Travel Demand Management Program On Commute Travel Behavior, Liren Zhou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Travel demand Management (TDM) focuses on improving the efficiency of the transportation system through changing traveler's travel behavior rather than expanding the infrastructure. An employer based integrated TDM program generally includes strategies designed to change the commuter's travel behavior in terms of mode choice, time choice and travel frequency. Research on TDM has focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of TDM program to report progress and find effective strategies. Another research area, identified as high-priority research need by TRB TDM innovation and research symposium 1994 [Transportation Research Circular, 1994], is to develop tools to predict the impact of TDM …

The Getting Ready To Learn Program: An Impact Report, Rosa M. Avila

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Getting Ready to Learn (GRTL) program is an early intervention program designed to improve the developmental skills and learning capacity of Native American children in the Northwest Arctic region of Alaska. Early intervention programs have been found to decrease high school dropout rates and increase employment rates, which contribute to better health outcomes in young adulthood. The Northwest Arctic is a remote area that lacks many resources. As such, the people of this region experience various health disparities. The GRTL program was implemented in 7 of the 11 villages in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska (NWABA). The purpose …

Modeling Crash Severity And Speed Profile At Roadway Work Zones, Zhenyu Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Work zone tends to cause hazardous conditions for drivers and construction workers since work zones generate conflicts between construction activities and the traffic, therefore aggravate the existing traffic conditions and result in severe traffic safety and operational problems. To address the influence of various factors on the crash severity is beneficial to understand the characteristics of work zone crashes. The understanding can be used to select proper countermeasures for reducing the crash severity at work zones and improving work zone safety. In this dissertation, crash severity models were developed to explore the factor impacts on crash severity for two work …

The Paleoindian Chipola: A Site Distribution Analysis And Review Of Collector Contributions In The Apalachicola River Valley, Northwest Florida, William D. Tyler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene, between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, humans began to spread throughout North America and into many areas of Florida. These first Floridians are known as Paleoindians, and their culture is largely defined by their lithic assemblage, which includes the well known Clovis point. As the Pleistocene ice age came to a close glaciers melted, rivers experienced a drastic increase in water volume and the landmass of Florida began to shrink as the sea level in the Gulf of Mexico rose. This event likely submerged many early Paleoindian sites …