American Studies Commons^™

Review: Spirit Willing: A Savannah Haunting, Christina Hodgens

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the novel "Spirit Willing: A Savannah Haunting," by Susan B. Johnson.

Review: Ralph Ellison: Emergence Of Genius, Tamika Maddox Strong

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the non-fiction book "Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius," by Lawrence Jackson.

Review: Code Orange, Ginger Nelms

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the young adult novel "Code Orange," by Caroline B. Cooney.

Review: Quest For The Dragon Stone, Erika Gschwind

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the picture book "Quest for the Dragon Stone," by Ami Blackford.

Review: At Home In Mossy Creek, Emily Rogers

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the shared novel "At Home in Mossy Creek," by Debra Leigh Smith, Sandra Chastain, Debra Dixon, and Martha Crockett, with others.

Cob Building: Movements And Moments Of Survival, Jeanine Marie Minge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cob, as an arts-based research process, creates movements and moments of survival. Survival is an ideological construction and an actual, local practice. Survival is also about desiring and fulfilling arts-based desires to work with the land through academic and material scavenging. Cob creates strategies for surviving, for working with our respective environments wisely. Cob building teaches people how to negotiate the natural economy and their relationships to labor and each other through an artistic and intimate practice. From a feminist poststructural lens, survival happens on the local level, between and with people. Cob building creates knowledge through creative, kinesthetic, and …

The Influence Of Valenced Images On Perceptual Learning, Noah Sulman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to determine whether the rate of perceptual learning in a vernier discrimination task could be influenced by affective images. Forty-eight (30 Female, 18 Male) subjects were instructed to indicate the direction of an offset over 620 trials. Subjects were primed with either negative, positive or neutral photographs before making the discrimination on all test trials. Feedback regarding offset performance was provided on each trial. Despite initial pilot data indicating that subjects primed with negative, arousing images improved performance over those primed with either neutral or positive images, there was ultimately no reliable advantage for any of the …

Metallopeptides As Model Systems For The Study Of Cu(Ii)-Dependent Oxidation Chemistry, William Maung Tay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Copper is one of the essential metal ions for aerobic organisms. Two well known functions of copper in the biological systems are electron transfer and molecular oxygen interaction. Thus, this metal can be found in haemocyanin, an oxygen carrier protein, and superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that involves in electron transfer. In addition, having a positive redox potential allows copper to be involved in redox chemistry. It is the redox properties of copper that are responsible for many important biochemical processes. Although the copper-containing oxidases have been well studied over the years, certain mechanistic details such as reaction intermediates remain to …

Lagrange Interpolation On Leja Points, Rodney Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation we investigate Lagrange interpolation. Our first result will deal with a hierarchy of interpolation schemes. Specifically, we will show that given a triangular array of points in a regular compact set K, such that the corresponding Lebesgue constants are subexponential, one always has the uniform convergence of L_n(f) to f for all functions analytic on K. We will then show that uniform convergence of L_n(f) to f for all analytic functions f is equivalent to the fact that the probability measures γ_n = 1/n Σ^{n …}

Cederquist, Nancy (Fa 206), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 206. Paper: "Local Ghost Legends of the Bowling Green-Warren County Area" written by Nancy Cederquist for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

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 …