American Studies Commons^™

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Laurie S. Sutherland

Publications & Research

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is America's first and only woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service for her contributions to the American Civil War as a field surgeon. This article provides an overview of her life and many roles: surgeon, feminist, abolitionist, social reformer, suffragette, nonconformist and eccentric.

Emily Dickinson, Peter De Vries, And The Strangely Unshakeable Calvinist Character, James C. Schaap

Pro Rege

Dr. James Schaap presented this paper at the Calvinism for the 21st Century Conference at Dordt College, April 8-10, 2010.

Pace, Tracy (Fa 522), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 522. This collection consists of material collected by Tracy Pace for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. The collection includes audio and video recordings of jokes, songs, a ghost story, a baby shower, a birthday party, and a personal narrative. Also included is material from the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival in Evansville, Indiana.

Slaney, Brett (Fa 523), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 523. This collection consists of material collected by Brett Slaney for a Western Kentucky Univeristy folk studies class. The collection includes a recording, tape index, photograph, and field notes from a bluegrass performance at the Rosine Barn Jamboree in Rosine, Kentucky. Also included are field notes and photographs from the 2004 Southern Folklilfe Festival at the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee and photographs of examples of material culture.

‘The Metal Face Of The Age’: Hesiod, Virgil, And The Iron Age On Cold Mountain, Emily A. Mcdermott

Classics & Religious Studies Faculty Publication Series

A prominent theme in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is that redemption from the brutality of war may be achieved by retreat from the “metal face” of the contemporary age and return to a healing agricultural work ethic. In this context, the author makes recurrent reference to the classical topic of the “Golden Age,” a lost paradise on earth. He introduces this topic first as it appeared in Hesiod’s Works and Days, expressive of a profoundly pessimistic view that human history has been one long deterioration. As his protagonist’s physical and psychic homeward journey nears completion, though, he invokes the more …

Relationships Between Substance Use, Mental Health Problems, And Involvement In School-Based Extracurricular Activities Among High School Students, Kristelle Malval

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Substance use during adolescence is associated with numerous undesirable short term and long term consequences. This study examined rates of substance use, as well as rates of elevated anxiety and depressive symptomalogy, among 138 students attending a predominantly Hispanic, low-SES high school. The current study also examined the complex relationships between adolescent substance use, mental health problems, and involvement in school-based extracurricular activities, among this ethnically diverse sample. Results included that a significant proportion of adolescents in the sample fell in the "at-risk" category for a clinical diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety disorder. Further, those students who reported smoking cigarettes …

Residential Learning Outcomes: Analysis Using The College Student Experiences Questionnaire At A Large Public Research University, Cari Murphy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The creation of learning outcomes inside and outside of the classroom on college campuses has been a growing trend based on a variety of publications which encouraged the fostering of diverse types learning and the measurement of student learning outside of the classroom (ACPA, 1994; Keeling, 2004). The creation of the learning outcomes is a positive step, however, assessment of the learning outcomes must be conducted to determine what students are learning and what areas are to be improved otherwise the learning outcomes are meaningless.

This study was conducted at a large public research university where the Department of Housing …

X-Ray Diffraction Applications In Thin Films And (100) Silicon Substrate Stress Analysis, James D. Rachwal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon is used as a substrate for X-ray mirrors for correct imaging. The substrate needs to be mechanically bent to produce a certain curvature in order to condition and focus the X-ray beam. The X-rays impinge a mirror at very shallow angles, in order to reduce the amount of intensity loss in the diffraction process. The X-ray mirrors need to be bent to an extremely precise profile, and even small distortions from this profile can reduce the effectiveness of the X-ray mirrors. The X-rays that impinge on the mirror also produce large amounts of heat that can change the temperature …

An Analysis Of The Influence Of Sampling Methods On Estimation Of Drug Use Prevalence And Patterns Among Arrestees In The United States: Implications For Research And Policy, Janine Kremling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using data from the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs collected by the National Institute of Justice the question whether the drug estimates of DUF, using a non-probability sample, and the drug use estimates of ADAM, using a probability sample, yield substantially different results will be explored. The following main questions will be addressed using equivalence analysis: Are there substantial differences in the DUF and ADAM samples with regard to the drug use information obtained from arrestees at nine sites across the United States? The analysis suggests that the drug use information contained in …

Emergent Morphogenetic Design Strategies, Dawn Gunter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emergent morphogenetic designs provide a superior architectural response to programmatic, technical, structural, environmental and spatial requirements that conventional unit based architectural forms are too inflexible to fully address.

Architecture has reached an exciting stage in its development, where structures are attempting to behave more like nature, which does not function as a static state, but as a complex grouping of symbiotic processes which are constantly evolving to adapt to environmental changes.

Digital fabrication and materials engineering have promoted an explosion in formal architectural typologies. By utilizing these digital tools and enhanced materials to embrace a morphogenetic design strategy, architecture can …

"A Border Is A Veil Not Many People Can Wear": Testimonial Fiction And Transnational Healing In Edwidge Danticat's The Farming Of Bones And Nelly Rosario's Song Of The Water Saints, Megan Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on recent attempts to reconcile the divergent nations of Hispaniola, I will examine the ways in which fiction by U.S. immigrant writers Danticat and Rosario looks back to the traumatic history of race relations on Hispaniola and the 1937 massacre as a means of approaching reconciliation and healing amongst the inhabitants of Hispaniola. As invested outsiders to their homelands, Danticat and Rosario may work, as Chancy suggests, in the capacity of actors for Hispaniola. Both Danticat and Rosario graciously admit that their writing is largely contingent on the relative freedom from censure that their American citizenship affords them. In …

"In My Church We Don't Believe In Homosexuals": Queer Identity And Dominant Culture In Three Texts Of The Aids Era, Steven Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis seeks to examine the relationship that exists between queer selfidentification and heterosexual hegemonic/heteronormative power in three works of and about the AIDS era. Working from feminist and queer theory perspectives, I first chart the way in which a problematic identity—be that identity a non-identity of utter invisibility, a sick identity, a dangerous identity, or (most commonly) an identity of utter hedonism disconnected from any notions of attachment, affection, or love beyond the physical sexual act—has been and is still wholly adopted by some. I do this principally with a close reading of Renaud Camus' 1981 novel Tricks, …

Ac/Dc: Let There Be Hybrid Cooling, Christopher Podes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today’s increasingly energy conscious society, the methods of providing thermal comfort to humans are constantly under scrutiny. Depending on the climate, and the comfort requirements of the occupants, buildings can be designed to heat and cool occupants with passive methods, as well as mechanical methods. In the subtropics, where buildings often need to be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, a synthesis of these two methods would be ideal. However, there is a disconnect between the integration of passive cooling and mechanical air conditioning, in subtropical architecture.

A study of user attitudes, based out of Australia, …

"Something Begins Its Presencing": Negotiating Third-Space Identities And Healing In Toni Morrison's Paradise And Love, Kristen King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toni Morrison’s Paradise deconstructs the pathology of patriarchy and its oppressive nature, which limits language and knowledge. Patriarchal language silences female voice as they unknowingly adopt male definitions of gender and femininity. As long as the women are denied access to a language that allows them to define themselves, their existence is marked by a perennial state of self-destruction and stasis. As the women, specifically Consolata, begin to reject patriarchal limitations, they gain agency and with it an access to words and ideas that allow them to identify and articulate their own definition of self.

Morrison’s Love illustrates the individual’s …

Chk2 Is Negatively Regulated By Protein Phosphatase 2a, Alyson Freeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is an effector kinase of the DNA damage response pathway and although its mechanism of activation has been well studied, the attenuation of its activity following DNA damage has not been explored. Here, we identify the B'α subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a major protein serine/threonine phosphatase of the cell, as a CHK2 binding partner and show that their interaction is modulated by DNA damage. B'α binds to the SQ/TQ cluster domain of CHK2, which is a target of ATM phosphorylation. CHK2 is able to bind to many B' subunits as well as the PP2A …

"Speaking" Subalterns: A Comparative Study Of African American And Dalit/Indian Literatures, Mantra Roy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Speaking Subalterns” examines the literatures of two marginalized groups,African Americans in the United States and Dalits in India. The project demonstrates how two disparate societies, USA and India, are constituted by comparable hegemonic socioeconomic-cultural and political structures of oppression that define and delimit the identities of the subalterns in the respective societies. The superstructures of race in USA and caste in India inform, deform, and complicate the identities of the marginalized along lines of gender, class, and family structure. Effectively, a type of domestic colonialism, exercised by the respective national elitists, silence and exploit the subaltern women and emasculate the …

Effects Of Monoclonal Anti-Abeta Antibodies On The Amyloid Beta Peptide Fibrillogenesis And Their Involvement In The Clearance Of Alzheimer's Disease Plaques, Jeffy Pilar Jimenez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia worldwide. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of memory and language skill, collapse of the cognitive function, and distortion of social behavior. As of today, the onset mechanisms of AD and cure are unknown; however, three hallmarks are commonly encountered: extra and intracellular accumulation of amyloid beta (A!) peptide plaques, formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and inevitable neuronal death. Hypothetically, a possible scenario provoking or involved in the onset of AD is a cascade effect that starts with an imbalance in the production and clearance of …

Chemical Investigation Of The Antarctic Marine Invertebrates Synoicum Adareanum And Artemisina Plumosa, Jaime Heimbegner Noguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of the small percentage of organisms chemically investigated over the years as potential sources of natural products, much less is known about those from the marine realm. Despite the lack of attention they have received in comparison to terrestrial organisms, marine life have recently been found to represent a valuable source for novel bioactive compounds. Cold water marine habitats are home to a plethora of organisms that have the ability to produce secondary metabolites that exhibit a great deal of diversity in both their chemical structures and biological activities. The chemical investigation of these unique and relatively unstudied ecosystems is …

Ecotourism And Water Quality: Linking Management, Activities And Sustainability Indicators In The Caribbean, Ken Darrie Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecotourism from its genesis and founding theories has been set out to conserve and preserve the environment through sustainable operation that includes surrounding communities in efforts to reduce their poverty levels. Over the years ecotourism has been hypothesized to have departed from this ideal with several researchers, through social, qualitative analyses, have said that these non-sustainable ecotourism operations are simply due to poor management. This work sought to test this central hypothesis as a first approach to quantitatively linking ecotourism activities to management with surface water quality as the key indicator of sustainable ecotourism as a complex system through systems …

Consumer Responses To Stereotypical Vs. Non-Stereotypical Depictions Of Women In Travel Advertising, Jessica Eran Mcdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women are active travel consumers, yet travel advertising notoriously depicts women stereotypically. If consumers react negatively to these stereotypical portrayals in advertising, they may disregard the ad or brand and purchase a different travel product. The purpose of this study is to determine if consumers react differently to stereotypical versus non-stereotypical depictions of women in travel advertising. The study will examine these reactions, by measuring attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and cognitive responses to carefully prepared advertisements that are characterized as ―stereotypical‖ or ―non-stereotypical.‖ Ads are defined as stereotypical by utilizing Goffman‘s (1979) framework for …

Understanding The Relationships Between Interpersonal Conflict At Work, Perceived Control, Coping, And Employee Well-Being, Erin M. Eatough

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stressors resulting from one's work life including work conditions, job characteristics, and relationships with others at work have been shown to impact employee health outcomes at both psychological and physical levels (Le Blanc, Jonge, & Schaufeli, 2008; Spector, Dwyer, & Jex, 1988). Interpersonal conflict is one prevalent workplace stressor that has been associated with poor work-related outcomes and psychological states. A cross-sectional design with multi-source data collection methods was used to measure conflict, perceptions of control, coping strategies, and both psychological and physical well-being. Overall, findings suggested that the success of coping efforts hinges on the combination of the nature …

Path Centrality: A New Centrality Measure In Networks, Tharaka Alahakoon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In network analysis, it is useful to identify important vertices in a network. Based on the varying notions of importance of vertices, a number of centrality measures are defined and studied in the literature. Some popular centrality measures, such as betweenness centrality, are computationally prohibitive for large-scale networks. In this thesis, we propose a new centrality measure called k-path centrality and experimentally compare this measure with betweenness centrality.

We present a polynomial-time randomized algorithm for distinguishing high k-path centrality vertices from low k-path centrality vertices in any given (unweighted or weighted) graph. Specifically, for any graph G = …

The Relationship Between Technology Support And Extent Of Technology Integration Into College-Level Foreign Language Curricula, James T. Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although computer use has become widespread throughout foreign language (FL) education, availability of computers alone is not sufficient for increasing their use. Integration requires rich and varied technology support, which includes instructional as well as technical support. To date, in the field of adult FL learning no quantitative examination of the relationship between the different aspects of technology support and computer integration into the curricula has been attempted.

This study explores the direction and strength of the relationships among the different types of technology support and the integration of computers into the curricula of college and university FL programs. The …

Shorts, Roberta (Fa 520), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 520. Material collected by Roberta Shorts for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Included are recordings and fieldnotes for interviews with six individuals on personal experience narratives, ghost stories, and jokes and photographs, fieldnotes, and a PowerPoint presentation on material culture and of a 2004 String Cheese Incident concert at the Louisville Palace Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky.

Gibbs, Renee Dorothea, B. 1976 (Fa 521), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 521. Collection consists of material accumulated by Renee Dorothea Gibbs for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Includes a recording, index, and photographs from an interview with James Larry Crawford about growing up in Cave City, Kentucky; Mammoth Cave and other caves in the area; and farming tobacco. Also includes photographs of dishes and baskets made by Willow Block.

Jackson, Rebecca Lee Watson (Fa 519), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 519. Collection includes material collected by Rebecca Lee (Watson) Jackson for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Included are interviews with five people about personal narratives, riddles, horses, and Serbo-Croatian folk tales, photographs of examples of material culture and photographs and a list of performers from the 2004 Southern Folklife Festival at the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee.

Glynn, Luanne Carol (Aylesworth) (Fa 518), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 518. This collection contains tape recorded interviews (28) conducted by Luanne Glynn with Ellis Yeargin Hurt (1900-1994) of Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky. The interviews relay Ellis's life history.  The project also includes an interpretive paper, a project proposal and summary as well as tape indexes.  This project was the result of a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Women’S Perceptions Of Postpartum Stress: A Narrative Analysis, Nancy Gilbert Crist

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The impact of stress on the health of postpartum mothers is poorly understood. Although the postpartum period increases risk for stress related diseases such as depression and autoimmune disorders, little qualitative research has focused on women’s perceptions of postpartum stressors.

A constant comparative content analysis using Atlas.Ti was done on data collected by Groer (NIH R01 NR05000“Influence of Lactation on Postpartum Stress & Immunity) from 2001 to 2005. Women (n=127) answered the prompt, “Think of any one incident, thought, or feeling that stands out as very stressful to you and describe in as much detail as you choose.” Researcher triangulation …

Flener, Sheila Gail (Sullivan), B. 1958 (Fa 517), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Collection includes material collected by Sheila S. Flener for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Included is an interview with Frank Sullivan about his childhood, family, and Korean War service and a PowerPoint presentation dealing with folklore genres and including photographs from the 2004 Saint James Art Show in Louisville, Kentucky; the 2004 Crossing Festival in Glendale, Kentucky; and examples of material culture.

To What Extent Does A Social Compact Exist Between Higher Education And Society: A Study Of Two Minnesota Universities, Laurie Woodward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the nature, applicability and usefulness of social contract theory, and the resulting compact between higher education and society as a way to understand the growth and development of higher education in the United States. The goal is accomplished with an in-depth look at two different universities in the state of Minnesota at four different periods or pivotal points in the history of higher education in the United States. The underlying assumption was that if there is a social compact between higher education and society, traces of its existence would be found in the historical evidence concerning the …