American Studies Commons^™

Resource Allocation Methodologies With Fractional Reuse Partitioning In Cellular Networks, Hazar Aki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conventional cellular systems have not taken full advantage of fractional frequency reuse and adaptive allocation due to the fixed cluster size and uniformed channel assignment procedures. This problem may cause more fatal consequences considering the cutting-edge 4G standards which have higher data rate requirements such as 3GPP-LTE and IEEE 802.16m (WiMAX). In this thesis, three different partitioning schemes for adaptive clustering with fractional frequency reuse were proposed and investigated. An overlaid cellular clustering scheme which uses adaptive fractional frequency reuse factors would provide a better end-user experience by exploiting the high level of signal to interference ratio (SIR). The proposed …

An Evaluation Of Booster Training Using Video Modeling With Foster Parents, Anna Katherine Caravello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order for foster parents to be prepared to manage problem behavior and develop a positive relationship with a child in their home, local foster care agencies require these parents to attend parent training classes. Unfortunately, even foster care agencies that offer empirically validated parent training courses are unable to prevent the parents' performance from decreasing over time (Cowart, Iwata, & Poynter, 1984; Forehand & King, 1977; Mueller et al., 2003). However, researchers have created booster training sessions to counteract this issue. Booster training sessions allow participants to attend a brief refresher course on skills they have previously learned. Another …

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Perspective Transformations: A Case Study, Victoria Caruana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a case study approach, this study explored the perspectives of preservice teachers as they relate to working with students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings. Preservice teachers' perceptions about the extent, if any, their learning experiences during teacher preparation contributed to their perspectives was examined through a sequential exploratory design that employed both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings of this case study of six (6) elementary and secondary preservice teachers indicated that the experiences they had during their final student teaching (internship) were the most meaningful triggers of their perspective transformations. The findings further indicated that four (4) …

The Impact Of Pharmacy Work Design On Pharmacist Productivity, Nicholas Allen Coblio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare costs in the United States continue to grow at an alarming rate. Concerning the cost of medications, there are a number of factors that drive these costs. While personnel costs are not the largest of these, they do contribute a significant portion. The cost of the cognitive component of order processing by pharmacists can range from three dollars to over six dollars per prescription depending on the production throughput of the pharmacist.

Studies at the organization which was the focus of the research, as well as reports in the literature, indicated that work disruption and other environmental factors could …

Mental Health Courts Effectiveness In Reducing Recidivism And Improving Clinical Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis, Brittany Cross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health courts have recently emerged with goals to reduce recidivism and improve clinical outcomes for people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system. The present study is a review of mental health court literature assessing their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving clinical outcomes for participants using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 20 studies that included sufficient information to compute the standardized mean difference effect size, focused on adult populations, and were within the United States were included in the analysis. Only experimental and quasi-experimental research designs were obtained. Using Cohen’s d (1988) guidelines, mental health courts …

Analytical Methods To Support Risk Identification And Analysis In Healthcare Systems, Laila Nadime Cure Vellojin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare systems require continuous monitoring of risk to prevent adverse events. Risk analysis is a time consuming activity that depends on the background of analysts and available data. Patient safety data is often incomplete and biased. This research proposes systematic approaches to monitor risk in healthcare using available patient safety data. The methodologies combine traditional healthcare risk analysis methods with safety theory concepts, in an innovative manner, to allocate available evidence to potential risk sources throughout the system. We propose the use of data mining to analyze near-miss reports and guide the identification of risk sources. In addition, we propose …

Thermal Response Of Lithium Tantalate For Temperature Measurement, Ardit Agastra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the study of the thermal response of the pyroelectric material named lithium tantalate or LT (LiTaO3) in aid of this material’s possible use for temperature measurement. The temperature range studied was between 5-99 oC. The sensor was excited using a silicon rubber heater. The lithium tantalate sensor and the rubber heater were enclosed such that the temperature would reach steady state faster. The enclosure was a small insulated box in order to reduce any extraneous effects on the sensor. The output signal of the lithium tantalate sensor was then amplified by using four different amplifying circuits and …

Regulation Of Cell Adhesion Strength By Spatial Organization Of Focal Adhesions, Kranthi Kumar Elineni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) is critical to various cellular processes like cell spreading, migration, growth and apoptosis. At the tissue level, cell adhesion is important in the pathological and physiological processes that regulate the tissue morphogenesis. Cell adhesion to the ECM is primarily mediated by the integrin family of receptors. The receptors that are recruited to the surface are reinforced by structural and signaling proteins at the adhesive sites forming focal adhesions that connect the cytoskeleton to further stabilize the adhesions. The functional roles of these focal adhesions extend beyond stabilizing adhesions and transduce mechanical signals at the …

Up In The Air: The Global Economy, Economic Development, And Air Transportation In Tampa Bay, Florida, Clinton M. Elbow

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A globally integrated economy is one of the most prominent features of globalization and how city stakeholders respond to the global economy varies from city to city. Connecting to the global economy is often portrayed to be necessary for the continued economic development of a metropolitan area. Large transportation infrastructures such as airports represent one of the most visible ways of connecting to the global economy. Decisions made by city stakeholders regarding airports in order to reposition their city in the global economy have profound consequences for its residents. This thesis aims to examine the role played by air transportation …

Shifting Blackness: How The Arts Revolutionize Black Identity In The Postmodern West, Reginald Eldridge Jr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The contemporary experiences of racially marginalized people in the West are affected deeply by the hegemonic capitalist Orthodox cultural codes, or episteme, in which blackness operates as the symbol of Chaos. As it relates to people of African descent, these affects are marked by a denial of the black person's full status as an unproblematic subject, by ontological voids arising from the practice of enslavement over the past centuries, and by problems of representation within the West, where examples and points of reference for black identity are always tied up with conflicting interests.

Utilizing Sylvia Wynter's model of the Ceremony …

Differential Effects Of Isoflurane And Propofol Anesthesia On Neurogenesis In Young And Aged Rats, Diana Marcela Erasso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide, millions of young and elderly patients receive procedures that could not be performed without the use of anesthetics. Unfortunately, emerging animal and human data suggest an association between exposure to general anesthesia and impairment of cognitive function in pediatric and geriatric patients. Recent laboratory data have shown that general anesthetics are potentially damaging to the developing and aging brain. However, the mechanism by which this happens is still unknown. General anesthetics affect learning and memory, a brain function involving neural plasticity. An important form of neural plasticity receiving attention is postnatal neurogenesis. This process is highly regulated and involved …

Numerical Simulations Of Heat Transfer Processes In A Dehumidifying Wavy Fin And A Confined Liquid Jet Impingement On Various Surfaces, Mutasim Mohamed Sarour Elsheikh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two different research problems. In the first one, the heat transfer characteristic of wavy fin assembly with dehumidification is carried out. In general, fin tube heat exchangers are employed in a wide variety of engineering applications, such as cooling coils for air conditioning, air pre-heaters in power plants and for heat dissipation from engine coolants in automobile radiators. In these heat exchangers, a heat transfer fluid such as water, oil, or refrigerant, flows through a parallel tube bank, while a second heat transfer fluid, such as air, is directed across the tubes. Since the principal resistance …

The Relationship Between American Media Exposure And Trinidadian Female Adolescents' Body Image Satisfaction, Clarabelle Ferguson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have examined the development of body image among people, especially girls and young women. Many factors have been associated with the development of body image dissatisfaction. Especially important are exposure to mass media and its relationship with three theoretical constructs: Awareness of a thin ideal, internalization of a thin ideal, and perceived pressures to be thin. Extending existing research, this study examined through experimentation the relationships among exposure to American media content and the awareness and internalization of the American norms and expectations for thinness, pressures to adopt these norms, and Trinidadian female adolescents' body image satisfaction. Based …

Stress Corrosion Cracking Evaluation Of Candidate High Strength Stainless Steels For Prestressed Concrete, Joseph Rogelio Fernandez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prestressed concrete piles are commonly used to support over-water highway bridges in marine environments. The reinforcing steel within will ultimately be degraded via corrosion damage due to the penetration of chloride ions from sea water. The service life of these structures is, in part, dictated by the time required to diffuse chloride ions through the concrete cover and subsequently corrode the steel. Therefore, by slowing the rate of diffusion or increasing the chloride threshold of the steel (or both) an increased service life can be expected. This thesis focuses on the latter whereby stainless steel reinforcing alternatives were investigated to …

Navigating The Child Welfare System: An Exploratory Study Of Families' Experiences, Lianne Fuino Estefan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing up in a family environment that includes child maltreatment can result in an array of negative consequences for children, including health, behavioral, developmental, and social difficulties, and these consequences can persist over the lifetime. Families who have come to the attention of child welfare services for child maltreatment are at particularly high risk for experiencing multiple concurrent problems, including intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues, as well as other family challenges. It is essential to intervene effectively with this population. However, there are few qualitative studies of parent experiences in the child welfare system through which …

The Development Of The Personal Strengths Intervention (Psi) To Improve Self-Determination And Social-Emotional Levels In Postsecondary Students With Learning Disabilities And/Or Adhd: A Multiple Baseline Study, Jennie L. Farmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience decreased academic and social-emotional outcomes when compared to their peers without disabilities. Self-determination, positive psychology, and cognitive theories of learning offer suggestions for improving these outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop The Personal Strengths Intervention (PSI) and investigate its impact on levels of self-determination and the social-emotional functioning of postsecondary students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. PSI integrates key elements of self-determination, positive psychology, and cognitive theories. ADHDA multiple baseline design with seven participants was used to examine the intervention effects over time. Results indicate PSI …

The Clash Of Heritage And Development On The Island Of Roatã¡N, Honduras, Alejandro J. Figueroa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the spatial relationship between archaeological sites on the island of Roatán, Honduras and their topographical and biophysical location, as well as how these relationships are and continue to be impacted by the island's current socioeconomic context. Despite several studies and explorations conducted on the island's history, archaeology, and geography since the early twentieth century, little is known of its place and role within the larger cultural and socioeconomic spheres of interaction in this region: Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area. Previous archaeological research has shown that hilltops on Roatán were chosen in prehispanic times for the location …

Secondary Principals At The Center Of School Reform: Portraits Of Leadership, Daniel James Evans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of studies related to school reform and principal leadership styles confirms both the interest in how the two might be related and the enigma that schools and principals present as research topics. The art and science of school reform is hard to figure. While many studies attempt to make sense of an overlapping and competing set of variables that are found in good schools, nearly all studies have confirmed some support for principals as a key ingredient to school improvement.

This study seeks to add to the increasing amount of research related to principal leadership styles in an …

Mentoring Experiences Among Female Public Relations Entrepreneurs: A Qualitative Investigation, Sabina Gaggioli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study expands from current mentoring literature within the mass communication field in understanding how mentoring can contribute to the successful careers of public relations entrepreneurial women. While many scholars indicate that mentoring is effective for women, the present study describes how mentoring has affected the women participants' public relations careers and personal lives. In-depth interviews focused on following five research questions: What have been the key contributing factors in the success of public relations women entrepreneurs? How has mentoring helped the women participants achieve their goals in a public relations career and in starting their own company? Which …

Actualizing Empowerment: Developing A Framework For Partnering With Families In System Level Service Planning And Delivery, Kathleen Ferreira

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The engagement of families of children and adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) as full partners in individual treatment, organizational, and system level decision making has become an important focus for systems of care (SOCs) serving youth with emotional and behavioral challenges. SOCs typically include cross-agency partnerships with mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and education for the purpose of providing services and supports for youth with SED who have multi-agency needs. Implementation of a federal mandate requiring family driven care (FDC) within systems of care funded through the Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) has revealed that most system of …

The Positive Illusory Bias: Do Adhd Symptoms Differ Among Young Adolescents With Accurate Versus Discrepant Self-Perceptions?, Sarah A. Fefer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into whether inattentive, hyperactive/ impulsive, and depressive symptoms differ among young adolescents with negative, accurate, or positive self-perceptions of their academic and social competence. Current literature suggests that elementary-age children with ADHD display overly positive self-perceptions, often referred to as the positive illusory bias (PIB; Owens, Goldfine, Evangelista, Hoza, & Kaiser, 2007). Self-reports of academic and social self-concept were compared to teacher ratings and test scores for 164 middle school students in an effort to determine if the PIB was present within this sample. Inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms were found to …

Cyber-Bullying In High School: Associated Individual And Contextual Factors Of Involvement, Marissa Alexis Feldman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past several decades, researchers have extensively investigated the impact of bullying on the nation's youth. Although we may now have a better understanding of these maladaptive behaviors, recent technological advances have created a new forum for bullying. The current study investigated adolescent experiences with cyber-bullying using a self-report survey. Youth (N=2,086) from five high schools (grades 9-12) were surveyed to identify individual, peer, parenting, and school factors hypothesized to be related to involvement in cyber-bullying as a victim, perpetrator, or both. Results indicated that cyber-involvement was related to a variety of psychosocial factors, with students who were both …

In Situ Biofiltration Of Dissolved Organic Carbon In Reverse Osmosis Membrane Filtration, Russell Rosario Ferlita

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biofouling, or the formation of biofilm on membrane surfaces, can decrease the performance (decreased flux and/or increased operating pressure) of a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane system in a water treatment plant. However, biofilms have been used in water treatment systems to remove organic carbon from water via biofilters and successfully reduce biofilm growth downstream. This research investigates the possibility that the heterotrophic biofilm present on membrane surfaces removes nutrients from the treatment water, thereby making it nutrient deprived as it travels along the treatment train. This may potentially be exploited as an in situ biofilter to actively remove dissolved organic …

Examining Reasons For Bottled Water Consumption: A Case Study In Pensacola, Florida, Marina Leigh Foote

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over-consumption in developed economies undoubtedly puts a large strain on the environment, and many would argue that the damage is irreversible. Current uses and rates of consumption of freshwater resources are also deemed to be unsustainable. A large contributor to the high demand for water is the shift in consumer preferences from tap to bottled water. In the last few decades, bottled water companies have set unprecedented records, surpassing all other types of non-alcoholic beverages to become the second largest beverage market next to soda. Bottled water has been on the rise due to its supposed safety, purity and convenience. …

The Effect Of Unexpected Exercise Duration On Rating Of Perceived Exertion In An Untrained, Sedentary Population, Lisa M. Giblin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale is a primary tool for researchers and practitioners in exercise science to describe the intensity level subjects are experiencing when participating in exercise sessions. It has recently been suggested that RPE is not simply the direct result of interpretation of physiological changes as originally postulated, but is also influenced by affect, past experience, and time to completion, a concept coined as teleoanticipation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of teleoanticipation in a sedentary population, by examining the effect unexpected increases in exercise duration on rating of perceived exertion …

Cactus Mucilage-Assisted Heavy Metal Separation: Design And Implementation, Dawn Iona Fox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Natural contamination of groundwater by arsenic (As) has become a critical public health threat in many parts of the world. The well-known regions associated with As contamination of groundwater are Bangladesh and West Bengal, India where approximately 100 million people are exposed to high levels of arsenic by drinking arsenic-contaminated groundwater and about 35 million are already affected. Long-term drinking of arsenic-contaminated water leads to arsenicosis, which is characterized by cancers of the skin, organ disease and certain other types of cancer. Affected developing communities are at higher risk because they may not have access to conventional water treatment facilities. …

A Pilot Study Of Small-Scale Variations In Outdoor Benzene Concentrations, Samantha Catherine Fridh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Benzene is an important toxic chemical in urban air and known human carcinogen released substantially by mobile sources. It's important to understand the spatial variation of benzene concentrations in order to understand exposures of susceptible sub-populations such as children and minority groups. Current monitoring networks use large and expensive air samplers that require electricity and restrict the location and number of samplers, not allowing for fine spatial resolution data.

The goals of this study are to develop and evaluate protocols for passive sampling and analysis of ambient benzene concentrations, and conduct a pilot study investigating small-scale variations over an area …

A Reflective Exploration Of A Multiyear Elementary School Learning Community Experience, Susan Jean Ganley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study reports a reflection upon the experience of a multiyear elementary school learning community designed for improved teaching and learning. The exploration uses interview data to describe the perceptions and reflections of the principal and teachers directly engaged in this project of educational reform. The goal of this process is to gain a deeper understanding of the experience and to determine to what factors the participants attribute the outcomes of this project.

Through an auto-ethnographic reflective critical practice inquiry and extended interviews, this study describes the context and environment of this learning community and how the participants reflect on …

Feasibility Of Wastewater Reuse For Fish Production In Small Communities In A Developing World Setting, Joshua James Girard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eradicating poverty, malnutrition, and the burden of disease have been included as three of the major issues facing the world. The United Nation member countries, having set forth the Millennium Development Goals, have committed themselves to solving these problems. Two major factors which affect solutions to these problems are increasing water stress and implementing improved sanitation. Integration of tilapia aquaculture and reuse of wastewater has been suggested as a solution which addresses both of these factors. The objective of this study is to examine the feasibility, and explore the benefits and drawbacks, to implementing small community wastewater fed (WWF) aquaculture …

Hiv Education For Youth In Transition To Adulthood, Peter Eugene Gamache

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the role of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) stigma in program implementation. A case study design comprising qualitative methods provided in-depth, context-sensitive comparisons of adult educator (n = 8) and youth (n = 67) perspectives among programs that provide HIV services and those that provide risk reduction services. Nearly half of the youth participants were male, 42% were female, and 6% identified as transgender. Two thirds of participants were Black or African American, one quarter of participants were Hispanic or Latino, and the average participant age was 19. Although program personnel from all youth service programs in this …