American Studies Commons^™

Lee, Andrew (Fa 321), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 321. Paper: "Supernatural Beings in the Daily News" written by Andrew Lee for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Carden, Vickie Wright (Fa 318), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 318. Paper titled “The Jelly Snatcher” in which folk studies student Vickie Wright Carden details the paranormal activity surrounding Nancy Frew, a 23 year-old Bowling Green native, and her roommate, Vicki Taylor. Both women reported sensing malevolent spirits in their apartment, witnessed a comb fly off a dresser, and “lost” a jar of grape jelly—which they believe to have been “snatched” by the ghost. Carden offers possible theories relating to the poltergeist encounters, and even posits that Frew, along with her couch, attract the …

Three-Dimensional Microscopy By Laser Scanning And Multi-Wavelength Digital Holography, Alexander Khmaladze

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents techniques of three-dimensional microscopy. First, an economical method of microscopic image formation that employs a raster-scanning laser beam focused on a sample, while non-imaging detector receives the scattered light is presented. The images produced by this method are analogous to the scanning electron microscopy with visible effects of shadowing and reflection. Compared to a conventional wide-field imaging system, the system allows for a greater flexibility, as the variety of optical detectors, such as PMT and position-sensitive quadrant photodiode can be used to acquire images. The system demonstrates a simple, low-cost method of achieving the resolution on the …

The Relationship Between Childhood And Adolescent Family Environment And Adult Psychological Functioning In Females Who Experienced Childhood Sexual Abuse, Ross Krawczyk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to be related to many negative outcomes in adulthood including psychopathology. Findings in this area, however, are very inconsistent, with the relationship between CSA and adult outcomes varying greatly across studies. This relationship is further complicated by the co-occurrence with CSA of other risk factors in childhood. The present study examines the prediction of adult psychopathology, measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1982), made by CSA, measured by the Early Sexual Experiences Survey (ESE; Bartoi & Kinder, 1998), childhood SES (Hollingshead, 1975), parental bonding, as measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument …

Dynamic Assessment: Towards A Model Of Dialogic Engagement, Robert Summers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of Dynamic Assessment (DA) training on the mediational strategies of experienced teachers of French as a foreign language. Moreover the strategies that mediators used for students at different levels of language experience were investigated. Last the ways in which mediators manifested mediational sensitivity, reciprocity and management was examined.

Four mediators underwent DA training that exposed them to the theoretical underpinnings of DA as well as sound DA procedures. To determine the effect of this training, the way in which the mediators conducted their mediation was compared from pre-DA training to post-DA training. Three of these …

Chase, Barbara J. (Fa 316), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 316. Paper: "A Study of the Black Cosmetology Field" written by Barbara J. Chase for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Spray Deposition Of Biomolecular Thin Films, Mihir K. Rayan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, a parametric study of the airbrush deposition technique was investigated for the deposition biomolecular thin films. The airbrush parameters under investigation were intake valve opening, carrier gas pressure, distance between the airbrush and substrate, concentration of solution, vapor pressure of solvent, and hydrophobic/hydrophilic substrate surface. This study was assessed through the characterization of dried droplet residues of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and of complete films of BSA by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was determined that droplet size was mainly affected by carrier gas pressure and vapor pressure. The parameters …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2008-09-01, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Statistical Profile Generation Of Real-Time Uav-Based Traffic Data, Anuj Puri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small unmanned vehicles are used to provide the eye-in-the-sky alternative to monitoring and regulating traffic dynamically. Spatial-temporal visual data are collected in real-time and they are used to generate traffic-related statistical profiles, serving as inputs to traffic simulation models. Generated profiles, which are continuously updated, are used to calibrate traffic model parameters, to obtain more accurate and reliable simulation models, and for model modifications. This method overcomes limitations of existing traffic simulation models, which suffer from outdated data, poorly calibrated parameters, questionable accuracy and poor predictions of traffic patterns.

A Longitudinal Study: The Impact Of A Comprehensive Emergency Management System On Disaster Response In The Commonwealth Of The Bahamas, Erin P. Hughey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global trends show increasing losses from disasters as the number of people at risk grows by 70 to 80 million per year (United Nations, 2004). Although the frequency of natural disasters may be constant the human interaction with the given hazard has shifted through changes in development practices, environmental protection as well as the distribution of population and wealth. In an effort to combat the negative social, economic, and environmental impacts of hazards, strategies for identifying vulnerable populations and implementing mitigation measures is a high priority in hazards research. However despite our best efforts disasters have and will continue to …

Control Of Autonomous Robot Teams In Industrial Applications, Athanasios Tsalatsanis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of teams of coordinated mobile robots in industrial settings such as underground mining, toxic waste cleanup and material storage and handling, is a viable and reliable approach to solving such problems that require or involve automation. In this thesis, abilities a team of mobile robots should demonstrate in order to successfully perform a mission in industrial settings are identified as a set of functional components. These components are related to navigation and obstacle avoidance, localization, task achieving behaviors and mission planning. The thesis focuses on designing and developing functional components applicable to diverse missions involving teams of mobile …

Regulation Of Bax Activation And Apoptosis By Src And Acetylated Mutant P53, Nicholas Taylor Woods

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Apoptosis is an inherent suicide mechanism that cells invoke for a variety of reasons including embryo cavitation, tissue homeostasis, excessive DNA damage and aberrant oncogene activation. Apoptosis is regulated by a diverse set of proteins including, but not limited to, the Bcl-2 family. This family set is comprised of both pro-death and pro-survival proteins whose relative expression, localization and/or modifications regulate the balance between life and death for each cell. The keystones to this system are the proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak, which are regulated by their conformation and localization. However, the exact mechanisms by which Bax and Bak become …

Relationship Of Anger Trait And Anger Expression To C-Reactive Protein In Post-Menopausal Women, Rosalyn Gross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women, accounting for one in six deaths in 2004. One third of women over the age of forty will develop coronary heart disease in their lifetime. The role of chronic and excessive inflammation and risk factors, such as smoking and high cholesterol, are now well-established factors contributing to coronary heart disease pathology. A knowledge gap exists in that little is known about the mechanisms by which psychosocial factors, such as anger, may be associated with pro-inflammatory processes that contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in women. The purpose of …

The Effect Of Hydrogen On The Optical, Structural Properties And The Crystallization Of Gete2 Thin Films Prepared By Rf Magnetron Sputtering, Ke Cao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin films of GeTe₂ were deposited on glass substrates using RF magnetron sputtering with various hydrogen flow rates in the growth chamber. Transmission data of deposited films were taken and used to determine optical constants: refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (κ), and absorption coefficient (α)) and the energies: E₀₄, E₀₃, Tauc band gap E[subscript]Tauc and Urbach energy E[subscript]U. An increase of these energies was observed with increasing hydrogen flow rate. This increase is interpreted on the basis of the density of state model proposed by Mott and Davis. An increase of network disorder due to the inclusion of hydrogen into …

Flavonoids As Modulators Of Amyloid Precursor Protein Metabolism And Alzheimer Disease Pathology, Kavon Rezai-Zadeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder pathologically characterized by deposition of ß-amyloid (Aß) peptides as plaques in the brain. Central to this AD pathology is mismetabolism of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Recent studies suggest that flavonoids, a class of secondary plant metabolites, may be useful for the prevention and treatment of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. The studies detailed herein, investigate the ability of two such classes of flavonoids, green tea derived catechins and 5,7-dihydroxyflavones, to modulate APP metabolism in "Swedish" mutant APP (APP_sw) models of AD. Studies showed that green tea derived (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) …

Quantitative Phase Imaging Microscopy With Multi-Wavelength Optical Phase Unwrapping, Nilanthi Warnasooriya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a quantitative phase imaging microscopy technique that combines phase-shifting interferometry with multi-wavelength optical phase unwrapping. The technique consists of a Michelson-type interferometer illuminated with any of three types of light sources; light emitting diodes, laser diodes and a ring dye laser. Interference images are obtained by using a 4-frame phase shifting method, and are combined to calculate the phase of the object surface. The 2π ambiguities are removed by repeating the experiment combining two and three different wavelengths, which yields phase images of effective wavelength much longer than the original. The resulting image is a profile of …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of The Developing Algebraic Literacy Model: Preparing Special Educators To Implement Effective Mathematics Practices, Sharon N. E. Ray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For students with learning disabilities, positive academic achievement outcomes are a chief area of concern for educators across the country. This achievement emphasis has become particularly important over the last several years because of the No Child Left Behind legislation. The content area of mathematics, especially in the higher order thinking arena of algebra, has been of particular concern for student progress. While most educational research in algebra has been targeted towards remedial efforts at the high school level, early intervention in the foundational skills of algebraic thinking at the elementary level needs consideration for students who would benefit from …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2008-08-15, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Masters, John Post, 1885-1973 (Sc 1654), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1654. Warrant of arrest from the Bowling Green, Kentucky Police Court for John Post Masters, manager of a theater in Bowling Green owned by the Crescent Amusement Company. The offense was "maintaining a public nuisance."

Three Wittgensteins: Interpreting The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Thomas J. Brommage Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are historically three main trends in understanding Wittgenstein's Tractatus. The first is the interpretation offered by the Vienna Circle. They read Wittgenstein as arguing that neither metaphysical nor normative propositions have any cognitive meaning, and thus are to be considered nonsense. This interpretation understands Wittgenstein as setting the limits of sense, and prescribing that nothing of substantive philosophical importance lies beyond that line. The second way of reading the Tractatus, which has became popular since the 1950s, is the interpretation which most currently accept as the early Wittgenstein's view; for this reason I refer to it …

Becker, Lori (Fa 299), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 299. Paper: "Halloween Coverage Throughout October" written by Lori Becker for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Ganter, Roxanne (Fa 305), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 305. Paper: "My Group Event: Canasta" written by Roxanne Ganter for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Drake, Angela (Fa 282), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 282. Paper: "Generation Comparisons" written by Angela Drake for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Callis, Susan (Fa 293), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 293. Paper: "An Index to Quilt Patterns in Western Kentucky University Archives" written by Susan Callis for a Western Kentucky University English class.

Minding The Gap: What It Is To Pay Attention Following The Collapse Of The Subject-Object Distinction, S West Gurley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary studies of the phenomenon of attention uncritically suppose that the only way to go about observing attention is as a modification of consciousness. Consciousness is taken to be always intentional, i.e., distinguished by reference to an object-whether physical or not-toward which it is directed. Observers of attention therefore assume that attention is an intentional modification of consciousness. Such practices of observation, in virtue of the kinds of practices that they are, take for granted that the fundamental constituents of reality are subjects and objects. Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger (and Maurice Merleau-Ponty after them) discovered that belief in the …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2008-08-01, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Conquering The Sublime: Terror And Control In Moby-Dick, Matthew William Burkett

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick represents an experiment in Romantic literature. In addition to relying on the works of British Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Melville also applies Edmund Burke's ideas of the sublime to depict the inherent terror of hunting whales on the open ocean. According to Burke, the sublime is anything that inspires fear in the human mind, and Melville describes whaling in sublime terms. Melville also employs the sublime to critique 19th-century American society. The novel attacks humanity's drive to conquer both the natural world and other human beings. I will examine …

Ward Family Papers (Mss 59), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 59. Papers chiefly of Hezekiah and Richard Ward of Ohio County, Kentucky. Promissory notes, 1857-79 (14 items); tax receipts, 1864-68 (4); telephone receipts, 1913-34 (44); and miscellaneous receipts, 1824-1937 (40); legal papers, 1873-1939 (14); essay and play, 189?; and genealogical data (2).

Resiliency In Academically Successful Latina Doctoral Students: Implications For Advocacy, Katherine M. Fuerth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that the Latina/o population is growing in the United States, and more Latina/os are attending college, many do not continue their education beyond the undergraduate level, much less beyond the Master's level. Latinas in particular continue to be underrepresented in professional roles due to the small number of Latinas who obtain doctoral degrees. Although many Latinas do not continue their education or drop-out throughout their graduate schooling, some Latinas do thrive forward and are academically successful. This study aimed at identifying elements that fostered resiliency in academically successful Latina doctoral students, as well as identifying challenges or barriers …

Luminex Microsphere Immunoassay Offers An Improved Method In Testing For Antibodies To Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus In Sentinel Chicken Sera, Kelly Ann Fitzpatrick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus has a human mortality rate of 30% of those cases diagnosed, while 30% of those surviving infection remain with neurological sequelae for life (CDC.gov, 2007).

The use of sentinel chickens for surveillance of arboviruses that are known to use birds as a reservoir host, such as St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE), West Nile (WN) virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and Highlands J (HJ) virus, in Florida began with the Sentinel Chicken Arboviral Surveillance Network in 1978 (Day and Stark, 1996). This network enables the activation of an early warning system for citizens, as well as, county epidemiologists …