American Studies Commons^™

An Investigation Of The Online Learning Environment In Higher Education Through The Observations And Perceptions Of Students Of Color, Marie Adele Boyette

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A need exists to gain a better understanding of how the online learning environment found in higher education is perceived by students of color. The research completed for this dissertation explored student participation in the online learning environment in higher education by examining the observations and perceptions of students of color. Along the way, the process of the research journey drew attention to the lack of inclusion of students of color in the literature and data collected about online learning, and pointed to the existence of the digital divide and its impact on graduate students of color and their participation …

Adhesion Comparison Of Low Dielectric Constant Thin Films Using Four Point Bend And Nanoscratch Testing, Daniel Vilceus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the semiconductor technology moves further into scaled down device structures, modern day complexities in the fabrication processes become more prevalent. This thesis focuses on the issues associated with mechaincal and adhesion failure in low dielectric constant (low-k) thin films. In this thesis the four point bend test and nanoscratch test method was used for evaluating adhesion of boro-phosphate-silicate glass (BPSG) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) low-k thin films to silicon subtrates. Nanoindation tests were also performed on the low-k films to evaluate material properties such as hardness and elastic modulus. The sample preparation and testing set up for the four point …

Leible, Ann (Fa 290), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 290. Paper: "Butterflies, Cyclones, and Jewelry Trees: My Family Folklore" written by Leible for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Koenig, Helen (Fa 292), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 292. Paper: "My Family Folklore" written by Koenig for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Hammers, Clark Porter (Fa 244), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 244. Paper: "The Porter Family of Butler County from 1736 to 1950" written by Clark Porter Hammers for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Maltry, Janet A. (Fa 250), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 250. Paper: "Reminiscence" written by Janet A. Maltry for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Badley, Kristie A. (Fa 267), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 267. Paper: "My Family Folklore: Functionary Mechanisms" written by Kristie A. Badley for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Webb, Andra R. (Fa 263), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 263. Paper: "Folklore in Its Everyday Life" written by Andra R. Webb for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Hodes, Jane Ellen (Sachs), 1918-2009 (Sc 1633), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1633. Correspondence between Jane Ellen (Sachs) Hodes, Oakland, California and librarians at the Kentucky Library & Museum related to photos and papers in the manuscript collection of Hodes's mother and author, Emanie (Nahm) Sachs Arling Philips. Includes a 1940s letter from Philips to Hodes.

Microwave Frequency Doubler Integrated With Miniaturized Planar Antennas, Suzette Marie Presas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the development of a high efficiency harmonic re-radiator, consisting of a diode doubler and conjugate-matched receive and transmit antennas, is described. Diode-based frequency multipliers and rectifiers, coupled with antennas, are of interest for quasi-optical applications, for energy-scavenging and for sensing applications. The device studied operates by receiving an interrogating signal at a frequency of 1.3 GHz and re-radiating a signal at 2.6 GHz. The primary goal of this research was to develop a passive, miniature and effective frequency doubler integrated with planar antennas. The system is referred to as a frequency doubling reflectenna, (FDR). Prediction of accurate …

The Nature Of Questioning Moves Used By Exemplary Teachers During Reading Instruction, Melinda M. Lundy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines and describes the nature of questioning moves used by two exemplary fourth-grade teachers during reading instruction. Questioning moves are defined in this study as the ways in which teachers use scaffolding questions to engage students in talk about text. Another point of interest in this study was to determine how teachers perceive the influence of instructional materials on the language they use to engage students in talk about text.

This study was situated within a constructivist paradigm of inquiry and drew from the case study tradition for its design. Naturalistic methods of data collection were employed including …

Hall, Candy (Fa 245), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 245. Paper: "[Supernatural Experiences in the Life of a Green County, Kentucky Woman]" written by Candy Hall for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Identifying Patients With Cancer At Risk Of Experiencing A Fall While Hospitalized, Joann M. Heaton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inpatient falls are the most reported incidents in the acute care setting. Symptoms associated with a diagnosis of cancer and treatment may increase risk for falls. The objectives of this study were to identify the risk factors, and the most common risk factors, of adult patients with cancer who fell while hospitalized. A retrospective, matched, case-control audit of electronic medical records and occurrence reports was conducted for 30 patients who fell and 30 patients who did not fall while under the care of the inpatient oncology unit in a community hospital. Fall subjects and controls were matched by cancer diagnosis …

Advancement And Optimization Of An Electrospray Injection Based In-Vacuum Patterning System For Macromolecular Materials, Andreas Stark

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrospray ionization is a technique widely used in mass spectrometry. Almost every material, specifically large molecules like proteins or polymers can be ionized directly out of solution. During the ionization process molecules are not fragmented. In this work a prototype apparatus for creating three-dimensional patterns in a ultra high vacuum environment using an electrospray ion source was optimized for higher ion currents hence deposition rate by improving the core component of the apparatus, an electrodynamic ion funnel. The major improvements are a redesigned heated vacuum inlet, modified gas flow inside the ion funnel because of sealing the ion funnel against …

Two Essays On Corporate Governance⎯Are Local Directors Better Monitors, And Directors Incentives And Earnings Management, Hong Wan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature have documented that the independent directors play a crucial goal in corporate governance but the research on the firm value and board independence remains inconclusive. In my dissertation, I examine the impact of independent directors' geographic proximity to corporate headquarters on the effectiveness of corporate boards and the motivations of board directors. Using a large sample of directors trading, I show that independent directors who live close to headquarters ("local director") earn higher abnormal returns on their trades than other directors, and that this advantage is stronger in small firms. Further, I find an inverse relationship between the …

Police Officers’ Perceptions Regarding Persons With Mental Retardation, Danielle M. Eadens

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the attitudes held by police officers towards persons with mental retardation with regard to the domains of knowledge, social willingness, affect and contact. It also investigated relationships among group membership and perspectives towards mental retardation. An analysis of relationships between the four domains was also completed. A descriptive correlational design was employed to survey police officers, pairing the Social Distance Questionnaire with a researcher-designed instrument consisting of open-ended questions aligned with each domain. The sample included one hundred and eighty police officers from five different bureaus in one county in Central Florida.

Results of the study indicate …

Yeats, Eliot, And Apocalyptic Poetry, Nancy Helen Fletcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Yeats and Eliot merit comparison because they wrote poetry that has been described as apocalyptic in the same historical period and in the same general geographic area but described entirely different visions. These particular works of Yeats and Eliot are appropriate because they represent two widely varying viewpoints on the causes, nature and desirability of what each author felt would be the coming apocalypse. Therefore, more can be learned by comparing the very different outlooks of the poems than by considering each poem separately.

Yeats sees humanity as both the victim and the beneficiary of a series of inescapable historical …

Patch Reefs In Biscayne National Park, Fl: Sediments, Foraminiferal Distributions, And A Comparison Of Three Biotic Indicators Of Reef Health, Alexa Ramirez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coral cover remains highest on patch reefs at the northern end of the Florida reef tract. The reasons for this trend are not well understood, but may be related to the protection from extreme variations in water quality parameters provided by the near constant presence of islands at the north extent of the Florida Keys.

Three indices have been developed based on Foraminifera and sediment constituents. Two of the indices, the FORAM Index and the SEDCON Index, were developed to indicate the suitability of a reef environment for continued reef accretion. The third index, the Photic Index, is an assessment …

Whites, Pierce Butler (Fa 260), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 260. Paper: "Reflections on Attitudes Towards Drugs in East Kentucky" written by Pierce Butler Whites for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Willis, Scott M. (Fa 259), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 259. Paper: "Folk Medical Beliefs" written by Scott M. Willis for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Brown, Jill E. (Fa 273), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 273. Paper: "My Family Christmas" written by Jill E Brown for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Wessel, Rachel (Fa 262), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 262. Paper: "My High School Years" written by Rachel Wessel for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Mair, Erica S. (Fa 249), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 249. Paper: "Whatever Gets You Through the Day" written by Erica S. Mair for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Mefford, Donna Kaye (Fa 252), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 252. Paper: "My Family's Christmas Traditions" written by Donna Kaye Mefford for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Shockley, Lorie Helen (Fa 254), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 254. Paper: "Mrs. Betty Carter: Folk Healer" written by Lorie Helen Shockley for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Brown, Susan Ray (Fa 272), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 272. Paper: "Traditions of Sorority Life" written by Susan Ray Brown for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Bowers, Joseph P. (Fa 268), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 268. Paper: "Sample Folk Beliefs" written by Joseph P. Bowers for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Schroeder, Rachel L. (Fa 257), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 257. Paper: "Ads, Ads, Ads: A Look at the Number Three in Magazine Advertisements" written by Rachel L. Schroeder for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Owsley, Rebecca (Fa 258), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 258. Paper: "Farm Folklore" written by Rebecca Owsley for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Harbison, Kay (Fa 237), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 237. Paper: "Other Stories They Told" written by Kay Harbison for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.