Education Commons^™

Counseling Clients With Traumatic Brain Injury: Exploring Counselors’ Perceived Knowledge, Comfort, And Self-Awareness, Michelle Bradham-Cousar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnoses continues to rise each year. Counseling is a critical factor in TBI treatment, and although numerous studies have investigated TBI outcomes, a paucity of researchers have studied professional counselors’ knowledge, comfort, and self-awareness when working with TBI clients. Due to the diversity of counselor caseloads, it is likely that counselors will serve clients with a dual diagnosis that includes TBI. These dual diagnoses include depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, psychosis, or another neurocognitive disorder. The purpose of this study was to explore counselors’ knowledge, comfort, and self-awareness when working with individuals with …

Data-Driven Modeling Of The Causes And Effects Of Interneuronal Dysfunction In Alzheimer’S Disease And Dravet Syndrome, Carlos Perez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the increased cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), causing abnormally high levels of the aggregation form of amyloid beta (Aβ ). Many studies have shown that both AD patients and AD mice models exhibit abnormal network activity, including hypersynchronous excitatory neuron behavior, altered brain rhythms, and in some instances epileptic seizures when exposed to high levels of Aβ In particular, strong experimental evidence suggests that it is the small globular amyloid oligomers (gOs) and curvilinear fibrils (CFs) rather than the more stable, late stage rigid fibrils (RFs) that cause …

Exploring Adult Indigenous Latinxs’ English Language Identity Expressions And Agency: A Malp®-Informed Photovoice Study, Andrea Enikő Lypka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars historically emphasized literate learners’ additional language trajectories. In countries with increasingly large numbers of limited-literate adult language learners, there is an urgent need to inspire limited-literate adults to speak out and be heard. To address the needs of adult language learners with inconsistent schooling, and the ways their identities, agency, and social power influence opportunities for participation in the target language communities of practice, scholars need to implement bottom-up and responsive curricular and research innovations. To this end, informed by poststructuralist and transdisciplinary understandings of English language development, I investigated the identity work (self-positioning and other-positioning) and agency deployment …

Visualization Dynamics And Ideal L2 Self: Exploring L2 Learner Motivation In A Study Abroad Context, Dan Zhong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Second language learner motivation research has witnessed a transition from a historically static approach to a more dynamic approach, yielding extensive research during the past decade. Dörnyei (2005, 2009) proposed a vigorous motivation framework, the Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MSS) that highlights the dynamic nature of learner motivation. The L2MSS consists of three main constructs: the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the learning experiences (Dörnyei, 2005). This study uses the L2MSS framework as the theoretical basis to explore learners’ motivation and learning experiences in a study abroad context. Empirical studies using this framework to explore L2 …

Isolation Of Specific Phospholipids From Nannochloropsis Oculata Microalga For Cosmetic Applications, Ahmet Yener Manisali

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Algae, photosynthetic aquatic organisms, have recently caught the attention of the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries due to the variety of natural compounds in their cellular bodies such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Specifically, microalgae-derived natural compounds such as phospholipids are extensively utilized in cosmetics as part of liposome formers, emulsifiers, solubilizers, and wetting agents. Although phospholipids are currently extracted from food sources, this practice raises sustainability concerns. Hence, growing microalgae on the provision of macronutrients such as nitrates and phosphates will serve as a more sustainable source of the several specific phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidyl-ethanolamine (PE), …

Enhancing Adult Refugees’ Metacognition, Motivation, And Multiliteracies: Metacognitive Instruction Within An E-Learning Environment, Imelda V. Bangun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult refugees without print literacy are a diverse group. The reasons adult refugees lack print literacy varies widely among individuals. While meeting the needs of these adults is indeed important, instructors who work with these learners are frequently challenged to provide suitable e-learning environments in which these learners can thrive. Accordingly, the present study aimed to achieve four goals. First, it investigated the effectiveness of explicit metacognitive instruction within an e-learning environment in enhancing the motivational profile of adult refugees with limited literacy. Second, it researched the effectiveness of explicit metacognitive instruction accompanied with an e-learning environment in enhancing the …

Communication, Learning And Social Support At The Speaking Center: A Communities Of Practice Perspective, Ann Marie Foley Coats

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to increasing demand for public speaking instruction, more institutions are establishing campus speaking centers staffed by student tutors. Peer tutors provide clients with a range of supports in the speech-making process, including suggestions for speech content and organization and for improving delivery during simulated practice sessions. This study investigates patterns of peer interaction in one campus speaking center to understand the dynamics of peer support in a non-classroom setting and how they may create the conditions for student learning. This ethnographic study conceptualized speaking center activities and the practice of oral communication skills development through the lens of …

Thermoelectric Transport Control Using Single Phase Materials And Metamaterial Composites, Wencong Shi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The amount of annual energy consumption in today's human world is on an unprecedented level, as most of the energy used for industrial, transportation, and residential purposes are rejected or dissipated as waste heat, it is of crucial importance to find a way to harvest this wasted heat energy and convert it back into usages. Thermoelectric (TE) devices can help to achieve this purpose by utilizing the principle of thermoelectricity such as the Seebeck effect to generate the electric energy from the waste heat. The main challenges are to find TE materials that are highly efficient in energy conversion, low …

A Framework For Assessing The Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, And Safety (Rams) Of Decentralized Sanitation, Adefunké Adeosun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In established industry sectors, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) risk assessments are normally used to compare the risks associated with different technologies on process units. Sanitation solutions are split into traditional wastewater treatment which is centralized treatment and can be classified as an established industry, and decentralized treatment such as pit latrines and septic tank systems which are on much smaller scales. Also they can be classified as non-conventional methods such as reinvented advanced decentralized non-sewered sanitation solution techniques exist mainly in two forms as “Single-User Reinvented Toilet (SURT)” systems or “Multiple-User Reinvented Toilet (MURT)” systems. Advanced decentralized non-sewered …

Laser-Induced Modifications In Two-Dimensional Materials, Tariq Afaneh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted a growing interest in the lastdecade from the fundamental point of view as well as their potential applications in functional devices. Due to their high surface-to-volume ratio, the physical properties of 2D materials are very sensitive to the environmental factor such as surrounding media and illumination conditions (e.g. light-mater interaction). In the first part of this dissertation I will present recent advances in developing laser-assisted methods to tune the physical properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). We demonstrate laser-assisted chemical modification ultrathin TMDs, locally replacing selenium by sulfur atoms. The photo-conversion process …

Controlling Properties Of Light: Metamaterials Design And Methodology, Darrick Hay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic metamaterials are materials that have designed electromagnetic properties. In general metamaterials are subwavelength and can be treated as homogeneous media with an effective permittivity and permeability. Early metamaterial designs were developed to exhibit electromagnetic responses not typically found in naturally occuring materials, but this is not a strict requirement. Metamaterials have shown promise for applications throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. The goal of this work is to present a coherent methodology for metamaterials design, fabrication and application while also describing all of the relevant physics of the designed metamaterials.

Chapter 1 is comprised of an introduction into the field of …

Transformational School Leadership And Students' Gaokao Performance In China: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis, Yanzheng Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers’ psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) and organizational commitment (OC) mediated the effects of principals’ transformational school leadership (TSL) on students’ Gaokao performance in China by testing a hypothesized multilevel model. Survey data were collected online from 893 teachers at 10 public senior high schools in a city located in Northern China. The first city-wide mock Gaokao exam results were used as the indicator of students’ Gaokao performance. Data analysis techniques included correlational analysis, multiple regression analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling analysis, and multilevel mediation analysis. Results indicated a relatively …

Origins Of Amyloid Oligomers And Novel Approaches For Their Detection, Jeremy Barton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease, type II diabetes, and other amyloid diseases are known to be associated with the formation of amyloid aggregates. It has been thoroughly researched whether amyloid fibrils or oligomers are the main culprit for these diseases, and recent evidence has connected oligomers as the most disease relevant aggregate species. However, many difficulties have arose in confirming this hypothesis. Techniques for oligomer detection are often limited in their sensitivity, and in many cases are unable to distinguish oligomers from rigid fibrils. Additionally, the role oligomer splay in fibril assembly is still unclear, and has led to the belief that different …

Three Blended Librarians' Narratives On Developing Professional Identities, Adonis Amparo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A blended librarian holds two separate and distinct responsibilities in the academic institution. One relates to instructional technology, the other relates to the information professional. In this narrative inquiry, I explore the constructed identity of three blended librarians and offer insight to inform current and future blended librarians, instructional technologists and designers, and their academic institutions. Each librarian was hired between 2012 and 2013. Each participant was the first blended librarian at each of their universities. I explored themes of transformation, inclusiveness, and connectedness. I used Mezirow’s transformational learning theory with support from secondary theories, universal instructional design and TPACK …

Assessing Many-Body Van Der Waals Contributions In Model Sorption Environments, Matthew K. Mostrom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The energy used in the separation and purification of small volatile atoms and compounds represents a sizablefraction of the world’s energy consumption as a whole 1 Noble gases in particular represent a unique challenge as their separation currently relies on distillation methods that work by virtue of small differences in the density of their pure phases. Highly porous Metal-Organic Materials (MOMs) offer a cheaper, more efficient alternative to cryogenic distillation, and studying their properties using various simulation methods has become an important and active area of research. The family of Potentials with “High Accuracy, Speed and Transferability” (PHAST) have been …

Honokiol Loaded Mpeg-Pcl Micelles For The Treatment Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Amna Shahid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a multi-factorial age-related retinal hypoxic disorder resulting in irreversible loss of vision is the foremost cause of blindness in United States. Current treatment strategies used to treat disease involve multiple intraocular injections of Anti – VEGF agents into the vitreous of eye. In addition to the issues of drug localization and targeted delivery, the need to frequently inject drug into the eye raise patient compliance issues. These challenges call for sustained drug delivery system. In this study, a sustained drug delivery system was prepared by loading an anti- HIF agent, honokiol into MPEG-PCL polymer. These …

Latino/A Student Success In Higher Education: A Study In Persistence, Ronald K. Maccammon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide a detailed accounting of the experiences of Latinos students who persist in higher education. The supports and barriers they encountered, as well as their recommendations for educational stakeholders looking to effect persistence were examined. The grand tour question guiding this research was: “What do some Latino students and their institutions do to enable decisions to persist and how do they do it?” Sub-Questions providing depth for the research were: (a) how do the participants make meaning of their experiences to persist to graduate; (b) what are the participants’ perceptions of the …

Reproductive Ecology And Phenology Of Thalassia Testudinum (Hydrocharitaceae) In Tampa Bay, Florida, Sheila Scolaro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Successful sexual reproduction and recolonization are critical in maintaining genetic diversity within seagrass meadows. Thalassia testudinum flower, fruit and seedling production were assessed visually at 10 sites within Tampa Bay, Florida approximately every 4 weeks from May to July 2017 to determine if there is spatial and temporal variation in sexual reproductive effort and if location within a meadow effects sexual reproductive effort. Results from this study reveal strong temporal variability throughout the reproductive season. The month of May was observed as peak Thalassia testudinum anthesis and June was peak fruiting in Tampa Bay during 2017. Flower and fruit density …

Swimming Of Pelagic Snails: Kinematics And Fluid Dynamics, Ferhat Karakas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pteropods (also known as sea butterflies or sea angels), are holoplanktonic marine snails which swim by flapping a pair of extremely flexible wings. The wings are modified from the molluscan foot and the wing motions are supported by the fluid pressure without any rigid support. Sea angels (gymnosome pteropods) are completely naked; in contrast, sea butterflies (thecosome pteropods) have negatively buoyant aragonite shells which vary in geometry and size among different species. Pteropods are seasonally abundant in the ocean, and an important food source for the other zooplanktons, fishes, and whales. Though studies have been conducted regarding their biology, ecology, …

Students' Perceptions Of Career And Academic Advising In College Learning Communities, Kelly M. Hallas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine if community college students in differing learning communities had different perceptions of their career and academic needs and whether students in different learning communities perceived their career and academic advisor as meeting these needs (i.e. are they satisfied with their advising). In addition, this study examined the variables of gender, ethnicity, and enrollment status and their relation to students’ needs and satisfaction across learning communities.

The Community College that provides the backdrop for the inquiry has recently transitioned to Academic and Career Learning Communities. This institution defines its communities as similar majors …

A Narrative Inquiry Into A Principal’S Understanding Of School Culture And Its Influences On Principal Leadership, Robert M. Holby

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Culture has been discussed and written about at great length from roots in anthropology (e.g., Tylor, 1920; Mead, 1928) to development of the concepts of organizational culture (Schein, 1985, 2010) and school culture (e.g., Bolman & Deal, 2013; Deal & Peterson, 1991, 2009). Societies, organizations and schools as organizations create, develop, and maintain culture—deep-seated assumptions, values, ways of thinking and acting that characterize how we do things, how we live.

In a school the principal is often cast as responsible for influencing or creating a culture and climate for change (Fullan, 2008; Jones et al., 2013). Thus, it is important …

K–12 Teachers’ Experiences “With Or Without” Breastfeeding/Pumping Policy In The School Workplace, Michelle Mae Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of classroom teachers who are lactating and expressing milk in a situation with or without school/district policies related to lactation and breastmilk expression. As there is little in the published literature that describes postpartum K–12 teachers' experiences while pumping breastmilk in the workplace. There is a need for studies that highlight these experiences and explore how policies impact breastfeeding teachers. The study was guided by three research questions: (1) How do classroom teachers who are, or have been, lactating and expressing milk during their workday experience school/district policies related to lactation and breastmilk expression? (2) …

"You Want To Teach What?" An Examination Of Physical Education Teacher Candidates' Motivation To Teach Physical Education, Rebecca C. Wylie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the reasons individuals choose to become physical educators. Understanding these PE teacher candidates’ motivating factors for choosing this career is important as nearly half of all new teachers will leave the profession within the first three years of teaching (Ensign & Mays Woods, 2017). Using the theoretical framework of Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, (1984) motivation levels of the PE teacher candidates’ were also examined. For this study, six PE teacher candidates answered both the Attractors and Facilitators for Physical Educators questionnaire and the Academic Motivation Scale. The participants also participated in two semi-structured interviews examining their …

Female Identity And Sexuality In Contemporary Indonesian Novels, Zita Rarastesa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project focuses on female characters’ identity and sexuality in four contemporary Indonesian novels, selected based on historical settings highly significant to the discussion. First, The Girl from the Coast (2002) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer takes place during Dutch colonialization, and the second, The Dancer (1982) by Ahmad Tohari, during the transition of power from President Soekarno to General Suharto, a period when the Indonesian Communist Party was still active. Durga/Umayi (2004) by Y. B. Mangunwijaya and Saman, a Novel (1998) by Ayu Utami both take place during the New Order era when Suharto was president of Indonesia.

The project’s …

An Exploration Of The Retention And Attrition Factors For The Campus-Based Fraternity/Sorority Student Affairs Professional, Viancca J. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A higher education administrator who provides oversight, education, and accountability for fraternities and sororities is the fraternity/sorority advisor. Long-term retention in this role is low, with the average amount of time spent in the position being 3.33 years (Koepsell & Stillman, 2016). Limited research has been conducted to understand why. The purpose of the study was to explore the factors (including characteristics and experiences) contributing to the retention and attrition of campus-based student affairs professionals working in the fraternity/sorority life functional area. This qualitative study included 23 participants who at the time served in the role for longer than eight …

Syrian Female Refugees: Exploring Identity And Online Language Learning, Alia Hadid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was three-fold. First, it aimed to focus on the experiences of Syrian female refugees studying English online and examine their reactions. Second, it researched the impact learning English online had on their identity as language learners. Third, it investigated how learning English online affected their daily life interactions in their new environment.

The participants in this study were nine Syrian female refugees, but the stories highlighted the experiences of two focal participants. Through narrative inquiry, I collected stories about their perceptions of the online English course and how they used English in and out of …

Digital Stories Students Tell: An Exploration Of Doctoral Sla Students’ Beliefs About Storytelling And Educational Technology, Patrick Mannion

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational technology (ET) plays a major role in second/foreign (L2) language teaching and learning. Some factors influencing the ways in which teachers employ ET in L2 education are the teachers’ personal beliefs about how teachers and students should use ET to learn target languages. To develop a better understanding of influences on L2 teachers’ ET-related subjective positions, a need exists to explore the ET-related perceptions and beliefs of current and future teacher educators who are, or will be, responsible for the design and implementation of curricula and learning activities in teacher education programs. In these teacher education programs, future teachers …

The Effects Of Augmented Reality (Ar)-Infused Idiom Material On Iranian Students’ Idiom Achievements, Motivation, And Perceptions, Babak Khoshnevisan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Idiomatic competence poses a unique challenge on the second and foreign language learning process (Liontas, 1999). Multiple researchers have explored the perceptions and beliefs of language learners regarding idioms (Kömür & Çimen, 2009; Liontas, 2002a; Liontas, 2007). Other scholars have studied the role of technology in learning idioms (Amer, 2014; Andarab & Rouhi, 2014; Khoshnevisan, 2018a; Liontas, 2006). Additionally, researchers have widely investigated the impact of augmented reality (AR) on literacy development (Cheng & Tsai, 2014; Solak & Cakir, 2015). However, a thorough review of the related literature indicates few researchers have, to date, explored language learners’ perceptions about the …

Ghostly Entanglements: Exposing Temporal Matter(Ing)S In Social Studies Education With (Re)Photography, Bretton A. Varga

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Visual resources offer a variety of pedagogical advantages. Regardless of content, images can be leveraged to build critically analytical skills and used to cultivate dialogic literacies (i.e., articulations of thinking) about the social world. Further, images can be used to introduce and grapple with complex/abstract ideas. Given the relationship that social studies has to temporality (i.e., subjective engagements with the past, present, and future), visual resources also present teacher(s) (educators) with the opportunity to explore (theoretical) concepts foregrounding manifold relationships making up the social world (i.e., a world consisting of complex entanglements between non/human entities).

The purpose of this research …

Breakthroughs In Obtaining Qm/Mm Free Energies, Phillip S. Hudson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The computation of free energy is pivotal to understanding the fundamental nature of chemical phenomena. That is, whether a specific molecular outcome occurs spontaneously or is inherently unfavorable. The need to do this with consistent accuracy begs for the use of quantum mechanical (QM) methods. However, techniques for directly computing free energy differences with QM or mixed QM/MM methods are untenable, as the computational expense is quite exorbitant. At present, the most feasible approach for obtaining QM/MM free energies is employing the so-called indirect cycle, which relies on accurately computing free energy differences between low (e.g., molecular mechanical, MM) and …