Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Anthropology With Human Waste Management: Non-Humans, The State, And Matters Of Care On The Placencia Peninsula, Belize, William Alex Webb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The management of human waste is a seldom studied phenomenon in anthropology. Yet across the globe, in countries both rich and poor, it presents pervasive and difficult to tame problems. This dissertation draws on complimentary theories of management and entanglements to explore the practices and processes of organizing human waste on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize. The results illustrate how problems are conditioned and defined by messy relations between institutions, people, technologies, materials, and ecological life.

Fieldwork and analysis for this work was a culmination of years of interdisciplinary collaboration between other anthropologists and engineers at the University of South Florida. …

Towards More Task-Generalized And Explainable Ai Through Psychometrics, Alec Braynen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we propose that adopting the methods, principles, and guidelines of the field of psychometrics can help the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community to build more task-generalizable and explainable AI. Three arguments are presented and explored. These arguments are that psychometrics can help by providing 1) a framework for formulating better datasets, 2) psychometric AI data that can lead to models of generalization in AI, and 3) explainable AI through more informative evaluations.

A review of psychometrics and psychological generalization is performed, along with an overview of evaluation, generalization, and explainability in AI. Various ideas are presented throughout for …

Reviving The Christian Left: A Thematic Analysis Of Progressive Christian Identity In American Politics, Adam Blake Arledge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While Christianity in American politics today is mostly dominated by the voice of the Religious Right, many are unaware that there also exists a significant number of progressive Christians throughout the country. This diverse group, often referred to as the Christian Left, is not as organized or outspoken as conservative Christians and tends to shy away from the restrictive influence of identity labels. However, members all share in common a passion for social justice issues. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the identity of Christian Left individuals through a thematic analysis of interviews. By interrogating participants’ identity …

Organizing For Here And There: Exploring The Grassroots Organizing Of The Puerto Rican Diaspora In The Tampa Bay Area, Dominique Rivera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing upon participant observations and semi-structure interviews with 10 Puerto Rican grassroots organizers from the Tampa Bay area of Florida, this project examines the processes by which Puerto Rican diaspora members build, maintain, and utilize social and symbolic ties as resources for organizing and executing grassroot projects and campaigns with a dual focus on the Puerto Rican community in the Tampa Bay area and in Puerto Rico. Complex webs of interlocking social and symbolic ties that transcend region of origin and regions of destination constitute a transnational social field, within which exchanges of ideas, practices, and resources are organized among …

Round Table (Part 2): Reflections & Questions, Sarah Federman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Round Table (Part 5): What’S Raphaël Lemkin Got To Do With Genocide Studies?, Douglas Irvin-Erickson

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Human Mobility, Hospitality, And Tourism Industries: A Perspective On Catastrophes, Asif Hussain

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a significant reduction in peoples’ movements, migration and trade at both local and global levels. Lockdowns and travel restrictions all over the world have led to a rapid retrenchment of the world’s hospitality and tourism sector. This is not new. Historically, catastrophes impacted human mobility. Drawing from the historical connections between catastrophes, especially health crises, this paper highlights the impacts of catastrophes on the hospitality and tourism industries. This research shows that the relationship between pandemic and tourism is turbulent, and it explores the implications of the current health crisis for the travel industry …

Caring As A Fundamental Of Sustainability And Resilience In An Aboriginal Community, Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Caring is a fundamental of cultural/community sustainability and resilience among Aboriginal people. However, caring is not confined to community but, as this paper demonstrates can also be extended to both visitors and the wider society. The kindness engendered has application particularly in this time of COVID-19 for both tourism and mainstream society in general.

Marketing Transformation In Tourism Through Visual Ethnography, Isabel Coll-Barneto, Francesc Fusté-Forné

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

This paper analyses the role of transformative tourism from the perspective of local establishments. The method is based on a visual ethnography study where 12 ecological accommodations located in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain, were asked to identify a photography that illustrates the philosophy of the establishments. Results discuss the meanings of the pictures focused on previous research in relation to the transformative facilitators. The physical, knowledge, social and psychological dimensions are analysed. The nature, the wood, and the relaxing areas are the most relevant elements provided by the hotels as part of their marketing strategy. Theoretical and practical implications are described.

Cinema Studies: Different Perspectives, Burak Turten

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

PREFACE

Cinema Studies: Different Perspectives is essential reading for anyone interested in cinema discipline. The singular aim of this edited book of scholarly text is to stimulate and engage readers in the fast-changing, complex, and increasingly interdisciplinary nature of cinema studies, and to serve as a catalyst for future intellectual, academic, and professional-driven research agendas. It is believed that the integration of cinema studies with other disciplines will undoubtedly contribute to the development of the cinema field both in practice and in theory.

Therefore, each chapter of this book, which consists of 9 chapters, focuses on a sub-discipline such as …

Cinema Studies, Burak Turten

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

PREFACE

Cinema Studies is a comprehensive book that, is hoped, will provide students and researchers with film studies and other persons interested in cinema with a useful reference book on film analysis and, where relevant, the different discussions surrounding that. The contributors analyze some films using ideas and concerns from modernism, cinematographic narrative, ideology, propaganda, migration, nomadism, and the sense of revenge. The book provides new insights into films and turns the discussion towards recent research questions and analyses, representing and constituting in each contribution new work in the discipline of film text analysis.

Therefore, each chapter of this book, …

Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, …

Mass Violence, Environmental Harm, And The Limits Of Transitional Justice, Rachel Killean, Lauren Dempster

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The relationship between the environment and mass violence is complex and multi-faceted. The effects of environmental degradation can destabilize societies and cause conflict. Attacks on the environment can harm targeted groups, and both mass violence and subsequent transitions can have harmful environmental legacies. Given this backdrop, it is notable that the field of transitional justice has paid relatively little attention to the intersections between mass violence and environmental degradation. This article interrogates this inattention and explores the limitations and possibilities of transitional justice as a means of addressing the environmental harms associated with mass violence. The article makes four key …

Full Issue 16.1

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Armed Conflict, Women And Climate Change, Shelly Clay-Robison

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Postgenocide: Interdisciplinary Reflections On The Effects Of Genocide, Aldo Zammit Borda

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Black And Hispanic Males Retained Through Florida’S Mandatory Third Grade Retention Law, Sophia Mcmorris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a constant argument that if students cannot read by third grad, then they will have an uphill struggle for the rest of their educational journey. Researchers have provided evidence signaling some truth to this claim and efforts have been established to ensure that all students receive high-quality instruction (Tweed, 2001). Many states have struggled with policies on how to correct this problem, and they have been challenged to answer whether students who cannot read proficiently by the third grade should be promoted, or if they should be pertained and provided with intensive interventions before moving on to …

An Analysis Of International Soccer Fans’ Knowledge Of Qatar, Perceptions Of Qatar’S Country Image, And Intention To Support The 2022 Fifa World Cup, Taleb Al-Adbah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

International sporting competitions have become an essential tool for countries to promote a favorable image of themselves around the world. This study focuses on the FIFA 2022 World Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar - the first Arab country ever to host the event. Since 2010, when Qatar was awarded the FIFA 2022 World Cup, several studies have shown that soccer fans are hesitant to attend matches in Qatar. This study investigates the correlations between soccer fans’ level of knowledge, soccer fans’ perception of Qatar using a 4D model of country image, and soccer fans’ behavioral intention to support …

“Even If You Have Food In Your House, It Will Not Taste Sweet”: Central African Refugees’ Experiences Of Cultural Food Insecurity And Other Overlapping Insecurities In Tampa, Florida, Shaye Soifoine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, resettled African refugee populations experience food insecurity at rates up to seven times higher than those of the general population. In Tampa, Florida, anthropologists have documented high levels of food insecurity among Central African refugee households since members of this population began to be resettled in the area in 2016. Utilizing an intersectional lens and drawing upon theoretical concepts such as cultural food security, navigational capital, and social reproduction, this thesis examines how Central African refugees, particularly women, experience food (in)security and other overlapping forms of (in)security as they integrate into US systems of structural inequality …

"Are We Done?": The Minimization Of Covid-19 And The Individualization Of Health In The United States, Cassidy R. Boe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the death toll from Covid-19 in the United States exceeds 1 million in just over two years, more variants continue to emerge, threatening more waves of Covid-19 and ultimately, more deaths. Despite this, mask use continues to decline, and one third of Americans say that the pandemic is over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been central in publicly disseminating biomedical knowledge using Twitter. The CDC’s Twitter account (@CDCgov) shares information related to the spread of Covid-19, including mitigation measures such as mask recommendations and vaccine information. I have conducted a narrative analysis of the replies …

Black Cemeteries Matter: The Erasure Of Historic Black Cemeteries In Polk County, Florida, Juliana C. Waters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the past several years, the Tampa Bay area has experienced a reckoning with regard to the intentional erasure, destruction, and abandonment of historic African American cemeteries such as Zion Cemetery in Tampa or St. Matthews Baptist Church Cemetery in Clearwater. Scholars, journalists, community members, archaeologists, and others have contributed to a growing movement that aims to identify and document these sacred sites in an effort to prevent further destruction. In this vein, this project aimed to identify and record cemeteries in Polk County, examine the processes leading to the erasure of historic Black cemeteries, the history surrounding erasure on …

Grey’S Anatomy And End Of Life Ethics, Sean Micheal Swenson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study, I analyze three episodes of the prime-time television medical drama Grey’s Anatomy to explore how the show stages conversations of end of life. I extend the work of end of life ethicists with attention to the ways that media may/should/could be used to teach and reflect issues of dying in America. Performing a close textual analysis, I identified two modes of storytelling within the structure of these episodes: Documentary Realism and Melodrama. I argue that if we are to understand medical dramas as a tool for the dissemination of information about end of life ethics, we …

_Las Vidas Negras_: Examining Identity Among Afro-Latinos In The Us In The Twilight Of Black Lives Matter, Victor Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to name how the Black Lives Matter movement, and related movements for Black liberation and justice, has had an effect on the self-perception and identities of US-based Afrolatinos. Using survey and interview data, I tease out issues of ethnoracial dissonance, social identity, and the ways that Afrolatinos have used the context of Black Lives Matter to make sense of the antiblackness they have faced. This is a significant investigation because it speaks to the potential for a richer tradition of pan-Africanism taking root in Latin America and among Latin Americans of African descent.

The Need To Address Religious Diversity At Work: An All-Inclusive Model Of Spirituality At Work, Ivonne Valero Cázares

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the importance of embracing religion and spirituality in the workplace as an aspect of workplace diversity. This document aims to help us understand the definition of spirituality at the workplace and its constituents.

We conducted a literature review from predominant scholars about the salience of spirituality and religion at the workplace and its relevance to building meaning, connectedness, and a sense of belonging. We will also review Maslow's theory of Human Needs, his research on human peak-experiences, and its correlation to self-actualization and transcendence.

We will present a new model of Spirituality and Religion at the workplace …

Interpreting 9/11: Religious Or Political Event?, Fadime Apaydin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism or violence can be triggered by a variety of circumstances, including the religious, cultural, political, or economic conditions of the social environment, as well as the perpetrator’s personal characteristics. However, studies conducted in the aftermath of 9/11 have largely described the attacks as religious events, arguing that religion inherently causes violence or that religion is the main motivation for violence. The primary argument for the approach adopted by such studies is that secular institutions are inclined to be less violent than religious ones. A second approach, on the other hand, fundamentally opposes the arguments that led to describing the …

Assessing Changes In Actual Air Quality And Public Perceptions Of Air Quality In Kathmandu Valley Nepal Pre And Post Covid-19 Lockdown, Robin Margherita Rives

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Air pollution is a global concern. Cities around the world fail to meet air quality standards set by the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines, which has a significant impact on public health. As the capital city and largest metropolitan region of Nepal, Kathmandu is a hotspot for urban pollution in South Asia. Nepal faces emissions from both internal and external sources. External sources include emissions from Nepal’s neighboring countries of India and China and emissions resulting from tourism. Internal sources of pollution in the country include brick and cement factories, consumption of energy from traditional sources such as biomass, …

Pad Beyond The Classroom: Integrating Pad In The Scrum Workplace, Jade S. Weiss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The “story” format used in Scrum ticket writing is confusing to developers and leadsto insufficient ticket content, which lends to miscommunication between team members and administrators, and disrupts workflow from the bottom up. A burgeoning methodology in Technical Writing, Purpose, Audience, Design (PAD) is an alternative ticket format that is easier to teach developers and improves the aforementioned conditions than the existing “story” format. The goal of this paper is to lay out why and how PAD can benefit developers on smaller Scrum teams who are tasked with writing their own tickets. This paper does not offer solutions for …

Curricular Assemblages: Understanding Student Writing Knowledge (Re)Circulation Across Genres, Adam Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes that the field of Writing Studies (WS) as well as writing program administrators (WPAs) should integrate quantitative methods into curricular assessment in order to improve pedagogical practices within their curricula. Through the use of the theoretical framework of assemblage theory, a theory that has been underutilized within WS, and the lens of linguistic, cultural, and substantive (LCS) language patterns, this study attempts to identify and understand student writing knowledge circulation and recirculation within one local curriculum. As well, with the incorporation of technological tools such as RAND-Lex, WPAs and WS researchers can identify granular patterns within student …

Regenerative Tourism Model: Challenges Of Adapting Concepts From Natural Science To Tourism Industry, Asif Hussain, Marie Haley

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The study proposes a regenerative tourism model. The application of the natural science ideas of regeneration needs to be clarified before the tourism industry can adopt a regenerative tourism model. Without such clarification, there is a high risk of ‘green washing’ and inappropriate adaption of a regenerative model. The borrowing of natural science to industry and its application in social sciences confuse the essence of the true concept of regeneration. In a regenerative agriculture context restoring a holistic system that mimics nature and includes social and economic spheres contributes to improving the whole system. When a social system aims to …

International And Domestic Tourist Hunting: A Critical Review On Environmental And Socio-Economic Implications In Sub-Saharan Africa, Abel A. Mamboleo

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Tourist hunting is a regular consumptive wildlife utilization occurring within and outside core protected areas for trophies and leisure attainments. It is one of the most renowned tourism undertakings which involve the killing of animals for recreational purposes. In essence, hunters acquire trophies for different purposes including production of decorations and traditional medicines. Currently, there is a hot debate on whether to continues or cease tourist hunting as animal activists, some conservation stakeholders believe that hunting is cruel to animals and threat to ecosystems. In this paper, the author reviewed and analyzed various documented evidences which opponents and proponents of …