Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evolution And Functional Morphology Of The Cephalic Lobes In Batoids, Samantha Lynn Mulvany

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cephalic lobes are unique structures derived from the anterior pectoral fins, found in select myliobatid stingrays. Many benthic batoids utilize undulatory locomotion and use their pectoral fins for both locomotion and prey capture. Pelagic myliobatids that possess cephalic lobes utilize oscillatory locomotion, using their pectoral fins to locomote and their cephalic lobes for prey capture. Despite differences in habitat usage and locomotor modes, these batoids feed on very similar benthic organisms. The purpose of this study was to 1.) compare the morphology of the cephalic lobes and anterior pectoral fins in lobed and lobeless species, looking at skeletal elements, musculature …

An Exploration Of Threatened Harm As A Type Of Maltreatment And Its Relation To Recurrence Of Maltreatment, Roxann Mcneish

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There were no studies found in the literature that primarily focused on threatened harm as type of maltreatment. This study utilized Florida's child welfare administrative data to explore threatened harm as a type of maltreatment, particularly as a predictor of recurrence of maltreatment within six and 12 months for children who had a verified report of maltreatment in FY2005-2006. Threatened harm was examined in three ways; when it was reported as the only maltreatment, the initial maltreatment, and in situations where there was a prior report. The most prevalent acts of threatened harm were examined separately. It was examined as …

Gay, Straight, Or Slightly Bent? The Interaction Of Leader Sexual Orientation And Gender On Leadership Evaluations, Fred George Macoukji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Existing research has shown that gender stereotypes regarding characteristics of men and women influence others' perceptions of their fit with organizational roles, including leadership roles (cf. Eagly & Karau, 2002). However, little research has examined stereotypes regarding other demographic characteristics (e.g., race, sexual orientation) and how they may interact with gender stereotypes to influence leadership evaluations. The current study examined whether leader gender and sexual orientation interact to influence subordinates' evaluations of leader effectiveness, likability, and boss desirability using an experimental design. In addition to examining whether leader gender and sexual orientation interacted to predict leader evaluations, the present …

Unanswered Occupational Calling: The Development And Validation Of A New Measure, Michele Wilk Gazica

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a limited body of research that illuminates the various positive life-, health-, and work-related outcomes that an individual may experience through the pursuit of his or her occupational calling. An occupational calling is defined as an occupation that a person feels drawn to, finds intrinsically enjoyable and meaningful, and identifies as a central part of his or her identity. The extant literature on occupational callings, however, rarely considers the possible detrimental effects of having an occupational calling other than to explain unexpected study results. These unexpected study results hint at adverse psychological and job-related outcomes when an individual …

Assessing Competing Demands And Charting A Course: A Phenomenological Study Of Advanced Placement U.S. History Teachers' Decision Making And Course Planning, Kerry Dean Poole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida has experienced some of the greatest growth of Advanced Placement (AP) programs in recent years and student scores on the AP exams have evolved into a highly significant metric in evaluating student proficiency and teacher and school effectiveness. Despite this growth, it is not well known how AP teachers make decisions about the content they teach, what learning activities they select, how much the AP exam influences their decision making, how they modify learning opportunities for diverse learners, and how they prepare their students for the College Board AP exam. This interpretive, phenomenological study examines the lived experiences of …

A Study On The Depiction Of Drug Usage, Alcohol Consumption And Cigarette Smoking In Movies And Its Perceived Effect On A Young Audience. A Comparative Study Of American And Indian Cinema And Their Respective Audiences., Zain Farook Merchant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the depiction of drug usage, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption in

movies in terms of character stereotyping and typecasting. Because movies are focused on making money they are being used as marketing tools by alcohol and cigarette conglomerates (Grube, 2004). The study also explores youth perception of such content and tries to determine the behavioral implications or influence of such content on young children. The goal of this research is to analyze the social cognitive influence of movies on the youth and the effects of censorship in movies today. The research compares this effect in the two …

How Individual Differences In Self- And Other-Focused Co-Rumination Relate To Internalizing Symptoms And Friendship Quality, Heather Smith-Schrandt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Co-rumination involves friends spending a great deal of time encouraging each other to excessively discuss problems, with content being largely negative (Rose, 2002). Co-rumination appears to strengthen the bonds between best friends, while ironically exacerbating internalizing symptoms. Co-rumination is conceptualized as a mutual dyadic process, but little is known about the reciprocity of excessive problem discussion. The balance of college students' (N = 601) self- and other-focused co-rumination with their best friend was assessed via an online survey. Contrary to expectations, inconsistent and weak evidence was obtained for differentiating self- and other-focused co-rumination, and their balance. Specifically, self- and other-focused …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Hoarding Parent-Adult Child Relationships And Family Functioning, Jennifer M. Park

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compulsive hoarding is characterized by difficulty discarding unneeded items and the accumulation of items within living spaces and is associated with significant functional impairment and distress. Along with the negative impact on the individual, previous reports have indicated that compulsive hoarding is not only impairing and substantially burdensome for family members, but also linked to disruptions in family functioning. The present study utilized a path model analysis to examine the associations between an array of hoarding variables hypothesized to impact family functioning and parent-adult child relationships in 199 adult children of hoarders. Results revealed that family functioning mediated the relationship …

Testing Individual Differences In Negative Affect Related To Smoking: The Role Of Emotional Clarity, Nicole Marquinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Negative affect plays a critical role in nicotine dependence. Smokers report feeling that negative affect is a primary motivation to keep smoking. This study examined the relationship between individual differences in emotional experience, in particular emotional clarity and differentiation (individuals' ability to understand, describe, and differentiate between emotions), and smoking motivation. We hypothesized that emotional clarity would be related to affect, craving, and smoking satisfaction. A second goal was to test the ability of an emotional-labeling intervention to reduce negative affect and smoking motivation resulting from a negative emotion induction. We also tested whether emotional clarity moderated the effect of …

Do Changing Reference Levels Affect The Long-Term Effectiveness Of Incentive Contracts?, Lee Michael Kersting

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines whether reference levels change over time and the impact on individuals' risk-taking behavior. I apply expectations-based reference-dependent preferences theory to analyze whether individuals' reference levels change over time in an economic setting. The theory suggests that individuals develop reference levels based on expectations of future outcomes (Koszegi and Rabin 2006). Therefore, this study examines whether individuals' expectations affect the setting of their reference level and how possible changes in reference levels affect subsequent risk-taking behavior. This study also provides evidence on how budget-based contracts impact individual risk taking behavior in a single period setting. Prior research has …

The End Of Anarchy: Weapons Of Mass Destruction And The States System, Gregory Edward Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The basis of this thesis is that weapons of mass destruction will continue to proliferate and will inevitably - given enough time- be used against civilian populations repeatedly.

As this occurs the opposition between support for international law and the power of the state will intensify. This will go on for some time and will, in all probability, become extremely destructive. Eventually, however, the states (and individual people) of the world will realize that the simultaneous existence of international anarchy and weapons of mass destruction runs counter to long term human survival. This realization will , very likely, lead people …

Location And Capacity Modeling Of Network Interchanges, Aldo D. Fabregas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Network design decisions, especially those pertaining to urban infrastructure, are made by a central authority or network leader, and taking into consideration the network users or followers. These network decision problems are formulated as non-linear bi-level programming problems. In this work, a continuous network design problem (CNDP) and discrete network design problem (DNDP) bi-level optimization programs are proposed and solved in the context of transportation planning. The solution strategy involved reformulation and linearization as a single-level program by introducing the optimality conditions of the lower level problem into the upper level problem. For the CNDP, an alternative linearization algorithm (modified …

Memory And Truth In Human Rights: The Argentina Case. The Issue Of Truth And Memory In The Aftermath Of Gross Human Rights Violations In Argentina., Andres Delgado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the importance of truth and memory in the process of transitional justice, within the context of the aftermath of gross violations of human rights that occurred during the military dictatorship of 1976 to 1983 in Argentina. The military junta that ruled Argentina took power under the pretext of national security, arguing that an enemy threatened to destabilize and destroy Argentine society. During the period of the military dictatorship an estimated 30,000 people "disappeared"; relatives of those disappeared mobilized and formed human rights organizations to confront the military regime for its abuses. Once the dictatorship collapsed and …

The Relationship Between Rating Scales Used To Evaluate Tasks From Task Inventories For Licensure And Certification Examinations, Adrienne W. Cadle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first step in developing or updating a licensure or certification examination is to conduct a job or task analysis. Following completion of the job analysis, a survey validation study is performed to validate the results of the job analysis and to obtain task ratings so that an examination blueprint may be created. Psychometricians and job analysts have spent years arguing over the choice of scales that should be used to evaluate job tasks, as well as how those scales should be combined to create an examination blueprint. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between individual …

Cuba's Chords Of Change: Music, Race, Class & Motherhood At The Turn Of The 21st Century, Saundra Marie Amrhein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an ethnography and biographical study that examines the impact of the immense socioeconomic changes underway in Cuba at the turn of the 21st century and the flexible identity categories through which individuals navigate a social crisis.

The biography and ethnography in this thesis are centered on the life of Violeta Aldama, an aging revolutionary and Afro-Cuban mother who struggles to make ends meet while fighting to steer her son, Brian, through a classical music education and into a music career. Amid growing racial inequalities when many Afro-Cubans are locked out of the most lucrative jobs in the …

Examining The Link Between Self-Control And Misconduct In A Multi-Agency Sample Of Police Supervisors: A Test Of Two Theories, Christopher Matthew Donner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As police personnel carry out their mandates of enforcing the law, maintaining order, and serving the public, they are entrusted to "practice what they preach." They are expected to abide by the rules, laws, and ethical principles that apply to them as they hold private citizens to account for violations of laws. When the police do not live up to this standard by committing police misconduct, it can tarnish not just the individual officer, but the department and jurisdiction as well. Police misconduct is a concern for society as police misbehavior can result in negative outcomes, such as distrust by …

The Relationship Among Career Thoughts, Optimism, And Spirituality In Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Levette Subraina Dames

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship of dysfunctional career thoughts, optimism, and spirituality on Bahamian women (n=212) diagnosed with breast cancer. Also, it examined how optimism mediates the relationship between spirituality and dysfunctional career thoughts. The diagnosis of breast cancer impacts women physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually, financially, and in their career development. Career developmental plans and decisions are continuously being made. However, plans may become altered and decisions more difficult to make when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer as she considers returning to work. The high survival rate of breast cancer patients indicates women may continue to work after …

Cruising For Culture: Mass Tourism And Cultural Heritage On Roatàn Island, Honduras, Melanie Nichole Coughlin Depcinski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between mass tourism and heritage tourism in the construction and perpetuation of histories and identities of local stakeholders on Roatàn Island, Honduras. I explore how identity is constructed by and through the tourism industry, and how much of the agency in forming identity and telling cultural stories resides in the hands of key stakeholders involved in the development of tourism on the island. Local cultural stories that focus on the people who live and have lived on the island for centuries are becoming increasingly silenced by a more commoditized, tourism driven, picture of life on …

An Analysis Of Factor Extraction Strategies: A Comparison Of The Relative Strengths Of Principal Axis, Ordinary Least Squares, And Maximum Likelihood In Research Contexts That Include Both Categorical And Continuous Variables, Kevin Barry Coughlin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is intended to provide researchers with empirically derived guidelines for conducting factor analytic studies in research contexts that include dichotomous and continuous levels of measurement. This study is based on the hypotheses that ordinary least squares (OLS) factor analysis will yield more accurate parameter estimates than maximum likelihood (ML) and principal axis factor anlaysis (PAF); the level of improvement in estimates will be related to the proportion of observed variables that are dichotomized and the strength of communalities within the data sets.

To achieve this study's objective, maximum likelihood, ordinary least squares, and principal axis factor extraction models …

Physicians As Gatekeepers: Uncovering Barriers And Facilitators To Participation In A Prostate Cancer Prevention Intervention Clinical Trial, Theresa T. Crocker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clinical trials play an important role in advancing therapeutic and preventive care with many current modalities resulting from prior research. While prior research has described barriers to participation in therapeutic clinical trials, much less in known about barriers related to participation in trials aimed at prevention, prostate cancer prevention in particular. Physicians have been shown to play a critical role in access to trials; however, less is known about the individual and structural factors that influence their participation in prostate cancer prevention trials. This research provides rich ethnographic detail within the context of an ongoing trial. Research participants included physician/investigators …

Daily Recovery From Work: The Role Of Guilt, Eunae Cho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acknowledging the critical role that occupational factors play in employee health, researchers have tried to understand ways to reduce the harmful effects of work on employee health. As the process by which individuals recharge resources that have been depleted, recovery has been recognized as important due to its potential to mitigate the negative effects of work on employee well-being. Although the recovery literature has continued to grow, many questions remain unanswered. The purpose of the present study was to expand our knowledge of recovery by examining situational (job characteristics) and individual (trait guilt) predictors of recovery and investigating psychological attributes …

Predicting Tablet Computer Use: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model, Adam J. Ducey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While information technology has rapidly changed work in the United States in the past 50 years, some businesses and industries have been slow to adopt new technologies. Healthcare is one industry that has lagged behind in information technology investment for a variety of reasons. Recent federal initiatives to encourage IT adoption in the healthcare industry provide an ideal context to study factors that influence technology acceptance. Data from 261 practicing pediatricians were collected to evaluate an extended Technology Acceptance Model. Results indicated that individual (i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use), organizational (i.e., subjective norm), and device (i.e., compatibility, reliability) …

More Than Feeding: Lived Experiences Of Low-Income Women Receiving Lactation Support, Emily Anne Dunn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing breastfeeding duration, especially among low-income women, has become a national public health priority. These mothers and their babies have less equitable access to support, resources, and the health benefits of breastfeeding. This thesis examines breastfeeding from a biocultural perspective with a focus on political economy, embodiment, and human rights. This research explores the lived experiences of new mothers who receive services from a community non-profit lactation support program which is aimed at providing in-home postpartum breastfeeding support to low-income/at-risk mothers. Evaluation of program services and analysis of women's narratives will provide insight into improvement of lactation services for all …

Embodying Social Practice: Dynamically Co-Constituting Social Agency, Brian W. Dunst

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theories of cognition and theories of social practices and institutions have often each separately acknowledged the relevance of the other; but seldom have there been consistent and sustained attempts to synthesize these two areas within one explanatory framework. This is precisely what my dissertation aims to remedy. I propose that certain recent developments and themes in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, when understood in the right way, can explain the emergence and dynamics of social practices and institutions. Likewise, the view I construct explains how social practices and institutions shape the character of cognition of their constituent agents. Moreover, …

Illegitimate Tasks And Employee Well-Being: A Daily Diary Study, Erin Eatough

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on an occupational stressor that has been recently introduced to the literature, illegitimate tasks, or tasks that seem unreasonable or unnecessary at work. Previous work has demonstrated the relationship between illegitimate tasks and a narrow set of discrete emotions as well as negative employee performance behaviors. The current research contributes to the literature by expanding the nomological network associated with illegitimate tasks and uses a rigorous daily diary methodology in a full-time working sample. It was expected that illegitimate tasks reduce state levels of self-esteem as well as other employee well-being indicators including anger, depressive mood, fatigue, …

Significance Is Bliss: A Global Feminist Analysis Of The Liberian Truth And Reconciliation Commission And Its Privileging Of Americo-Liberian Over Indigenous Liberian Women's Voices, Morgan Lea Eubank

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my research is to analyze the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (LTRC) lack of attention towards accessing rural Liberian women's voices as opposed to privileged Liberian women residing in urban and Diaspora spaces. By analyzing the LTRC and its Final Report from a critical global feminist perspective, I was able to not only illuminate, but bring a spotlight over issues including access, privilege, and multicultural insensitivity related to Liberia's indigenous tribal cultures. Liberia, being a country founded by American colonials, is socially constructed by Western ideological norms. As Western ideology is mainly normalized and enforced by the …

The Impact Of Hyperfemininity On Explicit And Implicit Blame Assignment And Police Reporting Of Alcohol Facilitated Rape In A Sample Of College Women, Sarah Ehlke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rape remains a significant problem in the U.S., with the majority of victims reporting a drug-or-alcohol facilitated rape (DAFR) or incapacitated rape (IR). Many DAFR/IR victims do not acknowledge the incident as a rape, and are therefore are the least likely to report or disclose the assault. Rape scripts theory is one theory that could be used to explain why DAFR/IR victims are more likely than other victims to not acknowledge the incident. In addition, individuals are more likely to blame the victim of a DAFR/IR rape. Furthermore, DAFR/IR victims experience more self-blame for the incident. Taken together, when alcohol …

The Efficacy Of Aggression Replacement Training With Female Juvenile Offenders In A Residential Commitment Program, Jody Anne Erickson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Female adolescents are increasingly being charged with crimes of violence, and the literature is lacking as to how best to reduce their aggressive tendencies. In the past, girls represented a small portion of all youths involved in criminal justice systems, and studies involving effective treatment options for them were rarely conducted.

Aggression Replacement Training® is a 10-week, evidence-based, group treatment intervention designed to advance moral reasoning, improve social skills, and manage angry feelings. Numerous outcome studies of Aggression Replacement Training® with both offending and non-offending male adolescents and with male and female adolescents together have yielded mixed results. The question …

The Professionalization And Practice Of Lactation Consulting: Medicalized Knowledge, Humanistic Care, Aimee R. Eden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breastfeeding support for mothers and their babies historically was the informal work of family and community members. In the United States today, breastfeeding support is embedded in the biomedical system, and is provided by a new allied health professional: the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). This dissertation explores this professionalization of breastfeeding support and the origins of this new profession. It studies how IBCLCs working in the U.S. cultural context perceive and practice the profession and examines the relationship between the profession of lactation consulting and the medicalization of breastfeeding. Oral history interviews with 17 founders of the profession, …

Survivorship, Infertility And Parenthood: Experiencing Life After Cancer In Puerto Rico, Karen Elizabeth Dyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While incidence rates are increasing for many cancers in Puerto Rico, mortality rates are declining (Torres-Cintron, et al. 2010), resulting in growing numbers of survivors and creating a situation in which long-term survivorship concerns are beginning to emerge as priorities. The importance of quality-of-life among survivors of cancer is increasingly being recognized among healthcare providers, although there remains a gap in knowledge of how young adult survivors cope with long-term treatment-related physical effects, such as infertility, and of the impact of cancer on survivors' social relationships and future goals.

Because understandings of "cancer survivorship," as well as of reproduction, vary …