Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Treatment Of Food Selectivity: An Evaluation Of Video Modeling Of Contingencies, Erin O'Connor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling of contingencies alone and/or combined with direct exposure to the contingencies in the treatment of food selectivity. Treatment procedures included sequentially introducing videos in which models consumed nonpreferred food, were exposed to differential reinforcement, or exposed to escape extinction and differential reinforcement. In addition, participants were exposed to differential reinforcement. Results indicated video modeling of differential reinforcement plus differential reinforcement may be effective at increasing consumption of some nonpreferred foods, but the results were not replicated across all foods. For one participant, consumption of one food increased …

Female Incarceration And Prison Social Order: An Examination Of Gender Differences In Prison Misconduct And In-Prison Punishments, Elisa L. Toman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population has renewed scholarly interest in the prison experience. Researchers have built upon and extended classic theories of inmate behavior to better understand the mechanisms that lead to inmate violence and misbehavior. Yet, scholars still consider what happens to inmates inside of prison a “black box,” due to limited systematic assessments of the prison experience. This body of scholarship is also limited by its narrow focus on males, as theories of inmate behavior have been developed around male experiences and, in turn, ignore the possibility that gender may influence prison life. Feminist theory …

Comparing The Effects Of Static And Dynamic Signals During Multiple Schedules, Lori Kollin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Functional communication training (FCT) is an effective procedure to teach a functional communication response (FCR) and decrease problem behavior. However, there are limitations to FCT. These limitations include excessive manding (e.g., requesting items at a high rate) and manding at inappropriate times (e.g., requesting attention when caregiver is driving). Multiple schedules using static signals (e.g., colored cards) have been used to decrease these limitations while maintaining appropriate levels of the FCRs and low levels of problem behavior. Moreover, dynamic signals have been used to maintain low levels of problem behavior and appropriate levels of alternative responses outside of a multiple …

Breach: Understanding The Mandatory Reporting Of Title Ix Violations As Pedagogy And Performance, Jacob G. Abraham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how institutions generate, teach, and authorize normative performances through texts and/as pedagogical practices. Through an analysis of the University of South Florida’s mandatory reporting policy, training, and Title IX Incident Report Form, this project examines how institutions construct and privilege certain values, performances, and individuals as means of generating the legal compliance of the institution independent. These practices are valued independent of how such compliance enables and limits the relationship between students and teachers. I argue the University’s texts and pedagogical practices serve to substantiate, authorize, and perform the materialization of certain privileges and the normative standards …

Associations Between Ethnic Identity, Academic Efficacy, Achievement Goals And School Belonging Among Early Adolescents, Leah Bonilla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is experiencing a major shift in the population as more students who are considered ethnic minorities enter the school system. These students are at an increased risk for school failure due to language barriers, challenges with experiencing potential discrimination, and debating their identities across two cultural contexts. Although students who are considered ethnic minorities risk many potential stressors, the literature has shown that ethnic identity is a factor that facilitates positive academic adjustment and engagement among this population. Previous literature has also documented mixed findings regarding the relationship between ethnic identity and school outcomes. The current study …

Countering The Questionable Actions Of The Cpd And Fec, Brian C. Cole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For his study, the author determines whether the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) are sovereign entities, or if they are pawns of the Democratic and Republican parties (Political Duopoly) aimed to prevent smaller candidates from participating in the CPD’s Presidential Debates.

The author’s rationale for his research is based on the fact that, despite a large majority of American voters want to hear other voices in the CPD debates, the CPD has not allowed other voices to participate in the debates since 1992, through use of the CPD’s fifteen-percent support requirement. Every time an …

Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia And Quality-Of-Life: Ovarian And Uterine Cancer Patients And The Aesthetics Of Disease, Meredith L. Clements

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is an examination of ovarian and uterine cancer patients’ perceptions of chemotherapy-induced alopecia and how it impacts quality-of-life over the course of chemotherapy. The chapters in this dissertation address the following research questions: How do ovarian and uterine cancer patients communicate about their experiences of alopecia over the course of chemotherapy? How does chemotherapy-induced alopecia influence patients’ understandings of quality-of-life? Longitudinal interviews were conducted with a patient population of twenty-three, and each patient was interviewed at least twice over the course of chemotherapy. The data set was composed of fifty-five interviews, and a thematic analysis was performed across …

Age Of Alcohol Initiation And Reward Processes In A Current Alcohol Drinking Sample, Claire M. Gorey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Earlier ages of alcohol initiation have been associated with an increased vulnerability for Alcohol Use Disorder and general risk taking behaviors beyond genetic influence. Reward processes, including reward anticipation (pleasure before receiving alcohol/general reward), reward learning (how quickly one pairs a stimulus with alcohol/general reward), and reward consummation (pleasure when receiving alcohol/general reward), have been implicated as potential mechanisms accounting for this vulnerability. However, no careful bio-behavioral research has been conducted on the effect of age of alcohol initiation on general and alcohol-related reward processes. Using Event Related Potentials (ERPs), the current study addressed this gap in a sample of …

Parent Perceptions Of Treatment Effectiveness And Attendance Rates In A Behavioral Parent Training Program: Do They Predict Treatment Outcomes For Children?, Natalie A. Hofmann Leedy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Young children who display disruptive behaviors are at risk for negative outcomes in later development such as school dropout, early pregnancy, and unemployment (Bradshaw, Schaeffer, Petras, & Ialongo, 2010). For this reason, it is imperative parents of children with disruptive behaviors seek early intervention to reduce problem behaviors and prevent negative effects (Breitenstein, Hill, & Gross, 2009). Parent behavioral training interventions are effective for reducing problem behaviors in young children. Attrition from parent training interventions, however, is a common problem that reduces positive outcomes for children with challenging behaviors (Kazdin, Holland, & Crowley, 1997; Prinz & Miller, 1994). Barriers to …

Using Computer-Assisted Instruction To Decrease Transition Times For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kristina A. Bewley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transitions within the school setting have been a challenge for school staff working with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Teachers and students lose valuable academic time when the procedures in place are not working to create a quick transition - decreasing problem behavior, and increasing learning time. Students with ASD typically have a difficult time transitioning frequently throughout a school day, and problem behavior can be more apparent during this time. Hine, Ardoin, and Foster (2015) found that a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) based intervention was successful in decreasing classroom transition times for students in general education. The purpose of …

Evaluation Of The Class Pass Intervention (Cpi): An Application To Improve Classroom Behavior In Children With Disabilities, Taylor Narozanick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Class Pass Intervention (CPI) is designed to be implemented within school-wide PBIS to decrease disruptive behavior and teach an appropriate replacement behavior for students needing Tier 2 intervention. The purpose of the present study was to extend the literature on the CPI by further evaluating the impact of the first component of the CPI on disruptive behavior and academic engagement of elementary school children with disabilities engaging in mild to moderate disruptive behavior. Three students and their respective teachers participated in the study. A multiple baseline across participants design with an embedded reversal was used to demonstrate the impact …

A Comparison Of Teacher And Student Choices On Reinforcement Criteria In Using The Caught Being Good Game (Cbgg) To Improve Classroom Behavior, Michael Marotta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Caught Being Good Game (CBGG), a variation of Good Behavior Game, is an interdependent group contingency, which focuses on giving students points for engaging in appropriate, rule-following behavior. The present study aimed to expand the literature on CBGG by targeting students in general education classrooms and comparing the impact of student-chosen versus teacher-chosen contingency criteria on disruptive behavior and academic engagement. Four students who were at-risk for developing emotional disorders in two general elementary classrooms were targeted in the study. A multiple-baseline across participants design with an embedded alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the outcomes of the …

Structural Racism: Racists Without Racism In Liberal Institutions Within Colorblind States, Alexis Nicole Mootoo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Afro-Descendants suffer sustained discrimination and invisibility that is proliferated with policies that were once blatantly racist, but are now furtive. This study argues that structural racism is alive and well in liberal institutions such as publicly funded colleges and universities. Thus, structural racism is subtly replicated and reproduced within these institutions and by institutional agents who are Racist without Racism. This study builds on theories from Pierre Bourdieu, Frantz Fanon, Glen Loury and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. The juxtaposition of their theoretical arguments provides a deeper insight into how structural racism becomes a de facto reflexive phenomenon in liberal and progressive institutions …

Space-Time Transportation System Modelling: From Traveler’S Characteristics To The Network Design Problem, Mohsen Parsafard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditional network design problems only consider the long-term stationary travel patterns (e.g., fixed OD demand) and short-term variations of human mobility are ignored. This study aims to integrate human mobility characteristics and travel patterns into network design problems using a space-time network structure. Emerging technologies such as location-based social network platforms provide a unique opportunity for understanding human mobility patterns that can lead to advanced modeling techniques. To reach our goal, at first multimodal network design problems are investigated by considering safety and flow interactions between different modes of transport. We develop a network reconstruction method to expand a single-modal …

Potential Impacts Of Accelerated Sea-Level Rise And Hurricane-Induced Storm Surge In Western Pasco County, Florida, Kittiya Harris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sea levels have risen approximately 20 cm since the beginning of the 20th century and more than 3 cm in the past 20 years, suggesting that global sea level rise is accelerating. As sea levels continue to rise and storms become more intense, coastal property and populations become more susceptible to damage. Florida is especially vulnerable to hurricane-induced storm surge (HSS) and the onset of accelerated sea-level rise (ASLR) due to its extensive coastline and high population density along the coast. The main purpose of this research is to assess the potential economic impacts of ASLR and HSS for two …

Behind The Curtain: Cultural Cultivation, Immigrant Outsiderness, And Normalized Racism Against Indian Families, Pangri G. Mehta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation uses an Indian dance studio based in the suburbs of a mid-sized Florida city as an entry point to examine how racism impacts the local upwardly mobile Asian Indian community. Utilizing two and a half years of ethnographic data collected at the studio as a Bollywood instructor, 24 in-depth interviews with Indian immigrant parents and their children, 12 self-portraits drawn by children during their interviews, and home visits with 13 families, this project examines the strategies of accommodation and resistance that Indian families use to construct a sense of home and belonging. Applying socialization, visual research methods, …

A Test Of Wikström’S Situational Action Theory Using Self-Report Data On Intimate Partner Violence, Lauren Nicole Miley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wikstrӧm’s Situational Action Theory (SAT) proposes a general theory of crime causation that addresses two sets of interactions between individuals and their situation/environment. These interactions predict whether or not individuals choose a criminal action. The current study utilized self-report data on intimate partner violence collected at a large urban university in Florida (n=1124) to test this process by examining both direct and interactive effects proposed by the theory. Specifically, this study examines the direct effects of moral propensity, temptations/provocations, self-control and perpetual deterrence on intimate partner violence as well as the various interactions among them as derived from the theory. …

School Shootings In The United States From 1997 To 2012: A Content Analysis Of Media Coverage, Victoria N. Iannuzzi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is a content analysis of news articles of school shooting incidents that occurred within the United States between 1997 and 2012. This paper was designed to (a) address the current profile of school shooting offenders and offenses, (b) assess a proposed typology of school shootings, (c) consider common case processing characteristics for offenders of school shootings incidents, and (d) address the potential for offender and offense characteristics to affect the amount of media coverage an incident receives. The database of “Major School Shootings in the United States Since 1997” by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was …

Black Girl Magic?: Negotiating Emotions And Success In College Bridge Programs, Olivia Ann Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews, this project explores the extent to which race, class, and gender shape the socialization that Black women receive about their emotions and attitudes in a college bridge program. It unpacks the ways that dominant emotion cultures can inform the emotional socialization practices of a college bridge program in ways that resist and reproduce larger cultural narratives about Black women. To operationalize this emotional socialization, I introduce a concept called emotional respectability, which suggests that emotional reactions and demeanor must always align with the larger emotion cultures and goals of institutions such as family and …

“You Know Who I Am, Don’T You? I’M The One They’Re Writing About In The Newspapers And On Tv”, Casey Killen Crane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

News media play a key role in U.S. society, helping to inform members of the public as gatherers and reporters of information, as well as by serving as government watchdogs. In the ongoing search for and reporting of information, media professionals must be aware of how they report on crime by being cognizant of how they represent killers, victims, and their families, and by being aware of how they represent any gratifications those groups may receive from the media coverage. This study considers the interactions between serial killer Dennis Rader, investigators and media organizations, and how some of these groups …

The Rhetoric Of Scientific Authority: A Rhetorical Examination Of _An Inconvenient Truth_, Alexander W. Morales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project examines how scientific authority is produced through rhetorical practices instead of the “information deficit” model of science communication. By conducting a rhetorical analysis of the science documentary An Inconvenient Truth, this project demonstrates how the documentary format itself and the film’s leading agent, former United States Vice President Al Gore, attempt to persuade audiences through building degrees of scientific authority by employing multiple rhetorics or narrative themes of science to bolster the scientific facts supporting anthropogenic climate change. Additionally, I demonstrate how these narrative themes parallel three scholarly themes within the rhetoric of science literature: science …

Understanding Appointment Breaking: Dissecting Structural Violence And Barriers To Healthcare Access At A Central Florida Community Health Center, Paula Mead

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to healthcare is an important topic within medical anthropology, in part because access is denied or complicated through structural forces for many populations in the United States. Anthropological research explores the impact of lack of access to healthcare on the lives of at-risk populations, as well as the differing and unexpected ways that access is denied or limited (Adler and Newman 2002; Becker 2004; Becker 2007; Horton 2004; Horton, McCloskey, Todd, and Henricksen 2001; O'Daniel 2008). For low-income, rural and minority populations, research shows that access to healthcare is further complicated by a higher propensity to break appointments (Bean …

The Lives Of Suburban Peasants: Agricultural Change And Mobility In Haiti, Rachel M. Grabner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops a political ecology of suburban peasants to describe the lives of Haitian farmers residing in a neighborhood on the margins of Port-au-Prince. The category of suburban peasants has been well described for Chinese small-scale farmers but has yet to be applied elsewhere as an analytic category. Using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and in-depth, key informant interviews, an ethnographic account is provided of changes in agricultural practices made by Haitian peasants as a result of environmental changes that impact their ability to make a living in contemporary Haiti. Farmers’ primary concerns are related to an increased need for …

Effects Of An Early Life Immune Challenge On Body Growth, Personality, Mating Behaviors, And Brain Development Of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Guttata), Ahmet Kerim Uysal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The developmental stress hypothesis predicts that an aversive condition, such as decreased food intake, predation, and social isolation, in the early developmental stage could have long term effects on behaviors and brain development of an animal. In nature, bird nestlings are susceptible to various factors, such as malnutrition, infections, and parasites. Effects of early life stress on adulthood have been extensively studied with some stressors including malnutrition. However, immune challenges as an early life stressor and their long-term programming effects on adult behaviors are yet to be studied in detail. The goal of the current study was to investigate changes …

Psychopathic Traits And Substance Use In The Context Of Erotic Services And Sex Exchange Among College Students, Bethany Edwards

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With increasing education expenses and characterization of our culture as “sexualized”, scholars have begun to explore student engagement in erotic services, but most research has been done outside the United States. This study tested personality correlates, prevalence and type of erotic service involvement in men and women college students in the United States. Specifically, the present study examined gender differences and whether substance use and psychopathic traits exhibit unique and/or interactive associations with both provision and consumption of erotic services among students. A total of 820 undergraduate students (54.3% women) took part in a study on personality and sexual behavior, …

Can We Talk?: Synergistic Effects Of Cognitive And Behavioral Frameworks To Address Substance Use And Abuse, Lauren Jaye Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral economic accounts of substance use have provided a novel framework to examine constraints that affect behaviorally driven outcomes. Several behavioral studies support the application of such frameworks to examine impulsive decision-making processes as well as how subjective reward influences substance use. Based on stimulus-response models, behavioral economic research often applies mathematical formulas to draw conclusions about behavioral outcomes. These mathematical formulas, while useful, largely ignore decades of cognitive psychology research that have examined state-based influences (e.g., mood, environment, motivational processes, etc.) on behavioral sequelae. To address this issue, the present study merged a cognitive framework into two behavioral economic …

Modifiable Characteristics Associated With Fear Of Cancer Recurrence Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors, Julie M. Cessna Palas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is regarded as one of the most common and distressing issues affecting cancer survivors. Observational studies have identified several modifiable characteristics associated with FCR. However, many of the findings are based on post-hoc analyses and come from studies in which FCR was not identified as a primary outcome. This study sought to overcome these limitations by using a model comprised of cognitive, behavioral, and social characteristics as a framework for examining modifiable characteristics associated with FCR. A sample of 120 patients who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and completed cancer treatment in the past …

Nonresident Paternal Factors And The Psychosocial Adjustment Of Black Adolescents From Single-Mother Households, Erica Elizabeth Coates

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of nonresidential, Black fathers in the psychosocial adjustment of Black adolescents from single-mother households. Participants included 107 noncohabiting Black parental dyads with children between the ages of 12 and 18 years. Participants completed measures of positive parenting, parent-child relationship quality, depressive symptoms, coparenting relationship quality, and adolescents’ emotional and behavioral functioning. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions found that father factors contributed unique variance to adolescent outcomes when using father-reported and combined father- and mother-reported adolescent functioning. Coparenting relationship quality mediated the relationship between father-child relationship quality and adolescent behavioral problems when using mother-reported and combined …

Characterizing Benthic Habitats Using Multibeam Sonar And Towed Underwater Video In Two Marine Protected Areas On The West Florida Shelf, Usa, Jennifer L. Brizzolara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates a way to characterize the geology and biology of the seafloor in two Marine Protected Areas on the West Florida Shelf. Characterization of benthic habitats needs to include sufficient detail to represent the complex and heterogeneous bottom types. Characterizations can be interpreted from multiple data sets and displayed as benthic habitat maps. Multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter provide full spatial data coverage, but interpretation of such data requires some form of ground truth (to characterize the habitat). Imagery from towed underwater video provides continuous transects of seafloor data, which provide a more efficient method than data from …

The Relationships Among Emotion, Cognitive Dysfunction And Anosognosia In Huntington’S Disease, Danielle C. Hergert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic, neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by motor, cognitive and psychiatric disturbances. Anosognosia, or lack of awareness of symptoms, is commonly observed in neurodegenerative disorders, including HD. Most theories suggest that emotion, executive functioning, and memory play important roles in self-awareness. There is limited research of anosognosia in HD and no theoretical model of how it manifests in the disease. The purpose of this study was to examine Metacognitive Knowledge, or overall beliefs about the self, and Online Awareness, or the ability to predict (Anticipatory Awareness) and evaluate (Emergent Awareness) task performance, in …