Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Key Ingredients In The Rule Of Law Recipe: The Role Of Judicial Independence In The Effective Establishment Of The Rule Of Law, Lauren A. Shumate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, countries around the globe have engaged in rule of law and judicial reform initiatives, with such efforts being most prominent in transitional democracies, post-conflict and post-communist countries. Despite the fact that the concepts of judicial independence and the rule of law continue to be contested among political and legal scholars, popular wisdom and belief in the international community suggests that an independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a democratic, market-based society based on the rule of law. However, the disagreement over the extent to which an independent judiciary effects the establishment of the rule of law has …

Discrepancies In Labor Market Outcomes From Migration Evidence From Colombia, Liza Beatriz Pena

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As of 2012, approximately 10% of the population in Colombia has been displaced by violence. The main motivation of this paper is to estimate the effect of interregional migration on employment outcomes in the country between 1993 and 2005. Using violence as an instrument for migration, I analyzed the differential effects of migration on specific employment outcomes across gender and skill levels. I find that a one percentage point increase in net migration only increases the unemployment rates of female migrants by 0.656 percentage point. I also find that net migration rates do not affect the employment conditions of low-skilled …

Examining A Novel Set Of Executive Function Measures Using Event Related Potentials, Danielle Cara Blinkoff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The nature and assessment of executive function are areas of active research. Many current assessments of executive function are complex, have limited reliability and validity, and suffer from task impurity, meaning other cognitive processes may indirectly influence task performance. Additionally, measures may be culture, language, or education bound limiting their use in certain populations (Miyake, Emerson, & Friedman, 2000; Miyake, Friedman, et al., 2000; Strauss, Sherman, & Spreen, 2006; Stuss, 2007). The purpose of this project was to develop a novel set of executive function measures to address issues with current clinical measures. The new measures 1) can be used …

Do Social Biases Impede Auditor Reliance On Specialists? Toward A Theory Of Social Similarity, Rina Maxine Limor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Does social similarity between the auditor and a specialist induce social biases that impair the auditor's reliance on the specialist? It is important to examine potential impairments to reliance since auditors do not possess expertise in many of the areas examined during the audit. One type of specialist that is increasingly relied upon by the auditor is the IT specialist.

Since firms have two approaches to the organization of IT personnel (decentralized vs. centralized) and often use professional designations as a hiring criteria for specialists, I examine two dimensions of social similarity: domain knowledge distinctiveness and spatial distance. Using a …

Organizing Disability: Producing Knowledge In A University Accommodations Office, Shelby Forbes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As it is generally conceived, knowledge belongs to the individual: we imagine how a lightbulb suddenly illuminates above the scientist's head, a muse whispers in the philosopher's ear, cogs slide into place as wheels turn in the thinker's mind, and, "Eureka!" an idea is born. As an individualistic experience, knowledge is secure in the repository of the mind, a "steel trap" as it is so often referred, which can only be breached by the most sophisticated and precise methods. From these popular representations of knowledge, one can extrapolate further to conclude that knowledge is not made, it is received. All …

"We're Taking Slut Back": Analyzing Racialized Gender Politics In Chicago's 2012 Slutwalk March, Aphrodite Kocieda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined bodied activism in Chicago's Slutwalk 2012 march, a contemporary movement initiated in Toronto, Canada that publicly challenged the mainstream sentiment that women are responsible for their own rape and victimization. Adopting an intersectional approach, I used textual analysis to discuss photographs posted on the official Chicago Slutwalk website to explore the ways this form of public bodied protest discursively engages women's empowerment from movement feminism as well as third wave and postfeminisms. I additionally analyzed the overall website and its promotional materials for the Slutwalk marches as well as how Chicago's photographic representations privilege the white female …

Public Knowledge And Sentiments About Elite Deviance, Cedric Michel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research has revealed that the financial cost and physical harmfulness of elite deviance overshadow the impact of street crime on society (Knowlton et al., 2011; Landrigan et al., 2002; Leigh, 2011; Lynch & Michalowski, 2006; Herbert & Landrigan, 2000; Rebovich & Jiandani, 2000; Reiman & Leighton, 2010). However, despite such discrepancies, crimes of the poor continue to outshine white-collar offenses in the news media (Barak, 1994; Barlow & Barlow, 2010; Ericson et al., 1991; Lynch & Michalowski, 2006; Lynch, Nalla & Miller, 1989; Lynch, Stretesky & Hammond, 2000), the criminal justice system (Calavita, Tillman, & Pontell, …

Relationships Between Parenting Self-Efficacy And Distress In Parents With And Without Cancer, Julie Marie Cessna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the relatively large number of parents with cancer, relatively little is known about the extent to which having cancer affects the parenting experience. Qualitative studies have identified issues and concerns that create distress among parents with cancer, but quantitative studies have yet to be conducted. Studies demonstrate that parents with cancer experience psychological distress, and that parenting self-efficacy is related to psychological distress among parents without cancer. However, no study to date has examined the relationships between parenting self-efficacy and psychological distress among parents with cancer. This study sought to address these gaps in the literature by comparing parents …

Clarifying The Nature Of Resilience: A Meta-Analytic Approach, Matthew Robert Grossman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Psychological resilience, conceptualized as the ability to bounce back from stress (Tugade, 2011), has garnered increased attention across various fields of psychology and related disciplines. Despite its popularity, researchers have yet to come to a consensus regarding the nomological network of this construct, as well as its distinctiveness from conceptually similar constructs (i.e., hardiness, grit). In this paper, I use meta-analytic techniques (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004) to quantitatively synthesize three decades of previous empirical work on resilience and related-constructs and their correlates, integrating findings from more than 400 studies. Results show that resilience overlaps substantially with big-five personality traits as …

British Cultural Narrative In Winston Churchill's Political Communication, Andres L. Faza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech, delivered to the House of Commons following the evacuation of Dunkirk, France in June 1940, as a source text by which to examine Churchill's use of British cultural narratives in political communication. Narrative and heuristic theories are proposed as means by which listeners process such messages. A number of rhetorical devices are defined, in order to inform a discussion of the narratives identified, particularly the means by which those narratives were rhetorically embedded in the text. After a careful examination of the source text, the narratives of knighthood …

(Dis)Abled Gaming: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Decreasing Accessibility For Disabled Gamers, Kyle David Romano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the context of culture, disability has long existed as a stigmatizing quality (Goffman, 1963). As a result, people with disabilities are often overlooked or completely omitted from various, cultural artifacts. This exclusion of people with disabilities is largely recognized as unproblematic because their disabilities imply an inevitable failing. Through my own experiences as a disabled gamer, I have recognized that video games have also framed gamers with disabilities as problematic. Video games are largely constructed in a one-size-fits-all mentality (Grammenos, 2014), where very specific people, with very specific kinds of bodies, are granted access to play them. Since disabled …

The Syrian Civil War: Four Concentric Forces Of Tensions, Majid Rafizadeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing Syrian conflict has been subject to considerable amount of political polemics. Nevertheless, little scholarly work has been conducted in order to comprehend the complexities as well as underlying reasons behind the intensity, scope, and duration of the conflict in Syria. Through qualitative methodology, this research examines the character of the Syrian conflict, by conducting an in-depth and nuanced case study of the Syrian civil war. While some theories of intrastate conflict and civil wars, concentrate on the domestic character of internal conflicts within states, transnational theories focus on external factors in examining intrastate conflicts. Both theoretical framework fail …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Desert In The Springs: Ethnography Of A Food Desert, Margeaux Alana Chavez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Food desert" commonly describes food insecure areas with few fresh food outlets. Though used in a number of sources, the definition of "food desert" remains largely undeveloped and research is often deficit oriented, failing to account for community assets that may exist within food deserts but are underutilized or under-supported. Using an assets-based, ethnographic approach, this study combines GIS and survey methodology with participant observation and qualitative interviews to assess the potential positive effect of urban agriculture on food accessibility in Sulphur Springs, a USDA identified urban food desert in Tampa, Florida.

Ethnographic data suggest that within this neighborhood, residents …

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 …

Rurality And Intimate Partner Homicide: Exploring The Relationship Between Place, Social Structure, And Femicide In North Carolina, Amelia Kirkland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A developing body of research within the fields of criminology and rural sociology has emphasized the importance of considering geographic place in the study of interpersonal violence, and domestic violence in particular. Exploring how place is related to domestic violence lends itself to considerations of geographic variation in socio-structural conditions. A handful of studies since the 1980s have explored structural correlates of intimate abuse largely rooted in one of two theoretical contexts: social disorganization or gender inequality/patriarchy. However, knowledge regarding the relationship between place, social structure, and specific types of violence remains limited. The present study is intended as an …