Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploration Of Shared Passenger Urban Air Mobility – Integrated Network Design, Operation Scheduling And System Configuration, Zhiqiang Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban air mobility (UAM) is an emerging concept proposed in recent years that uses electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). UAM is expected to offer an alternative way of transporting passengers and goods in urban areas with significantly improved mobility by making use of low-altitude airspace. Considering the high capital investment of eVTOLs and relative high fee of using UAM passenger service, a viable UAM format is shared passenger service. Such a service is usually station-based, i.e., with vertiport located in popular sites where potential passengers can access. To understand the viability of such use cases, the vertiport owners …

Supervision Needs At 2 And 5 Years Post Traumatic Brain Injury: A Veterans Affairs Tbi Model Systems Study, Deveney M. K. Ching

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study assessed the supervision needs, with the Supervision Rating Scale [SRS] (Boake, 1996) of Veterans and Service Members enrolled in the Veterans' Affairs (VA) Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (TBIMS) at 2- and 5-year follow-ups after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). A cross sectional analysis was conducted at 2-year follow-up (N=428) where it was found that 35% of subjects still needed supervision. At 5-year follow-up (N=295) it was found that 32% of subjects needed supervision. Finally, a multilevel model of supervision (N=164) found that the relationship of supervision needs remains a constant linear line over the …

Detection Of Subsidence In West-Central Florida Using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry And Near-Surface Geophysics, Tonian R. Robinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three studies that employ Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI, also known as PSInSAR) to better understand how subsidence in west-central Florida relates to underlying geological processes. In the first study, near-surface geophysical methods (Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity (ERT)), terrestrial remote sensing applications (Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Structure from Motion (SfM)), and PSI were used to monitor the spatial and temporal behaviors of a suspected growing sinkhole in the Sandhill Boyscout Reservation, Hernando County, Florida. The survey area was located within and around a topographic low assumed to be the surface of the …

The Relationships Between L1, Writing Quality, And Complexity, Accuracy, And Fluency In L2 Writing, Tuc C. Chau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current dissertation is to map the relationships between first language (L1), writing quality, and syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) in second language (L2) writing. CALF are characteristics of language production that have been of significant interest in L2 writing research for the past few decades. Though they have been extensively studied as dependent variables that may vary as a function of other factors, they have been rarely studied together, much less in relation to L1 as an independent variable. Thus, this study explored the effects of L1 and writing quality, operationalized as score …

Examining Patient Satisfaction And Treatment Effectiveness For Hispanic Adolescents Receiving Intensive Mental Health Services For Depression, Myesha M. Morgan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral Activation (BA) is a treatment approach that has demonstrated promising outcomes for the adolescent population (Martin & Oliver, 2019). However, more studies are needed to examine its effectiveness with Hispanic adolescents. The prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms tend to be higher among Hispanic adolescents in comparison to their non-Hispanic White peers (Pratt & Brody, 2014). In addition, depressive symptoms are associated with poor social, academic, and later health outcomes (Naicker et al., 2013; Owens, Stevenson, Hadwin, 2012). Given the lack of prior investigations on the effectiveness of BA for Hispanic adolescents, this study aimed to fill a gap …

From Other And From World: Expanding The Current Model Of Existential Isolation, Roger Young Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extant research investigating the nature of existential isolation (EI) has focused primarily on the experience of the gap between one’s mind and the minds of others (self-other EI). The general purpose of the current research was to begin exploring the experience of the gap between one’s mind and the world (self-world EI). This purpose was carried out across three studies. A pilot study confirms that self-world EI is a relatively common experience that usually involves meaning violation or dissociation, and results in psychological discomfort and self-doubt. Study 1 found that self-world existential isolation produces more “EI affect” (e.g., nervous, afraid, …

Travel And Migration Behaviors Of Migrants From Puerto Rico During Disasters, Lauren C. Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

COVID-19 and Hurricane Maria were both unprecedented disasters in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria caused of billions of dollars in damage and took thousands of lives in 2017, while COVID-19 challenged Puerto Rico’s already crippled healthcare infrastructure in 2020. In the literature, there were few studies that explored how compound disasters affect island nations, let alone in a hypothetical worst-case scenario of a major hurricane during a novel (pre-vaccine) pandemic. In this dissertation, I studied how such a compound disaster would impact travel behaviors of migrants from Puerto Rico to the US in three distinct studies. The first study analyzed the …

Evaluating The Effects Of Academic And Social Breaks On Off-Task Behavior In A College Classroom, Allison K. Fisher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educators and researchers aim to develop effective teaching practices to increase on-task behavior and decrease off-task behavior during class time to ensure positive outcomes for students. The types of off-task behavior observed in classrooms with high school and college populations have changed in recent years due to the prevalence of accessible technology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of social and academic breaks on off-task behavior in the college classroom. The social break allowed for a time for students to socialize and/or engage with a mobile device, and the academic break allowed for students to take …

“I’M Still Suffering”: Mental Health Care Among Central African Refugee Populations In The Tampa Bay Area, C. Danee Ruszczyk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An estimated 500 Central African refugee families have been resettled in the Tampa Bay Area since 2002 (RPC, 2022). The cycles of trauma that they have endured place them in vulnerable positions regarding their mental health. Struggling to exist within underfunded social programs that are rigid in their expectations and with the current system of reactive care vs preventative care, the refugees in Tampa are put in a difficult situation of navigating their own health and wellbeing in lieu of having the full support of the United States government and their community. I will discuss how these refugees experience and …

Socio-Emotional Effects Of Rejection: An Experience-Sampling Examination, Gabriella Silva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rejection is a detrimental experience that directly threatens people’s fundamental need for social acceptance and connection. Rejection is particularly distressing for people with elevated social anxiety, as it is their core fear. Yet, very few studies have examined the impact of daily rejection in the context of social anxiety. The present research examined the socioemotional effects of daily feelings of rejection in the context of social anxiety across two experience-sampling studies. Study 1 was a 2-week daily diary study with community adults and Study 2 was a 4-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study with a clinical sample of adults with …

Efficacy Of Online Social Movements For Sparking Change: The Case Of The Missing Murdered And Indigenous Women Movement (#Mmiw), Kacy A. Bleeker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the context of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Movement (#MMIW) in the context of activist engagement, media representations, and public awareness and beliefs related to the movement. The present study framed the movement within the context of social movement theory, intersectionality, and feminism, to determine the applicability of these frameworks in explaining an Indigenous social movement. While the use of social media to facilitate and mobilize social movements is not a new phenomenon, limited research has examined the functionality of online social movements, particularly in the context of movements concerned with intersectional identities. Research highlights, …

Improving The Subjective Well-Being Of Autistic Youth Utilizing A Positive Psychology Intervention, Nicolette Bauermeister

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a single-case multiple-baseline design to analyze the effects of a ten-week multi-component positive psychology intervention, the Well-Being Promotion Program, on the subjective well-being of Autistic youth. This thesis addressed a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions when administered to Autistic middle schoolers. Three Autistic middle schoolers participated in this single-case design study. Dynamic decision-making was used to stagger intervention implementation across the three participants. Life satisfaction and positive/negative affect data were collected via a Qualtrics survey that was administered twice per week. Through visual analysis and Baseline Corrected Tau calculations, it was …

Threats To School Safety: Examining Levels Of Community Violence And Its Relation To School-Related Threats, Dorie Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant media attention provided to school-based acts of violence, these tragic incidents are relatively rare across school environments, leading to increasing challenges in identifying students who may pose a threat. Previous approaches to school discipline, including policies such as zero tolerance, resulted in significant racial disparities among students who received disciplinary consequences inconsistent with the severity of their behaviors or threats. Alternatively, a relatively recent approach that emerged following a series of school shootings in the 1990s was school threat assessment, which focuses on prevention rather than prediction. While it is important to determine students who may pose a …

The Impacts Of Disability Policy And Its Implementation On Deaf University Students: An Applied Anthropological Approach, Tailyn Marie Osorio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) has provided legal requirement for universities to provide accommodations for all disabled students, including deaf students. The ADA is intentionally vague to allow flexibility for how institutions implement accommodations provisions. This leads to high variability across universities. Using ethnographic data from policy analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with accommodations coordinators and deaf students from a large-public university, this applied anthropological study aims to investigate the impacts of policy and policy practices on the experiences of deaf students while proposing interventions informed by the coordinators and deaf students themselves.

This study is …

The Applicability Of The Postmortem Submersion Interval Estimation Formula For Human Remains Found In Subtropical Aquatic Environments, Kara L. Dicomo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the past decade, several attempts have been made to standardize a method for estimating postmortem submersion intervals (PMSI); however, the majority of these studies have focused on data from a temperate climate which cannot be taken as representative of large portions of the globe. Thus, there are large portions of the earth in which the methodology from these studies may not be able to accurately estimate PMSI which has the potential to leave investigators in these other climatic zones at a disadvantage. This presentation presents a case study into the applicability of two Total Body Scoring Systems (TADS) utilized …

The Transformative Impact Of A Semester-Long Us-Based Gelt Course On Pre-/In-Service Teachers' Cognition And Classroom Practices, Özge Güney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As English has become a global lingua franca used by a greater number of nonnative speakers than native speakers, a focus on native speaker norms in English language teaching (ELT) has become obsolete. There has been a call to incorporate different varieties of Englishes (native, nonnative, and nativized) and related cultures in both teacher education programs and the English classroom- an approach known as Global Englishes Teacher Education (GELT). This study investigates the influence of a GELT-informed teacher education course offered at a US state university on the cognition and (future) practices of pre-/in-service teachers, which aspects of the GELT …

Invisible Families, Clear Consequences: Work-Family Integration Among Employees In Same Gender Presenting Romantic Relationships, Joseph Regina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent qualitative studies have provided evidence LGBTQ+ individuals experience unique challenges related to integrating one’s romantic partner into their work life. Informed by signaling theory, the role of work-romantic partner integration supplies (WRPIS) as a variable of interest was tested as an outcome of formal and informal signals of inclusion and as a predictor of job satisfaction, romantic relationship satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Hypotheses were tested using a three-timepoint survey with a sample of 138 full-time employed individuals who were currently involved in a committed same-gender presenting romantic relationship. Results provide support informal signals of inclusion relate to WRPIS and …

Evaluating A Behavioral Intervention For Performance Blocks In Gymnastics, Cara L. Shapiro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a gradual exposure and thought training treatment package to increase gymnasts’ successful completion of a performance block skill. Following baseline, the researchers implemented both a thought training procedure to alter participants’ negative thoughts into positive thoughts, and a gradual exposure procedure which included gymnastics drills that were small approximations to the performance block skill. A 2-point rating scale was used to indicate successful completion of the skills: 0= refusal, 1= the participant initiated the skill but failed to complete it successfully, 2= the participant initiated the skill and completed it successfully. Rating …

An Evaluation Of Measurement Invariance Of Dsm-5 Borderline Personality Disorder Criteria Across Heterosexual, Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults, E. Elisa Carsten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a robust, yet poorly understood relationship between non-heterosexual orientation and borderline personality disorder (BPD), with lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals evidencing greater BPD symptoms compared to heterosexual individuals. Recent evidence suggests possible bias in BPD diagnostic criteria leading to greater endorsement among sexual minority individuals, which hinders researchers’ ability to make valid group comparisons. The present study utilized an epidemiological sample of 35,995 men and women to evaluate the extent of differential item functioning (DIF) among BPD criteria across sexual orientation groups using a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) approach. All criteria except affective instability and emptiness indicated …

Observed Error Monitoring As An Index Of Theory Of Mind, Kipras Varkala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To thrive within our social environment, we must understand and learn from those around us. Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to our ability to put ourselves in other’s shoes to comprehend what they are thinking. Observed error monitoring (OEM) refers to detecting others’ mistakes in real time, which is ultimately thought of as a mechanism that supports our learning from those mistakes without personally having committed them. Current findings suggest that both ToM and OEM are dependent on one another when engaging in social learning. We first emulate the mental state of others to understand their goals motivations. We then …

Examining The Role Of Executive Functions On The Intention-Behavior Gap Of Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy Use, Becky K. Gius

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol harm reduction strategies are health behaviors that aim to minimize the likelihood or severity of consequences associated with alcohol use. Despite the demonstrated usefulness of harm reduction strategies, there is variability in who and when the strategies are used, leading to the question “if they work, why not use them all the time?” One potential explanation is a discrepancy between the intention to drink safely and actually drinking safely, termed the intention-behavior gap. It is unclear to what extent college drinkers plan on engaging in safe drinking behaviors but fail to follow through. It is plausible some drinkers have …

Investigating Risk Factors Of The Development Of Compulsive Exercise And Eating Disorder Symptoms In College Students, Madeline Palermo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compulsive exercise (e.g., high exercise frequency combined with the inability to reduce or stop exercising) is associated with a variety of maladaptive outcomes in college students, such as quality of life impairment, body dissatisfaction, and poor physical health outcomes. Recent research suggests that compulsive exercise is highly prevalent among college students and that engagement in compulsive exercise behaviors may increase over the first year of college. Given that college is an important developmental period for establishing behavioral patterns that affect long-term health, developing effective preventative interventions for compulsive exercise among early college students is paramount. Extant cross-sectional work suggests that …

Musicking Higher Education: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Music Pedagogy On College Classroom Atmospheres, April Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social scientific literature supports the use of music as a pedagogical tool in children for education, camaraderie, and classroom atmosphere, but the concentration of research ends at grade 12. While music is promoted as entertainment, therapy, a focus aid, a relaxation tool, and a way to create community for adults in previous research, in sociological literature we seem to both forget and ignore the benefits that it has as a learning tool. Using an interdisciplinary lens with supporting works from the philosophy of education and sociology, this paper provides support for the benefits of using music to build classroom culture. …

An Experimental Study Of Negative Performance Feedback: Consideration Of A Cognitive Pathway And Individual Difference Factors, Ansley M. Bender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Negative performance feedback is relatively common and may be related to negative mental health outcomes, but there is a lack of sufficient experimental research. Further, little is known about the pathway by which effects emerge, or factors that may enhance or attenuate resilience to the effects of negative performance feedback. There is preliminary support for a cognitive pathway through appraisals of falling short of standards, but this specific model remains untested. Likewise, research suggests that perfectionism and positive future thinking may affect resilience in the context of negative performance feedback. The present study was among the first to experimentally test …

Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Immigration-Related Stressors, Pregnancy, Birth, And Post-Partum Experiences Of Women Living Along The Us-Mexico Border, Isabela Solis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with immigration-related stressors had a profound effect on women who lived on the U.S.-Mexico border and their pregnancy, birth, and post-partum experiences. This project focused the experiences of 17 women living in El Paso, Texas and how border closure, economic insecurities, and family separation during the COVID-19 pandemic shaped women’s experiences. This research included interviewing maternal and child health experts to propose recommendations geared towards policy change. Finally, this project highlights the vast complexities that go into the pregnancy, birth, and post-partum period for women living on the U.S.-Mexico border, and how these experiences shape maternal …

Predicting Groundwater Spring Locations From Topographic And Climatic Data Using Maxent Modeling, Ayten Ece Koc

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The World Resources Institute reveals that 17 countries face extremely high levels of water stress. Moreover, with increasing population and industrialization, the gap between water supply and demand increases day by day around the world. Groundwater is a key freshwater source, and springs are important resources as they enable to access groundwater. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor, protect, and manage groundwater springs. The first step in spring management is to recognize and define freshwater resources and to determine the locations of groundwater springs that serve as natural discharge points. Traditionally, field studies have been employed to determine the locations …

“They’Re Still Trying To Wrap Their Head Around Forever”: An Anatomy Of Hope For Spinal Cord Injury Patients, William A. Lucas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation draws on ethnographic data to investigate the nature of spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation in Central Florida, using participant observation and interview data to understand how people with SCI (pwSCI) conceptualize their own disabilities after experiencing such radical alterations in their subjectivities. Using case studies and ethnographic vignettes, it argues that the extreme double binds in which pwSCI find themselves (where they are personally ordinarily disabled and socially extraordinarily novel; and where they are enabled resources to pursue “hopeful” therapy modalities while being designated as hopelessly disabled) is further polarized by the various legislative regimes of truth in …

Development And Evaluation Of Interactive Computerized Training To Teach Practitioners To Implement Safety Skills Training, Rasha R. Baruni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children can experience unintentional injuries due to safety threats found in their environments (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Researchers have shown that children can be taught safety responses using behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST). Within the safety skills literature, there is evidence that manualized interventions are effective for teaching parents and teachers to deliver BST (Gross et al., 2007; Novotny et al., 2020). An approach that has not been evaluated for teaching safety skills is interactive computerized training (ICT). The ICT approach employs technology to deliver trainings in the absence of a trainer (Gerencser …

Exploring Time-Varying Extraneous Variables Effects In Single-Case Studies, Ke Cheng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of time-varying extraneous variables has been studied in other statistical analyses such as using Kaplan–Meier or Cox regression analysis in survival analyses. Nonetheless, the effect of modeling versus not modeling individual specific time varying extraneous variables has not been explored in multiple-baseline single case designs through Monte Carlo simulation studies. Therefore, in my dissertation, I used simulation methods to explore for a variety of conditions (varying in the number of participants, number of observations per participant, type of extraneous variable effect, size of the true intervention effect) the impact of extraneous variables on bias and standard error of …

Standing Her Ground: Legal Constraints On Women Who Have Been Victims Of Violence, Janae E. Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women who have been the victim of violence have always been at a disadvantage under the laws in the United States because these laws stem from a patriarchal, sexist, heteronormative, and racist ideology under which this country was founded. Self- defense laws have shown to be no different and serve as a constraint to women who attempt to protect themselves at the hands of an abuser. This dissertation focuses on women who have been the victim of violence at the hands of an abuser to show that the law is not doing an adequate job of protecting them. It accomplishes …