Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"They Come, But They Don't Spend As Much Money": Livelihoods, Dietary Diversity, Food Security, And Nutritional Status In Two Roatan Communities In The Wake Of Global Crises In Food Prices And Finance, Racine Marcus Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation explores the associations between recent global crises in staple food prices and finance and the following aspects of life in two communities on the island of Roatàn, Islas de La Bahia (Bay Islands), Honduras: household livelihoods; food commoditization; dietary diversity; food security; and nutritional status. The aims of this study are: ) assess the geographic and economic source(s) of foods consumed by two different communities on Roatàn; b) discover how the most recent economic and food crises have affected foodways and nutrition on Roatàn; c) assess how these crises have affected economic growth of the tourism sector …

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 …

Socioeconomic Factors' And Water Source Features' Effect On Household Water Supply Choices In Uganda And The Associated Environmental Impacts, Christine M. Prouty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the last twenty years or more, Uganda has benefitted from significant strides in water and sanitation initiated by the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. While the rapid progress towards development has been vastly beneficial, it is also important that it does not occur at the expense of the environment. The environmental impacts of these water sources must be evaluated and understood. However, to develop a robust understanding of the impact requires inclusion of the community members who use these sources and their perceptions of them. Consequently, the goal of this research is to investigate the interrelationships between socioeconomic factors, …

The Elimination Of Blindness: An Ethnographic Exploration Of The Fight Against Trachoma In Niger, Kelley Cosby Sams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to explore specialized and popular cultural models of trachoma, and the interaction between the trachoma elimination program and its target audience in one trachoma hyper-endemic intervention community. Eighty four million people worldwide, mainly children, are infected with active bacterial trachoma. For some, this will lead to painful and progressive corneal opacity and eventual blindness. The disease is most commonly spread by person-to-person contact or by flies, and affects very specific populations living in resource-poor areas such as rural Niger, which has one of the highest prevalence rates worldwide.

The World Health Organization formed an …

Sense Of Place In An Unincorporated Community:, Samuel Scott Sanderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Residents of communities that are at the edge of the rural-urban divide are likely to have many senses of place reflective of the changes occurring around them. As the place where they have resided in and identify with becomes transformed by changes in land use and social composition, these residents may be forced to either adapt or leave. Often overlooked, these individuals may feel as if the place where they have long resided is no longer their home. As the familiar routes, stores, and neighborhoods give way to new highways, big name stores, and exclusive subdivisions, their understanding of …

Community Arts In The Lives Of Disadvantaged African American Youth: Educating For Wellness And Cultural Praxis, Mabel Sabogal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the role and potential of community arts programs and organizations in improving the lives of disadvantaged African American youth, through the creation of a participatory video project and the internal evaluation of the same; using applied anthropological methods, and cultural praxis (an innovative educational design), and following the recommendations of expert community arts programs evaluators. The study responds to the need identified in the community arts literature to offer robust program evaluations that explain the benefits of such programs. The lack of evidence seems to derive not only from the difficulties …

Beyond The Door: Disability And The Sibling Experience, Morgan Violeta Sanchez Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the experiences of adult siblings of individuals with impairments. It expands on the existing literature by exploring the complexity of the sibling experience of disability while moving beyond the concepts of burden and maladjustment that have characterized much of the previous literature. In addition, it expands upon and extends to the sibling experience an emerging view of disability by examining the ways in which themes identified in sibling narratives cross lines between the Medical and Social Models of Disability. Building on work by Mark Priestly and Tom Shakespeare, I call this emerging view the Interactional Model of …

Strategic Messaging In A Political Crisis: Testing The Integrated Model For Explaining The Communication Behavior Of Publics, Tiffany Lynn Schweickart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Crisis response message strategies were examined using a post test-only randomized experiment (N=252) to determine their influence on perceptual, cognitive, and motivational antecedents to communication behavior in a political context. Results indicate that: (1) strategy type influences perceived strategy effectiveness; (2) situational beliefs influence situational motivation, subjective norm, and attitudes; (3) subjective norm and attitudes influence behavioral intention; and (4) referent criterion, situational motivation, and behavioral intention influence communicative action in publics during a political crisis.

Cultivating Local: Building A Local Food System In Western North Carolina, Allison S. Perrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines a movement in Western North Carolina to build a local food system, one grounded in the conditions and relationships of place. In 2000, Mountain Family Farms launched the Local Food Campaign to raise public awareness about the region's farms and farming heritage, to educate consumers about the benefits of buying food grown by local farms, and, ultimately, to build markets for locally grown food to sustain the region's farms. The campaign sparked a social movement and over a decade later local farms and locally grown food are a palpable feature of life in the mountains of Western …

Fracking Teco: Analyzing The Communication Strategies In Teco Peoples Gas Advertisements, Magdaline Southard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TECO advertisements promote the use of natural gas as an energy source because it claims that natural gas is an environmentally responsible alternative to other sources of energy. However, these advertisements do not reveal the not-so-green process, namely hydraulic-fracturing, or fracking, by which natural gas is produced and the consequences that it can and does have on public health and the environment. Even though the conversation about fracking has been on the rise in recent years as certain companies and politicians have pushed for an increase in natural gas production, scholars have yet to examine the communicative strategies used …

Spiritual Life Review With Older Adults: Finding Meaning In Late Life Development, Alicia Margaret Stinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Spirituality has been recognized as a positive factor in the lives of older adults, especially as it influences their emotional, mental, and physical well-being. This convenience sample study included 17 older adults residing at a faith based continuing care retirement community in Florida. The sample was represented by Caucasian older adults with an average age of 84 years, highly educated, majority Protestant and mostly female. Spiritual life reviews were conducted using spiritual life maps (Hodge, 2005) and semi-structured interview questions. Erikson's epigenetic stage of ego-integrity was used along with Butler's life review process and Tornstam's gerotranscendence as a conceptual …

Spatial Transferability Of Activity-Based Travel Forecasting Models, Sujan Sikder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spatial transferability of travel forecasting models, or the ability to transfer models from one geographical region to another, can potentially help in significant cost and time savings for regions that cannot invest in extensive data-collection and model-development procedures. This issue is particularly important in the context of tour-based/activity-based models whose development typically involves significant data inputs, skilled staff, and long production times. However, most literature on model transferability has been in the context of traditionally used trip-based models, particularly for linear regression-based trip generation and logit-based mode choice models, with little evidence on the transferability of activity-based models and that …

Knowledge, Attitudes And Traditions Regarding Water Consumption And Sanitary Practices Of The Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous Women In The Chiriquí Province In Panama, Natalia Vega

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: In 2007, approximately 66.2% of the population of the Comarcas (indigenous reservations) in Panama had access to potable water. However, over 50% of this population lacked access to sanitation. As a result, the leading causes of death in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé are due to severe diarrhea and gastroenteritis of infectious origin. The present project assessed the need for an in-depth understanding of the Ngäbe-Buglé women and their communities regarding their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors about water and sanitation. Methodology: In this cross-sectional exploratory study, a convenience sample of 52 women were interviewed, utilizing a questionnaire guided by the …

From Limited-English-Proficient To Educator: Perspectives On Three Spanish-English Biliteracy Journeys, Elizabeth Visedo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this multicase study was to describe and explain the perceptions of three Spanish-English culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) high achievers on their biliteracy journeys to become educators in the United States (U.S.), by answering: What elements constitute the perspectives of three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers on the relevance of their biliteracy experience in order to become educators in the U.S.?; What factors do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive as key to describe their biliteracy experience?; What relevance, if any, do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive their biliteracy experience had for them to become …

The Role Of Nature In Physiological Recovery From Stress: A Critical Examination Of Restorative Environments Theory, Kristi Elizabeth White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, health researchers have become interested in "eco-friendly" or "green" healthcare. One of the current trends in the green healthcare movement involves incorporating natural elements into health care settings to promote the health of patients and healthcare workers. Research based on Restorative Environments Theory (RET) provides insight into the rationale behind incorporating nature into the healthcare setting. RET posits that pleasant natural environments help promote stress recovery by increasing positive affect, decreasing negative affect, and reducing physiological arousal. However, the components of this theory have not been sufficiently tested using a controlled laboratory environment. The purpose of the present study …

Agricultural And Domestic Waste Contamination In Chilibre Panama And Potential Low-Cost Best Managament Practices, Christopher Etienne Weekes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Sanitation coverage in the Republic of Panama is 5 to 10 percent below the Millennium Development Goals targets set for the country. Population growth, urbanization, unplanned development and waste mismanagement have resulted in improvised trash sites and waste discharges into river systems that are important components of the biologically diverse natural environment of Panama. The study sought to investigate and estimate the burden of waste from domestic and agricultural sources in three regions of the Chilibre corrigimiento (district). It was hypothesized that the water quality and land cover data would reflect that the most populated region in the study …

Cause-Related Controversy: An Analysis Of Corporate Sponsor Response To The Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood Crisis, Christina Maria Cameron

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study advances crisis communication and relationship management application and theory by examining the crisis response strategies used by corporations during a time of crisis involving a nonprofit partner. A qualitative content analysis was performed on the Facebook pages of 57 companies that were corporate partners of Susan G. Komen in early 2012. Nineteen companies responded using their Facebook accounts during two crisis periods studied. The researcher argues that consideration must be given to additional contingent factors beyond those proposed by situational crisis communication theory. Contingent variables related to the corporations' relationship with the charity, including level of …

The Influence Of Campus Culture On Mental Health Help-Seeking Intentions, Jason I. Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health issues are widespread on college campuses. However, the majority of these individuals do not seek help. Prior research suggests many factors which may be related to mental health help-seeking including age, gender, and prior treatment experience. There has however been little work considering the context of the college campus on mental health help-seeking, specifically the influence of campus culture. Accounting for the context of mental health help-seeking may help to determine which social groups have the greatest influence on mental health treatment processes.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived peer, student body, …

Rural Communities: How Do Individuals Perceive Change When Industry Enters The Area?, Katherine Danielle Ferrari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the landscape of the United States changes and world resources face depletion, shale gas development has become a major social justice issue. Social workers may be called upon to help support communities undergoing change from industry as well as the environmental and social justice concerns that are arising in areas with rich natural resource supplies.

This research examines how a rural population perceives change when industry enters an area. It explores community change and social justice concerns that are occurring with shale gas development in order to help determine implications for social work practice.

Using a phenomenological approach, this …

Prenatal Stress, Depression, And Herpes Viral Titers, Pao-Chu Hsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies suggest that some cases of prenatal depression may be associated with reactivation of latent infections of the herpesvirus family. The possible relationships among stress, prenatal depression, and herpes viral reactivation in pregnancy are understudied and the molecular pathways such as the neuroimmune biogenic amine pathway are unidentified. Chronic stress shifts the T helper-1 cell (Th1) cytokine profile to a Th2 profile, which favors virus induced pathogenesis and survival. Pregnancy is also associated with a similar Th2 dominance. In non-pregnant individuals, exposure to psychological or physical stress may be associated with latent herpes viral reactivation and could result in …

Counselor Discomfort With Sexual Issues And Supervisory Role, Barbara Lofrisco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Sexual issues are common among the general population; therefore it is likely that clients suffer with them whether or not they are presenting issues. Because unresolved sexual issues may contribute to harm, counselors have an ethical obligation to ensure these issues are addressed during therapy. Yet, many fail to do so for a variety of reasons. Because clinical supervisors are in a unique position to nurture and mentor novice counselors, their influence is salient to this issue.

Although some research has been done to address this issue, results are inconclusive and somewhat contradictory. This study attempts to fill in …

Differentiating Between Objectification And Animalization: Associations Between Women, Objects, And Animals, Kasey Lynn Morris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While it's clear that the objectification of women is a prominent feature of Western society, it is far less clear what it actually means to be objectified. Philosophers, feminist scholars and psychologist agree that objectification involves a denial of humanity, however, the nature of this dehumanization has yet to be explained. Although existing research provides evidence that objectified women are associated both with objects and animals, no research has examined the conditions under which women are likely to be dehumanized by one form or another. Here, I propose that animalization, characterized by an association with animals, occurs when a woman …

Community On The Menu: Seven-Courses To Cultivate Familial Bonds, Exchange Social Capital, And Nourish Community, David Franklin Purnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an auto/ethnographic account, which examines food, close personal friendships, and community. The research combines autoethnography with ethnographic observations and personal/group interviews conducted within the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. The observations are of a weekly dinner event referred to by most attendees as Family Dinner. I am one of the founders of this event; the participants of this study are neighbors (or were at some point in time) as well as past and present attendees of the weekly dinner.

The purpose of this research is to illustrate how food can be a tool to build …

Longitudinal Validation And Diagnostic Accuracy Of The Minnesota Borderline Personality Disorder Scale (Mbpd), Elizabeth Rojas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been previously conceptualized as an extreme variant of normal personality traits, captured by continuous indices. A previous study successfully developed and validated a self-report BPD measure, the Minnesota Borderline Personality Disorder Scale (MBPD). I conducted two studies aimed at providing further validation for this measure. Results from Study 1 (clinical sample of substance users) indicated that MBPD exhibited strong positive correlations with measures of convergent validity (self-report and diagnostic measures). Additionally, the MBPD showed similar correlations with external correlates as those of the convergent validity measures, in addition to incremental utility in predicting these external …

Assessing Appropriate Technology Handwashing Stations In Mali, West Africa, Colleen Claire Naughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proper hand hygiene is the most effective and efficient method to prevent over 1.3 million deaths annually from diarrheal disease and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs). Hand hygiene is also indispensable in achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality rate by 2/3rds between 1990 and 2015. Handwashing has been found in a systematic review of studies to reduce diarrhea by 47%#37; and is, thus, capable of preventing a million deaths (Curtis et. al., 2003). Despite this evidence, hand washing rates remain seriously low in the developing world (Scott et al., 2008).

This study developed and implemented …

Spatial Distribution Of Nitrogen Oxides, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, And Xylenes In Hillsborough County, Florida: An Investigation Of Impacts Of Urban Forests On Ambient Concentrations Of Air Pollutants Associated With Traffic, Jill Sears

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban air pollution is responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality in exposed populations due to its effects on cardiovascular and respiratory function. Transportation-related air pollutants account for the majority of harmful air pollution in urban areas. Forests are known to reduce air pollution through their ability to facilitate dry deposition and atmospheric gas exchange. This work characterizes the interactions between transportation air pollutants and urban forests in Hillsborough County, Florida. A highly spatially resolved passive air sampling campaign was conducted to characterize local concentrations of nitrogen oxides, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) in Hillsborough County, Florida. Sampling …

Treatment Maintenance Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Anxiety In Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Robert Rein Selles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders commonly co-occur in children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recently, treatment of anxiety using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been modified and studied in youth with ASD, with results consistently demonstrating positive treatment outcomes. In typically developing populations, CBT gains are well maintained as long as 14-years post-treatment; however, maintenance of CBT has not yet been studied in anxious youth with ASD. Using a sample of 32 youth who previously completed one of three CBT for anxiety in ASD treatment studies, the present study re-assessed parent report of anxiety symptoms in youth, 12-26 months (M …

Colors And Mapping: The Right To Receive Information, Kathryn Stephanie Skupien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Color is used in everything we see and do and it often can be used for effect and representation, particularly on maps and transportation signage. This study explores the issues that the color blind population exhibits when viewing these maps and signs. Seeing that 8%#37; of the male population is afflicted with some form of color blindness, it is pertinent that research reflect these issues and take into consideration the Right to Receive Information for this population. A qualitative method using Photovoice and interviews was used to determine whether this population considers itself having a disability and what solutions can …

When Celebrity Women Tweet: Examining Authenticity, Empowerment, And Responsibility In The Surveillance Of Celebrity Twitter, Megan M. Wood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a textual analysis of stories in online celebrity news articles about celebrity women and their use of Twitter. It adds to the burgeoning discussion about gendered and racialized bodies online using scholarship from critical feminist, surveillance, and digital media studies. Throughout, my work attends to notions of authenticity and surveillance, examining how what I term a "call to authenticity"--the use of technologies of self-surveillance to verify "authentic" displays of the self--serves to animate contradictory post-feminist paradigms of femininity which function together to discipline and subjugate femininity. I ask: How do post-feminist questions of empowerment and responsibility become …

Guanxi, Networks And Economic Development: The Impact Of Cultural Connections, Patricia Anne Weeks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the mechanics of guanxi in an organizational setting, focusing on the use of interpersonal relationships within Chinese firms to discover how firms initiate, build and use guanxi networks. Two richly detailed case studies document changes that take place over time in two distinct networks with respect to key actors and their contacts. This research also investigates patterns of social structure that emerge over time in these two distinct cases looking at brokerage relationships, network density, and dyadic redundancy in three waves at six month intervals. The cases are dissimilar in all aspects …