NOTE (Advisory Committee): Scott J. Steppan, Professor Directing Thesis; Peter Beerli, Committee Member; David Houle, Committee Member; Joseph Travis, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Evolution (Biology)
SUBJECT: Biology--Classification
SUBJECT: Molecular biology
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Sanchez_fsu_0071E_16449.pdf
TITLE: Colombian Violin Music by Composer Gustavo Parra and His Students Mateo Sepulveda and James Diaz
AUTHOR: Sanchez, Diana Carolina,
MEMBER (professor directing treatise): Sung, Benjamin
MEMBER (university representative): Bakan, Michael B.
MEMBER (committee member): Jiménez, Alexander, 1963-
MEMBER (committee member): Holzman, Bruce
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (65 pages)
ABSTRACT: Colombia, the northernmost country in South America, is full of classical musicians. From students of all ages to professionals, all of them are contributing to the increasing growth of the classical culture in the country. At the same time, during the last decades, there has been an increased interest in national music. Colombian music is based on syncopated rhythms, in most cases, having a strong sense of beat displacement. Pulse dissonance is one way to refer to this characteristic. Colombian composers are highly linked to such rhythms, incorporating them in most of their works, no matter what the genre might be. Gustavo Adolfo Parra is not only a perfect example of these composers, but as a teacher in one of the most important conservatories in the country, the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia, he is imparting his knowledge to a large generation of new composers. His former students Mateo Sepúlveda and James Díaz, two young professional composers, demonstrate how they have applied Parra’s teachings to their career. Similarly, violinists in Colombia are also expanding their sense of nationalism by performing more Colombian music and including it in their own studio’s repertoire, inspiring students to proudly play the music of the nation. In most Colombian universities, it has not always been this way. Instead, the violin repertoire has been based on European academic music. Fortunately, this new attachment to Colombian music has a prominent future, and now can be passed to future generations. Furthermore, Colombian music is gaining international popularity. There are Colombian musicians in all parts of the world playing their national music and making it accessible to international audiences. That is the most important purpose of this project. A brief history of music in Colombia will provide context; interviews with professional violinists now living in Colombia will give some perspective on the current practices in the Colombian musical field, and the violin music by Gustavo Parra, Mateo Sepúlveda, and James Díaz will serve as examples of the present creative output in the country. Colombian composers have a bast range of styles today. Parra’s violin concerto will serve as a link to traditional European forms, and his Bambuco “María” as a pure traditional Colombian genre. Sepúlveda’s “Ecos” and Díaz’s “Her Letters” are contemporary in nature, but both works show their link not only to Gustavo Parra, but to this Colombian attachment to syncopated rhythms.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 8, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Colombian music, Colombian violin music
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Benjamin Sung, Professor Directing Treatise; Michael B. Bakan, University Representative; Alexander Jimenez, Committee Member; Bruce Holzman, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Music
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Sangster_fsu_0071N_16724.pdf
TITLE: An Examination of the Unique Tropical Cyclone Climatology near Hispaniola and the Factors Influencing It
AUTHOR: Sangster, Sam,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Hart, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1972-
MEMBER (committee member): Misra, Vasubandhu, 1970-
MEMBER (committee member): Wu, Zhaohua
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (145 pages)
ABSTRACT: Using data from the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC’s) Best Track archive, it is found that there are local minima and maxima of occurrence of tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the southwest North Atlantic basin where sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) are rarely an inhibiting factor for development for the majority of the TC season. One area with unique variability in frequency is near Hispaniola. This region is characterized by relatively random TC motion and unique spatial variability in TC frequency between the western and eastern parts of the region. In this study, Hispaniola’s TC climatology will be investigated from a mesoscale, a synoptic dynamical, and a climate perspective. It is known that terrain has an impact to both the motion of the TCs in other regions and basins (Bender et al. 1987, Huang et al. 2011, Ito et al. 2020), but it has not been well examined for the areas adjacent to the Caribbean Islands. Using the historical data from NHC’s Best Track, the effects of the terrain on TC motion are shown for Hispaniola to better understand this regional variability in TC occurrence and motion. Findings show that channeling effects, asymmetric mid-level flow, and terrain-induced blocking of environmental steering all play a role in the direction and speed of TCs approaching the southern part of the island and after landfall. Fitzpatrick et al. 1995, Sadler 1976a & 1976b, and Wang et al. 2016 have shown that the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough (TUTT) is present during the summer season across the western regions of each major ocean basin. Although there is considerable variability, this trough is climatologically located west of Hispaniola, putting the island in the most cyclonic region of the trough. Utilizing data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) 5th Generation Reanalysis (ERA-5), the effects of the TUTT on this regional variability of occurrence will be examined. Findings show that regions of enhanced TC activity are mostly located near favorable locations of TC genesis and intensification within the TUTT while the opposite holds true for regions of suppressed TC activity. Using decadal means of atmospheric variables, results also reveal changes in the TUTT regional circulation over time, which may have further implications for regions of favorable locations of TC genesis and intensification in the future. TC genesis and intensification near Hispaniola does not appear to be affected by the NA TUTT. However, TC activity appears to have temporal variability. The AMO and NAO appear to be the most influential factors in TC activity near Hispaniola from relationships with the NA TUTT. By further understanding both perspectives to help explain this TC climatology, forecasts of TC intensity and track can be improved both on shorter and longer time scales. A better understanding of the TC climatology near Hispaniola is important given the large changes in US landfall probabilities across the region and the 50% probability line extending through the middle of the island.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): May 18, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Robert Hart, Professor Directing Thesis; Vasubandhu Misra, Committee Member; Zhaohua Wu, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Meteorology
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Saucedo_fsu_0071E_16568.pdf
TITLE: Tuning the Magnetic Properties of Fe3Se4 as an Alternative Permanent Magnet
AUTHOR: Saucedo, Luis A.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Shatruk, Mykhailo
MEMBER (university representative): Xiong, Peng
MEMBER (committee member): Strouse, Geoffrey F.
MEMBER (committee member): Schlenoff, Joseph B.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (115 pages)
ABSTRACT: The need for cheaper, stronger permanent magnets is becoming more vital, as clean-energy technologies and commercial electronics rely heavily on Nd2Fe14B and SmCo5 for energy conversion. The Nd and Sm metals, however, are expensive rare-earth elements with highly concentrated production that poses a risk of a supply chain disruption, thus increasing vulnerability of the U.S. economy. Extensive research efforts have been focused on both developing rare-earth free permanent magnets and tuning the magnetic properties of known materials to reduce the total amount of rare-earth needed. Such tuning has been well studied in bulk materials, but on the nanoscale, there remains many avenues for further exploration and discoveries. In Chapter One, the background information is addressed and using prior literature, a research hypothesis is predicated. Understanding the currently known permanent magnet materials allows a target material to be chosen, which will be subjected to modification of its magnetic properties in the bulk and nanoscale forms. More specifically, this thesis focuses on the ferrimagnetic material Fe3Se4. In Chapter Two, the synthesis methods to obtain the chosen materials and the characterization methods used to study the behavior of these materials is described. In Chapter Three, an in-depth study of the formation of nanoscale Fe3Se4 by applying various synthetic conditions is described. It is demonstrated that using molecular precursors as both Fe and Se sources subdues the formation of Fe7Se8 impurity observed in previous works on the synthesis of Fe3Se4 nanoparticles. The most significant distinction of this synthetic pathway is the observation of the conversion of FeSe to Fe3Se¬4 through anion diffusion, in contrast to the cation diffusion mechanism reported in the literature. In Chapter Four, tuning the magnetic properties of Fe3Se4 by doping 3d transition metal ions for Fe is investigated. Fe3Se4 has distinct octahedrally coordinated high-spin Fe2+ and Fe3+ sites. An attempt to target the Fe site substitution by changing the oxidation state of the dopant precursor is made. The impact of doping on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe3Se4 characterized by X-ray, Raman, and magnetic measurements are described. In Chapter Five, the focus shifts to an in-depth investigation into the (Fe1-xCux)3Se4 series. The effects of Cu substitution on structural and magnetic properties in both the nanoscale and bulk materials are addressed. An attempt to elucidate the nature of the Cu dopant and the cause of the large observed increase in the magnetic hardness is made. The structural and magnetic properties of the Cu-substituted Fe3Se4 have been characterized by X-ray, Raman, and magnetic measurements.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): May 21, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Michael Shatruk, Professor Directing Dissertation; Peng Xiong, University Representative; Geoffrey F. Strouse, Committee Member; Joseph Schlenoff, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemistry
SUBJECT: Materials science
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Saunders_fsu_0071E_16350.pdf
TITLE: Only Friends Can Betray You: Domestic Political Shocks and Interstate Conflict Behavior
AUTHOR: Saunders, Richard J.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Souva, Mark A.
MEMBER (university representative): Grant, Jonathan A., 1963-
MEMBER (committee member): Borzyskowski, Inken von
MEMBER (committee member): Driscoll, Amanda M.
MEMBER (committee member): Ehrlich, Sean D.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (135 pages)
ABSTRACT: In this dissertation I introduce a novel argument that applies Prospect Theory to explain how changes in the domestic politics of a state can influence onset and termination of international conflict. I demonstrate that it is only when states share a very close ex-ante relationship, that domestic political shocks should be expected to lead to conflict ex-post. Revolution and other forms of dramatic political change in a State A damage the interests of other States B to the extent that they held close economic and security ties with the previous regime that can be damaged. These losses place the leadership of State B in a domain of losses We should expect decisionmakers inhabiting a domain of losses to exhibit risk-tolerant behavior, including preferences in favor of conflict. However, when states are already engaged in a hostile ex-ante relationship, I argue that domestic political shocks –like regime change –clearly demonstrate to outside states that the future policymaking process in the country has been severed from the previous conflictual policymaking process. This allows leaders to overcome natural risk aversion and seek out more conciliatory relations with the now reformed state. I test this theory in three empirical chapters. The first chapter demonstrates that domestic political shocks like revolution do indeed lead to rivalry onset, but as predicted by prospect theory, this is only true for states that were closely aligned –sharing alliance ties, high levels of trade, or high levels of foreign-policy alignment –prior to revolution in one state. In the second empirical chapter I demonstrate that, as predicted, only major change in the governing institutions of a state engaged in rivalry is associated with rivalry termination. The independent effects of change in leaders, policies, and state preferences is to lengthen rivalry. The third empirical chapter examines escalation of disputes and the timing of violent episodes between states engaged in long-standing territorial disputes, and demonstrates that escalation and de-escalation of territorial disputes are similarly tied to domestic political shocks within one or both disputing states.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): March 24, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Alliances, International Conflict, Revolution, Rivalry, Security, Territorial Dispute
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Mark Souva, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Grant, University Representative; Inken von Borzyskowski, Committee Member; Amanda Driscoll, Committee Member; Sean Ehrlich, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: International relations
SUBJECT: Political science
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Scherer_fsu_0071E_16630.pdf
TITLE: Patterns of Bacterial Community Variation across Anatomical, Geographical, and Genetic Distance in Florida Mangroves
AUTHOR: Scherer, Brendan Patrick,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Mast, Austin R.
MEMBER (university representative): Beerli, Peter
MEMBER (committee member): Lemmon, Emily C.
MEMBER (committee member): Steppan, Scott J.
MEMBER (committee member): McCoy, Sophie J. (Sophie Julia)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Biological Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (106 pages)
ABSTRACT: Plants are host to a diverse array of non-pathogenic microbes including bacteria and fungi which may act as an “extended phenotype” that provides fitness benefits throughout the life cycle of the plant. These microbial communities influence plant growth, physiology, and survival, though our understanding of their assembly requires further investigation. Plant-associated microbial communities are thought to be derived from both inheritance from parent to offspring, and by acquisition from the local environment. This research focuses on patterns of variation in bacterial communities associated with mangroves, an ecologically and economically invaluable group of plants. Mangroves offer an excellent natural system for these studies due to the multiple evolutionary origins of mangrove habit, ongoing poleward range expansion experienced by several mangrove species, and their unique suite of adaptations to long distance dispersal and establishment in seawater. The chapters herein utilize 16S rRNA gene (iTag) sequencing and microsatellite genotyping to describe variation in bacterial communities across anatomical, geographic, and genetic distance to advance our understanding of how these communities are shaped by the environment and the relatedness of their hosts. If microbial communities are primarily derived via inheritance, then they may act as an extended phenotype which is subject to natural selection, and thus the evolution of the plant itself. Through this research, I aim to answer the question, “Are mangrove-associated bacterial communities more heavily influenced by host environment or host relatedness?” My results indicate that mangrove-associated bacterial communities appear to be influenced more heavily by host environment than by host relatedness, suggesting that interactions between mangroves and their environment may be important in determining mangrove health and functioning.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 1, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): 16S, bacteria, Florida, mangrove, microsatellites, Rhizophora
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Austin R. Mast, Professor Directing Dissertation; Peter Beerli, University Representative; Emily C. Lemmon, Committee Member; Scott J. Steppan, Committee Member; Sophie Julia McCoy, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Botany
SUBJECT: Ecology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Schrowang_fsu_0071E_16575.pdf
TITLE: Two Essays on Managerial Learning in Corporate Acquisitions
AUTHOR: Schrowang, Andrew A.,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Liu, Baixiao
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Cheng, Yingmei
MEMBER (university representative): Semykina, Anastasia
MEMBER (committee member): Autore, Donald M.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Business
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Finance
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (98 pages)
ABSTRACT: Chapter One examines how the exemption of short sale uptick tests due to the Regulation SHO pilot program affects managers’ decisions to abandon value-reducing acquisition attempts. We find that when deciding whether to abandon value-reducing acquisition attempts during the pilot program, managers of pilot firms, whose stocks are less subject to short selling impediments, are more sensitive to stock price changes than managers of nonpilot firms. We find no difference in managers’ sensitivity prior to nor post the program. These results suggest that, despite managers’ repugnance toward short sellers, they learn more from stock price changes when short sellers are less impeded. Chapter Two examines whether the corporate cultural similarity between a target and an acquiring firm influences the acquiring managers’ decision to abandon a corporate acquisition attempt conditional on the acquiring firm's stock price reaction at the announcement of the deal. The findings suggest that higher cultural similarity decreases the propensity of acquiring managers to listen to the stock market. We use the inclusion in the annual list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens as an exogenous shock to establish a causal link. We interpret the findings to imply that acquiring managers are subject to a confirmatory bias that leads them to give an overly optimistic valuation to target firms that share similar corporate culture. Therefore, cultural similarity between a target and an acquiring firm could have detrimental effects on the acquiring firm.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Finance in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 2, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Corporate Finance, Managerial Learning, Mergers & Acquisitions
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Baixiao Liu, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Yingmei Cheng, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Anastasia Semykina, University Representative; Donald M. Autore, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Finance
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Shie_fsu_0071E_16681.pdf
TITLE: Fishing Alone No More? : A Study of Rural Dynamics and Evolution of a Community-Based Aquaculture Collaborative Network
AUTHOR: Shie, Wen-Chi,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Brower, Ralph S.
MEMBER (university representative): Jones, Tamara Bertrand
MEMBER (committee member): Berry, Frances Stokes
MEMBER (committee member): Berlan, David G. (David Gregory)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Reubin O’ D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (198 pages)
ABSTRACT: This is a study about the role, structure, and evolution of rural community collaborative networks and partnerships as well as a subsequent aquaculture policy network. The study uses ethnographic methods with long-term qualitative data to explore the formation and evolution trajectories of the aquaculture community collaborative network in a rural community context. In practical terms, this dissertation examines network evolution trajectories and how the power and resource imbalances in rural collaboration processes are influenced by different forms of social capital and the multiplicity of social ties in their dense rural networks. The focus of this research case – the rural community-campus collaborative networks and partnerships – was initiated by a community college’s new satellite campus which they undertook without prior essential resources and knowledge. Rural communities are vulnerable to change because conditions such as scarce resources and weak infrastructure lead to high uncertainty and complexity for community development and innovation. Being isolated and marginalized from external resources, the challenges for increasing resource munificence make rural community collaborative networks and partnerships difficult to expand or strengthen. Therefore, rural community collaborative networks and partnerships are often unstable in their evolution processes. There are few studies that focus on network trajectory, formation, and evolution with an emphasis on community-centered collaborative networks built bottom up from diverse rural contexts. This study illustrated five stages of community collaborative network dynamics in rural aquaculture education and industry development within two coevolving network trajectories: one trajectory with primarily coherent interactions and another that was more conflicted. The conflicted trajectory pursued goals other than aquaculture development and emerged gradually, lagging the coherent trajectory by a few months. The extended network evolution trajectory framework in my analysis illustrates how complexity, uncertainty, and conflict generate networks that do not fit neatly into the ideal types suggested in the literature: goal-directed, purpose-oriented, and serendipitous. I have suggested that serendipity may take several forms, and I suggested four elements of serendipitous changes – stage, trajectory, policy/collaboration problems, network connectivity and disconnections – in network evolution that offer a conceptual contribution to our understanding of serendipitous trajectories. Also, I found that forms of social capital may be transformed. I have been able to illustrate social capital transformative processes in part because my six years of data among community participants reveal several of these transformations. That is, over time, individual ties that may initially operate as bridging social capital may become bonding social capital with repeated use; conversely, when individuals disassociate themselves from others with whom they previously maintained strong ties (Granovetter, 1973), it is possible for those bonding social capital structures to become bridging social capital. This dissertation also contributed a novel view of linking social capital that distinguishes between those links that connect between vertical elements within a community, as distinct from those linking social capital connections to hierarchically more powerful entities outside the community. I refer to these distinct forms as internal and external linking social capital. Since linking social capital is newer to the literature than bonding and bridging social capital, and there is a more limited body of research about it, this distinction is particularly significant for rural communities because they are often isolated from and marginalized from higher levels of government activity outside their community boundaries. In addition, because of the limitations and forms of rural data I had available, I illustrated the three types of social capital as interactions among individuals according to whether they were enacting bonding, bridging, or linking social capital. I argue that this is a more “active” approach that provides a methodological contribution for studying community social capital. Finally, this study also provides recommendations for future research and strategies for practitioners.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 2, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Collaboration, Community, Network Evolution , Network Trajectory , Rural, Social Capital
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Ralph S. Brower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tamara Bertrand Jones, University Representative; Frances S. Berry, Committee Member; David G. Berlan, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Public administration
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Shisode_fsu_0071E_16636.pdf
TITLE: Improving the Accuracy of 3D Chromosome Structure Inference and Analyzing the Organization of Genome in Early Embryogenesis Using Single Cell Hi-C Data
AUTHOR: Shisode, Tarak,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Zhang, Jinfeng, (Statistics Professor)
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Mio, Washington
MEMBER (university representative): Fraser, Peter H.
MEMBER (committee member): Ökten, Giray
MEMBER (committee member): Bertram, R. (Richard)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Mathematics
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (144 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation summarizes my graduate work on the structure and organization of mouse genome during preimplantation development. My research is divided into three different areas, which I will discuss in turn.To begin, I will discuss my collaborative work on parental-to-embryo switch of chromosome organization during critical stages of early development. Notably, both paternal and maternal epigenomes undergo significant modifications following fertilization. Recent epigenomic studies have revealed the extraordinary chromatin landscapes found in oocytes, sperm, and early preimplantation embryos, including atypical histone modification patterns and differences in chromosome organization and accessibility. However, these studies reached polar opposite conclusions: the global absence of local topological-associated domains (TADs) in gametes and their appearance in the embryo versus the zygote’s pre-existence of TADs and loops. The issues of whether parental structures can be inherited in the newly formed embryo and how these structures may be related to allele-specific gene regulation remain unresolved. To address this question, we use an optimized single cell high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (HiC) protocol to map genomic interactions for each parental genome (including the X chromosome) during mouse preimplantation. We integrate chromosome organization with allelic expression states and chromatin marks and demonstrate that after fertilization, higher-order chromatin structure is associated with an allele specific enrichment of histone H3 lysine 27 methylation. These early parental-specific domains are associated with gene repression and contribute to parentally biased gene expression—including newly described transiently imprinted loci. Additionally, we observe that these domains emerge in a non-parental-specific manner during the second wave of genome assembly. Finally, we discover that these domains are lost as genes are silenced on the paternal X chromosome but persist in regions that are not inactivated by the X chromosome. These findings highlight the complexities of three-dimensional genome organization and gene expression dynamics during early development. Second, I will discuss my work on some common and cell type-specific themes of higher order chromatin arrangements during mouse preimplantation development. Mapping the spatial organization of the genome is critical for comprehending its regulatory function in health, disease, and development. Our findings demonstrate an extraordinary amount of parent-specific chromosome choreography during the concatenation of two genomes. After fertilization, we observe an abrupt emergence of a Rabl-like configuration and a high head-to-head and tail-to-tail alignment of the chromosomes, which are gradually lost by the 64-cell stage. Additionally, the characteristics and marks of active and inactive chromatin exhibit a distinct radial profile across developmental stages and the genome. Finally, in addition to the well-known hallmarks of genome organization, we observe a preferential organization of chromosome territories - which call the ”Territome”. We were able to distinguish cell types based on the radial and relative positioning of the chromosomes in the 3D reconstructions. This suggest that interchromosomal interactions are just as critical for defining chromatin architecture and cellular identity as intrachromosomal interactions. Our findings establish a novel criterion for classifying cells when other hallmarks are difficult to quantify or when transcriptomics data is unavailable, thus paving a whole new way of looking at cells and learning how they function. Finally, with advances in experimental and theoretical approaches for generating single cell chromatin conformation capture assays, elucidating the genome’s structure-function relationship has become a highly active area of research. Numerous computational methods have been developed to infer the genome’s three-dimensional organization using Hi-C data from single cells. This is referred to as the three-dimensional genome reconstruction problem in formal terms (3D-GRP). While numerous methods exist for predicting the three-dimensional structure of a single genomic region, chromosome, or genome, the reconstructed models do not satisfy all of the input constraints. To address this, we present CUT&GROW, a method for improving the accuracy of three-dimensional chromosome structure inference using an iterative importance sampling strategy. CUT&GROW refines the structure of a three-dimensional chromosome (or genome) model by regrowing fragments of varying sizes locally, satisfying the majority of input constraints and providing a more precise view of the structure-function relationship.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 29, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Jinfeng Zhang, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Washington Mio, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Peter Fraser, University Representative; Giray Okten, Committee Member; Richard Bertram, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Applied mathematics
SUBJECT: Bioinformatics
SUBJECT: Developmental biology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Sides_fsu_0071E_16664.pdf
TITLE: Career Adaptability, Dysfunctional Career Thoughts, and Athletic Identity among College Student Athletes
AUTHOR: Sides, Ryan,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Osborn, Debra S., 1968-
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Sampson, James P.
MEMBER (university representative): McWey, Lenore M.
MEMBER (committee member): Ebener, Deborah J.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (179 pages)
ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationships among career adaptability, dysfunctional career thoughts, and athletic identity. These relationships are fundamental for developing a complementary strategy of understanding the symptomology that explains rigid, automatic cognitive processing while also cultivating positive, adaptive attributes. A sample of 92 college aged student athletes from a large southeastern research university were recruited to complete an online survey which included the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale - Dual Career Form (CAAS-DC; Ryba, Zhang, Huang, & Aunola, 2017), Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996a), and Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993). Pearson correlations determined significant negative associations existed between career adaptability and dysfunctional career thoughts. Additionally, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the AIMS’s subscales of exclusivity and self-identity significantly explained the variation in the CTI total score. Also, it was found that the CAAS-DC’s subscales of dual career concern, concern, and confidence significantly predicted the AIMS total score. A discussion of the results along with future directions for theory, research, practice, and policy are provided.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 15, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Debra Osborn, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; James P. Sampson, Jr., Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Lenore McWey, University Representative; Deborah J. Ebener, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Counseling psychology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Simmons_fsu_0071E_16480.pdf
TITLE: Persistence and Support for Black Students in Stem Majors at an HBCU
AUTHOR: Simmons, Elise A.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Larson, Christine (Christine J.)
MEMBER (university representative): Jones, Tamara Bertrand
MEMBER (committee member): Clark, Kathleen (Kathleen M.)
MEMBER (committee member): Jakubowski, Elizabeth M.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: School of Teacher Education
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (114 pages)
ABSTRACT: Every year we join in on the celebration of high school students all over the country graduating and preparing for the next phase of their adult life, whether starting their careers or entering college. Some students who choose to continue their educational journeys by enrolling in college are shocked to discover that they are not as prepared as they believed. This study will focus on the mathematical educational experiences of Black STEM students who have overcome barriers to successfully become upper-division STEM majors, rather than focusing on negative educational experiences and outcomes. Exploring the experiences of Black STEM students who may have initially been labeled unprepared can provide a better understanding of the barriers and success factors associated with Black students in the STEM field at HBCUs. By examining the experiences of successful students, and using an anti-deficit approach will help to understand these students and the institutions that serve them.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): March 23, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Christine Andrews-Larson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tamara Bertrand Jones, University Representative; Kathleen Clark, Committee Member; Elizabeth Jakubowski, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Mathematics--Study and teaching
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Small_fsu_0071N_16514.pdf
TITLE: Study of the Quality of Laser and Mechanically Slit Edges of REBCO Superconducting Tapes
AUTHOR: Small, Michael,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Larbalestier, D. (David)
MEMBER (committee member): Cooley, L. (Lance)
MEMBER (committee member): Kametani, Fumitake
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Mechanical Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (53 pages)
ABSTRACT: REBCO coated conductors (CC) have been at the forefront of high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) due to their application in ultra-high-field magnets, but such magnets impose significant mechanical, electromagnetic, and thermal stresses on the expensive conductor. An important way of controlling cost is to manufacture the conductors as wide tapes and then to slit them to width as needed for application. Ensuring the slitting process does not introduce unwanted artifacts in the conductor is a necessity for magnet survivability and predictable performance. This thesis addresses the properties of the two primary techniques, laser and mechanical slitting, using cross-section analysis, edge variation measurements, current uniformity measurements by magneto- optical imaging, and light and scanning electron microscopy. Six tapes from two manufacturers were analyzed: two tapes with double laser slit edges and two tapes with one mechanical and one laser slit edge from ”Manufacturer A” and two tapes with double laser slit edges from ”Manufacturer B”. We found considerable differences between the two manufacturers in slitting and tape performance. Manufacturer A laser slitting introduced an underlying roughness along the edge of the tape that increased the edge thickness an average 43% compared to center thickness. Edge height and SEM images confirmed this, showing large exterior copper nodules with heights between 7 μm to 23 μm. Manufacturer A mechanical slitting showed an average 10% increase in edge height with little height variation. YateStar hall probe array uniformity measurements depicted better consistency in the mechanically slit edge as there were fewer notable defects compared to the laser slit edge. MOI images presented minor flux leakage on the laser slit edge of Manufacturer A while the mechanically slit edge showed subsurface cracking and deeper flux penetration overall. Manufacturer B laser slitting showed no large preferential and irregular copper nodules along the edges resulting in an average 15% thickness increase. Edge height and SEM images confirmed the edge height evenness but showed a scalloped transverse deformity along the tape edges. MOI of Manufacturer B laser slit edges showed large defects and an irregular field distribution in the tapes much worse than that of Manufacturer A. Manufacturer B showed superior laser slitting compared to Manufacturer A but had comparable results to the mechanical slitting of Manufacturer A. From our study of tapes from two different tape producers, we conclude that no one method yet appears fully optimized.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 30, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): magnet, REBCO, slitting, superconductivity
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): David Larbalestier, Professor Directing Thesis; Lance Cooley, Committee Member; Fumitake Kametani, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Materials science
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Smith_fsu_0071N_16530.pdf
TITLE: Theatre and Anxiety from Society to the Stage
AUTHOR: Smith, Elaine M.,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Dahl, Mary Karen, 1945-
MEMBER (committee member): Thomas, Aaron C.
MEMBER (committee member): Hoxworth, Kellen Lewis
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Fine Arts
CORPORATE NAME: School of Theatre
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (96 pages)
ABSTRACT: This thesis focuses on the staging of anxiety in modern American theatre. Specifically, I explore theatrical representations of anxiety around three events that shifted people’s perception: 9/11, the recession of 2008, and the 2016 presidential election. I am interested in how playwrights explore recent surges of anxiety in society and why. The plays I engage with focus on individuals whose voices are lost in public discourse as the economic gap between classes grows. By looking at the plays through the affect theory of Sara Ahmed and the lectures on anxiety by Jacques Lacan, I explore how these plays offer audiences ways to understand and communicate the complex layers of anxiety. The introduction examines how anxiety moved from its status as a medical diagnosis to becoming a part of current culture. The second chapter is focused on The Humans by Stephen Karam, a play that deals with the layering of multiple anxieties, including post-traumatic stress disorder due to the events of September 11, 2001. The third chapter's focus is Sweat by Lynne Nottage, which explores how economic anxiety of the people left behind in a city that loses its industry can lead to 'othering' of individuals and how the status of ‘other’ circulates through society. The fourth chapter deals with Richard Nelson's play, Women of a Certain Age, which takes place on the evening of the 2016 presidential election. I examine how a family can find comfort together when they are suspended between realities of the past and future by being together in the present. Like the canary in the coalmine, playwrights have been staging plays that deal with the anxiety of people who feel lost because their country has changed due to moments of social upheaval. By listening to how playwrights communicate anxiety to audiences, it is possible the work they are doing lends itself to the larger conversation that is growing around anxiety today.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 9, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Affect Theory, Anxiety, Sweat, The Humans, Theatre, Women of a Certain Age
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Mary Karen Dahl, Professor Directing Thesis; Aaron C. Thomas, Committee Member; Kellen Hoxworth, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Theater
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Spencer_fsu_0071E_16586.pdf
TITLE: Postsecondary Career and Technical Education: Who Receives a Credential and What Do They Gain?
AUTHOR: Spencer, Hayley,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Hu, Shouping
MEMBER (university representative): Semykina, Anastasia
MEMBER (committee member): Park, Toby J.
MEMBER (committee member): Perez-Felkner, Lara
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (106 pages)
ABSTRACT: Since the reauthorization of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in 2018, national and state educational policies are prioritizing career and technical education (CTE). A longstanding part of the educational system, CTE provides specific and practical knowledge to students wishing to gain the skills necessary to enter the workforce. While CTE has evolved from its beginnings in the early 20th century with the Smith-Hughes Act, the research on this area of education is scarce, particularly studies with a focus on postsecondary CTE. This study sought to fill a gap by focusing on postsecondary CTE credentials and their labor market outcomes. Postsecondary CTE degrees and certificates can serve as an option to provide students with successful career opportunities. One issue that stems from the inception of CTE is the stigma associated with this area of education as “less than” a bachelor’s degree. Historically, there have been issues with tracking students into CTE based on demographic and academic characteristics, but there have been improvements in ensuring that CTE provides high-quality education and credentials to all students. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of completing a postsecondary CTE credential and explore the difference in labor market outcomes of students with postsecondary CTE credentials. Using a national dataset, this study found that students with different background characteristics and academic preparation complete credentials differently. Additionally, students completing postsecondary CTE credentials had significantly higher earnings relative to students with no or some postsecondary experience and students who completed an academic postsecondary credential. Recommendations for future research focus on how these labor market outcomes differ within postsecondary CTE credential pathways.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 28, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Career and technical education, Community colleges, Higher education
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Shouping Hu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Anastasia Semykina, University Representative; Toby J. Park-Gaghan, Committee Member; Lara Perez-Felkner, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Education, Higher
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Stanley_fsu_0071E_16567.pdf
TITLE: Charge Dynamics near Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Systems
AUTHOR: Stanley, Lily J.,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Popović, Dragana, 1959-
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Bonesteel, N. E.
MEMBER (university representative): Salters, Vincent J. M.
MEMBER (committee member): Chiorescu, Irinel
MEMBER (committee member): Crede, Volker
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Physics
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (119 pages)
ABSTRACT: Strongly correlated materials manifest some of the most intriguing behaviors found in condensed matter physics. However, their understanding remains a challenge because they cannot be described using standard theoretical approaches, as such systems are complex and typically have many competing degrees of freedom. Many strongly correlated systems are realized in layered or highly anisotropic materials, and they behave as effectively two-dimensional systems. When the dimensionality is reduced, fluctuations due to the competition between degrees of freedom are more pronounced and easier to observe. Anomalous transport properties are one of the hallmarks of strongly correlated materials; thus, charge transport measurements have proven remarkably effective for their study. This thesis focuses on three very different two-dimensional (2D) materials using charge transport to understand the origin of some of the observed behaviors. The electron system (ES) in Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is a model strongly correlated system with only the interplay of Coulomb interactions and disorder. The insight from this simple system can help to build a more general picture of strongly correlated materials. Second, atomically thin layers of WSe2 produce a unique 2D system to study the universality of the correlated phenomena observed in Si MOSFETs. Finally, the Cu-O planes of La-214 compounds with charge and spin stripe order are complex materials, which behave effectively as 2D, with the interplay of many orders. By varying the dopant of the La-214 compound, the origin of the correlated behaviors can be probed. In the first two materials, the 2D MIT is controlled by applying a gate voltage. The existence of the 2D MIT is supported by an abundance of experimental data but remains poorly understood. Within experimental systems, both electron-electron interactions and disorder are present; however, the theory of their interplay is not fully developed. Studies performed on highly disordered Si MOSFETs suggest the importance of Coulomb interactions for the glassy dynamics observed at low electron densities. Therefore, the first study discussed in this thesis explores relaxations of conductivity in a strongly disordered 2DES with screened Coulomb interactions after the system is quenched—revealing the necessity of long-range Coulomb interactions for the existence of the collective (glassy) relaxation dynamics. Additionally, we have shown that, in the 2DES of the Si MOSFET weakly thermally coupled to the environment, abnormally long relaxations are observed in the presence of short-range interactions, suggesting that the system is in the proximity to a many-body-localized phase. Thus our results also demonstrate a promising new platform for exploring the breakdown of thermalization and MBL in real materials. Evidence of quantum criticality associated with the MIT has been almost exclusively studied in Si MOSFETs. Our second study reveals quantum criticality in WSe2 field-effect transistors showing that transition metal dichalcogenides are viable systems for the low-temperature investigation of the 2D MIT. Our scaling analysis found that the critical exponents agree with those found in low-disordered Si MOSFETs in the presence of local magnetic moments. These findings pave the way for further studies of the fundamental quantum mechanical properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. The final study focuses on fluctuations of charge order (CO) and the magnetoresistance (MR) of stripe-ordered La-214 cuprates. The dynamics of CO are thought to be relevant for the unconventional properties of the normal state and high-temperature superconductivity. We report observations of dynamic charge stripes close to the charge order (and structural) transition in response to temperature perturbations but absent in magnetic field in La1.875Ba0.125CuO4. These dynamic behaviors are only observed when the transition is approached from the charge-ordered state. Additionally, a comparative analysis of the MR of several La-214 single crystals is presented to establish which behaviors are characteristic of the family of materials as opposed to dopant specific. Together, these three studies contribute to understanding the complex interplay of orders found in strongly correlated materials.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Physics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): May 26, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): charge order, La-214, many-body localization , metal-insulator transistion , novel TMD FET, strongly correlated materials
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Dragana Popović, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Nicholas Bonesteel, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Vincent Salters, University Representative; Irinel Chiorescu, Committee Member; Volker Crede, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Condensed matter
SUBJECT: Low temperatures
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Stark_fsu_0071E_16497.pdf
TITLE: Writer Development within and Outside the Composition Classroom: A Study of Concurrent Transfer
AUTHOR: Stark, Katelyn,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Yancey, Kathleen Blake, 1950-
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Neal, Michael R.
MEMBER (university representative): Latham, Don, 1959-
MEMBER (committee member): Fleckenstein, Kristie S.
MEMBER (committee member): Fiscus-Cannaday, Jaclyn
MEMBER (committee member): Coxwell-Teague, Deborah
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of English
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (347 pages)
ABSTRACT: This research study investigates the influence of two general education composition curricula on students’ writing knowledge development, writing knowledge complexity, and concurrent writing knowledge transfer. This study uses case study methodology that employs reflective interviews and visual concept mapping to record and track what students in two different composition curricula report learning about writing and transferring to their writing tasks inside and outside of school. This project draws on four major threads of theory and scholarship: (1) research on composition curriculum from Writing Studies; (2) research on learning and writing transfer from Education, Educational Psychology, and Writing Studies; (3) research on learners’ knowledge development from Education and Educational Psychology; and (4) research on visual concept mapping from Education and Writing Studies. Interested in students’ ability to draw upon, use, and repurpose (Yancey et al. Contexts) their writing knowledge to accomplish writing tasks outside of the composition classroom, this study asks in what ways the composition curriculum students engage with can support or influence students’ writing transfer. In order to answer the questions about if, and if so how, students were able to transfer their writing knowledge, this study first needed to answer what writing knowledge students were gaining in their composition course—as indexed through their definitions and self-selected key terms. Writing knowledge and writing knowledge complexity were analyzed from students’ reflective interviews and their visual concept maps that they created. Students participated in three interviews over the duration of one semester. The first interview took place in the beginning of the term when they were first starting their composition course, the second interview took place in the middle of the term, and the third interview took place at the end of the term when students were wrapping up their composition course. Unique to this transfer research study is this project’s interest in concurrent transfer. Not only is this study interested in how students transfer their writing knowledge they gain in their composition course to other contexts, but this study also asks if, and if so how, the writing knowledge students gain in other contexts influence their writing in their composition class. Using case study methodology and mixed methods, this dissertation project makes the following three claims: (1) The curricula used in this study did influence what students learned: students in the Expressivist Popular-Culture course reported increased understanding of writing as a therapeutic process of expressing themselves to others. Students in the adapted Teaching for Transfer course reported learning conceptual writing knowledge. (2) The curricula also influenced students’ writing knowledge complexity. Students in the Expressivist Popular-Culture course reported established writing practices, but their writing knowledge complexity was low as their knowledge of writing was mostly tacit. Students in the adapted Teaching for Transfer course experienced changes in knowledge complexity as they remixed their prior learning with their new learning as the semester progressed. Their changing complexity reflected their development in the course. (3) Each one of the students who participated in this study reported concurrent transfer. More so, many of the participants reported transferring their writing knowledge they gained outside of their composition class into their composition class. However, the writing knowledge students transferred between contexts was at times influenced by their specific composition curriculum and it was not always efficacious.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): April 14, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Composition Curricula, Knowledge Development, Knowledge Transfer, Visual Concept Mapping, Writing Program Administration, Writing Transfer
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Kathleen Blake Yancey, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Michael Neal, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Don Latham, University Representative; Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Committee Member; Jaclyn Fiscus-Cannaday, Committee Member; Deborah Coxwell-Teague, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Rhetoric
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Sun_fsu_0071E_16581.pdf
TITLE: Embedding Learning Supports in Games to Promote Computational Thinking Skills
AUTHOR: Sun, Chen,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Shute, Valerie J. (Valerie Jean), 1953-
MEMBER (university representative): Dennis, Lawrence Carl
MEMBER (committee member): Ke, Fengfeng
MEMBER (committee member): Almond, Russell G.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (97 pages)
ABSTRACT: Computational thinking (CT) is an essential 21st century skill for people to succeed in the increasingly technological (and interconnected) world. Researchers have explored different interventions to teach students CT skills (e.g., Scratch and robotics), but digital game-based learning is relatively under-researched. A critical issue to address in game-based learning is how to scaffold students throughout gameplay so that the game can achieve its full potential to improve learning. Towards that end, in this dissertation study, I evaluated the effectiveness of learning supports used in a coding game called Penguin Go to foster middle school students’ CT skills. In addition, I investigated how the learning supports influenced students’ game enjoyment and cognitive load during gameplay. I conducted an experiment with 57 middle school students via online sessions. The control group played the original game version, whereas the experimental group played the revised game version with learning supports embedded. I designed the learning supports in the form of partial worked examples that illustrated the working of the key coding structures. The results showed that the difference in CT skills, measured from pretest to posttest, did not differ significantly across conditions, but tended to favor the experimental group. Moreover, students who received learning supports reported significantly higher game enjoyment than the control group students. There was no difference in terms of cognitive load between the two groups. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed at the end of my dissertation.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 14, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): computational thinking, game-based learning, learning supports
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Valerie J. Shute, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lawrence C. Dennis, University Representative; Fengfeng Ke, Committee Member; Russell George Almond, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Educational technology
SUBJECT: Instructional systems--Design
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Sun_fsu_0071E_16591.pdf
TITLE: Geochemical Proxies Preserved in Fossils and Lake Sediments: New Insights into Ancient Diets and Environments in South China and Storm Activity in South Florida
AUTHOR: Sun, Fajun,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Wang, Yang, (Professor of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science)
MEMBER (university representative): Erickson, Gregory M.
MEMBER (committee member): Owens, Jeremy D.
MEMBER (committee member): Young, Seth A.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (151 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation research has used geochemical tools to reconstruct paleoecology and paleoenvironment with the goal to better understand the effects of long-term climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and mammalian evolution in South and Southwest China and on storm activity in South Florida. The major results are summarized below: The role of climate change in the evolution and diversification of hominoids remains a hotly debated issue. Stable isotope analyses of fossil mammals that coexisted with the hominoids can provide insights into hominoid paleoenvironments and shed light on this debate. In this research, stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses were performed on tooth enamel samples from a variety of Pleistocene mammals including pandas, deer, elephants, pigs, rhinos, and bovids from two hominoid fossil localities (Yugong Cave and Baxian Cave) in South China. Enamel-δ13C values indicate that most of the mammals living in the study area during the late Middle Pleistocene had C3-based diets but a small number of individuals consumed some C4 grasses. This indicates the presence of C4 plants in the region during the late Middle Pleistocene, most likely in patches of open areas in a predominantly forested environment. However, during the early Late Pleistocene, all the mammals examined had C3-based diets, except one bovid and one panda that may have ingested small amounts of C4 plants. This indicates a dense forested environment with little C4 grasses during the early Late Pleistocene. Like the Early Pleistocene pygmy panda (Ailuropoda microta) from Yanliang Cave, the late Middle Pleistocene Ailuropoda baconi from Yugong Cave and the early Late Pleistocene Ailuropoda melanoleuca from Baxian Cave had higher mean diet-δ13C values than other co-occurring herbivores, indicating they preferred relatively open forest habitats and had more restricted diets compared to other mammals. The reconstructed mean paleo-meteoric water δ18Ow values are lower than the annual average δ18Ow value of modern precipitation in the region, suggesting that the climatic conditions during the times when these Pleistocene mammals were alive were colder and/or wetter than today. In addition, δ18O values of the obligate drinkers (pigs, rhinos, bovids) display an overall decreasing trend, accompanied by increased range of δ18O variations, from the Early Pleistocene to the early Late Pleistocene. This suggests that the regional climate became colder and/or wetter, with increased seasonality, from the Early Pleistocene to the early Late Pleistocene, likely related to intensified glaciation. The change in climate to colder conditions may be responsible for the extinction of the Gigantopithecus in this region. The Late Miocene witnessed significant changes in climate globally and was an important time in the evolution of hominoids. In this research, the isotopic compositions of Late Miocene mammalian teeth and freshwater shells from Shuitangba (Yunnan Province, China) – an important refugium for hominoids, were analyzed and used to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions in the area. δ13C values of fossil enamel samples range from –15.5‰ to –1.0‰, with a mean of –11.3 ± 2.3‰, and δ18O values vary from –14.2 to –4.6‰, averaging –9.7 ± 2.2‰. Reconstructed diet-δ13C values for these fossil mammals indicate that although they fed mostly on C3 plants, many of them consumed some C4 vegetation. This suggests that the local ecosystem contained C4 grasses but was dominated by C3 plants. The intra-tooth δ18O variation of fossil herbivores is larger than what is found in modern herbivores. Reconstructed paleo-meteoric water δ18Ow values are on average lower than those inferred from modern samples and also lower than the average δ18Ow values of modern precipitation in the region. Similarly, δ18O values of fossil freshwater shells display a larger seasonal variation and are significantly lower than modern shells from Fuxian Lake in the same region. Thus, the δ18O data from both mammalian teeth and freshwater mollusk shells support a wetter climate, possibly with a stronger precipitation seasonality in the Late Miocene than today. Comparison of clumped isotope temperatures from fossil and modern shells suggests a mean annual temperature of ~15 to 16°C in the Shuitangba area in the Late Miocene, which is ~3 to 4°C higher than that of today. Taken together, our isotope results suggest that C4 grasses existed in local ecosystems in the area, likely in patches of grasslands or wooded grasslands in a mostly forested environment in the Late Miocene when the local and regional climate was warmer and wetter than today. Comparison of the δ13C records from Yunnan and the Siwalik region suggests that C4 biomass spread earlier in the Indian subcontinent on the southwest side of the Tibetan Plateau than in Yunnan on the southeast side of the Plateau. The transition from a relatively wet habitat to a more open and drier habitat is also more pronounced and begins earlier in the Siwalik region, relative to Yunnan. These regional differences in climate and ecosystem evolution may be linked to the unique growth history of the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau. Coastal lake sediments are important archives to understand long-term variability of paleoclimate. A nearly 1700-year-long paleostorm record was reconstructed based on multiple organic geochemical proxies preserved in a sediment core from a coastal lake in South Florida. The OPGs data show that significant variations in δ13C, δ15N, C%, N% and C/N with depth, reflecting changes in the lake environment that affected the processes delivering water/sediment to the lake as well as biological productivity with the lake. Analysis of modern organic materials in the lakes and their surrounding areas shows that the major sources of sedimentary organic matter in the lake are aquatic and terrestrial C3 vegetation. Based on our proposed criteria, a total of 33 events were identified in our sediment core, including 10 seawater (SW) flooding events and 23 freshwater (FW) flooding events. The proxy storm record indicate shows two active periods of intense storm activities from 1540 to 1200 cal yr BP and from –30 to –68 cal yr BP (or 1980 to 2018 C.E.). An inactive period was also identified between 365 and –5 cal yr BP. One of the active periods (1540 to 1200 cal yr BP) coincides with a period of heightened hurricane activities in the grain-size-based paleorecord from Salt Pond in Massachusetts. This active period also correlates with elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in both the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The calm patterns observed in our record (365 to –5 cal yr BP) coincides with an ENSO-Ecuador record which indicates a distinct pattern of less intense ENSO events over the past 500 years. Our research provides new insights into the understanding of paleostorm activities in the sand-limited South Florida region.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 18, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Yang Wang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gregory M. Erickson, University Representative; Jeremy Owens, Committee Member; Seth Young, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Geochemistry
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Szymanski_fsu_0071E_16694.pdf
TITLE: Accuracy Assessment of Multiple-Interface Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations
AUTHOR: Szymanski, Thiago,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Pamidi, Sastry V.
MEMBER (university representative): Ordóñez, Juan Carlos, 1973-
MEMBER (committee member): Steurer, Michael
MEMBER (committee member): Faruque, Md Omar
MEMBER (committee member): Langston, James
MEMBER (committee member): Schegan, Christian
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (101 pages)
ABSTRACT: Power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) is a powerful technique that allows researchers to test hardware under different operating conditions and environments.PHIL creates a closed-loop environment, where a single physical device is coupled to a simulated rest of system. This simulation operates in real-time, and provides a realistic view of the device's characteristics while under performance. The connection between the simulated and physical world happens through the PHIL interface. This interface is what allows the device to be tested under countless conditions, but it comes at a cost. The non-ideal behavior of the PHIL interface frequently results in distortions in the measurements. The most commonly of those distortions is a `two time-step delay' introduced due to the communication between the systems. Although this distortion is small (i.e. typically a phase shift of a few degrees in high frequencies), it is a distortion nonetheless. Therefore, it is imperative that estimations on the accuracy of PHIL interfaces are performed. In an extension of PHIL, multiple-interface power hardware-in-the-loop, or multi-PHIL for short, allows users to use multiple PHIL interfaces in a single experiment.This provides even more possibilities to an already powerful technique, allowing the testing of novel energy storage solutions, converters, and much more. To fully utilize the benefits of multi-PHIL however, its accuracy must first be validated. Since more interfaces are involved, the distortions seen can quickly grow, possibly leading to inaccurate results or unstable experiments. For those reasons, it is necessary to better understand and assess the accuracy of the PHIL interfaces in a multiple-interface power hardware-in-the-loop setting. A multi-approach solution is required to better understand the misrepresentation as it pertains to multiple PHIL interfaces. The first approach is to expand on already known accuracy and error metrics. The chosen approach in our case is a matrix based approach based on the Extended Lawrence Architecture (ELA). The ELA determines the behavior of a linear PHIL system, and serves as the foundation for our assessments. This approach is persuasive, but it often requires detailed models of the entire system. These models are not always available however, which demand a more practical solution. The second approach involves empirical measurements and experimental results. By performing a series of impedance measurements, information that is equally as useful to the accuracy assessment can be obtained. Although not as elegant as the ELA approach, this approach provides a partial solution to the problem without the requirement of detailed models. To ensure that these solutions fit a wide range of practical applications, a general common bus multiple-interface power hardware-in-the-loop system is designed. This system composes of any number of physical and simulated sub-systems connected to a common dc-bus. Each individual physical sub-system is coupled through to the real-time simulation through its personal interface. This allows for the creation of systems that mimic a shipboard power systems or the power grid. In order to facilitate the accuracy analysis of multi-PHIL simulation, a third approach to the matrix approach is suggested. This novel approach creates transfer functions based on the matrix approach. This approach also allows for the combination of different types of interfaces in the same PHIL experiment. This includes the possibility to expands on this idea by modeling dc-dc amplifiers as interfaces. This simple modeling of amplifiers broadens the applications of the generalized case, as it presents a more realistic portrayal of power systems.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 9, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Accuracy, PHIL
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Sastry Pamidi, Professor Directing Dissertation; Juan Ordóñez, University Representative; Michael "Mischa" Steurer, Committee Member; Omar Faruque, Committee Member; James Langston, Committee Member; Christian Schegan, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Engineering
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Tang_fsu_0071N_16773.pdf
TITLE: Effect of Temperature on Molecular Conformation and Immunoreactivity of Soybean Lectin
AUTHOR: Tang, Chunya,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Rao, Qinchun, 1974-
MEMBER (committee member): Singh, Prashant
MEMBER (committee member): Roper, Michael Gabriel
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Health and Human Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (100 pages)
ABSTRACT: As the No.1 food plant protein in North America, soybean proteins have been comprehensively used as the major food ingredient in the human diet and animal feeding. Bioactive soybean lectin, also known as soybean agglutinin (SBA), is generally recognized as an antinutritional protein in uncooked or undercooked soybean products. It has been reported that bioactive SBA could be a potential cause of poor digestion, nutrient deficiencies, obesity, and chronic inflammation in human diets. Although SBA is not generally considered toxic for animals, it may be responsible for growth-depressing effects due to its interference with the digestive system. The majority of SBA can be destroyed and lose its antinutritional activity during the proper cooking process. However, there is no specific regulation on the pre-treatment of soybean meal in animal feeding. Though SBA is recognized as an antinutrient in the human diet and animal feeding, it has a promising future in clinical treatment. It can be used as a carrier for drug delivery and has been verified to have antitumor and anticarcinogenic activities. SBA inhibits tumor cells' growth, enhances the antitumor cytotoxicity, and acts as a biomarker for cancer cell characterization. Based on the current research, SBA maintains its bioactivity (hemagglutinating activity and anticancer activity) under its native condition. It means tetramer SBA owns its bioactivity. After heat treatment, the hemagglutinating activity and anticancer activity all decreased. There is a lack of studies focusing on the thermal properties of SBA, especially its molecular conformation changes and immunoreactivity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of temperature on SBA molecular conformation and immunoreactivity.Four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to SBA (mAb1A10, 2H1, 5A5, 5G12) was purified from the supernatant using immunoaffinity chromatography. The mAb1A10, 5A5, and 5G12 were characterized using immunoblot. Two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis was performed to verify SBA purity and isoelectric point (pI). Native and non-native gel electrophoresis were used to study the temperature (60 °C, 70 °C, 80 °C for 10 min) effect on SBA molecular conformation. Western blot (WB) was performed to investigate the temperature effect on immunoreactivity of SBA. Hemagglutination assay was used to study temperature effect on SBA hemagglutinating activity. SBA was a tetramer (about 120 kDa) under native condition and was dissociated to monomer (about 30 kDa) under non-native condition. A tetrameric SBA was observed from three native gel electrophoresis in both unheated and heated (60 ⁰C and 70 °C) samples, while heat-induced SBA aggregates were observed at 70 °C and 80 ⁰C. No SBA monomer was observed in both unheated and heated samples. The immunoreactivity of two anti-SBA monoclonal antibodies (mAb1A10 and 5A5) was not affected by different heat treatment. As for another anti-SBA mAb5G12, its immunoreactivity decreased as a function of temperature. SBA aggregates were not immunodetectable by mAb5G12 after heating at 80 ⁰C, indicating that mAb5G12’s conformational epitope was heat-sensitive. From non-native gel electrophoresis, a monomer SBA was observed in both unheated and heated samples, while heat-induced SBA aggregates were shown at 80 ⁰C. mAb1A10 and 5A5 detected all these protein bands observed in the non-native gel. SDS affected mAb5G12 immunoreactivity with SBA.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 11, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Qinchun Rao, Professor Directing Thesis; Prashant Singh, Committee Member; Michael G. Roper, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Food
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Telikapalli_fsu_0071E_16419.pdf
TITLE: Testing Protocol, Material Specifications, Long-Term Durability Analysis in Accelerated Environments, and Prediction Modeling of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) Bars
AUTHOR: Telikapalli, Srichand,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Kampmann, Raphael, 1980-
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Rambo-Roddenberry, Michelle Deanna
MEMBER (university representative): Vanli, Omer Arda
MEMBER (committee member): Tang, Youneng
MEMBER (committee member): Spainhour, Lisa
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (328 pages)
ABSTRACT: Bridge infrastructure in coastal areas is deteriorating at an accelerated pace due to increased traffic and aggressive environments. Traditional black steel reinforcement in bridges is corroding due to exposure to saline environments. This leads to structural failure which may cause personal damage, and financial losses. To overcome the problem with corrosion, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) reinforcement bars are used in civil structures as a replacement to the steel rebars because of their noncorrosive properties. FRP rebars are a product of composite materials which are made from combining fibers and resin matrices. In the U.S., many projects have focused on aramid, carbon, and glass FRPs for applications in civil infrastructure for the past two decades. Research on basalt FRP rebars was abandoned in early 1930s due to historical reasons. However, due to its superior characteristics (strength performance, corrosion resistance, temperature range, and durability) basalt rebars have gained a renewed interest in recent years. Due to these properties, Basalt FRP bars are capable of replacing steel rebars, and glass fiber rebars in bridge engineering applications. Though BFRP rebars have superior material properties, a number of BFRP products with inferior quality are available in the global market as material standards are not available. Standardizing the BFRP rebar products helps in eliminating the products of inferior quality and protecting the general public safety. Because rebars are intended to be used in marine structures which are high in pH and have high saline concentrations, a wide range of raw materials and rebar products should be exposed to several combinations of aggressive conditions and their long-term strength and durability characteristics should be experimentally studied. Experimental evaluations on the fiber, sizing, and resin level are needed to promote the standardizationprocess of BFRP Rebars. In this research, the properties of basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars, and the raw materials used in manufacture of rebars were studied. This involved analysis of physical, mechanical, and durability properties of rebars and raw materials. In addition, standard specifications for the use of these rebars in concrete structures were proposed. In the first part of this study, physical and mechanical properties of rebars and their components were studied by conducting preliminary tests on them, which included measurement of the cross-sectional properties, fiber content, moisture absorption properties, XRF analysis, glass transition temperature, tensile strength, transverse, and apparent horizontal shear strength, and bond strength of rebars. Tensile strength of resin and XRF analysis on fibers were also conducted to study the initial material properties. It was found that the virgin properties all tested rebars have satised and surpassed the existing criteria for GFRP rebars by at least 120%. For the second part of this research, a test matrix was developed to understand the durability properties of the rebars and the resin matrices. Rebars and components were then exposed in the aggressive environments at 60°C for 300d. A series of physical and mechanical tests were performed on rebars and components as well as various chemical tests on exposure environments were conducted to study the property changes. It was noticed that the sizing on the fibers and resin matrix played a key role in protecting the rebars from degradation in aggressive environments. A long-term prediction model which can predict strength retention of FRP bars in any type of aggressive environment and any exposure temperature was developed based on fib Bulletin 40 model with additional degradation factors addressing different Cl concentrations in the exposure environments and exposure time. The results showed that tested BFRP rebars outperformed GFRP rebars in all aspects and the results showed that BFRP rebars can be used in future marine structures. While it was suggested that specispecifications for these rebars be inline with GFRP rebar specifications, with additional data, the specfiications for these rebars can be set higher than GFRP rebar specifications.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): March 22, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Aggressive Environments , basalt FRP, BFRP Specifications, Exposure, Marine Structures , Seawater
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Raphael Kampmann, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Michelle Rambo-Roddenberry, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Omer Arda Vanli, University Representative; Youneng Tang, Committee Member; Lisa Spainhour, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Civil engineering
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Thomsen_fsu_0071E_16635.pdf
TITLE: Alternative Cartographies: Reflection(s) for the Complexities of Writing and Sustainability
AUTHOR: Thomsen, Jessica Renee,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Fleckenstein, Kristie S.
MEMBER (university representative): Kearns, Stephen, 1979-
MEMBER (committee member): Graban, Tarez Samra
MEMBER (committee member): Fiscus-Cannaday, Jaclyn
MEMBER (committee member): McElroy, Stephen J.
MEMBER (committee member): Yancey, Kathleen Blake, 1950-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of English
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (274 pages)
ABSTRACT: In an increasingly threatening and threatened world—with ongoing climate crises, rampant social injustices, ecological devastation, and the related consequences of language use—writing and living sustainably are of vital importance (Dobrin and Weisser; Lynch; Owens). The exigence for this dissertation is this double sustainability, or the intertwining of writing and living for the survival and flourishing of socially just societies and healthy ecosystems. This project begins with reflection, with a space for contemplation in the woods, and with the thinking, doing, and composing of spinning wool and knitting cloth alongside possibilities for sustainability. Weaving together rational inquiry with material and affective resonances, this project considers writing and living as mutually dependent across the complexities of social and ecological dimensions. Reflection, a concept and practice woven across both writing and living, is the focus of this inquiry, and it serves as an important agent and engagement for ensuring joint-prospering for double sustainability. Reflection, as a practice in writing studies (Yancey), has often been pursued as a practice in rationality, but double sustainability calls for increasing attention to alterity and materiality. Thus, the goal of this project is to explore—to map and re-map—the cartographies of reflection to determine how it might more fully serve the increasingly complex demands of double sustainability. To that end, this project first addresses the typical framework of reflection in writing studies and then maps two possible alterative frameworks for reflection. A consideration of multiple frameworks is sensitive to the limitations of each, while also drawing on their strengths, and offers a transformation of these three frameworks toward a response-able reflection.This (re)mapping project, thus, begins with a rational framework for reflection, common in writing studies, which emphasizes consequences, problem solving, and metacognition, supporting movement toward coherence that serves double sustainability. However, rationality also tends to reinforce dualisms—of mind and body, human and nonhuman, nature and culture (Boyle; Price)—which truncates the potential for rational reflection to serve the complexities of social-ecological concerns of writing and living sustainably. An alternative framework for reflection, based on decoloniality, calls into question the dualisms of a rational framework, unveiling the continued repercussions of coloniality, which are supported by a Western rationality that universalizes and, simultaneously, obscures difference (García and Baca; Mignolo). As an alternative, decolonial reflection affirms difference through pluriversality by inhabiting contradictions, uncovering power dynamics, and supporting localization, but it also risks perpetuating the macronarrative it seeks to subvert, including the totalization of certain marginalized perspectives and minor traditions. While a decolonial framework emphasizes difference between agents, a new material framework for reflection, as another alternative, picks up a minor tradition of Western thought and emphasizes the process of differing that occurs across agents (Coole and Frost; Dolphijn and van der Tuin; Micciche). Instead of perpetuating the mind-matter dualism that persists in a rational framework, a new material reflection functions as a material-discursive apparatus that arises from intra-action and co-constitution and participates in further cycles of intra-activity (Barad; Syverson). However, such a reflection de-emphasizes individual responsibility, a strength of a rational framework, opening a question regarding its service of double sustainability. Rather than prioritize or synthesize frameworks, this dissertation moves toward a transformation of key elements from all three frameworks, spinning out the potentialities of their co-shaping of each other, in order for reflection to serve, as fully as possible, the complexities of writing and living sustainably. Such a transformed framework for reflection may be termed response-able (Barad; Haraway), an attempt to account for strengths across all three frameworks—rational, decolonial, new material—while also redressing some of the limitations identified within each of the frameworks. Through an articulation of iridescence, resilience, and multiple scales, a response-able reflection offers possibilities for implementing and enacting reflective practices toward more sustainable futures in writing, pedagogy, and living. The project comes full circle, back to the woods, considering the nuances of organic engagements, the generativity of uncertainty, and the renewed potential of reflection for double sustainability. By (re)mapping and offering a response-able framework for reflection, this project has implications for how reflection is studied in and beyond the writing classroom and how conversations surrounding sustainable initiatives might be bolstered by attention to reflection for the inextricable practices of writing and living.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 30, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): decoloniality, new materialisms, rationality, reflection, sustainability, writing
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen Kearns, University Representative; Tarez Samra Graban, Committee Member; Jaclyn Fiscus-Cannaday, Committee Member; Stephen J. McElroy, Committee Member; Kathleen Blake Yancey, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Rhetoric
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Tindell_fsu_0071E_16645.pdf
TITLE: Workplace Incivilities: Characteristics of Targets and the Association between Incivilities and Mental Health
AUTHOR: Tindell, Katherine,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Padavic, Irene
MEMBER (university representative): Fiorito, Jack Thomas, 1952-
MEMBER (committee member): Barrett, Anne E., 1971-
MEMBER (committee member): Reynolds, John R.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Sociology
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (94 pages)
ABSTRACT: ABSTRACTThis dissertation examines the characteristics of targets of workplace incivility and the association between having experienced workplace incivility and mental health. Previous literature has found that workplace bullying is a prevalent problem and can have severe mental health outcomes for workers. Yet, much of the previous research is centered on European countries, and much less is known about the U.S. situation. In fact, US-based studies often are qualitative or center on a particular occupation, limiting their generalizability. This study uses a nationally representative sample (the 2016 General Social Survey) to address which personal characteristics and workplace features increase the odds of experiencing workplace incivility and the association of having experienced it and having poor mental health. It thus helps fill a gap in the literature on workplace bullying in the U.S. Two key findings emerged. In Chapter 3, contrary to what I had hypothesized, people in lower statuses were no more likely to be bullied, and in the case of age, younger workers were significantly more likely to be bullied. In line with what I expected, relationships at work, specifically relationships with bosses and coworkers, and also union membership predict having been bullied. The main finding in Chapter 4 is the sizeable association between bullying and poor mental health. Having experienced bullying has a large association with psychological unease and with depression symptoms. The effect size of the association of having been bullied and depression symptoms is similar to that of being unmarried, a well-established correlate of poor mental health, and the effect size of the association of having been bullied and psychological unease is similar to the effect of being LGBTQ, also a well-established correlate of poor mental health. The second key finding of Chapter 4 is that none of the interactions between bullying and various characteristics predicted depression symptoms, and only two predicted psychological unease In general, bullying cuts across status, leaving no group unscathed, and the mental-health costs to targets are high. Moreover, previous research has shown that bullying affects not only workers but also organizations and profits. This dissertation extends the literature on workplace incivility by allowing national estimates of the prevalence of workplace incivility along with estimating their association with mental health. This dissertation also has implications for organizations and policy makers. Workplace incivility is a pervasive problem in the U.S. and efforts could be taken to curtail it. This problem could be addressed at both an organizational and national level through training programs, protection from retaliation, task force groups that facilitate high-quality workplace relations, and national policies similar to those policies enacted for discrimination and sexual harassment.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 28, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Mental Health, Workplace Incivilities, Workplacee Bullying
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Irene Padavic, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jack Fiorito, University Representative; Anne Barrett, Committee Member; John Reynolds, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Sociology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Um_fsu_0071E_16667.pdf
TITLE: Bayesian Additive Regression Trees for Multivariate Responses
AUTHOR: Um, Seungha,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Sinha, Debajyoti
MEMBER (university representative): Bertram, R. (Richard)
MEMBER (committee member): Linero, Antonio Ricardo
MEMBER (committee member): Chicken, Eric, 1963-
MEMBER (committee member): Barrientos, Andrés Felipe
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (60 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation introduces a nonparametric regression approach for multivariate skewed responses using Bayesian additive regression trees (BART). Existing BART methods use ensembles of decision trees to model a mean function, and have become popular recently due to their high prediction accuracy and ease of use. The usual assumption of a univariate Gaussian error distribution, however, is restrictive in many biomedical applications. Motivated by an oral healthy study, we provide a useful extension of BART, called the skewBART model, to address this problem. We then extend skewBART to allow for multivariate responses, with information shared across the decision trees associated with different responses within the same subject. The methodology accommodates within subject association and allows different skewness parameters for different responses. We illustrate the benefit of our multivariate skewBART model by analyzing the oral health study with highly skewed multiple responses. Secondly, BART model for analyzing mixed correlated continuous and count responses is proposed in this dissertation. Although Bayesian approaches are favored to model the uncertainty of estimation and to incorporate prior information, the limitation of developing simple and efficient algorithms for posterior computation has made Bayesian analysis of counts underdeveloped. However, recent latent variable construction based on Polya-Gamma random variables makes Bayesian inference appealing in the negative-binomial model with efficient sampling derived by exploiting conditional conjugacy. By utilizing Polya-Gamma latent variable construction, the proposed BART model accounts for associations between count and continuous responses. Moreover, an efficient Gibbs sampling is derived by exploiting conditional conjugacy since the negative binomial likelihood can be represented as a mixture of normals with Polya-Gamma mixing distribution. The utility of the models is demonstrated by analyzing the oral health study with mixed multiple responses.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 6, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Debajyoti Sinha, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard Bertram, University Representative; Antonio Linero, Committee Member; Eric Chicken, Committee Member; Andres Felipe Barrientos, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Statistics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: VilfortGarces_fsu_0071N_16750.pdf
TITLE: Friendship Changes of Caregivers of People with Aphasia
AUTHOR: Vilfort Garces, Ana,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Madden, Elizabeth Brookshire
MEMBER (committee member): Therrien, Michelle
MEMBER (committee member): Constantino, Christopher
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Communication and Information
CORPORATE NAME: School of Communication Science and Disorders
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (63 pages)
ABSTRACT: It is known that communication disorders, such as aphasia, can negatively impact the friendships and quality of life of the person living with the communication impairment. While there is still much to be learned about the friendships of individuals with aphasia, research on the friendships of those caring for individuals with aphasia is sparse and needed. Research suggests that caregivers receive a certain level of support from their friends, but more research is required to better understand how aphasia impacts friendship satisfaction and interactions for a caregiver over time and why some caregivers have better friend support than others. To that end, this study aims to understand the impact of aphasia on the caregiver’s friendships from the perspective of the caregiver. Specifically, a comparison of friendship support and activities, as well as barriers and facilitators to friendship, before and after their loved one’s aphasia. Thirty-eight self-identified caregivers of individuals with aphasia participated in this study. Participants completed a three-part online survey that asked closed and open-ended questions regarding demographics, and the caregiver’s friendship satisfaction from before and after onset of loved one’s aphasia. Results indicate that most friendships changed in both stages, with old friends being easier to maintain when compared to making new friends. Friendship satisfaction decreases over time, however, some caregivers report feeling satisfied with friends during the chronic stage. Support from friends increases initially but decreases over time. In conclusion, friendship, and support change over time, however, there is an increase in quality of support and friendships from old relationships and new friendships, which, usually consists of other caregivers.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 6, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Elizabeth Madden, Professor Directing Thesis; Michelle Therrien, Committee Member; Christopher Constantino, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Speech therapy
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Wang_fsu_0071E_16376.pdf
TITLE: Remembering and Forgetting Emotional Basketball Events
AUTHOR: Wang, Ye,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Tenenbaum, Gershon
MEMBER (university representative): Boot, Walter Richard
MEMBER (committee member): Eccles, David W.
MEMBER (committee member): Wolf, Svenja Anna
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (83 pages)
ABSTRACT: Three experiments were carried out to investigate directed forgetting effect and how emotional factors influence directed forgetting. For all three experiments, the dependent variable was the number of correct answers in memory test. In Experiment 1, two independent variables were employed: instruction (remember/forget) and memory test type (free recall/recognition). In Experiment 2, two independent variables were used: instruction (remember/forget) and emotion type (negative/positive/neutral). In Experiment 3, two independent variables were employed: instruction (remember/forget) and emotion type (negative/positive/neutral). The three studies used negative, positive, and neutral basketball words and pictures. For example, negative scenarios included injury or losing a game, positive scenarios included winning and cheering, and neutral scenario included a daily practice. These were presented in texts and images. The three studies (1) determined the reason of directed forgetting, (2) examined directed forgetting in basketball, and (3) identified how the type of emotions influenced the directed forgetting effect. In conclusion, the studies’ findings indicate that (1) the reason of forgetting is insufficient rehearsal, (2) there was directed forgetting effect for both words and pictures, (3) emotional content resists forgetting.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): March 8, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Gershon Tenenbaum, Professor Directing Dissertation; Walter Boot, University Representative; David Eccles, Committee Member; Svenja Wolf, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Psychology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Wang_fsu_0071E_16706.pdf
TITLE: Langevin Algorithms in Data Science
AUTHOR: Wang, Xiaoyu,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Zhu, Lingjiong
MEMBER (university representative): He, Zhe
MEMBER (committee member): Mio, Washington
MEMBER (committee member): Ökten, Giray
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (153 pages)
ABSTRACT: The Langevin algorithms are a collection of powerful optimization algorithms and Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling algorithms that provide computational foundations for high dimensional data in machine learning. We first review variants of Langevin diffusions and the corresponding algorithms based on different discretization schemes for overdamped and non-reversible Langevin algorithms including underdamped Langevin algorithms. Meanwhile, we revisit Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) on saddle points and illustrate the necessity of Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (SGLD) driven by Brownian motion for global convergence. Then, we propose a more general Langevin-like dynamics and algorithms driven by L\'evy motion. As a sampling toolkit, we survey Langevin sampling algorithms for both logconcave and non-logconcave target distributions. As an optimization method, we review the non-asymptotic analysis on two very commonly used Langevin algorithms, Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (SGLD) and Stochastic Gradient Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (SGHMC), and we then present the acceleration for global convergence by breaking reversibility of the Langevin diffusions. As a follow up work, we do a non-asymptotic analysis of the global convergence of the nonreversible Langevin algorithm for non-convex optimization with explicit constants, our result leads to non-asymptotic guarantees for both empirical and population risk minimization problems. Moreover, it suggests that by choosing an appropriate anti-symmetric matrix, the algorithm can outperform SGLD. As an application, we briefly introduce a Langevin algorithm to model gradient noise when using SGD optimizes the loss function in training neural networks with Gaussian noise injections. Then, we review the explicit effect of Gaussian noise data and additionally show the heavy tails and skewness of gradient noise are brought by the implicit effect which was marginalized out when studying the explicit effect. Finally, we quantitatively study the implicit bias induced by Gaussian noise injections for training neural networks by analyzing the weak error bound in terms of the heavy tails index and skewness parameter using carefully constructed auxiliary stochastic differential equations and designing an approximation scheme.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 6, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Langevin Algorithms, Markov Chain Monte Carlo Sampling, Stochastic Optimization
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Lingjiong Zhu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Zhe He, University Representative; Washington Mio, Committee Member; Giray Ökten, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Mathematics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Ward_fsu_0071E_16484.pdf
TITLE: Educational Choice and Economic Activity
AUTHOR: Ward, Jeffrey,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Marquis, Milton H.
MEMBER (university representative): Kercheval, Alec N.
MEMBER (committee member): Atolia, Manoj
MEMBER (committee member): Kreamer, Jonathan
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Economics
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (138 pages)
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of fiscal policy rules for funding higher education on macroeconomic concerns. Alternative government funding policies impact an endogenous household decision over post-secondary higher education and subsequently, economic output,growth, and income distribution. The link between human capital and economic growth is well documented. This work gathers many disparate ideas about how human capital is formed and its use in improving labor productivity and expansion of the variety of goods produced through research and development. The models employ a multi-period overlapping generations framework. In the initial period, workers sort themselves through educational choice into three skill groups: low-skill(no college education), medium-skill (college degree in non-R&D curricula), and high-skill (college degree in R&D). The high-skill group performs research and development. Newly minted products must pass through an adoption process before becoming usable. The low and medium-skill groups are imperfect substitutes in the production of intermediate goods. Final goods are produced by combining adopted technologies and intermediate goods. The second chapter of this dissertation considers a household with full risk-sharing. The third chapter divides the household by skill type,such that they no longer pool resources. However, this model employs a Negishi-weighted social welfare function whereby the marginal utilities of the groups are impacted by aggregate conditions.The steady-state growth models in these two chapters are calibrated to match wage premium data,savings rate data by age, 2% annual economic growth, and data for total money income over the life-cycle. The results of comparative statics exercises in both versions of the model show the impact of alternative funding regimes. Funding high-skilled education improves growth at the ex-pense of lower level effects on output; however, funding medium-skilled education, while having only modest effects of growth, substantially increases output. The fourth chapter seeks to per-form dynamic simulations of these models to explore the business cycle properties and transitional dynamics associated with educational choice and changes to higher education funding
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Economics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): April 28, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Growth, Higher Education, Higher Education Funding, Human Capital, Overlapping Generations
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Milton Marquis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Alec Kercheval, University Representative; Manoj Atolia, Committee Member; Johnathon Kramer, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Economics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Webster_fsu_0071E_16766.pdf
TITLE: Psychological Needs and Psychological Connection to Sport Objects
AUTHOR: Webster, Nikolas R.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): James, Jeffrey D. (Jeffrey Dalton)
MEMBER (university representative): Perrewe, Pamela L.
MEMBER (committee member): Du, James
MEMBER (committee member): Kim, Amy C. H. (Amy Chan Hyung)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Sport Management
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (212 pages)
ABSTRACT: Over the last several decades, sport management and sport marketing scholars have studied individuals’ psychological connection to sport objects. One of the prominent theories emerging from these efforts is the Psychological Continuum Model (Funk & James, 2001; 2006). The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) has been used to help sport management scholars and industry professionals understand sport consumers’ thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors; to provide a framework for understanding the formation of an individual’s attachment to a sport object (e.g., team, athlete, brand, etc.). The PCM is divided into four stages of strengthening psychological connection along a continuum: Awareness, Attraction, Attachment, and Allegiance. However, scholars have not demonstrated the transitions between the stages of the PCM, or put another way, what drives movement along the PCM continuum. Scholars have not addressed how and why individuals internalize the sport object. I aimed to address this question in this dissertation. Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2017) is a theory of internalization that is based on the assumption that humans possess innate, basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). To the degree that extrinsic and intrinsic factors allow, humans strive to fulfill these innate needs through interaction with their environment. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) posits that humans integrate, or internalize, values and regulations to the degree that their psychological needs are fulfilled. In this dissertation, I aimed to incorporate SDT within the PCM to offer a new conceptualization of psychological connection that is based in innate, psychological needs. Qualitative inquiry is often used when generating new theory. Given the complexity of the present study, I conducted semi-structured interviews with sport consumers to explore whether attachment to sport objects is an outcome of the fulfillment of their innate psychological needs. Specifically, I discussed with participants their experiences with supporting and following sport objects (e.g., a sports team) and whether those experiences are driven and fulfilled by their intrinsic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In conducting this research, I remained aware of my involvement with the research process; how my research goals (i.e., understanding how need fulfillment drives internalization within the context of sport consumption) may influence what is learned from participants’ lived experiences. After analyzing interview transcripts, several themes emerged regarding autonomy fulfillment, relatedness fulfillment, and competence fulfillment within the context of spectator sport. Five themes emerged regarding autonomy fulfillment: (1) Live events and Stages of Life, (2) Access to Sport Objects, (3) Choosing Activities that Fulfill Psychological Needs, (4) Playing and Spectating Sport: The Relationship Between Felt Autonomy and Competence Fulfillment, and (5) Predictability, Consistency, and Search for Permanence. The first two themes (Life Events and Stages of Life & Access to Sport Objects) capture external factors and environmental conditions that influence an individual’s felt volition. The three remaining themes (Choosing Activities that Fulfill Psychological Needs, Playing and Spectating Sports: The Relationship between Felt Autonomy and Competence, & Predictability, Consistency, and Search for Permanence) capture individuals’ natural, innate drive to feel volition. From transcription analyses, five themes emerged regarding relatedness fulfillment: (1) Relatedness Fulfillment Creates Psychological Connections with Sport Objects, (2) Relatedness Fulfillment Strengthens Psychological Connections with Sport Objects, (3) Relatedness Fulfillment Maintains Psychological Connections with Sport Objects, (4) Fulfilling Volition and Belonging: The Underdog Narrative, and (5) Fulfilling the Need to Belong and the Need for Effectance: Relatedness and Competence. The first three themes demonstrate the notion that relatedness fulfillment creates, strengthens, and maintains psychological connections. The remaining two themes demonstrate the relationship between relatedness fulfillment and autonomy fulfillment as well as the relationship between relatedness fulfillment and competence fulfillment. The results section concludes by including results from the transcription analyses regarding competence fulfillment. Two themes emerged from participant interviews regarding competence fulfillment: (1) The Learning Process: Understanding Strategy, Skill, Tactics, and Other Elements of Sport Objects and (2) Sport Objects Providing Competence Fulfillment by Producing Feelings of Effectance. Findings within this study align with a central tenant of SDT, that autonomy fulfillment occurs prior to the fulfillment of relatedness and competence. In other words, in order for individuals to feel a sense of belonging or experience feelings of effectance, they must first feel volition. Within the context of the PCM, autonomy fulfillment, relatedness fulfillment, and competence fulfillment collectively contribute to an individual’s progression from Awareness to Allegiance. Individuals become aware of sport objects due to socialization (relatedness) and become attracted to sport objects through developing a preference for a sport object (autonomy), significant others (relatedness), and/or learning about a sport object (competence). Individuals progress into higher stages of connection (Attachment and Allegiance) through continued psychological need fulfillment, such as bonding with others (relatedness) and experiencing feelings of effectance (competence). Concerning SDT and the PCM, the notion of cognitive complexity is addressed in the final chapter of this dissertation. Specifically, cognitive complexity has been previously discussed within higher forms of connection (Allegiance), however, findings from this study suggest that the phenomenon occurs despite the presence of sport objects. Further, past research on psychological connection has delineated resistance to change in terms of competence fulfillment. However, findings from this research suggest that both autonomy and relatedness fulfillment influence an individual’s resistance to change his or her psychological connection with a sport object. This research advances our understanding of psychological connection; one that considers how both biological and psychological factors as well as cultural and social conditions can contribute to the fulfillment of psychological needs, influencing the internalization process. This research should be of interest to those who are concerned with areas in sport such as consumer behavior, fandom, and loyalty development. However, there are several limitations of this study, including the cross-sectional nature of the research, issues surrounding the PCM staging mechanism, and the lack of generalizability of the findings. Future research stemming from this work should focus on developing quantitative measures that capture the concepts outlined in this study, specifically regarding psychological need fulfillment within the context of spectator sport. Additionally, based on findings from this study, scholars should continue to research the role of involvement within the PCM, specifically how both involvement and psychological need fulfillment contribute to one’s psychological connection with a sport object. Finally, future research should explore the intersection of autonomy fulfillment and sport as a form of escape. The purpose of this research was to explore whether psychological need fulfillment influences one’s psychological connection with a sport object. Based on the findings from this study, autonomy fulfillment, relatedness fulfillment, and competence fulfillment contribute to the strengthening of an individual’s psychological connection with a sport object.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 1, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): consumer behavior, internalization, psychological connection, Psychological Continuum Model, psychological needs, Self-Determination Theory
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela L. Perrewé, University Representative; W. James Du, Committee Member; Amy C. H. Kim, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Marketing
SUBJECT: Psychology
SUBJECT: Social psychology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Westbrook_fsu_0071N_16733.pdf
TITLE: A Forest of Fire: Limning Materiality and Interpretation in the Morphology of the Longleaf Pine Forest as a Cultural Landscape
AUTHOR: Westbrook, Eric C.,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): McCreary, Tyler
MEMBER (committee member): Doel, Ronald Edmund
MEMBER (committee member): Zhao, Tingting, (Geography Professor)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Geography
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (113 pages)
ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the material and interpretive relations imbricated in the Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) forest as a cultural landscape. Approaching this landscape, I outline and demonstrate the utility of a neo-Sauerian methodology that synthesizes Carl Sauer’s (1925) morphological conception of the cultural landscape with more contemporary thinking on cultural landscapes steeped in critical poststructural theory.  Thus, it is necessary to understand the cultural landscape of the longleaf pine forest in terms of both human interpretations and material practices of intervening in its processes. Making this linkage, I attempt to bridge the lacunae between studies in cultural geography that focus on the discourse of the cultural landscape and those that focus on the landscape as a material expression of culture. I model my research on Richard Schein’s (1997) conception of landscape as “discourse materialized.” Schein’s work has emphasized the importance of linking symbolic interpretation and material reality when analyzing the cultural landscape. However, Schein focuses on distinctly human geographies, built environments, and cultivated lands. I extend Schein’s work to thinking about the relationship between the interpretative and material practices in creating landscapes that people imagine as natural. Thus, I aim to extend dialogue in the cultural landscape literature beyond the human to understand the forest as a cultural landscape. Doing so, I further emphasize the importance of recognizing that dynamic more-than-human processes, such as fire, play a crucial role in constructing the cultural landscapes of the longleaf pine forest. The morphology of this cultural landscape is the hybrid process of human and more-than-human physical processes on the landscape and the representational interpretations of those morphological landscape processes by vernacular and scientific cultures which guide human interactions with the forest. Empirically developing this argument, in chapter two, I employ a geohumanities lens to examine a work of popular environmental writing, Lawrence Earley’s (2004) Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest. Approaching this text, I apply a hermeneutic approach to analyze how ideas of the cultural landscape, and different conceptions of local versions of global authority and value, inform Earley’s narrative. Specifically, chapter two shows how Earley’s historicization of the longleaf forest presents the destruction of the forest in relation to the imposition of European science and extractive logics. Conversely, he stresses how the construction of the material landscape as a locally knowable object informed distinct cultural practices that maintained its morphology. Chapter three focuses on the history of local scientific discourse and practice in the Red Hills and its relationship to the maintenance of the longleaf forest as a cultural landscape. Specifically, the research and fire ecology conferences associated with Tall Timbers disseminated an understanding of the longleaf forest as a pyrogenic ecosystem, transforming landscape management practices. Chapter three positions these developments as a response to cultural conflicts and change over woodland burning practices and the material effects of those conflicts on the more-than-human cultural landscape of the Red Hills area of the longleaf forest in Southwest Georgia and Northern Florida. This thesis contributes to the research on cultural landscapes as well as the history and geographies of environmental writing, fire science, and forestry. It explores the ways interpretive frames and material human cultural practices intertwine in the material landscape and its biophysical processes. Chapter one outlines the need for new approaches to theorizing and analyzing cultural landscapes. Chapter Two and Three present how the longleaf forest landscape became an object of vernacular and scientific knowledge and how the more-than-human cultural landscape of the Red Hills shaped fire science and conservation research agendas as well as narratives of environmental history. Those chapters demonstrate the utility of a neo-Sauerian methodology in addressing lacunae in the scholarship on cultural landscapes. Furthermore, this thesis adds to the literature examining cultures of science and their geographies, adding to an understanding of the histories and practices of fire science.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 7, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Cultural Landscape, Fire, Longleaf , Morphology, Sauer, Tall Timbers
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Tyler McCreary, Professor Directing Thesis; Ronald E. Doel, Committee Member; Tingting Zhao, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Geography
SUBJECT: Ecology--Philosophy
SUBJECT: Science--History
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: WhitbyOkafor_fsu_0071E_16659.pdf
TITLE: Punishment Injustices: An Analysis Exploring Intersectionality, Racial/Ethnic Threat, and Punitive Outcomes
AUTHOR: Whitby Okafor, Porche' Adalia,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertationn): Warren, Patricia Y.
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Stewart, Eric Allen
MEMBER (university representative): Reynolds, John R.
MEMBER (committee member): Siennick, Sonja E.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
CORPORATE NAME: College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (123 pages)