Digital Commons Network^™

A Culture/Climate Examination Of Autonomous Vehicle Technology In The United States, James J. Mennie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous Vehicle are coming. But mass adoption is at least ten years away according to consensus compiled from interviews conducted with industry thought lenders. Questions remain as to what technology those vehicles will contain as there is no universal platform for autonomous vehicle technology, since manufacturers, hardware and software companies are developing their own proprietary products. A/V technology is expected to improve productivity, and provide a plethora of societal benefits, but while we await the closure of the time gap the US will lose almost 40,000 citizens each year with traffic fatalities.

Connected vehicle technology, which is currently completing pilot …

The Role Of The Soldier In Civilian Life: Personal And Social Concerns That Influence Reintegration Processes, Matthew J. Ahlfs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The intent and direction of this thesis is to recognize personal and social concerns that influence soldiers’ reintegration process. The missing element in current literature is capturing the soldiers’ lived experiences, ideas, perspective and knowledge of what it truly means to be a soldier and having to reintegrate back into the civilian life after being submerged the military culture for an extended period of time. One of the vital concerns to the soldiers is how civilians, specifically the community, politicians, scholars and mental health providers, are not necessary fully aware nor do they recognize the influential impacts of the experiences …

Change Descriptors For Determining Nodule Malignancy In Lung Ct Screening Images, Benjamin Geiger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Computed tomography (CT) imagery is an important weapon in the fight against lung cancer; various forms of lung cancer are routinely diagnosed from CT imagery. The growth of the suspect nodule is known to be a prognostic factor in the diagnosis of pulmonary cancer, but the change in other aspects of the nodule, such as its aspect ratio, density, spiculation, or other features usable for machine learning, may also provide prognostic information.

We hypothesized that adding combined feature information from multiple CT image sets separated in time could provide a more accurate determination of nodule malignancy. To this end, we …

High Expectations And Teacher Implicit Biases In A Culture Of Care, Jacqueline K. Haynes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This graduate project was part of a group project completed by five school and district administrators in Hillsborough County, Florida. The project began because of our passion for teachers who are able to establish a culture of care in their classrooms that support students academically but transform their learning through experiences that enable them to be more highly engaged and productive students, regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, perceived academic abilities, and backgrounds.

My project component looked at research on teacher expectations and their effects on student success. Why does the color of a child's skin tone trigger lower expectations by …

Mechanisms Of S1p-Induced Endothelial Barrier Enhancement, Natascha Guimarães Alves

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Excessive microvascular permeability is a serious complication involved in traumatic injury and inflammatory diseases. Alcohol intoxication can exacerbate the physiological derangements produced by microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction in such disease conditions. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) has known endothelial barrier-protective properties, and has been shown to ameliorate microvascular leakage in a model of combined alcohol intoxication and hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (HSR). However, whether the barrier-protective properties of S1P extend to endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is unclear. The mechanisms of S1P-induced barrier protection during alcohol intoxication or HSR are also unknown. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that …

Exploring Young Children’S Digital Composing Practices, Megan D. Cross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the many layers involved in young children’s meaning-making as they digitally compose. Utilizing a multimodal, social semiotics theoretical framework to analyze children’s digital compositions using a composing app, this study was designed around one research question: What is the nature of three and four-year-old children’s multimodal meaning making while using a composing app? The qualitative study involved four focal participants from a three- and four-year-old classroom, who attended an inquiry-based lab school in the southeastern United States.

The data were collected over a period of eight weeks, where the children were invited to tell their stories using …

High-Precision Lead Isotope Analysis On Modern Populations To Determine Geolocation Reliability, Gennifer M. Goad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forensic anthropologists increasingly use chemical isotope analysis in the investigation of unidentified human remains, as biochemical georeferencing continually improves with the development of modern reference data of known origins. Isotope variations in trace elements such as strontium (Sr) and lead (Pb) in human teeth are some of the most useful indicators of past domicile in archaeological research and thus have high potential for modern, forensic applications. In this study, high-precision lead isotope analysis was conducted on 63 modern human teeth, which were previously analyzed for strontium isotopes. The results present new lead isotope data for the following countries: United States …

The Performance Of Memorialization: Politics Of Memory And Memory-Making At The Arthur G. Dozier School For Boys, Kaniqua Robinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My study examines how religion operates as a form of social control in the politics of memory and memory making in the case of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (1900-2011), a state reform school in Marianna, Florida. Collective memory making is a dynamic process that reflects the social, economic, and political tensions of the present. It is a process most evident during circumstances of reconciliation following conflict, violence, or cases of turmoil resulting in death and in conflicting memories of the experience. Emergence of a dominant narrative about the tragedy or traumatizing event and subjugation of conflicting stories …

Toward Improving Export Diversification And Economic Growth In Small Island Developing States, Marlo B. Murphy-Braynen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to address the following research question: How does export diversification impact economic growth in Small Island Developing States? More specifically, this dissertation sheds light on the strength and nature of the relationship between export diversification and economic growth with a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Informed by prior literature and the empirical analysis in this dissertation, I propose a conceptual industry development model that aims to stimulate and promote export development, diversification, and growth within the context of Small Island Developing States in general and with a specific focus on The Bahamas. In accordance with …

The Effect Of Depression, Inflammation And Sleep Quality On Risk For Cardiovascular Disease, Catherine L. O'Neil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one killer even after years of advances and preventative measures. Identifying and reducing modifiable risk factors is a health care priority. CVD Risk assessments are calculated using several traditional risk factors including age, gender, race, blood pressure, cholesterol, history of diabetes, and smoking to estimate a persons’ risk of developing CVD (heart disease or stroke) in the next 10-years. In addition to the traditional risk factors for CVD, there is increasing evidence of metabolic disorders, depressive symptoms, inflammation and sleep quality posing a greater risk for CVD. However, these factors are not included …

Dormancy In The Amphistegina Gibbosa Holobiont: Ecological And Evolutionary Implications For The Foraminifera, Benjamin J. Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dormancy, a state of severely decreased or suspended metabolism, is a widespread survival strategy in nature. In the Foraminifera, one of the most studied groups of marine organisms, its presence had been suggested by circumstantial evidence, but rarely studied directly until recently. Despite the lack of research, stressor-induced dormancy can significantly alter the way in which foraminiferal ecology is understood, especially in marginal environments. In this dissertation, I reviewed the evidence for dormancy in the foraminiferal literature, concluding that evidence for dormancy is widespread across the Phylum. I then explored the role of dormancy in the survival of the diatom-bearing …

The Feasibility Of High Strength Stainless Steel In Prestressing Applications For Pile Design, Cara Morton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 50% of the Nation’s infrastructure was built over 40 years ago for a 50 year service life according to the National Association of Corrosion Engineers [72]. To mitigate the cost of major repair or replacement at 50 years, AASHTO now requires all new bridge construction to have a 100 year service life. One of the main challenges in achieving this goal is avoiding corrosion, especially in warm, saltwater environments like those found in the Southeastern United States. Elements that cross the waterline (piles) are a weak link the infrastructure. Good quality concrete easily maintains a service life of 75+ …

What Personality Factors Influence Performance In A Multi-Line Insurance Agency?, Timothy R. Greer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is exploring personality factors that impact performance within a small insurance agency. The primary research question is, what is (or are) the best personality factor(s), sub-facets, or constructs, that contribute to increased performance within an insurance agency. Three of the Five-Factor Model dimensions, extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience along with grit and hardiness were examined, as well as their sub-facets. Grit and hardiness were not found to add additional explanation of the variance while five of the sub-facets were found to better explain the variance over the composite dimensions.

Improving Strategic It Investment Decisions By Reducing Information Asymmetry, Thomas P. Stablein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The unprecedented ubiquity with which technological advancements, such as blockchain, the Internet of things (IoT), big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI), are impacting the world has forced large organizations to rethink their information technology roadmaps. Their decisions about how they invest in technology have become more important. It is against this backdrop that companies must decide how much to invest in their aging technologies versus these new potentially transformational ones. A decision is only as good as the information available to the decision-makers when they make it. This research project seeks to understand the effects that information asymmetry …

Price Transparency In The United States Healthcare System, Gurlivleen (Minnie) Ahuja

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study explores price transparency in the healthcare system. With the increase in healthcare spending resulting in the advent of high deductible plans, consumers have been exposed to high healthcare cost. Despite being burdened with outrageous and extravagant bills, studies have shown that the consumers are not using price transparency tools to their benefit.

The literature review reveals that the major stakeholders in the healthcare industry have never been studied together to understand the research question on ‘Why is there lack of price transparency in the healthcare system?’ moreover, there is no theory to explains this phenomenon.

This study undertakes …

Learning In The Margins: The Educational Experiences Of An African American Male With Disabilities, Aisha Holmes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African American males with disabilities meet challenges in K-12 public education and higher education. Educational practices often focus on a deficit interpretation of the abilities of African American males with disabilities. Educational stakeholders who do not reflect their layered identities of race, gender, ability, and socioeconomic status often make educational decisions for this student population. The purpose of this study is to include in the educational conversations the voice of an African American male with disabilities who experienced K-12 public education and higher education. Using narrative inquiry and analyzed through the lens of DisCrit, findings from the study revealed two …

Human Body Motions Optimization For Able-Bodied Individuals And Prosthesis Users During Activities Of Daily Living Using A Personalized Robot-Human Model, Dimitrios Menychtas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current clinical practice regarding upper body prosthesis prescription and training is lacking a standarized, quantitative method to evaluate the impact of the prosthetic device. The amputee care team typically uses prior experiences to provide prescription and training customized for each individual. As a result, it is quite challenging to determine the right type and fit of a prosthesis and provide appropriate training to properly utilize it early in the process. It is also very difficult to anticipate expected and undesired compensatory motions due to reduced degrees of freedom of a prosthesis user. In an effort to address this, a tool …

Vulnerability And Power: Exploring The Confluence Of Politics And Climate Change In Cortez, Florida, Justin P. Winn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes how politics shape vulnerability to climate change at the local level, based on an ethnography in Cortez, Florida. Focusing on a “traditional” commercial fishing village on the Florida Gulf Coast, my research indicates that such vulnerabilities are created at multiple scales of the nexus between governance and commerce. Moreover, a key finding is that, as a community closely linked to the health of local environments, the village in Cortez is largely organized to protect their commercial industry from regional economic overdevelopment; not in recognition of its role in contributing to global climate change, but because such overdevelopment …

Physical Electronic Properties Of Self-Assembled 2d And 3d Surface Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks, Radwan Elzein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal-organic frameworks stand at the frontiers of molecular electronic research because they combine desirable physical properties of organic and inorganic components. They are crystalline porous solids constructed by inorganic nodes coordinated to organic ligands to form 1D, 2D, or 3D structures. They possess unique characteristics such as ultrahigh surface area crystal lattices up to 10000 m² g^-1, and tunable nanoporous sizes ranging from 0.2 to 50 nm. Their unprecedented structural diversity and flexibility beyond solid state materials can lead to unique properties such as tailorable electronic and ionic conductivity which can serve as interesting platforms for a …

Organizational Innovations That Stick: Best Practices In Sustainable Organizational Change, Abdoulie Jammeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational change is an essential ingredient of organizational growth/life and can be difficult to accomplish. Many researchers and practitioners have studied the challenges and opportunities surrounding effectuating change and innovation in organizations. However, there has been little practical analysis of the theoretical relationships among the key apparatuses that make change stick, institutionalizing innovation in big bureaucratic organizations. In order to develop practical insights that can inform best practices, this paper aims to provide a collection of successful organizational innovation examples based on responses to a critical incident analysis survey of 12 participants from a 2018 World Bank – USC Annenberg …

Duty-Cycle Based Physical Unclonable Functions (Pufs) For Hardware Security Applications, Mahmood Javed Azhar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Duty cycle and frequency are important characteristics of periodic signals that are exploited to develop a variety of application circuits in IC design. Controlling the duty cycle and frequency provides a method to develop adaptable circuits for a variety of applications. These applications range from stable on-chip clock generation circuits, on-chip voltage regulation circuits, and Physical unclonable functions for hardware security applications. Ring oscillator circuits that are developed with CMOS inverter circuits provide a simple, versatile flexible method to generated periodic signals on an IC chip. A digitally controlled ring oscillator circuit can be adapted to control its duty cycle …

Cyclophilin 40 As A Novel Disaggregase, Jeremy Dustin Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The negative health and economic impacts of neurodegenerative diseases on Americans is astounding and accelerating with an aging population. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 5.7 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a number which is expected to increase to 14 million by 2050. In economic terms, AD and other neurodegenerative disorders will cost the US over $275 billion in 2018, rising to over $1 trillion annually by 2050. AD causes gross brain atrophy and is most damaging throughout the cortex and the hippocampus, regions required for higher cognitive function and memory. AD presents as tangles within neurons composed of …

Actinomycin D And Telmisartan Combination Therapy Targets Lung Cancer Stem Cells, Ryan Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The failure of lung cancer treatments has been attributed partly to the development of drug resistance, however the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. It has been suggested that a very small group of specific cells within the heterogeneous tumors, cancer initiating stem cells (CSC), develop resistance to treatment, survive and later initiate the growth of new tumors. Due to their pivotal role in maintenance and relapse of tumors following the acquisition of drug resistance, we reasoned that novel drugs targeting cancer cells and CSC might provide the most effective treatments, if not a cure. To this end, …

Fatty Acid Amides And Their Biosynthetic Enzymes Found In Insect Model Systems, Ryan L. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A fatty acid amide is precisely as the name suggests: A fatty acid (CHn-COOH), in which the hydroxyl group of the carboxylic acid is displaced by an amine functional group from a biogenic amine (R-NH2), ultimately forming an amide bond. Furthermore, these fatty acid amides can be composed of a variety of different acyl chain lengths donated by the fatty acid and a myriad of different biogenic amines. Thus, these molecules can be subdivided in a number of different ways including the separation of short chain (acetyl to heptanoyl) and long chain (palmitoyl to arachidonoyl) and also based off the …

Teacher Attitude And Self-Efficacy Differences Regarding English Language Learners And Disabled Learners., Miriam Carballo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little research combining both groups of students who were English Language Learners (ELLs) and Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students in relation to teacher attitudes and self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to compare teacher attitudes and self-efficacy related to instructing either ELLs with or without disabilities in elementary schools

Teachers from six elementary schools in the XYZ Excellence School District participated in a 52-item comprehensive survey. Two questionnaires and the demographic form were combined to create one comprehensive questionnaire totaling 52 questions for the purposes of this study. Teachers were solicited to participate in the study …

The Impact Of Digital Marketing Decisions On Market Outcomes In Residential Real Estate, Denise Hunter Gravatt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the competitive and fast-paced industry of residential real estate, digital marketing strategies must effectively meet the information needs and demands of the industry’s three key stakeholders: buyers, sellers, and agents. Digital house hunting is the predominant search strategy for prospective homebuyers who scour the Internet looking for homes to purchase. Property sellers and real estate professionals, whose shared end-goal is to transact a successful sale, must discern which digital marketing choices are optimal for marketing for-sale properties online in the digital channels where buyers are searching.

A 2008 settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and the National Association …

An Examination Of The Progressive And Regressive Factors That Business Owners Consider When Choosing Whether Or Not To Implement An Exit Strategy, David C. Pickard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this dissertation is to examine the progressive and regressive factors that affect a small business owner’s decision to implement an exit strategy. An exit strategy can be defined as an entrepreneur's strategic plan to sell his or her investment in a company he or she has controlling interest in. An exit strategy gives a business owner a way to reduce or eliminate his or her stake in the business and, if the business is successful, make a substantial profit. Exiting a business is a complicated process which includes among other things, the evaluation, preparation, marketing, and ultimate …

The Relationship Between Ambient Lighting Color And Hotel Bar Customer Purchase Behavior And Satisfaction, Kunal Shah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly competitive markets lead brand managers to search for new methods to improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and promote customer loyalty. Sensory marketing has the potential to meet those objectives. Sensory marketing programs are designed to engage consumers’ senses and affect perceptions, judgments, and behaviors. Ambient light color is an environmental variable with the potential to influence the customer experience in lodging industry sensory marketing programs. Contrast theory and disconfirmation of expectations served as the theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine the relationships between ambient light color, consumer spending, and perceptions …

Sorbent Enrichment Performance Of Aromatic Compounds From Diluted Liquid Solution, Le Meng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sorbent enrichment is treated as the extend sample preparing method from liquid extraction. The theories of liquid extraction also extend to sorbent enrichment, which is based on the distribution equilibrium. With the development of advanced materials, sorbents have been improved dramatically in the past twenty years. Nowadays, more and more enrichment performance cannot be explained from the angle of distribution model.

Herein, the sorption model is emphasized in this study. As the majority exist, aromatic compounds are the focused class of analytes. This study analyzed the sorption from two factors, the interaction between adsorbate and sorbent from their aromaticity, and …

High Performance Distributed On-Chip Voltage Regulation For Modern Integrated Systems, Longfei Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distributed on-chip voltage regulation where multiple voltage regulators are distributed among different locations of the chip demonstrates advantages as compared to on-chip voltage regulation utilizing a single voltage regulator. Better on-chip voltage noise performance and faster transient response can be realized due to localized voltage regulation. Despite the advantages of distributed on-chip voltage regulation, unbalanced current sharing issue can occur among each voltage regulator, which has been demonstrated to deteriorate power conversion efficiency, stability, and reliability of the power delivery network. An effective balanced current sharing scheme that can be applied to most voltage regulator types is proposed to balance …