American Studies Commons^™

Statistical Analysis And Modeling: Cancer, Clinical Trials, Environment And Epidemiology., Dimitrios Vovoras

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current thesis is structured in four parts. Vector smoothing methods are used to study environmental data, in particular records of extreme precipitation, the models utilized belong to the vector generalized additive class. In the statistical analysis of observational studies the identification and adjustment for prognostic factors is an important component of the analysis; employing flexible statistical methods to identify and characterize the effect of potential prognostic factors in a clinical trial, namely "generalized additive models", presents an alternative to the traditional linear statistical model. The classes of models for which the methodology gives generalized additive extensions include grouped survival …

Examining The Experiences Of A Select Group Of First Year Special Education Teachers: A Multiple Case Study Analysis, Roseanne Kaiser Vallice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The attrition rate of beginning special educators has been a constant and growing concern within the field of education (Boe & Cook, 2006, 2008; Brownell, Hirsch, & Seo, 2004; CEC, 2000; Leko & Smith, 2010; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). Four to five of every ten new special education teachers leave the field within the first five years (CEC, 2000; Olivarez & Arnold, 2006) and beginning special education teachers are more likely than general education teachers to leave the field within the first five years of teaching (Boe & Cook, 2006, Boe, Cook & Sunderland, 2008; Brownell, Hirsch, & Seo, 2004; …

Simplified Methodology For Designing Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants, Ricardo Vasquez Padilla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The performance of parabolic trough based solar power plants over the last 25 years has proven that this technology is an excellent alternative for the commercial power industry. Compared to conventional power plants, parabolic trough solar power plants produce significantly lower levels of carbon dioxide, although additional research is required to bring the cost of concentrator solar plants to a competitive level. The cost reduction is focused on three areas: thermodynamic efficiency improvements by research and development, scaling up of the unit size, and mass production of the equipment. The optimum design, performance simulation and cost analysis of the parabolic …

Lo Barroco Lezamesco En Paradiso, Leonardo Venta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I argue that José Lezama Lima's Paradiso is unique among Latin-American novels of the 1960s because it is a hybrid of literary genres - narrative and essay, as well as a "poetic system." Through an open literary framework, the author explores the essence of "cubanía" though language that is both colloquial and elaborate, both devoted to traditions and aiming for transgressions: a novel that reaches for the pinnacle of neobaroque prose. To sustain my argument, I have performed an exhaustive exegesis of my primary text, as well as extensive external research in secondary texts of the highest …

The Time Machine And Heart Of Darkness: H.G. Wells, Joseph Conrad, And The Fin De Siecle, Haili Ann Vinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much work has been done on the relationship between fin de siècle authors H.G. Wells, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, Stephen Crane, and Ford Madox Ford. As Nicholas Delbanco explains, these writers lived closely to one another in Kent during the transition into the Twentieth Century. While scholars have stressed the collaboration between Conrad and Ford and the disagreements between Wells and James, fewer have treated the relationship of Wells and Conrad. Their most widely read works, The Time Machine and Heart of Darkness, share remarkable similarities that reveal common topical influences on both writers. Furthermore, I argue that Wells …

Dynamics Of Stony Coral Assemblages On Patch Reefs Of The Upper Florida Reef Tract, Including Biscayne National Park, Amy Wallace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The patch reefs located in Biscayne National Park (BNP) are some of the most northern reefs of the Florida reef system. The focus of my study is seven patch reefs that were first surveyed annually between 1977 and 1981, revealing 8% - 28% cover by scleractinian corals. An assessment of BNP patch reefs completed in 2000 reported that coral cover had decreased to approximately 0.4% - 10%. The once dominant species in the Florida reef tract, Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis, have rapidly declined over time and were not found in any transects during the 2000 survey.

This study is …

School Psychologists' Communication And Collaboration With Community-Based Mental Health Professionals, Audra St. John Walsh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although collaboration between school psychologists and community-based mental health professionals is essential in the provision of comprehensive and effective mental health services for youth with intensive mental health needs, youth may not receive the full benefit of these coordinated efforts, as collaboration may not occur as often as it should. This study investigated the frequency of communication and collaboration between school- and community-based professionals, the purposes and methods of communication, and the benefits and barriers to collaboration. Survey data from 80 members of the Florida Association of School Psychologists were collected and analyzed. Forty-three percent of school psychologists reported communicating …

Differential Reactions To Men's And Women's Counterproductive Work Behavior, Jason Donovan Way

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to examine the effect that employee gender might have on performance ratings. Specifically, it was thought that negative performance episodes, such as aggressive behavior, might have less of an effect on performance ratings for males compared to females because males have a stereotype of being more aggressive. Additional hypotheses examined how different types of negative performance affected perceptions that the employee was behaving according to their gender ideal, and whether people judged male and female aggressiveness differently. To this end, 134 undergraduate students participated in a 2 x 3 design experiment where they read …

Celestial Bodies, Jared Calvin White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following is a collection of original poetry written over a span of three years while attending the University of South Florida. The poetry is divided into five numbered sections, marking the major thematic divisions. Preceding the poetry is a critical introduction to the work that outlines the author's developing thematic ideology.

Assessment Of Fertility Potential In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus): An Elisa-Based Biomarker Analysis, Leslie Schwierzke Wade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As apex predators in coastal systems, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are susceptible to persistent organic pollutant (POP) accumulation and retention over time, which has prompted continued interest in understanding the extent to which contaminant body burdens or other stressors are sufficient to cause adverse sublethal effects on energetic fitness, immune function, or reproduction. Increasing our knowledge of reproductive endocrinology in bottlenose dolphins may provide insight into changes in reproductive rates, thereby expanding the capacity to assess conservation status. This study used the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) technique to examine peptide fertility hormones [inhibin A, inhibin B and anti-Müllerian …

The African American Women's Summit: A Case Study Of A Professional Development Program Developed By And For African American Women Student Affairs Professionals, Nicole Mary-Ella West

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While African American women have been participating in American higher education for more than a century, they remain significantly underrepresented among college and university administrators. Researchers have noted that when these women are able to secure administrative positions, many of them contend with intense isolation and marginalization, which compromises their personal well-being and jeopardizes their professional success. Black feminist scholars have suggested that African American women may be assisted by involving themselves in supportive networks that provide them the opportunity to connect with other African American women. Further, these scholars contend that these activities should be facilitated by African American …

Crystal Engineering Of Multiple Component Crystal Forms Of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, David Rudy Weyna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enhancing the physicochemical properties of solid-state materials through crystal engineering enables optimization of these materials without covalent modification. Cocrystals have become a reliable means to generate novel crystalline forms with multiple components and they exhibit different physicochemical properties compared to the individual components. This dissertation exemplifies methodologies to generate cocrystals of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API's) based upon knowledge of supramolecular interactions (supramolecular synthons), while focusing on enhanced delivery through in vitro and in vivo processes with both salts and cocrystals respectively.

The utility of mechanochemistry involving small amounts of an appropriate solvent, or solvent drop grinding (SDG), has been shown …

Painting Parisian Identity: Place And Subjectivity In Fin-De-Siecle Art, Chelsea Anne Watts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I provide analysis of several nineteenth-century artworks in order to elucidate the connections between place and identity as expressed in visual representations of Paris. I utilize Bakhtin's idea of the dialogical as a means of identifying multiple subject positions that might be accessed by particular individuals who live in socially constructed spaces specific to fin-de-siècle Paris. I discuss the construction of three performed identities unique to nineteenth-century Paris: the Flâneur, the bohemian, and the primitivist. In each chapter I will parse out the social construction of the spaces where these identities existed and were performed, and link …

Polydimethylsiloxane Mechanical Properties Measured By Macroscopic Compression And Nanoindentation Techniques, Zhixin Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the relationship between the elastic modulus of PDMS and the base/agent ratio (the amount of crosslinking) is studied. Reliable macroscopic compression test instrument was developed. Preload method was applied for the nanoindentation flat punch test to develop full contact.

In chapter 2, an easy instrument setup for macroscopic compression test is described. A series of PDMS samples with different base/agent ratios were tested using the macroscopic compression method. The relationship between PDMS elastic modulus and its base/agent ratio was established.

In chapter 3, PDMS nanoindentation DMA tests provide stable data with different test control models. The storage …

Detection Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers In Ambient Air At A Wastewater Treatment Facility In Tampa, Florida, Brenda L. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to quantify the ambient air concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from three locations within the Howard Curren Wastewater Treatment Facility located in Tampa, Florida. PBDEs have been linked to endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental concerns in children, as well as other toxic effects; however their precise roles concerning these deleterious effects remains to be determined. The present study was motivated by these potential health concerns posed by inhalational exposure to PBDEs. Ambient air was monitored with a Tisch Environmental PUF high volume sampler for 48 hours with collection on three types of media-quarts filter, …

Statistical Models For Environmental And Health Sciences, Yong Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statistical analysis and modeling are useful for understanding the behavior of different phenomena. In this study we will focus on two areas of applications: Global warming and cancer research. Global Warming is one of the major environmental challenge people face nowadays and cancer is one of the major health problem that people need to solve.

For Global Warming, we are interest to do research on two major contributable variables: Carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmosphere temperature. We will model carbon dioxide in the atmosphere data with a system of differential equations. We will develop a differential equation for each of six …

Sharps Injuries In Medical Training: Higher Risk For Residents Than For Medical Students, Rachel Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their relative inexperience in performing procedures and handling sharps devices, medical students and resident physicians are considered to be at high risk for sharps injuries. A higher rate of sharps injuries for medical trainees implies a higher risk for occupationally-acquired infection with bloodborne pathogens and may have financial and legal implications for training institutions. This study examines the prevalence of sharps injuries among US medical students and resident physicians. A systematic review of the literature yielded 10 studies that gave data on sharps injuries for US medical students or residents, and those data were combined with data from …

Understanding The Cultivation Of Teacher Leadership In Professional Learning Communities, Adrianne G. Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of study was twofold. The primary purpose was to describe and explain the perceptions and lived experiences of high school teachers through their involvement in a Professional Learning Community, as defined by Hord (1997). Teachers' experiences within a Professional Learning Community were examined for patterns of cultivated leadership and social capital. The second purpose of the study was to identify the influencing variables connected with how the participants viewed themselves as leaders as a result of their participation in a professional learning community. One influencing variable in particular that was examined was the influence of social capital in …

Sex And The Seas: Gene Transfer Agents, Elizabeth Young

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gene Transfer Agents (GTAs) are phage-like pthesiss that are produced by many alpha proteobacteria in late stationary growth phase and are capable of transferring chromosomal genes (termed "constitutive transduction"). Examination of alpha proteobacterial genomic sequences indicated widespread occurrence of GTA-like elements. The goal of this study was to investigate gene transfer potential of GTAs of marine alpha proteobacteria in culture as well as in natural marine environments. Another goal was to determine the potential of bacterial symbionts from zooxanthellae and coral to genetically transfer beneficial properties between symbionts. Ruegeria mobilis (ID 45A6) was isolated from cultures of the coral endosymbiotic …

Potential Habitat Of Acropora Spp. On Florida Reefs, Katherine Wirt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elkhorn and Staghorn corals (Acropora palmata, A. cervicornis) were listed as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005. The threatened status of these species is unprecedented given the vital role they historically played as major constructors of western Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs. The goal of my study was to evaluate the current extent of habitat of the two species using a database of reported in situ observations. From these observations, potential habitat maps were produced based on benthic substrata and depth parameters throughout the Florida reef tract using GIS software. Locations of 99% of …