American Studies Commons^™

Living The French Life: An American Student In Paris, Danielle Billmaier

Outstanding Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Thesis: Diagnosis And Treatment Of Alzheimer’S Disease: Current Challenges, Kelly Bethune

Outstanding Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Field-Coupled Nano-Magnetic Logic Systems, Javier F. Pulecio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation addresses the study of nano-magnetic devices configured to produce logic machines through magnetostatic coupling interactions.

The ability for single domain magnets to reliably couple through magnetostatic interactions is essential to the proper functionality of Magnetic Cellular Automata (MCA) devices (p. 36). It was significant to explore how fabrication defects affected the coupling reliability of MCA architectures. Both ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic coupling architectures were found to be robust to common fabrication defects. Experiments also verified the functionality of the previously reported MCA majority gate [1] and a novel implementation of a ferromagnetic MCA majority gate is reported.

From …

Bibler, Thomas Edward (Fa 8), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 8. Interviews conducted by Thomas Bibler. Includes interviews with Joseph Bryan Houk, Bowling, Kentucky, about his life and Christmas and New Year's customs in Hart County and Warren County, Kentucky, and Columbus, Ohio.

The Biogeochemistry Of Submerged Coastal Karst Features In West Central Florida, Keith Michael Garman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

West Central Florida is a complex karst environment with numerous sinkholes, springs, and submerged cave systems. Many of these karst features are anchialine, located within the subterranean estuary where freshwater and saltwater mix. Water quality data and/or fauna data were obtained from twenty-one karst features and their associated cave systems. The anchialine karst environment of the study area has a wide range of habitats with measured salinities ranging from freshwater at <0.2 ppt to sulfidic, hypersaline water at 38.5 ppt and measured pH readings ranging from 6.39 in water impacted by sulfur oxidizing bacteria to 10.3 in an isolated room of a cave. Stygobitic crustaceans were identified in conduits extending beneath the Gulf of Mexico supporting the hypotheses that freshwater crustaceans could survive higher sea levels in freshwater conduits beneath saltwater. The fauna associated with the anchialine cave systems included Sabellidae and Polychaeta worms, hydroids, cnidarians and hydrobiid snails. Jewfish Sink, like other anaerobic marine basins that were submarine springs, has four zones: oxic zone, transition zone, upper anoxic zone and anoxic bottom water. The upper zones have seasonal water quality variations from winter cooling and sinking of surface water and changes in the microbial communities. Activity of sulfate reducing bacteria is carbon limited in the anoxic zones, where sulfate reduction is the major metabolic process, and primary production is phosphate limited in the oxic zones. Organic input from the Gulf of Mexico drives the bacterial anaerobic ecosystem, resulting in a “sulfide pump”, in which sulfide percolates upward removing oxygen from the overlying sediment.

N-Glycosylation Modulates Gating And Antibiotic Block Of The Human Potassium Channel, Herg1a, Sarah A. Norring

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Arrhythmias are often caused by aberrant ion channel activity, resulting in remodeling of the cardiac action potential. Two K

+ currents, IKs and IKr, contribute to phase III repolarization of the human cardiac action potential. Human ether-a-go-go-related gene 1 (hERG1), a voltage-gated potassium channel, underlies IKr. Alterations in the repolarization phase of the action potential, and in particular IKr, can lead to arrhythmias, long or short QT syndrome, heart disease, and sudden cardiac death. HERG1A has two putative N-glycosylation sites located in the S5-S6 linker region, one of which is N-glycosylated. The aim of the first study was to …

Nahm, Max Brunswick, 1864-1958 (Mss 329), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 329. Correspondence of Max B. Nahm relating mainly to his involvement with the Mammoth Cave National Park Association and the Kentucky National Park Commission in the establishment of Mammoth Cave National Park, Edmonson County, Kentucky. Includes some Association and Commission minutes. Also includes some of Nahm's speeches, writings, personal photographs, and material relating to the Nahm family.

Factors That Influence Faculty Intentions To Support The Community College Baccalaureate, Lori Kielty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of community colleges in the United States are becoming baccalaureate-granting institutions. Proponents of the community college baccalaureate (CCB) argue that the CCB provides students with access to higher education, while others argue the CCB will compromise the community college's core values.

The purpose of this study is to explore faculty members' intention to support the CCB transition. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior provides the theoretical framework for the study. The theory assumes that changes in behavior are intentional and, therefore, can be planned. This theory posits that attitudes, subjective (social) norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intentions …

Academic Performance, Persistence, And Degree Completion Of Associate In Arts Degree Recipients Transferring To A Four-Year Multi-Campus Institution, Saul Reyes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed if there were differences in the academic performance, persistence, and degree completion for Associate in Arts transfer students in selected majors who enrolled in the different campuses of a multi-campus university. This causal comparative study analyzed historical student enrollment data from a large, urban, public, research university. Multiple and logistic regression techniques were used to simultaneously control for important independent variables identified in the literature. Variables that were significant (p < .05) for at least one of the three dependent variables included campus, major, community college GPA, gender, and ethnicity. Significant campus differences were found in academic performance, but not for persistence or degree completion. Significant differences by major were reported for academic performance, persistence, and degree completion.

Microbialites From The Freshwater System Of Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico: Genomic, Molecular Organic, And Stable Isotopic Perspectives, Anthony G. Nitti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern microbialites are carbonate-precipitating microbial mats and

represent the closest living analogues to ancient stromatolites. These ancient

carbonate formations are the oldest fossil evidence of life on Earth; however, our

comprehension of their relationship to early earth ecosystems relies heavily on

understanding the formation of modern microbialites. Research regarding these

formation processes has suggested that chemical constraints of CaCO

3

precipitation vary on sub-millimeter spatial scales within the living microbial

community. In an attempt to shed light on the importance of these chemical

microenvironments, this study focused on understanding the spatial distribution

of the organisms and processes involved in the …

Hines, Thomas Collier, Jr. (Fa 7), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 7. Interviews conducted by Thomas Hines. Includes intervewis with Sarah Alice (Marcum) Roemer. The interviews include information about Alice Roemer's life, inlcuding her childhood, education, work and family experiences, with special emphasis on Thanksgiving customs.

A Microwave Radiometer For Close Proximity Core Body Temperature Monitoring: Design, Development, And Experimentation, Quenton Bonds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presented is a radiometric sensor and associated electromagnetic propagation models, developed to facilitate non-invasive core body temperature extraction. The system has been designed as a close-proximity sensor to detect thermal emissions radiated from deep-seated tissue 1 cm – 3 cm inside the human body. The sensor is intended for close proximity health monitoring applications, with potential implications for deployment into the improved astronaut liquid cooling garment (LCG). The sensor is developed for high accuracy and resolution. Therefore, certain design issues that distort the close proximity measurement have been identified and resolved. An integrated cavity-backed slot antenna (CBSA) is designed to …

Ensemble Learning With Imbalanced Data, Larry Shoemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We describe an ensemble approach to learning salient spatial regions from arbitrarily

partitioned simulation data. Ensemble approaches for anomaly detection

are also explored. The partitioning comes from the distributed processing requirements

of large-scale simulations. The volume of the data is such that classifiers

can train only on data local to a given partition. Since the data partition reflects

the needs of the simulation, the class statistics can vary from partition to partition.

Some classes will likely be missing from some or even most partitions. We combine

a fast ensemble learning algorithm with scaled probabilistic majority voting in

order to learn …

Thomas, Ann Elizabeth (Fa 6), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 6. Interviews conducted by Ann Thomas with Mary Dee Boemker about Catholicism and her celebration of Easter and other holidays.

Settle-Dewitt Family Papers (Mss 332), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans of Folders 2 and 3 relating to genealogy (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 332. Includes correspondence, genealogical materials; wills, deeds and other legal documents of the Settle and DeWitt families; and the memoir of Marcus Bearden DeWitt, a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a Civil War chaplain (Click on "Additional Files" below). Also of interest is information related to the Settle rifle makers of Barren County, Kentucky.

The Emotional Guardianship Of Foreign-Born And Native-Born Hispanic Youth And Its Effect On Violent Victimization, Amy Sheena Eggers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to expand the scope of assimilation theory by integrating it with elements of routine activities theory to better understand what influence assimilation has in regard to violent victimization. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to determine whether or not differences in victimization rates between foreign-born and native-born Hispanic youth are related to variations in emotional guardianship. Emotional guardianship refers to the aspect of relationships (i.e., affection and communication) between Hispanic youth and their parents that serve to protect the youth from being victimized. I hypothesize that foreign-born Hispanics have greater emotional guardianship than native-born Hispanics, and …

Kinchlow, Gina Lloyce (Fa 4), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding Aid only for Folklife Archives Project 4. Interviews conducted by Gina Kinchlow for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Includes interviews with Carolyn Alexander and Vivian Glass about their lives as African American women.

Hulsey, Jennifer Lynn (Hensley) (Fa 5), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives at Western Kentucky University; 270-745-6434; mssfa@wku.edu

Neoliberalism At Play: An Interview With Margot D. Weiss, Margot Weiss

Margot Weiss

Interview at Trikster: Nordic Queer Journal Blog

To Prevent The Breakup Of The Indian Family: The Development Of The Indian Child Welfare Act Of 1978., Evelyn Lance Blanchard

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation is the story of the destruction of Indian families as told to Congress in hearings held by the Sub-Committee on Indian Affairs in 1974 and the Select Committee on Indian Affairs in 1977 through the testimony of children, parents, Indian leadership, the Association on American Indian Affairs, psychological witnesses, and other advocates who opposed destructive child welfare practices. Their testimony described the illegal removal of Indian children, the exploitation of families through violation of their due process rights, the tragedy of children who were abused and neglected in placement, the psychological damage suffered by the children and their …