Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Religious Leaders’ Perspectives On Genetic Counseling, Testing, And Related Technologies, Kristina M. Wittenburg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Religion significantly influences healthcare decisions, including those related to genetic testing, by shaping ethical and emotional considerations. While some religious groups provide formal stances on genetic testing, others lack clear guidelines, leaving both patients and healthcare providers without consistent resources for navigating faith-informed decisions. Understanding religious leaders’ perspectives is critical to bridging this gap and supporting diverse patient needs. This study aimed to examine religious leaders’ perspectives on genetic testing, genetic counseling, in vitro fertilization (IVF), gene therapy, stem cell research, and abortion. These topics were explored to understand the role of religious beliefs in healthcare decisions, and to develop …

Synthesis, Characterization And Electrical Properties Evaluation Of Zirconium Dioxide Capacitors, Thomas P. Chandy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the fabrication and comprehensive characterization of thin-film capacitors utilizing zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) as the dielectric material, placed between aluminum electrodes. The research primarily aims to examine the impact of varying ZrO2 film thickness and the effects of post-deposition annealing on the structural, morphological, and electrical properties of the capacitors. A controlled sputtering deposition technique was employed to ensure uniform film growth, maintaining consistency in thickness and material quality across all samples.

A comprehensive set of characterization techniques was employed to analyze the capacitors. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to assess surface roughness, revealing fewer defects …

In Case I Make It: An Autoethnographic Argument For Care, Space, And Utopia, Faelyn T. Cowan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Taking an autoethnographic and autotheoretical approach I examine within this project TomboloBooks’ Queer Comic Book Club. Drawing from José Esteban Mun֮oz’s ideas of queer utopia and Jen Jack Gieseking’s framework of constellations, and analyzing my own experiences, I present the Queer Comic Book Club (QCBC) as a moment of utopic queer worldmaking and argue for it’s potential as a site of alternative mental health care. Though I cannot provide here a generalizable model of book clubs as care, what I offer here is a series of possibilities, arguing for the potential of these spaces as community resources and sites of …

Web Mapping Basics With Arcgis Online, 2025, Benjamin Mittler

GIS Resources

Slides for a web mapping workshop given virtually by Benjamin Mittler, GIS Manager at the University of South Florida Libraries.

Understanding The Coping Mechanisms Used By Older Formerly Incarcerated Persons During Reentry, Sayla Victores

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the coping mechanisms employed by older formerly incarcerated individuals during reentry. While there is research on the reentry experiences of older formerly incarcerated individuals, less is known about how they cope with the strains of reentry. As such, this study fills this gap in the literature by exploring both adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms employed by this population during reentry. Using in-depth interviews with 20 older, formerly incarcerated individuals, I found that older formerly incarcerated persons experienced challenges related to securing stable housing, finding employment and economic security, community supervision, stigma and judgment, and overall reintegration. …

Efforts To Improve General Chemistry Student Success: Describing Stoichiometry Solution Patterns And Investigating Challenge Perceptions, Dianna Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a need for capable STEM graduates to fill needed STEM career gaps, particularly for people who have been historically under-represented in the STEM field (e.g., women, people of color, people of lower economic status, etc.). A course that have great impact would be General Chemistry which typically acts as a pre-requisite for manty STEM majors and careers. The efforts to be described in this thesis was conducted at a large, public doctoral granting university in the southeastern United States of America. The first effort described in this thesis explores how students solve different types of stoichiometry-based problems along …

Evaluating And Improving The Serious Game Life With Hereditary Cancer, Jenna K. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hereditary cancer syndromes increase cancer risks for individuals with pathogenic variants and their family members, yet many at-risk individuals do not pursue genetic testing due to barriers in family communication. Serious games—interactive tools designed to educate through gameplay—offer a promising approach to addressing these barriers by engaging users and creating supportive learning environments. LIFE with Hereditary Cancer is a serious game designed to improve genetic literacy, promote informed decision-making, and encourage family conversations about hereditary cancer risks and genetic testing. This evaluation used a mixed-methods approach to assess participant emotions, perceptions, and experiences with LIFE with Hereditary Cancer and identify …

Imperial Crosshairs: Grand Marronage At Negro Fort Along The Apalachicola River, Colby J. Williams Ii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grand marronage describes the process whereby Africans sought to liberate themselves from enslavement through means of escape to establish permanent communities and create a truly free society. The Southeastern region of the modern United States was once a geopolitical arena where European and Euro-American empires sought to spread their power and influence over both the Indigenous and African inhabitants. Following the American Revolution was the War of 1812, fought between the former colonial master and the recently formed United States. Commonly referred to as the Second War of American Independence, and infamously known for the burning of the White House. …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Chinos, Casta, And La Florida, Kylie A. Culver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Hidden in Plain Sight: Chinos, Casta, and La Florida" looks at the origin and use of the term chino/a within the Spanish casta system, focusing on its role in the St. Augustine Parish Archives from 1693 to 1754. In the St. Augustine parish registers, there were thirty-two separate entries that consisted of chinos/as. The presence of multiple individuals identified as chinos in Spanish Florida highlights the diversity of colonial Spain and demonstrates crucial understandings of the legal effects of casta. A careful analysis of these individuals reveals that the term chino/a did not necessarily refer to people of Asian origin …

From Russia With Love: The Transposal Of Hunger Strikes From Russia To Britain In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries, Rachel Yvonne Stanton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The British suffragettes’ utilization of the hunger strike as a political tool in the early twentieth century has roots tracing back to Russian political prisons of the late nineteenth century. The unique adoption and adaptation of the Russian method of hunger strike in England cannot be fully understood without examining the origins of the revolutionary hunger strikes through a gendered lens. Using case studies of various Russian women and their experiences as both university students and political prisoners, this research aims to unearth the reasons why women in both Russia and England had a particular affinity for the use of …

An Investigation Into The Efficacy Of Self-Monitoring And Mixed Schedules For Reducing Stereotypy In Children With Autism, Ryan J. Hinderliter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with disabilities, especially children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), often engage in problem behaviors that can have a negative impact on their quality of life. This study explored the application of self-monitoring (SM) and mixed schedules as alternative strategies for reducing stereotypy in children with autism. Stereotypy (STPY) is a repetitive motor behavior commonly observed in individuals with autism. The study employed a multiple baseline across participants design with three participants ages 6 and 14, diagnosed with autism, and exhibiting STPY as the target behavior. After participant selection, a baseline phase was followed by three treatment conditions: Differential Reinforcement …

The Effect Of White-Collar Employees’ Inclusive Leadership Perceptions On Their Innovative Behaviors: A Research In The Manufacturing Sector, Munure Oner, Huseyin T. Cagatay, Hulusi C. Sozen

Journal of Global Business Insights

This study examines the impact of managers’ inclusive leadership behaviors on the innovative behaviors of employees who play critical roles in organizations. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1986), it positions inclusive leadership as a key social and cognitive factor shaping employees’ capacity for innovation. Addressing a gap in the literature, the study explores how inclusive leadership fosters an environment that encourages and sustains innovative behavior. A quantitative research design was adopted using the relational survey model. Data were collected through the inclusive leadership scale and the innovative behavior scale. The study population comprised 8845 employees from a manufacturing company …

Relationship Between Stress Management And Decision Making: A Research On Pilots, Mert Dural, Aysun Dogan, Hulusi C. Sozen

Journal of Global Business Insights

Uncertainty and crisis create a stressful environment. Among these environments, airline pilots must cope with this stress and manage their workload at the same time. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and study the effect of stress factors on the decision-making process of airline pilots to prevent undesired and unsafe events during flight operations. In this context, the aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between decision-making behaviors and stress management of civil aviation pilots. The study was conducted using the quantitative data analysis method. The data obtained from 206 captains and first mates working in a private …

Systems And Methods For Determining Cell Number Count In Automated Stereology Z-Stack Images, Palak Pankajbhai Dave, Dmitry Goldgof, Lawrence O. Hall, Peter R. Mouton

USF Patents

Systems and methods for automated stereology using deep learning are disclosed. The systems include an update in the form of a semi-automatic approach for ground truth preparation in 3D stacks of microscopy images (disector stacks) for generating more training data. The systems also present an exemplary disector-based MIMO framework where all the planes of a 3D disector stack are analyzed as opposed to a single focus-stacked image (EDF image) per stack. The MIMO approach avoids the costly computations of 3D deep learning-based methods by using the 3D context of cells in disector stacks; and prevents stereological bias in the previous …

Algebraic Proof-Of-Work Algorithm For Blockchains, Muslum Ozgur Ozmen, Rouzbeh Behnia, Attila Altay Yavuz

USF Patents

An algebraic proof-of-work algorithm is provided that can be used as part of the consensus algorithm used by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Instead of solving blocks using a hash puzzle, the present algorithm uses an algebraic puzzle such as a lattice-based puzzle based on the shortest vector problem and/or the knapsack problem. A cryptocurrency using the proposed proof-of-work algorithm has only a small quantum advantage when compared with existing proof-of-work algorithms.

Counter-Intuitive Links Between Cave Genesis And Subaerial Stream Dynamics In The Têt Valley–Lachambre Network, Eastern Pyrenees, France, Stéphane Jaillet, Gabriel Hez, Marc Calvet, Magali Delmas, Edwige Pons-Branchu, Yanni Gunnell

International Journal of Speleology

The Lachambre cave network (Eastern Pyrenees, France) is well suited to studying the interaction between vertical successions of low-gradient cave passages in the limestone and chronosequences of fluvial terraces in the adjacent valley. Investigations here focus on cave passages striking parallel to the Têt River, and on their topographic, geomorphological, sedimentological and geochronological relationship with the two youngest generations of Pleistocene fluvial terrace, T2 and T1. Results reveal that the longitudinal profiles of the terraces and modern thalweg (1.5–3%) are ten times steeper than the profiles of the subterranean passages (0.1–0.3%), which display typical characteristics of water table caves. The …

Development Of Comprehensive Roadmap And Resource Guide Towards Congestion Reduction, Pei-Sung Lin, Mark Hansen, Zhenyu Wang, Yaye Keita, Elzbieta Bialkowska-Jelinska, Shubhankar Shindgikar, Nikou Khoshnevis

Research Reports

Traffic congestion poses a significant challenge in the United States, affecting mobility, public health, and the environment. With national travel delays and fuel waste on the rise, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive approach to congestion mitigation. This research develops a congestion reduction roadmap, focusing on 12 key mitigation areas, including advanced traffic signal optimization, incident management, and multimodal transportation strategies. Through a combination of literature review, expert interviews, and case study analysis, the roadmap provides actionable steps for state and local agencies to manage congestion effectively. The framework addresses both short-term and long-term solutions, emphasizing technology integration …

The Affordable Diy Mandeye Lidar System For Surveying Caves, And How To Convert 3d Clouds Into Traditional Cave Ground Plans And Extended Profiles, Loris Redovniković, Antun Jakopec, Janusz Będkowski, Jurica Jagetić

International Journal of Speleology

The paper examines the potential use of low-cost LiDAR for cave surveying. Mobile mapping using LiDAR complements traditional speleological surveying using a polygonal traverse. These methods assist each other, with one serving as an independent control measurement for the other, ultimately resulting in a more accurate 3D model. The testing results show that achieving high accuracy and detailed cave representation is possible using open hardware and open-source software. Both spacious and well-indented cave sections and narrow passages barely passable by humans were successfully mapped. The surveying process is significantly faster than traditional cave mapping, as drawing cave sketches by hand …

Full Issue, Continental Birdlife

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Flight Identification Of Common North American Buteos, William S. Pratt

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Errata To Gull Paper, Continental Birdlife

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Answer To Snap Judgment 9, Kenn Kaufman

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Elaine Cook

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Answer To Snap Judgment 7, Kenn Kaufman

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Latest Rumors, Continental Birdlife

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Special Review: Peterson's New Eastern Field Guide, Kenn Kaufman

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Elaine Cook

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Continental Birdlife

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Plumage Variation In Female Black-Throated Blue Warblers, Kenneth C. Parkes

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Continental Birdlife

Continental Birdlife

No abstract provided.