Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating Model Outputs Using Integrated Global Speleothem Records Of Climate Change Since The Last Glacial, Laia Comas-Bru, Sandy P. Harrison, Martin Werner, Kira Rehfeld, Nick Scroxton, Cristina Veiga-Pires

KIP Articles

Although quantitative isotope data from speleothems has been used to evaluate isotope-enabled model simulations, currently no consensus exists regarding the most appropriate methodology through which to achieve this. A number of modelling groups will be running isotope-enabled palaeoclimate simulations in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, so it is timely to evaluate different approaches to using the speleothem data for data–model comparisons. Here, we illustrate this using 456 globally distributed speleothem δ18O records from an updated version of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database and palaeoclimate simulations generated using the ECHAM5-wiso isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation …

Cutr Connections [August 2019], Cutr

CUTR Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Calibration And Sensitivity Analysis For A Karst Aquifer Model Using Active Subspaces, Mario Teixeira Parente, Daniel Bittner, Steven A. Mattis, Gabriele Chiogna, Barbara Wohlmuth

KIP Articles

In this article, we perform a parameter study for a recently developed karst hydrological model. The study consists of a high‐dimensional Bayesian inverse problem and a global sensitivity analysis. For the first time in karst hydrology, we use the active subspace method to find directions in the parameter space that dominate the Bayesian update from the prior to the posterior distribution in order to effectively reduce the dimension of the problem and for computational efficiency. Additionally, the calculated active subspace can be exploited to construct sensitivity metrics on each of the individual parameters and be used to construct a natural …

The Record‐Setting 2018 Eastern North Pacific Hurricane Season, Kimberly M. Wood, Philip J. Klotzbach, Jennifer M. Collins, Carl J. Schreck

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The extremely active 2018 eastern North Pacific (ENP) hurricane season set records for number of hurricane days, major hurricane days, and accumulated cyclone energy (ACE). The Western Development Region (116°W–180°) was especially active, shattering its prior record for ACE set in 2015. In addition, Hawaii was impacted by Hurricane Lane in August and Tropical Storm Olivia in September. Despite above‐normal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and below‐normal vertical wind shear in 2018, large‐scale conditions were generally less conducive for tropical cyclone (TC) formation than in 2015. However, the strong subtropical ridge in August and September of 2018 enhanced westward steering flow, …

Investigating The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing Compared To Action Planning On Supporting The Emotional And Academic Success Of Ninth Grade Students In Advanced Placement Classes, Kai Zhuang Shum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High school students in accelerated curricula (i.e., Advanced Placement classes or pre-International Baccalaureate program) tend to report higher level of perceived stress compared to general education students due to additional academic demands that stemmed from accelerated courses (Suldo & Shaunessy-Dedrick, 2013). However, this group of students often receives limited if any targeted supports in schools because they tend to perform well academically (Suldo, O'Brennan, Storey, & Shaunessy-Dedrick, 2018). To address this gap in literature, this study investigated the efficacy of a targeted intervention in development to support academic and emotional success among students in accelerated curricula, namely the Motivation, Assessment, …

Character Strengths Of Ninth Grade Students In Accelerated Curricula: A Mixed-Methods Investigation, Hannah L. Gilfix

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students in accelerated curricula tend to have greater stress when compared to students in general education (Suldo, Shaunessy, & Hardesty, 2008). It is important for stakeholders to be able to help these students reach their goals and attain happiness. One potential method to help these students is to attend to their character strengths. People who effectively utilize their character strengths have achieved numerous positive outcomes including greater levels of well-being, self-esteem, and positive affect (Proctor, Malby, & Linley, 2011; Quinlan, Swain, Cameron, & Vella-Brodrick, 2014; Wood, Linley, Maltby, Kashan, & Hurling, 2011). Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on …

For The Common Defense: The Evolution Of National Security Strategy-Making Institutions & Impact On American Grand Strategy, Nathan D. Barrick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation applies a Neoclassical Realism model to examine how the evolution of United States (U.S.) national security strategy-making institutions has resulted in a path dependent accrual of autonomy and increasing influence over the formulation of American grand strategy. Once U.S. national security strategy-making institutions were created, their existence inexorably led to increasing autonomy, the creation of new strategy-making institutions, and subtle influence in shaping American grand strategy by preferential focus on a militarized foreign policy. Additionally, the more autonomous these strategy-making institutions have become, the further they have strayed from the Constitutional mandate to create a government which provides …

The Multifaceted Effects Induced By Floods On The Macroinvertebrate Communities Inhabiting A Sinking Cave Stream, Octavian Pacioglu, Nicoleta Ianovici, Mărioara N. Filimon, Adrian Sinitean, Gabriel Iacob, Henrietta Barabas, Alexandru Pahomi, Andrei Acs, Hanelore Muntean, Lucian Pârvulescu

International Journal of Speleology

First-order sinking cave streams experience considerable hydrological variability, including spates and periods of base-flow during dry seasons. Early-summer flooding on a first-order stream sinking in Ciur-Ponor Cave (Romania) represented a suitable opportunity to test the response of the macroinvertebrate community and of basal food resources quantity and diversity to such a disturbance event. The invertebrate community and basal resources (i.e., woody debris, leaves, fine particulate organic matter and epilithon) were collected from three sampling sites, before and after the flood. The sampling strategy followed an up-downstream gradient of both species diversity and quantity of allochtonous organic matter decrease as the …

Queer Authority In Old And Middle English Literature, Elan J. Pavlinich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I argue that select early English texts queer normative authorizing conventions to authorize Old English and Middle English literatures. During the European Middle Ages, Latin cultures and literatures were privileged with authority that extended to and subverted the cultural capital of the inhabitants of England at the edge of the known Western world. I identify four exceptional English texts that employ authorizing conventions to disrupt normative networks of power that traditionally privilege Latin and to authorize English literature instead. The Norman Conquest had altered the English language and social structures; still, these altered networks of power continued to marginalize English …

Species-Area Model Predicting Diversity Loss In An Artificially Flooded Cave In Brazil, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Thais G. Pellegrini

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean environments are poorly known regarding many ecological aspects, such as community structure and its response to different disturbances. To estimate the effects of ground area lost in a limestone cave community in Southeastern Brazil, the invertebrate fauna was sampled before 76% of the cave floor was submerged by the filling of a hydroeletric power plant reservoir. Then, a 2-year monitoring was conducted. A species-area curve based on empiric data was constructed and the z-value of the species-area equation was calculated, what allowed estimating the expected cave richness after flooding comparing with data obtained during the monitoring. The results support …

A Multi-Dimensional Macrolevel Study Of Drug Enforcement Strategies, Heroin Prices, And Heroin Consumption Rates, Alexander G. Toth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

American policy makers primarily embrace a deterrent-based policing agenda to curb illicit drug trafficking and use that relies on the principles of the economic price elasticity of demand (Boynum & Reuter, 2005). This counter-drug platform includes three fundamental programs: arresting offenders, seizing illicit drugs, and eradicating horticultural sources of illicit drugs (U.S. DEA, 2015). One of the main goals of these programs is to deter illegal trafficking and use by increasing the price of illicit substances so they are no longer attractive to consumers. The United States has weathered various drug use epidemics during its history, and currently it is …

No One Wants To Read What You Write: A Contextualized Analysis Of Service Course Assignments, Tanya P. Zarlengo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes a systematic approach to answering the question of what services course assignment should accomplish in curricula by looking at the assignment from a contextual perspective that takes into consideration the programmatic factors in which the assignment circulates. The dissertation accomplishes this work by studying curricular artifacts, to include course syllabi and assignment descriptions, as well as textbooks. Additionally, interviews with program administrators and textbook authors are analyzed. The results of this analysis posit a programmatic network that visualizes connections between program, course, and staffing administrative factors with assignments as the nexus of the network. This dissertation illustrates …

John D. Hosler. The Siege Of Acre, 1189-1191: Saladin, Richard The Lionheart, And The Battle That Decided The Third Crusade., Matt King

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Machine Learning Approach To Predicting Community Engagement On Social Media During Disasters, Adel Alshehri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of social media is expanding significantly and can serve a variety of purposes. Over the last few years, users of social media have played an increasing role in the dissemination of emergency and disaster information. It is becoming more common for affected populations and other stakeholders to turn to Twitter to gather information about a crisis when decisions need to be made, and action is taken. However, social media platforms, especially on Twitter, presents some drawbacks when it comes to gathering information during disasters. These drawbacks include information overload, messages are written in an informal format, the presence …

The Global Positioning System And Military Jamming: The Geographies Of Electronic Warfare, Tegg Westbrook

Journal of Strategic Security

GPS supports infrastructure assets that are essential to the functioning of national and international banking operations, power grid, transportation, and communication systems, therefore its reliability and accuracy is critical. GPS boosts productivity around the world and has radically changed military operations. Despite the importance of GPS, the relative weakness of GPS signals are vulnerable to interference. This weakness provides a range of opportunities for criminals, terrorists and state actors using GPS jamming devices. Different types of jammers can cause varying degrees of interference, but the use of powerful military jammers are becoming more prevalent. This article provides an overview of …

“It’S A Broken System That’S Designed To Destroy”: A Critical Narrative Analysis Of Healthcare Providers’ Stories About Race, Reproductive Health, And Policy, Brianna Rae Cusanno

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Constructions of race, reproductive health, and gender have been inextricably linked in the United States since the beginning of the nation. Today, these linkages remain evident in the marked racial and gender inequities in reproductive health outcomes that persist in the U.S. To better understand how these meanings and material outcomes are negotiated and produced by actors on the ground, this study asked: “How do reproductive healthcare providers (RHPs) communicate about the intersections of race, reproductive health, and policy?” I conducted semi- structures interviews with 24 RHPs, resulting in over 35 hours of recorded interviews. Drawing on critical-cultural communication, Reproductive …

Dating Application Facilitated Victimization: An Examination Of Lifestyle-Routine Activities, Self-Control, And Self-Efficacy, Vanessa Centelles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines how college students participate in the use of location-based real-time dating (LBRTD) applications and the correlates of in-person and cyber victimization. Using an exploratory lens, the present study draws on the classical criminological theories of lifestyle-routine activities (L-RAT), self-efficacy, and low self-control which have been applied to various forms of abuse. Although the use of LBRTD applications has become relatively common place, with approximately 15% of Americans reporting having used a mobile dating application or online dating site, little is known concerning the role these applications play, particularly among college students (Boillot-Fansher, 2017; Smith, 2016). Using …

Measuring And Understanding Food Accessibility In The Tampa Bay Area, Bailey I. Glover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Tampa Bay region, increasing population and changing demographics have begun to alter the characteristics of established neighborhoods. An increase in suburban growth has triggered a shift in the location and profitability of food establishments in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods. Supermarket closures have garnered attention from public health officials who are concerned with the overall availability of fresh food throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Unfortunately, there has been little research surrounding the quality of food sold at establishments in both the Tampa Bay region and abroad. Instead, many geographic studies have chosen to group both fresh and prepared food establishments …

Habitat Suitability Index Model Of The Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Pratensis) In West-Central Florida, Courtney E. Buck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) is a state threatened endemic subspecies of the Sandhill Crane (Nesbitt & Tacha, 1997). With a population that was estimated at a maximum of 5,000 individuals in 2003 (Nesbitt & Hatchitt, 2008), it is imperative to identify potentially viable habitats, as Florida is rapidly developing. This research develops a Habitat Suitability Index model to determine unsuitable to optimally suitable habitat locations throughout west-central Florida. To do so, six suitability variables based on the crane’s life history were evaluated: Potential nesting area, immediate nesting area, wetland coverage, foraging area, brooding area, and road proximity. …

Rethinking Map Literacy And An Analysis Of Quantitative Map Literacy, Ming Xie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maps are increasingly being used in traditional and virtual media, and civic discourse on political, social, and environmental issues, among others, is more and more becoming influenced by them. The often-used expression of a “picture tells a 1000 words” has never been so apt in our progressively more visual world. Despite this increased role and importance of maps, map literacy, as a field of research, remains rather underdeveloped. This is especially so for thematic maps, the very type of map that is finding increasing currency in discourse. As part of this under-developed nature of map literacy, the quantitative skills used …

Evolutionary Dynamics Of Influenza Type B In The Presence Of Vaccination: An Ecological Study, Lindsey J. Fiedler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of influenza type B in human hosts is a public health concern as we strive to minimize the disease burden in seasonal epidemics. Vaccination is considered the best defense against contracting influenza, and everyone over the age of 6 months is advised to get vaccinated before each season. The effect that vaccine-acquired immunity has on the evolution of influenza B remains unclear. In the U.S., vaccine-uptake is irregular across the states, and the differing coverages present an opportunity to study how vaccination influences viral evolution. This thesis analyzes the evolutionary patterns of influenza B in the …

Analysis Of Master Recession Curve (Mrc) And Flood Hydrograph Components For Karstification Degree Estimation In Kiskendo Cave, Jonggrangan Karst System, Indonesia, A. Nurkholis, T. N. Adji, E. Haryono, A. Cahyadi, W. A. Waskito, H. Fathoni, I. A. Kurniawan, R. F. Agniy

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Cutr Connections [June 2019], Cutr

CUTR Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Landscape Grain Effect In Yancheng Coastal Wetland And Its Response To Landscape Changes, Peng Tian, Luodan Cao, Jialin Li, Ruiliang Pu, Xiaoli Shi, Lijia Wang, Ruiqing Liu, Hao Xu, Chen Tong, Zijing Zhou, Shuyao Shao

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The landscape grain effect reflects the spatial heterogeneity of a landscape and it is used as a research core of landscape ecology. The landscape grain effect can be used to not only explore spatiotemporal variation characteristics of a landscape pattern, but also to disclose variation laws of ecological structures and functions of landscapes. In this study, the sensitivity of landscape pattern indexes to grain sizes 50–1000 m was studied based on landscape data in Yancheng Coastal Wetland acquired in 1991, 2000, 2008, and 2017. Response of the grain effect to landscape changes was analyzed and an optimal grain size for …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Education And Research: Volume 3, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu

University of South Florida (USF) - M3 Publishing

This is the third volume of the Global Conference on Education and Research Proceedings Series.

ISSN: 2572-6374

Systems And Methods For Generating Symmetric Cryptographic Keys, Jay Ligatti, Cagri Cetin, Shamaria Engram, Dmitry Goldgof

USF Patents

A system for generating symmetric cryptographic keys for communications between hosts. Hosts use associated devices to generate secret keys. Each key is generated based on a static seed and a dynamic seed. The dynamic seed is created from sensor data or auxiliary data. The secret key allows host machines to encrypt, or decrypt, plaintext messages sent to, or received from, other host machines.

The Migrants Above: A North American Shorebirds Investment, Natalie Jesski

USF St. Petersburg campus Student Research Symposium

Shorebirds are athletes in nature. North American shorebirds (order Charadriiformes) migrate thousands of kilometers a year between Artic nesting grounds and wintering grounds in Central and South America. Migration routes typically follow coastlines or interior water sources. Staging areas and stopover sites in North America provide abundant food resources crucial for supplying the energy needed to complete migration. About 70 species migrate through North America each year. However, declining numbers have been observed at many staging grounds.

Shorebirds have the greatest diversity of parental care of any order of birds. This diversity ranges from fully biparental, with incubation and broodrearing …

Systems And Methods For Generating Symmetric Cryptographic Keys, Jay Ligatti, Cagri Cetin, Shamaria Engram, Dmitry Goldgof

USF Patents

A system for generating symmetric cryptographic keys for communications between hosts. Hosts use associated devices to generate secret keys. Each key is generated based on a static seed and a dynamic seed. The dynamic seed is created from sensor data or auxiliary data. The secret key allows host machines to encrypt, or decrypt, plaintext messages sent to, or received from, other host machines.

Reimagining The Potential Of Earth Observations For Ecosystem Service Assessments, Frank E. Muller-Karger

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The benefits nature provides to people, called ecosystem services, are increasingly recognized and accounted for in assessments of infrastructure development, agricultural management, conservation prioritization, and sustainable sourcing. These assessments are often limited by data, however, a gap with tremendous potential to be filled through Earth observations (EO), which produce a variety of data across spatial and temporal extents and resolutions. Despite widespread recognition of this potential, in practice few ecosystem service studies use EO. Here, we identify challenges and opportunities to using EO in ecosystem service modeling and assessment. Some challenges are technical, related to data awareness, processing, and access. …

Discourses Of The Rural Rust Belt: Schooling, Poverty, And Rurality, Alexandra Panos, Jennifer Seelig

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This article addresses the ways in which elementary teachers in the rural rust belt both reproduce and contest dominant discourses of schooling, rurality, and poverty in their particular local context. Situated within a 4-year postcritical ethnographic study, this analysis of teacher discourse took part during an embedded, 4-month-long teacher study group. Within this context, the authors examine how the group’s discourse on poverty claimed that inequity was the fault of those experiencing it, as well as that a neoliberal discourse of education emphasized a flattened accountability and growth-only perspective within teacher’s professional interactions. However, through the addition of a spatial …