Digital Commons Network^™

Quantifying The Interaction Of Wildlife And Roads: A Habitat And Movement Approach, Rebecca Whitehead Loraamm

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing need to address the effects of roadway presence on wildlife. Not only do roads directly impact gene dispersal from a movement perspective, but they limit movement of the individual animal from a habitat perspective by presenting an artificial barrier between one area of viable habitat and another. For this reason it is becoming increasingly important to quantify contact between humans and wildlife and to develop better methods for mitigating these types of conflicts. Studying habitat connectivity and animal mobility in the context of roads can provide actionable information on how, where, and when these encounters might …

Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineatus) Predation Of Turtles In Central Florida, Timothy J. Walsh, George L. Heinrich

Florida Field Naturalist

No abstract provided.

A Hominin Femur With Archaic Affinities From The Late Pleistocene Of Southwest China, Darren Curnoe, Xueping Ji, Wu Liu

KIP Articles

The number of Late Pleistocene hominin species and the timing of their extinction are issues receiving renewed attention following genomic evidence for interbreeding between the ancestors of some living humans and archaic taxa. Yet, major gaps in the fossil record and uncertainties surrounding the age of key fossils have meant that these questions remain poorly understood. Here we describe and compare a highly unusual femur from Late Pleistocene sediments at Maludong (Yunnan), Southwest China, recovered along with cranial remains that exhibit a mixture of anatomically modern human and archaic traits. Our studies show that the Maludong femur has affinities to …

Distributed And Decentralized Location Aware Architecture, Sean J. Barbeau, Philip L. Winters, Rafael Perez, Nevine Georggi, Miguel Labrador, Alfredo Perez

USF Patents

Provided is a distributed and decentralized location-aware system. The system includes a number of peers, each in communication with other peers and adapted to communicate PING, PONG, and ALERT messages. Each of the messages has a header that includes location information.

Also provided is a method of communication between two peers in the system. In addition, the present invention includes a method of rendering the system. In the method, a communication link between an electronic map and a number of peers is provided. The location information and the covering distance of each of the peers is obtained and used to …

Commensality, Sustainability, And Restaurant Clustering In A Suburban Community, Lenore L. Newman

Suburban Sustainability

A study of a restaurant cluster on the suburban fringe of Vancouver, Canada demonstrates how commensality can play a role in the creation of more sustainable suburban environments sustainability by fostering a walkable suburban environment that encourages commensal behavior. With sixty restaurants within a few blocks of each other, the historic village of Steveston serves as an important site of social relations within the larger suburban community. Such a cluster supports the argument that commensality is an important component of the dining experience, and that the ability to eat together is a source of social capital to surrounding residents. The …

Scale As A Key Factor For Sustainable Water Management In Northwest Honduras, E. Christian Wells, Karla L. Davis-Salazar, Jose E. Moreno-Cortes

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

In northwest Honduras, community-based interventions by outside development agencies seeking to assist communities with the treatment and delivery of potable water have been largely ineffective. This article examines the social, economic, ecological, and engineered contexts of gravity-fed water systems in the Palmarejo Valley of this region, identifying key barriers to long-term sustainability. Drawing from the results of our mixed-methods research in the valley incorporating ethnographic and spatial analyses along with water quality testing, we outline the limitations of community-based development approaches that ignore the broader social and political scales of resource inequalities. We find that water provisioning often requires coordination …

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, December 14, 2014, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Golden Bull Service & Outstanding Leadership Award - Mariana Barboza; Outstanding Graduate Award - Stephanie Boynton; Outstanding Professor - Fawn T. Ngo

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, December 14, 2014, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Regional Chancellor's Award for Civic Leadership - Mary Anne Reilly; Outstanding Graduate - Angela Wilson; King O'Neal Scholar Award - Jesse Stuart Daw and Heather Lee

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 13, 2014, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters - Gilbert A. King

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 12, 2014, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Fellow Medallion - Vince Roig and Paul Luna; King O'Neal Scholars - Mary Bigelow, Dana Braden, Sufyan Dawoodjee, Ryan Feigel, Beatrice Froute De Domec, Sarah Griffis, Danielle Haberer, Dennis Kirichenko, Kristen Roles, and Daniel Vieira; Outstanding Graduate - John Wendy Tuy

Agenda, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg General Education Committee Meeting, December 12, 2014, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg. Faculty Senate. General Education Committee

USF St. Petersburg General Education Committee Meetings

Agenda from the December 12, 2014, meeting of the General Education Committee of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg's Faculty Senate.

The Impact Of Changing Surface Ocean Conditions On The Dissolution Of Aerosol Iron, Matthew Fishwick, Peter Sedwick, Maeve Lohan, Pau Worsfold, Kristen N. Buck, Thomas Church, Simon Ussher

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The proportion of aerosol iron (Fe) that dissolves in seawater varies greatly and is dependent on aerosol composition and the physicochemical conditions of seawater, which may change depending on location or be altered by global environmental change. Aerosol and surface seawater samples were collected in the Sargasso Sea and used to investigate the impact of these changing conditions on aerosol Fe dissolution in seawater. Our data show that seawater temperature, pH, and oxygen concentration, within the range of current and projected future values, had no significant effect on the dissolution of aerosol Fe. However, the source and composition of aerosols …

Informing Systems, Interventions, And Innovations, William Francis Murphy Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to not only explain the informing system discipline, but to explore cases from the perspective of the basic tenants of informing systems. The first essay explains what informing science is, the need for a transdiscipline, the channels of the Informing Science Institute informing system, and describes the clients of the ISI. The first essay ends with an analysis of the authors, institutions, and countries of origin for every ISI paper published between 1998 and 2009, as well as reporting interviews with the Editor-In-Chiefs of each ISI journal. The second essay investigates a case study …

Speleoclimate Dynamics In Santana Cave (Petar, São Paulo State, Brazil): General Characterization And Implications For Tourist Management, Heros Augusto Santos Lobo, Paulo Cesar Boggiani, José Alexandre De Jesus Perinotto

International Journal of Speleology

Show caves provide tourists with the opportunity to have close contact with natural underground spaces. However, visitation to these places also creates a need for management measures, mainly the definition of tourist carrying capacity. The present work describes the results of climate monitoring and atmospheric profiling performed in Santana Cave (Alto Ribeira State and Tourist Park – PETAR, Brazil) between 2008 and 2011. Based on the results, distinct preliminary zones with different levels of thermal variation were identified, which classify Santana Cave as a warm trap. Two critical points along the tourist route (Cristo and Encontro Halls) were identified where …

2013-14 Annual Accountability Report : University Of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida. Board Of Governors., State University System Of Florida., University Of South Florida St. Petersburg., University Of South Florida. System.

Statewide Governing Boards: Reports and Planning Documents

No abstract provided.

Report, Annual Accountability Report 2013-2014, December 4, 2014, State University System Of Florida. Board Of Governors

Accountability Reports

The 2013-2014 annual accountability report for the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Board of Trustees approved the report on December 4, 2014. The report is split into two sections: executive summary and data tables.

2013-14 Annual Accountability Report: University Of South Florida St. Petersburg, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Academic Learning Compacts

The 2013-2014 Annual Accountability Report for the University of South Florida St. Petersburg approved by the Board of Trustees on December 4, 2014. Includes sections on financial resources, personnel, enrollment, undergraduate education, graduate education, and research and economic development.

Pesquisas Em Turismo E Paisagens Cársticas, Volume 7, No. 1/2, 2014, Heros Augusto Santos Lobo

KIP Articles

Contents: Geoturismo na APA Carste Lagoa Santa/MG: breve reflexão sobre a identidade do espaço -- Protocolo de avaliação e inventariação de lugares de interesse geológico e mineiro -- Avaliação multicritério da vulnerabilidade ambiental e natural na identificação de áreas prioritárias para conservação do patrimônio espeleológico -- Carste, história, geografia e cultura na Cracóvia: séculos de interação humana na paisagem polonesa -- Estudo microclimático do ambiente de cavernas, Parque Estadual Intervales, SP -- Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca/MG: potencial geoturístico e proposta de leitura do seu geopatrimônio por meio da interpretação ambiental

Cutr Connections [December 2014], Cutr

CUTR Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Conducting Visitor Travel Surveys: A Transit Agency Perspective, Gregory L. Newmark

Journal of Public Transportation

Visitors represent an important potential market for transit. Unfortunately, since visitors generally lack local phone numbers and residential addresses, they constitute a hard-tosurvey population, and relatively little is known about their travel behaviors and preferences. Transit agencies seeking to better understand and better serve this market will need to conduct a visitor travel survey. Surprisingly few visitor travel surveys have been undertaken, and none have been designed expressly to meet the needs of transit agencies. This research addresses this gap in the public transportation planning literature by identifying and exploring the key issues a transit agency needs to consider to …

Effects Of Light-Rail Transit On Traffic In A Travel Corridor, Reid Ewing, Guang Tian, Allison Spain, J. P. Goates

Journal of Public Transportation

An important debate is taking place over the value of transit in easing traffic congestion. This study sought to quantify the effect of light rail transit (LRT) on traffic in a travel corridor and provide quantitative data that can be used to shape future transportation policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion, energy consumption, and air pollution. Using a quasi-experiment design and data before and after the University of Utah’s TRAX LRT line was opened, we estimated that traffic on the street with LRT (400/500 South) decreased by 7,500 to 21,700 due to the availability of a high-quality transit serving destinations …

Measuring Public-Transport Network Connectivity Using Google Transit With Comparison Across Cities, Subeh Chowdhury, Avishai Ceder, Bruno Velty

Journal of Public Transportation

The aim of the study was to construct a framework to determine interconnectivity among public transport routes using the information provided by Google Transit and to apply this framework to appraise and compare the network connectivity of Auckland, London, and Paris. Google Transit provides both spatial and network data that are sourced directly from transport agencies, thus making it an efficient tool for retrieving the data required to measure connectivity. This study contributes to previously-developed methodologies for determining connectivity by (a) including the qualitative measures, which are smoothness of transfer and information availability, along with the quantitative measures, and (b) …

The Conduit, Volume 14, No. 1&2, December 2014, Karst Waters Institute

The KWI Conduit

Contents: Welcome to The Conduit -- President's Corner -- KWI Happenings -- Upcoming 2015 Karst Award Banquet, March 14, 2015 -- KWI Sponsor for GSA Conference Sessions in 2014 -- 2014 Wilson Scholarship Recipient -- Final Report: "Hypogene Cave Morphologies" Conference -- Meet KWI's New Associates -- Retirement News: Dr. John Mylroie -- Announcement for Upcoming Conference 2016 -- Research Focus: Karst Investigations in Illinois -- Research Report: Storm Response Study, West Virginia -- KWI Members Visit Cuba: Cave Investigations in Cuba -- Update: New Karst Division, Geological Society of America

High-Resolution Digital 3d Models Of Algar Do Penico Chamber: Limitations, Challenges, And Potential, Ivo Silvestre M.Sc., José I. Rodrigues Phd, Mauro Figueiredo Phd, Cristina Veiga-Pires Phd

International Journal of Speleology

The study of karst and its geomorphological structures is important for understanding the relationships between hydrology and climate over geological time. In that context, we conducted a terrestrial laser-scan survey to map geomorphological structures in the karst cave of Algar do Penico in southern Portugal. The point cloud data set obtained was used to generate 3D meshes with different levels of detail, allowing the limitations of mapping capabilities to be explored.

In addition to cave mapping, the study focuses on 3D-mesh analysis, including the development of two algorithms for determination of stalactite extremities and contour lines, and on the interactive …

Can Xrf Scanning Of Speleothems Be Used As A Non-Destructive Method To Identify Paleoflood Events In Caves?, Martin Finné, Malin Kylander, Meighan Boyd, Hanna S. Sundqvist, Ludvig Löwemark

International Journal of Speleology

We have developed a novel, quick and non-destructive method for tracing flood events in caves through the analysis of a stalagmite thick section with an XRF core scanner. The analyzed stalagmite has multiple horizons of fine sediments from past flood events intercalated with areas of cleaner calcite. Flood events detected from the elemental XRF core scanning data show good agreement with the position of flood horizons identified in petrographic thin sections. The geochemical composition of the individual flood layers shows that in certain cases the clay horizons had a distinct geochemical fingerprint suggesting that it may be possible to distinguish …

Cave Tourism: The Potential Of Asar Cave As A Natural Tourism Asset At Lenggong Valley, Perak, Main Rindam

KIP Articles

The Lenggong Valley, from a standpoint of natural tourism research, presents strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that can be utilized to help increase the opportunities for the local community to increase their standard of living. Asar Cave comprises one of the caves that are found in Lenggong. A series of external studies have been done on Asar Cave in order to measure its potential for natural tourism in Lenggong. The objective of this study is to discuss caves as a natural resource that has great potential in the growth of the economy of the residents of the Lenggong Valley. Marketing …

I Demand. . . Sorry, I Apologize: Power, Collaboration, And Technology In The Social Construction Of Leadership Across Diversity, Heather Sadler Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This transformative case study used qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the social construction of collaborative and technology leadership among students in a graduate-level course on curriculum leadership. Analysis of interactions among students during an asynchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) project using critical discourse analysis was completed. Student dialogue was analyzed for how students across different social groups interacted discursively to promote and inhibit the development of leadership in the domains of collaboration and technology, while socially constructing the knowledge context for learning about the societal curriculum for diverse social groups. Findings were that women more than men were verbose …

Agenda And Minutes, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg General Education Committee Meeting, November 14, 2014, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg. Faculty Senate. General Education Committee

USF St. Petersburg General Education Committee Meetings

Agenda and minutes from the November 14, 2014, meeting of the General Education Committee of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg's Faculty Senate.

A Functional Approach To Resolving The Biogeocomplexity Of Two Extreme Environments, Haydn Rubelmann Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biodiversity of two distinct marine environments was observed to describe the biogeocomplexity of these extreme ecological systems. A shallow-water hydrothermal vent in Papua New Guinea served as a study of a thermophilic ecosystem influenced by arsenic rich vent fluids while a 60 m deep offshore primarily anoxic karst sink served as a study of an anaerobic sulfur-influenced habitat. Both environments support unique biological communities that are influenced by the physical and chemical pressures imposed on them by the harsh conditions of these systems. In Tutum Bay, Ambitle Isle, Papua New Guinea, a transect was created from a shallow hydrothermal …

Blue Ocean And Usfsp Welcome Sir Robert Swan, November 7, 2014, Jessica Blais

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.