Digital Commons Network^™

Bird Strike Hazard Assessment For The Tampa International Airport, Florida, Usa, Yakubu Ogwu Isah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Managing wildlife at airports poses a challenge for ensuring safety for aviation traffic. Airports, with their surrounding habitats and infrastructure, serve as attractants for avian species. Threats created by these species have led managers to develop management techniques in and around airports (DeVault et al 2013). One approach is the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for analyzing avian strike data and airport bird surveys. Spatial analysis of strike data identifies species of threat by categorizing strike occurrence, species sizes, phase of flight, and risk of damage. In addition, GIS can be used to map hotspots of bird strikes. These …

Semi-Automated Cell Annotation Framework Using Deep Learning, Abhiram Kandiyana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unbiased stereology refers to a field of applied mathematics \cite{intro-to-stereology} focused on accurate (model and assumption-free) quantification of three-dimensional (3D) objects, typically based on their appearance in 2D sections (planes) through the objects. In the biological sciences, these techniques are widely used for making unbiased estimates of arbitrary-shaped (stochastic) objects such as stained cells, blood vessels, region volumes, etc., in tissue sections through a region of interest (ROI).

This fundamental methodology is widely used for evaluating structural changes that occur in diseases, aging, and pharmaceutical interventions, thereby ensuring reliable outcomes. In terms of limitations, stereology is tedious, time- and labor-intensive, …

Effects Of Unobservable Bus States On Detection And Localization Of False Data Injection Attacks In Smart Grids, Moheb Abdelmalak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an era increasingly marked by sophisticated cyber-attacks, this thesis investigates the critical issue of bus unobservability in smart grids and its impact on the effectiveness of cyber-attack detection and localization models. Given that unobservability is a prevalent challenge in smart grids due to various factors, researchers have developed numerous algorithms for optimal Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) placement under scenarios of limited observability. However, these models primarily focus on enhancing network observability, often without considering whether this placement optimally facilitates attack detection. This research is driven by the hypothesis that a deeper understanding of the effects of unobservable buses can …

Lights, Camera, Recruitment: Analyzing Dod-Hollywood Synergy And Its Effects On Attitudes And Behaviors Towards The Military, Jose-Andres Leon-Gil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to research priming effects on DoD influenced films and uncover if there are significant effects affecting attitudes, beliefs, military support, and behaviors. This study is important because there is a lack of literature on the effects of DoD-influenced films. A portion of top grossing films are influenced by the DoD while there is little research on the effects consumers have. This study conducted an experiment testing the effects of behaviors and attitudes when a priming stimulus is presented. The priming stimulus was a military-influenced film clip and a military advertisement. Three groups were made, …

Under Pressure: The Soft Robotic Clap-And-Fling Of Cuvierina Atlantica, Daniel Mead

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evolution over billions of years has led to unique animals of all types. The tiny sea butterfly is one that remains mostly anonymous because of its size and low place on the food chain, but it is a swimming creature that when examined closely reveals a surprise. Shockingly, it has a swimming motion nearly identical to small insects flying at intermediate Reynolds numbers, referred to as the clap-and-fling. The centimeter long pteropod flapping briskly at 5Hz escapes attention with its size and speed. Modeling the clap-and-fling motion of the sea butterfly at a larger scale allows the benefits and uniqueness …

Nutrient Removal Of Biochar Amended Modified Bioretention Systems Treating Nursery Runoff, Nicholas Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Excess inputs of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to surface water bodies can lead to the presence of harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs can damage their surrounding environments and the economies dependent on them. Nutrient pollution can be properly controlled and monitored at point-sources, such as wastewater treatment plants, but is more difficult to control for non-point sources, such as fertilizer runoff. One form of fertilizer runoff that remains overlooked is runoff from plant nurseries. Controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) embedded in plant containers at nurseries can leach excess nutrients into the runoff. For nurseries in Florida, best management practices …

Utilizing Machine Learning Techniques For Accurate Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer And Comprehensive Statistical Analysis Of Clinical Data, Myat Ei Ei Phyo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer represents a formidable malignancy, presenting a substantial threat to global health and individual well-being. Conventionally, it is widely held that the prognosis for breast cancer patients hinges predominantly upon the timing of diagnosis and the extent of cancer progression, typically delineated by its stage. However, emerging evidence from robust regression and machine learning analyses challenges this prevailing notion. The results indicate that survival months cannot be solely attributed to diagnosis and socio-economic factors. Instead, additional variables such as existing diseases and treatment complexities may contribute to the intricate landscape of breast cancer outcomes.

This research aims to delve …

Risk Assessment Of Blood-Borne Pathogen Exposure For Emergency Responders, Jill A. Ireland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emergency responders face a significant risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens (BBPs), such as HIV and hepatitis, due to the nature of their work environment. This study investigates this issue utilizing a dual approach of data analysis and online surveys to assess exposure rates, risk perceptions, factors that contribute to risk and prevention practices. In addressing issues ranging from personal protective equipment (PPE) usage to levels of concern surrounding blood and bodily fluid contact, the findings underscore the need for tailored safety measures, comprehensive education, and improved prevention strategies.

The examination of 346 worker's compensation exposure claims highlighted a significant …

Predicting Gender Of Author Using Large Language Models (Llms), Satya Uday Sanku

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The advent of text data from social media, blogs, movie reviews, and other textual sources has opened new avenues for research, particularly in the domain of Author Profiling. Author Profiling helps in Capturing the Stylistic features and also useful for analyzing the required elements in the written text. This Study addresses one of the tasks in Author Profiling which is termed as gender detection or Classification of Gender from Text. The main goal of this research is to obtain valuable and relevant gender characteristics that will accurately classify the Author’s gender of a review extracted from an Anime Review website. …

Interrelationships Among Local Values Of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, Heat Index, And Adjusted Temperature, Andrea Giraldo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Occupational heat stress significantly affects outdoor workers who face challenges due to increased heat exposure. Because of the prevalence of heat illness, it is important to measure heat stress for outdoor workers. Monitoring occupational heat stress most often relies on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measure. Heat Index (HI) is a widely used measure to account for air temperature and humidity. Adjusted Temperature (Tadj) considers air temperature, humidity and estimates radiant heat. There is interest in predicting WBGT from HI and HI from WBGT. This study builds on previous USF research by Bernard and Iheanacho and Irvin to evaluate …

Single And Dual Cell Encapsulation Via Liquid Core Hydrogels Using Pico Injection, Jade Houston

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this project, a comprehensive microfluidic device, along with several interdependent subsystems, was designed and developed in SolidWorks, leveraging a combination of 3D resin printing with biocompatible resin and micromachining with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The microfluidics chip integrated both passive and active components to facilitate its primary function: dual cell encapsulation via liquid core sodium alginate hydrogel droplets.

Integral to the microfluidics chip design were key features including a 5-convolution Archimedes spiral for particle sorting, a flow focusing junction for droplet generation, and a pico injector for injecting additional cells into passing droplets via the manipulation of an electric field.

An …

Development Of A Plant Growth And Health Monitoring System Using Imaging And Sensor Array Information For Cubesat Applications, Kat-Kim Phan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Space exploration has been a topic of interest in the scientific community, such as the planned missions to Mars. To accomplish this would require being able to provide astronauts with a steady supply of food beyond freeze-dried foods leading to the need to grow food in space. Although this is a topic still being investigated, the CubeSat platform opens the possibility of carrying out studies on plant growth under more strenuous space conditions unlike that in the International Space Station (ISS). Developing a plant-focused mission for a CubeSat, though, entails being able to develop a system to sustain plant life …

Metatranscriptomic Insights Into The Interaction Between Microcystis Blooms And Hydrogen Peroxide, Taylor L. Hancock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For this dissertation I studied the interactions of hydrogen peroxide and cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) dominated by Microcystis in the Caloosahatchee River, FL. Specifically, I examined how taxonomic and functional succession relates to both natural hydrogen peroxide dynamics and hydrogen peroxide added to the environment as a cHAB treatment. Chapter 2 investigated how taxonomic succession and gene expression patterns relate to blooms and associated elevated hydrogen peroxide concentrations. The results showed that gene expressions related to cyanobacterial growth were positively correlated with hydrogen peroxide. The genes identified included enzymes capable of hydrogen peroxide generation which were expressed by blooming …

Gnsi Decision Brief: Creating Sun Tsu: Instituting A Master’S Degree In Irregular Warfare, Robert Burrell, John Collision

GNSI Decision Briefs

In the words of Sun Tsu, arguably the father of irregular warfare, war is like water, and water has no constant form, and there are no constant conditions in war.i Nowhere in the history of U.S. military doctrine has conflict been described in this theoretical and inclusive way. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the U.S.’s preference for technological solutions, increased firepower, and lethality on the battlefield neglects to account for leveraging irregular and asymmetric forms of conflict to advance its interests and counter its adversaries. The Consortium to Study Irregular Warfare Act of 2021 addressed the gap …

From The Patient’S Perspective: Understanding The Colorectal Cancer Patient Experience Portrayed In Edutainment Television, Allison M. Fisher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study qualitatively examined how edutainment television portrayed the colorectal cancer (CRC) patient experience, and whether it reflects the real-life CRC patient experience. This was done by first facilitating a textual analysis of edutainment television episodes from popular medical dramas and the docuseries Country Ever After. Interviews with real-life CRC patients were then facilitated to gather perspectives on whether edutainment television’s depictions were reflective of their experiences. This study utilized cultivation theory to identify whether edutainment television reinforces stigmas about the CRC patient experience. Additionally, uses and gratifications theory was implemented to investigate how CRC patients interact with media platforms …

Ay 2023/2024 Sec Meeting Minutes, 2024-03-06, Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Archives

No abstract provided.

Temporospatial Deep Learning Strategies For Prediction Of Disease Progression In Radiology, John D. Mayfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the fields of machine learning and medicine are deeply rooted in axiomatic scientific principles, there is an element of art that makes the practice imperfect, yet innately human. As the two fields have seen the greatest overlap in their collective history, there remains a chasm between them in terms of practical translation for the patients who desire and deserve personalized medicine. As presented in this dissertation, I and my collaborators have contributed to the groundwork for future exploration of predicting disease progression by identifying signals within sequential medical imaging to provide a temporospatial relationship upon which we can make …

Uses And Limitations Of Big Data For Evaluating Transportation Equity, Tia Boyd, Taylor Dinehart, Kristine Williams

Research Reports

Social equity has come to the forefront in recent years as a hot topic and essential aspect of transportation planning. Technological advancements are allowing planners to collect more precise data and conduct analysis in real time, as well as improve visualization and forecasting abilities. “Big data” has immense potential to enrich transportation planning and our understanding of equity issues, even as it poses potential limitations regarding social equity. Examples abound of big data applications in transportation, including transportation equity analysis, yet these examples are dispersed in different agency studies, company websites, and publications. This synthesis project scanned and mined the …

Influencing Travel Behavior Via An Open-Source Platform Phase 3: Transforming Multimodal Travel Behavior Data To Support Traffic Congestion Reduction Strategies, Didier M. Valdés, Alberto M. Figueroa-Medina, Ivette Cruzado, Carlos Del Valle, Juan Martínez, Joshua Santiago, Alonso Velásquez

Research Reports

This research proposes an innovative approach that applies crowdsourced data from mobile applications and GPS technology to enhance the information used in transportation planning modeling activities. The study focused on gathering accurate, real-time travel data through the OneBusAway (OBA) app, a widely used open-source transit user application, and the newly developed Travel Transit Tracker (TTT) app. The goal was to address urban congestion and promote more efficient and sustainable management of transportation systems. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in collaboration with the University of South Florida. The goal was to incorporate …

Access Management Curriculum For University Planning And Engineering Programs, Kristine Williams, Tia Boyd, Karen Dixon

Research Reports

Extensive research has been conducted on the topic of roadway access management and smart land use planning, documenting many benefits of these integrated practices to safety, congestion reduction, and livability. Consequently, many agencies across the US and abroad have instituted multidisciplinary and multimodal access management programs and projects. Yet few Universities educate planning and engineering students on the theory, practice, and benefits of access management. As a result, emerging professionals are entering practice with little or no knowledge of the topic and its critical importance to the transportation system. This project will fill that gap by providing a research-based curriculum …

Nurturing A Global Ecojustice Consciousness Among Preservice Teachers Through Critical Place-Based Learning, Greer C. Burroughs, Marissa E. Bellino

Journal of Global Education and Research

Global environmental challenges brought on by over-consumption, limited resources, and climate change will task teacher education programs to prepare teacher candidates with new paradigms in problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation. Skills such as collaborating across cultures and borders, thinking critically and creatively, reflecting on deeply embedded assumptions, and negotiating uncertainty will all be needed to surmount these challenges. EcoJustice education addresses these needs. When combined with critical place-based pedagogies, skills, and attitudes associated with global citizenship may also develop. Four preservice teachers participated in a research trip to Lesvos, Greece, to learn about and aid in the refugee crisis there. Participants …

Financial Characteristics Of Mobile Banking And Payment Users In The United States, Jordan Mitchell, Xiao Li, Doug Steel, Phillip Decker

Journal of Global Business Insights

This study aims to examine the personal finance characteristics of mobile banking and mobile payment users in the United States. To achieve this goal, we used the 2018 National Financial Capability Study, which surveyed over 27,000 American adults regarding their personal financial standing and behaviors. By using ordinary least squares models, our results indicated that the use of mobile banking and mobile payment technology was associated with lower age, Non-White Ethnicity, higher income, higher debt load, debt types (auto, student, credit card, and predatory), and spending more than one’s income. These results reveal that the higher one’s income, financial liabilities, …

Approaches To Sustainability-Driven Innovation In High-Performing Italian Firms: A Cross-Case Analysis, Emanuele Pizzurno, Fausto Cammarano

Journal of Global Business Insights

This paper investigated the nexus between sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) initiatives and exceptional profitability in high-performing companies. To this aim, employing a multiple comparative case study methodology, we analyzed 10 cases that excel in both return-on-sales (ROS) compared to industry medians and are actively engaged in SOI initiatives with public evidence. The findings of the study are categorized into internal and external factors affecting company performance, shedding light on managerial practices, organizational culture, and industry-specific variables. From a managerial standpoint, this paper offers valuable insights for managers seeking to balance between sustainable practices, encompassing multiple social and environmental aspects of corporate …

Determinants Influencing The Adoption Of Mobile Banking By Women In Bangladesh, Soma Dey, Sacchidanand Majumder

Journal of Global Business Insights

Women’s mobile banking adoption is linked to several advantages, including empowering women, enhancing investment in women-owned businesses, and decreasing extreme poverty.This study explores the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that affect women’s mobile banking adoption in Bangladesh using Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS; 2020) data. In this study, 12,147 ever-married women aged 15-49 are included in the analysis. The chi-square test is used to examine the effect of socioeconomic and demographic factors on women’s mobile banking adoption. Then, the enter method of a binary logistic regression model is applied to identify the factors most strongly affiliated with it. The result …

Compositions And Methods For Treating Rsv-Infections, Eleni Markoutsa, Subhra Mohapatra, Shyam Mohapatra

USF Patents

This invention provides for a RSV-targeted nanoparticle PMN (RTPMN), combining HR2D anti-fusion peptide, and plasmid encoded siRNA against RSV-NS1 and/or RSV-P gene as a safe, effective and inexpensive anti-RSV prophylaxis and/or therapy.

“People Don’T Quit Bad Jobs, They Quit Bad Bosses”: How Journalists Evaluate Newsroom Leadership, Greg P. Perreault

School of Advertising & Mass Communications Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Aperchamiento Norcturno Masivo De La Golondrina De Río Progne Tapera Asociado A Instalaciones Eléctricas En Mérida, Venezuela / Massive Nocturnal Perching Of The Brown-Chested Martin Progne Tapera Associated With Electrical Structures In Mérida, Venezuela, Marisela Angelino, Jaime E. Péfaur

Revista Venezolana de Ornitología

Un aperchamiento nocturno masivo de una especie migratoria, la Golondrina de Río Progne tapera, se reportó de mayo a octubre de cada año entre el 2010 y el 2017 en la Subestación Eléctrica El Vigía I de la empresa CORPOELEC, Municipio Alberto Adriani, Estado Mérida, Venezuela. En las visitas a la subestación se apreció el arribo diario de las golondrinas de río a aproximadamente las 18:30 h, posándose en cables y estructuras metálicas, culminando la actividad de apercharse a las 19:00 h. El despegue y alejamiento ocurría aproximadamente a las 06:00 h del día siguiente. La elección de este tipo …

Primer Registro De La Gaviota Rosada Leucophaeus Pipixcan En El Estado Zulia, Región Noroccidental De Venezuela / First Record Of The Franklin’S Gull Leucophaeus Pipixcan In Zulia State, Northwestern Venezuela, Lermith Torres, Lisandro Moran, Pedro Caldera

Revista Venezolana de Ornitología

The Franklin’s Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan is a migratory species with a wide range of distribution. It breeds in the interior of Canada and it migrates mainly to the Pacifi c coast of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile during the boreal winter. Records from Venezuelan coasts are very unusual. This work introduce two new records of the Franklin’s Gull in Venezuela. In two separate waterbirds’ census (February 2016, January 2018), two individuals of the Franklin’s Gull were recorded (with photographic evidence) in the locality of Ancón de Iturre, Miranda County, Zulia state, northwestern region of Venezuela. These data are an important contribution …

Use Of Crowdsourced Data For Access Management Evaluation, Debbie Albert, Kartikeya Jha, Mahin Ramenzani, Max Steadman, Brianne Glover, Luke Albert

Research Reports

The impacts of access management projects have been evaluated, documented, and debated by practitioners and adjacent property owners for decades. This research aims to evaluate the potential of using new-age data sources such as crowdsourced connected vehicle (CV) data, crowdsourced consumer spending pattern data, and traditional sources for sales tax and vehicle crash data in quantifying the effects of access management projects on arterial roadways. Based on observations and analyses highlighted in this study, it can be concluded that crowdsourced data provide valuable information on travel patterns along access managed corridors. The same information, if sought through manual data collection, …

Proceedings Of The International Conference On Culture, Tourism, And Hospitality: Volume 1, Cihan Cobanoglu, Hanqin Qiu, Jiaying Lyu, James H. W. Shen

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the first volume of the International Conference on Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Proceedings Series.