Digital Commons Network^™

Sino-Indian Competition And Small-State Responses In The Western Indian Ocean: The Cases Of The Seychelles And Mauritius, Sidhyendra Sisodia, Manoj Kumar Mishra

Journal of Strategic Security

The India-China rivalry, once concentrated on their contested land border, has now spilled decisively into the maritime domain, with both powers competing for influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Much of the existing literature focuses on Sri Lanka and the Maldives, leaving the Seychelles and Mauritius relatively underexplored. This article addresses that gap by examining how India and China have expanded their engagement with these small island states across security, infrastructure, and political domains. Drawing on defense cooperation, infrastructure projects, and contested basing proposals, it shows that both islands adopt selective hedging, albeit in different forms. Mauritius practices asymmetrical …

Post-Ukraine Fallout: How Azerbaijan’S Break With Russia Reflects The Strategic Consequences Of A Weakened Kremlin, Hasan Alisoy

Journal of Strategic Security

This article analyzes how Russia’s declining power, accelerated by its military overextension in Ukraine, triggered a historic rupture in Russia–Azerbaijan relations, culminating in the 2025 Yekaterinburg incident. It argues that the deaths of two Azerbaijani citizens in Russian custody—and the retaliatory actions taken by Baku—did not cause the diplomatic collapse, but rather crystallized a long-term realignment rooted in Azerbaijan’s post-conflict assertiveness and Russia’s unraveling regional leverage. Drawing on the 2024 downing of an Azerbaijani airliner by a Russian missile, the premature withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh, and Azerbaijan’s evolving alliance with Türkiye, the article positions this realignment within a …

Navigating Power Play: Sri Lanka’S Strategic Role In Indo-Pacific Geopolitics, Neeraj Singh Manhas, Jyot Shikar Singh, Tilak Raj Sharma

Journal of Strategic Security

The Indo-Pacific’s geopolitical significance has surged due to China’s assertive rise, prompting the QUAD nations to counterbalance Beijing’s influence. Sri Lanka, a strategically located island state, emerges as a key hub for global trade and security. It examines how Sri Lanka navigates its geopolitical position to achieve national goals while balancing the interests of larger powers. Lastly, Colombo’s strategic engagements with major powers and regional frameworks highlight efforts to assert agency and amplify the voices of smaller island states. Despite its strategic importance, Sri Lanka’s agency is constrained by power asymmetries in the Indo-Pacific, contributing to understanding small-state geopolitics.

A Tilly Comparative Study On State-Building In South Vietnam And Afghanistan, Hoang Trung "Alex" Vu, P.S. Sam Tran

Journal of Strategic Security

The 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was often compared to the 1975 fall of South Vietnam as two strategic failures by the United States in attempting to establish a Western-friendly, democratic government in their regions. While superficial similarities could be observed between the two cases, this research provides a further comparative analysis of state-building efforts in South Vietnam and Afghanistan to uncover critical lessons in regime-sustaining and the politics of American intervention. The article uses Charles Tilly’s "war makes state" concept to examine war-making, state-making, protection, and extraction as core elements of state-building. The research utilizes comparative historical analysis to …

Accurate Reading Of The Result Of The Security Transfer In Vietnam, Jason Cooley

Journal of Strategic Security

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, numerous American citizens wanted to see the removal of US soldiers from South Vietnam. To appease these individuals, officials in Washington carried out troop withdrawals. As American personnel left, South Vietnamese servicemen assumed their security duties. This security transfer, like most security initiatives, produced mixed results. By employing levels of success and failure from notable policy scholars and recognizing the productivity of some key units of the South Vietnamese Army, it will be possible to present a more accurate reading of the results of the transfer than those currently available in the literature …

Sheinbaum’S Dilemma: Mexico’S Security Choices After Fto Designation, Ghaleb Krame, John P. Sullivan, Magdalena Garcia

Journal of Strategic Security

The US designation of six Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) marks a pivotal shift in bilateral security relations, compelling Mexico to navigate a complex strategic landscape. This study uses game-theoretic modeling, scenario analysis, and Nash equilibria to evaluate three possible responses by the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum: (1) Total Subordination—fully aligning with US counter-cartel efforts, (2) Covert Subordination—secretly integrating US support while maintaining a public stance of sovereignty, and (3) Strategic Resistance—rejecting US intervention in favor of an independent security approach.

New evidence on US-side border corruption and clearer definitions of key terms (joint cross-border operations, intelligence fusion …

Third Generation Gangs And Transnational Cartels. Edited By John P. Sullivan And Robert Bunker. Xlibris, 2025., Nathan P. Jones

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Novel Electrical Interfaces For Bionic Limbs, Matthew Aaron Melton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advancements in neural interfaces are pivotal for enhancing the functionality and longevity of implantable biomedical applications, particularly in the field of neuroprosthetics. This dissertation is focused on the continuing development of a novel neural interface fabricated from silicon carbide (SiC). SiC has demonstrated superior performance over traditional silicon-based material systems due to its exceptional biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and electrochemical stability. The research herein explores silicon carbide’s semiconductor properties, with a highlighted focus on a unique and innovative design structure - centered around a p-n junction. This work examines detailed fabrication steps of an all-SiC device, acute-style packaging (for future in vivo …

Chemical Design Strategies For Hybrid Metal Halide Semiconductors With Enhanced Stability And Optoelectronic Properties, Ali Azmy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal halide semiconductors have rejuvenated the attention of the scientific community for the last two decades owing to their photophysical and electronic properties. However, these materials have some limitations that hinder their commercialization and widespread application. One major limitation of these materials is their instability under ambient and operating conditions of moisture, head, light and radiation exposure. Here, we report multiple chemical design strategies to address the stability issues of these materials while simultaneously maintaining their exceptional optoelectronic properties. Such design strategies allowed the acquisition of the first members of the family of porous metal halide semiconductors which exhibit record …

Riemann-Hilbert Problems For A Class Of Planar Orthogonal Polynomials, Abril Arenas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Planar orthogonal polynomials of degree n are monic polynomials defined by the orthogonality relation,

∫cPn(z)Pm(z)e-V(z) dA(z) = hnδn,m.

where the integration is over the whole complex plane with Lebesgue area measure dA, and hn is a positive norming constant. In this thesis we consider the potential V: CR of the type,

V(z) = |z|2p-2Re Σm j=1 tjzj

we characterize the planar orthogonal polynomials using novel matrix Riemann-Hilbert problems. We pro-pose a Riemann-Hilbert problem of size 2px 2p when the maximal degree satisfies m ≤ p. For m = 2p, we propose a Riemann-Hilbert problem of size 3px 3p for the …

Netflix, Between Intercultural Exchange And Monopolizing Tendencies: Streaming Consumption, Production, And Distribution In Romania, Ana-Maria Calancea

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the development and involvement of the SVOD platform Netflix in Romania in the context of a global media corporation engaging with a local market. Romania’s status as a former communist country acts as a good case study highlighting the long-term consequences of diverse content deprivation. I argue that in a country such as Romania, a service like Netflix can provide a so-called indirect intercultural exchange through the production and distribution of easily accessible diverse content, whether that diversity stems from nationality, ethnicity, race, sexuality, or any unconventional form of expression that was restricted or censored in the …

Clinical Features, Laboratory Characteristics, And Outcomes Of Covid-19 Patients In A Tertiary Care Reference Hospital In Panama City, Panama. A Retrospective Observational Study, Santiago E. Hernandez Bojorge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latin America experienced some of the world’s highest COVID-19 mortality rates, yet data on in-hospital outcomes and their social and geographic determinants remain limited. This dissertation investigated multilevel baseline factors associated with in-hospital mortality among adults with COVID-19 at Panama’s largest public tertiary hospital (Hospital Santo Tomás), integrating survival, mediation, and spatial-temporal modeling within a causal-inference framework.

A retrospective cohort of 1,526 RT-PCR–confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations (May 2020–November 2021) was analyzed using multivariable Cox proportional-hazards, Fine–Gray competing-risk, mediation, and Bayesian spatial models. Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) pre-specified causal relationships and minimally sufficient adjustment sets. DAG-guided models quantified total effects without conditioning …

Nabb’S 50th – From My Ibba Perspective, Vernon Kleen

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

Literature Reviews, Claire Stuyck

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Impact Of Lampenflora Growth On Invertebrate Distribution And Food Resource Use In Ryusen-Do Cave, Japan, Kazuhide Nakajima, Kanato Ando, Shuji Watanabe, Masuo Komukai

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean spaces, such as caves with openings to the surface, represent unique environments characterized by limited resources derived from photosynthetic primary production. Consequently, organic inputs from organisms inhabiting above- and belowground habitats, such as bats, play a crucial role in maintaining cave ecosystems. However, in show caves converted into tourist attractions, environmental changes have progressed without sufficient ecological assessment. One important factor is the impact of photosynthetic organisms colonizing around artificial lights, known as lampenflora, on cave ecosystems. Lampenflora growth may influence invertebrate distribution and resource use; however, its impact on both aspects has been poorly evaluated. In this study, …

A New Great Game?: Great Powers Content Re-Sharing And Media Influence In The South Caucasus, Emma A. Lowery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the new digital era of geopolitics, competing great powers support internationally oriented state-sponsored media as integral parts of public diplomacy, seeking to reach foreign publics in an increasingly digital age of information sharing. Leveraging local outlets provides an avenue to influence local publics through pre-approved news. Targeted foreign news outlets actively engage with and re-share content from said media. This research focuses on foreign-originated content from the world’s great powers - the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America. The purpose of this project is to provide insight into how the great powers …

Temporally Modulated Acoustic Environment Alters Inferior Colliculus Tonotopy And Improves Neural Gap Encoding In Aged Cba/Caj Mice, Luis Franco-Waite

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is an omnipresent and progressive decline of hearing that occurs later in life and affects a significant majority of the aged population. While the current accommodations for hearing loss focus on improving comfort and quality of life, they do not address the underlying neural aspects of ARHL. A novel approach for treatment is the augmented acoustic environment (AAE) which utilizes the innate plasticity of the nervous system in response to the external environment. The work presented here documents the research performed on passive noise exposures which target neural aspects in animal models of age-related hearing loss. …

“Why Does My White Coat Feel So Tight?”: A Program Evaluation Of Well-Being Support For Physician Assistant Students, Danielle Castro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a program evaluation of the Wellness Initiatives (WI) Program in the University of South Florida’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program, an accelerated 24-month graduate curriculum. The problem of practice is that PA students reported burnout, feeling overwhelmed, and difficulty navigating support within a year-round structure that did not consistently align with centralized university services. Guided by Theory of Change as the theoretical framework and Improvement Science as the conceptual framework, the evaluation examined how iterative wellness supports shaped students’ perceptions of well-being across six implementation cycles (May 2023–March 2025). A convergent parallel mixed methods design integrated survey data …

Mentoring Mentalities Made Manifest: Toward A Better Understanding Of Secondary Teacher Mentor Professional Learning, Practice, And Self-Efficacy, Maggie L. Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher shortages are becoming increasingly problematic nationwide. Teacher mentoring has been found to be an effective method of curbing teacher attrition, but little attention has been addressed to ensuring that teacher mentors are receiving the most relevant professional learning experiences to bolster their self-efficacy and mentoring practice. This qualitative study, drawing on research traditions such as grounded theory and case study, seeks to illuminate the mentor self-efficacy and practice of secondary teacher mentors and to understand the role their professional learning plays in how and how well they enact their mentor roles. Through qualitative interviews, including artifact-based interviews, this study …

The Molecular Determinants Of Deglycation And Substrate Specificity In Fructosamine Kinases, Jenet Matlack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein glycation is a universal, non-enzymatic modification that occurs when a sugar covalently attaches to a primary amine. These spontaneous modifications may have deleterious or regulatory effects on protein function, and their removal is mediated by the conserved metabolic kinase fructosamine-3-kinase (FN3K). Despite its crucial role in protein repair, we currently have a poor understanding of how FN3K engages or phosphorylates its substrates. Additionally, the molecular basis for the distinct yet overlapping substrate specificities of FN3K and its paralog, ketosamine-3 kinase (KT3K), remains unresolved. By integrating structural biology, biochemistry, and ancestral protein reconstruction (APR), this thesis elucidates the catalytic mechanism …

Mathematics Anxiety: Understanding Its Concept, Impact On Secondary Students’ Academic Performance And Career Prospects, And Effective Intervention Strategies, Sabiruddin Molla, Safwana Rashid, Saba Sultana

Numeracy

This study investigates the influence of mathematics anxiety on secondary school students’ academic performance and career pathway selection. Mathematics, often perceived as abstract and challenging, can evoke high levels of anxiety that affect both learning outcomes and career-related decisions. Data were collected from 106 students across two urban secondary schools in Kolkata. Findings revealed that students possessed a significant understanding of the concept of mathematics anxiety (t (105) = 8.48, p < .001, d = 0.82). A strong positive correlation was observed between mathematics anxiety and academic performance (r = .686, p < .001), indicating that elevated anxiety levels correspond with lower achievement. Additionally, a significant positive correlation (r = .475, p < .001) showed that mathematics anxiety influences students’ career pathway selection, with higher anxiety leading to avoidance of mathematics-related careers. The study highlights that negative attitudes toward mathematics often stem from perception rather than actual difficulty. Overall, the findings emphasize the need for innovative teaching strategies and targeted interventions to reduce mathematics anxiety and enhance students’ academic and career outcomes.

Housing Affordability Analysis Of Hillsborough County, Fl, Usa – Quantitative And Geographical Analysis Using Spatiotemporal Data, Bomin Koh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Housing affordability assessments rely on the 30 percent income method and generalized linear regression (GLR)-based hedonic price modeling. Both provide broad insights but fail to capture spatial heterogeneity in affordability challenges. This study upgrades housing affordability assessment approaches by incorporating the residual income method and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The primary objective of this study is to determine whether methodological improvements, residual income method and GWR, yield significantly different results and provide a more accurate and spatially adaptive understanding of affordability dynamics in Hillsborough County, Florida.

The 30 percent income method is widely used and classifies households as cost-burdened if …

The Power Of A Princess: Rebranding For A New Generation, Victoria A. Heath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lyric “Well, that sounds an awful lot like princess problems” from Snow White (2025) reflects Disney’s evolving portrayal of its princesses as more self-aware and independent. This shift is echoed in earlier live-action adaptations, such as Beauty and the Beast (2017), where Belle’s longing for “adventure in the great wide somewhere” signals her rejection of a limited, traditional role. Guided by Feminist Film Theory and media framing, this study examines how Disney’s rebranding of princess characters in Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Little Mermaid (2023), and Snow White (2025) reflects contemporary ideals of empowerment. Through narrative content and …

Gnsi Decision Brief: The Three-Body Trap: The New Geometry Of Nuclear Deterrence, Seong-Hyon Lee

GNSI Decision Briefs

In the astrophysics of orbital mechanics, the “Two-Body Problem” – predicting the gravitational interaction between two objects, such as the Earth and the Moon – is mathematically solvable. The system is stable, the orbits are predictable, and the variables are calculable. However, if a third independent object of sufficient mass is introduced, the system becomes non-linear and highly unpredictable. As proven by mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1887, no single formula can solve for long-term stability in a three-body system. For eight decades, since the dawn of the nuclear age, global security operated on “Two-Body” physics. The United States and the …

Encouraging A United Response: A Systematic Review And Mixed-Methods Collaborative Evaluation Of Co-Responder Model Effectiveness In Florida, Kelsey Greenfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Even before the deinstitutionalization movement caused the influx of state hospital patients into communities ill-prepared to navigate their needs, law enforcement has been responsible for responding to persons in crisis (PIC) due to mental illness. In response to the high rates of incarceration for persons with mental illness (PMI), a growing number of law enforcement agencies have adopted diversion strategies referred to as police-mental health collaboration (PMHC) models to divert PMI away from the criminal justice system and towards community mental health services. Despite nearly forty years of research, there are still considerable knowledge gaps regarding who benefits from PMHCs …

Master’S Students: Experiences, Transitions, And Needs In The College Of Education, Brandi L. Sanchez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explores the experiences, transitions, and needs of first-year master’s students in education. Guided by Schlossberg’s Transition Model, the study examines how students perceive shifts in academic rigor, workload, and the increased self-direction required in graduate education. The case study used three data collection methods: semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observations that provided insights into the student perception of master’s students studying education’s experience, transition, and needs. Additionally, this case study enabled exploration of the research questions across six types of master’s programs within the College of Education. By focusing on the first year of graduate study, …

Beyond Alumni Dollars: Developing Engagement With Graduate Alumni, Kyra J. Snyder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alumni engagement plays an increasingly important role in supporting graduate program mission, reputation, and long-term sustainability. Despite its recognized value, limited research examines alumni engagement within graduate level programs from a practitioner perspective. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of alumni engagement among alumni, faculty, and staff within the University of South Florida (USF) Physician Assistant Program and to identify any needs or gaps in current engagement opportunities. This study employed a survey-based research design to gather data from two stakeholder groups from the USF PA Program: alumni and faculty/staff. A review of program records provided data …

Understanding The User Approach In Introductory Accounting: Insights From Practice, Leigh C. Moon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accounting profession faces an insufficient supply of accounting majors to meet the demands of industry. While the number of accounting majors has historically been cyclical, professional accounting organizations and educational institutions have continually sought ways to increase the number of accounting majors. One area that has received continuous attention has been introductory accounting courses because of their ability to both attract and deter possible accounting majors. Discussions and studies around the approaches of teaching introductory accounting have mostly focused on quantitative outcomes, with researchers demonstrating that the user approach does not negatively impact students. However, the user approach has …

Speleoco: An Open, Low-Cost Arduino Co₂ Datalogger For Cave Microclimate Monitoring, Christos Pennos, Dimitrios Christaras

International Journal of Speleology

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) dynamics in caves are critical for karst processes, speleothem growth and dissolution, microclimate regulation, and caver safety. In cave atmospheres, CO₂ commonly derives from soil respiration, epikarst degassing, microbial activity, and, in tectonically active regions, deep-seated fault-related emissions. Fault-related CO₂ degassing may also track tectonic activity. However, continuous monitoring remains limited due to the cost and inflexibility of commercial instruments. Here we present an open-source, low-cost Arduino-based CO₂ datalogger designed for cave applications. The logger integrates a COZIR NDIR CO₂ sensor, a DS1337 real-time clock, microSD storage, and power-gating for extended deployment in humid environments. Firmware and …

Human First: How Journalists Employ Ethics Of Care And Empathy When Covering School Shootings, Grace M. Ficara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School shootings have become a regular part of the news media cycle in the 21st century. Now, more than ever, journalists are needing to find innovative, yet empathetic, ways to deal with such crises as they navigate their own professional boundaries. Using the Ethics of Care model, this research intends to showcase how journalists have, willingly or unwillingly, utilized an empathetic approach when covering school shootings and how they use these tools to comfort their sources and themselves. Through semi - structured interviews of 9 participants, this study seeks to connect the practice of journalism with the one thing journalists …