Digital Commons Network^™

Motivations To Learn English Among First-Year Undergraduate Chinese Students, Yunyu Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the motivations to learn English among first-year Chinese undergraduates enrolled at an American university in the southeastern United States and it is essentially grounded in theories such as Self-Determination Theory and Achievement Goal Theory. It addresses a central research question about how is motivations to learn English shaped by external and internal factors among the first-year undergraduate Chinese students? Recognizing that many Chinese students experience low levels of interest and confidence in English, the study explores internal and external factors that shape motivations, including emotional engagement, cultural and academic expectations, and supportive roles played by teachers and …

“We Built Our Plane As We Flew It”: Communicative Resilience In Nonprofit Organizing During The Pandemic, Evgeniya Pyatovskaya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how nonprofit organizations cultivate resilience through communication and practice during periods of disruption, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a case study of Apex for Youth—a New York City-based nonprofit serving low-income Asian and immigrant youth—this research explores how organizational members co-constructed resilience in response to both the pandemic and rising anti-Asian hate. Guided by the Communicative Theory of Resilience (CTR) and practice theory, resilience is examined as a dynamic, relational process enacted through daily organizational life.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, Formative Influences Timelines (FIT), ethnographic observation, and organizational documents. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four …

High Specific Capacitance Solid State Supercapacitor And Method Of Manufacture, Turki Sulaiman A. Alamro, Manoj Kumar Ram

USF Patents

A novel electrode and associated method of manufacturing said novel electrode comprising a porous structure having absorbed polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), a self-assembled polypyrole (PPy) layer adjacent to the PSS absorbed porous structure, a self-assembled polyaniline (PANI) layer adjacent to the PPy layer, an electrochemically deposited PANI layer adjacent to the PPy layer and an electrochemically deposited PANI-dichalcogenide layer adjacent to the electrochemically deposited PANI layer. A supercapacitor and associated method of manufacturing a supercapacitor comprising a first novel electrode and a second novel electrode separated by a polyvinyl gel and a porous separator.

System And Method For The Activation Of Active Ion Transporters Without The Consumption Of Adenosine Triphosphate (Atp) Molecules For The Treatment Of Kidney Ischemia, Wei Chen, Ruisheng Liu

USF Patents

A system and method to control the Na/K pumps for the treatment of ischemia of the kidney by providing an energy generating synchronization modulation electric field that is effective in synchronizing the Na/K pumps down to individual steps throughout the pumping cycle and in synthesizing one ATP for each pumping cycle. The generated ATP molecule compensates the ATP consumed in extrusion of 3 Na ions and pumping 2 K ions, resulting in a net-consumption of ATP for the Na/K pumps controlled by the system and method of the present invention that is significantly reduced, theoretically to zero, thereby providing an …

Myths, Music, And Misconduct: A Lyrical Analysis Of "Epic: The Musical: And How It Bridges The Gap Between Criminology And A Contemporary Audience, Gabriel Simpson

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

This thesis explores the modern interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey through Epic: The Musical, examining its viability as a bridge between Criminological scholars and a contemporary audience. Epic: The Musical, a musical retelling of The Odyssey created by Jorge Rivere-Herrans, begins with Odysseus and his crew at the end of the Trojan War and ends with Odysseus arriving home at Ithaca. The musical consists of 40 songs and 9 Sagas, or albums, each focused on a different part of Odysseus’ journey. The focus of this thesis is in the relationship between Calypso and Odysseus. The two songs, “Love in Paradise” and …

Temperature-Driven Air Circulation In Caves With Blind Passages, Chris Hendy Dr, David J. Merritt, Shannon Corkill, Cross Cross

International Journal of Speleology

Two blind-passage show-caves in the Waitomo district of New Zealand, Ruakuri Cave and Aranui Cave, have been monitored for the impact of visitors on their environment, especially focusing on partial pressures of carbon dioxide because high levels cause speleothem degradation. In Ruakuri Cave, annual cycles of daily mean pCO₂ correspond with annual cycles of visitor numbers, both peaking in summer. The origin of the high pCO₂ had been assumed to be anthropogenic due to respiration from visitors. Prolonged intervals with no visitation during the Covid-19 pandemic saw the daily mean pCO₂ continuing to show the annual cycle, …

A Visual Question Answering-Based Object Detection Framework Using A Team Of Multi-Agent Uavs, Stéphane Lee, Nathan Rayon, Hakki Erhan Sevil

Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics

This paper presents an autonomous multi-agent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system designed to perform object detection through Visual Question Answering (VQA) using aerial imagery. The system utilizes an entropy-based distributed behavior model to coordinate UAV movements toward designated waypoints. A VQA model is used to analyze aerial footage for detection of objects of interest. The study investigates the impact of various distributed behavior configurations, including number of UAVs, UAV formations, flight altitude, and separation distance. After analysis, a final optimized configuration for maximizing surface area coverage and VQA model performance were found. These findings contribute to the development of aerial …

Music As A Method For Conversion In 16th Century New Spain, Liana Howe

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

This thesis examines how music contributed to the conversion of Nahuatl-speaking Indigenous peoples in sixteenth-century New Spain during the Spanish “spiritual conquest” that followed the fall of Tenochtitlan. Drawing on historical, anthropological, and psychological scholarship, as well as primary sources from the colonial period, the study compares pre-Columbian Nahua musical traditions with Franciscan missionary practices to explore why music proved to be an effective tool of religious instruction and persuasion. The research demonstrates that music occupied a central role in Nahua religious, educational, and social life prior to Spanish contact, making it a familiar and powerful medium through which missionaries …

The James Museum's "Art In Mind" Program Evaluation, Violet Adams

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the Art in Mind program at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, a therapeutic arts initiative designed for individuals with cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer’s disease, and their caregivers. Drawing inspiration from the Meet Me at MoMA model, the program uses guided art discussions, Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), and Personal Response Strategies (PRS) to promote social engagement, emotional well-being, and meaningful connections through art. Using pre- and post-tour surveys, the study assessed changes in participants’ mood, communication, and desire for social interaction. While quantitative analyses did not reveal statistically …

Organic Anion Lithium Ionic Cocrystal Compounds And Compositions, Michael John Zaworotko, Naga Duggirala, Adam John Smith, Roland Douglas Shytle

USF Patents

A cocrystal having the formula LiX·aM, or a solvate or hydrate thereof, wherein X is a conjugate base of an organic acid, M is a neutral organic molecule, and a is from 0.5 to 4, pharmaceutical compositions comprising such cocrystals, cocrystal solvates, or cocrystal hydrates, and methods of preparing such cocrystals, cocrystal solvates, or cocrystal hydrates, and such pharmaceutical compositions.

System And Method For The Prediction Of Runway Configuration And Airport Acceptance Rate (Aar) For Multi-Airport System, Yu Zhang, Yuan Wang

USF Patents

Numerical weather prediction data during a time period of interest for a multi-airport system is used to generate a three-dimensional (3-D) tensor data for the time period of interest. The 3-D tensor data is then used to predict hourly runway configurations for each of a plurality of airports of the multi-airport system during the time period of interest using the 3-D tensor data as input to a plurality of runway configuration convolutional neural networks (CNN) branches and to predict an AAR for each of the plurality of airports of the multi-airport system during the time period of interest using the …

Systems And Methods For At-Home Monitoring Of An Individual, Reese Kyle Starowesky, Carlos Eduardo Pena Duran, Autar Kaw, Ali Yalcin, Carla Vandeweerd

USF Patents

In one embodiment, a sensor unit includes an outer housing including a top plate and a base member that together define an interior space, the top plate being configured to directly receive and support the leg of the piece of furniture, a load cell provided within the interior space configured to measure forces imposed by the leg on the top plate, the load cell including a planar metal plate having a deformable element to which the top plate is mounted and a sensor element mounted to the planar metal plate at a location at which the deformable element extends from …

High Ability, Hidden Gaps: Building Quantitative Reasoning Amongst Singapore’S Mathematically Literate, Rebecca M. Nichols

Numeracy

In Singapore, where primary and secondary students routinely top standardized worldwide mathematics examinations, a paradox emerges: when reaching university, many struggle to apply their skills critically in real-world contexts. This commentary examines the challenges and strategies involved in teaching quantitative reasoning (QR) to mathematically literate students in a top-ranking Singaporean university. While these students arrive well-trained in computation and procedural problem-solving, they often lack confidence and flexibility in ambiguous, data-driven decision-making. This article argues that fostering QR education is crucial not only for Singapore but for education globally, as QR skills underpin evidence-based reasoning within and across disciplines. Such an …

Crow's Nest, April 28, 2025, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

No abstract provided.

Gnsi Decision Brief: De Oppresso Liber – Applying Green Beret Identify And Ethos To Build U.S. Military Resiliency, Robert S. Burrell, Joseph E. Long, Charles Cleveland

GNSI Decision Briefs

Military ethos is the “spirit of the unit, which is the sense of unity that leads warriors on the battlefield to believe that the lives of those around them are more important than their own.” In 2025 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised a return to a “warrior ethos,” which he said the Department of Defense (DOD) has lost because of the recent politicized climate, including diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. This brief will utilize the Army's Special Forces as a viable model for achieving collective military spirit in one of the world's most diverse nations.

Hypergraph Search For Real-Time Multi-Robot Task Allocation In A Smart Factory, Zixiang Nie, Kwang-Cheng Chen

USF Patents

Task assignment for multi-robot systems (MRSs) in a smart factory (Industry 4.0) is described. Aspects are directed to a hypergraph based MRS and production model facilitating the cooperation among robots and serving frequent reconfiguration desired in Industry 4.0. Aspects are directed to a time complexity friendly search algorithm for real-time application using a hypergraph model to get task assignment(s). Parameters are provided for a tradeoff between solution optimality and time complexity. In an implementation, an example system can include a MRS including robots, wherein the MRS is configured to perform a manufacturing task, and a computing device configure to perform …

Publicly Verifiable And Resilient Symmetric Authentication And Privacy Systems And Related Methods, Attila Altay Yavuz

USF Patents

A method for publicly verifiable symmetric cryptography is disclosed. The method includes: obtaining an initial encrypted key and a homomorphic public key; obtaining a first message and an initial signature; calculating an initial hashed value of the first message; setting a cryptographic function of the initial hashed value of the first message and an initial private key; generating an evaluated value based on the cryptographic function, the homomorphic public key, the initial encrypted key, and the initial hashed value of the first message; and transmitting, at the verifier, a verification result based on a hashed value of the initial signature …

Between The Land And The Sea: Belizean Voices In Environmental Governance, Kris-An K. Hinds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coastal communities around the world are at the epicenter of dynamic socio-environmental transformations driven by the impacts of climate change, shifting human–more-than-human environmental relationships, and the decisions made in response to these challenges. As environmental concerns intensify, the governance decisions made to address these impacts will determine the severity of the impacts and the future of affected coastal areas. In regions such as the Caribbean, Central America, and Latin America, environmental governance is complicated by uneven power dynamics, historical legacies of racialized environmental spaces, and the ongoing challenge of balancing national economic growth with environmental preservation. These transformations are not …

Adapting To Uncertainty: Strategic Decision Making In The Fresh Produce Supply Chain Under Fluctuating Market Conditions, Jacqueline Kelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The global fresh produce supply chain faces increasing uncertainty due to economic volatility, shifting trade policies, logistical constraints, and evolving consumer demand. In this dissertation, I examine industrial purchasing decision-making grounded in the Industrial Buyer Behavior (IBB) framework. The study explores how supply chain experts navigate uncertainty, mitigate risks, and implement adaptive strategies to maintain efficiency and profitability.

Using a qualitative approach, this research draws on in-depth interviews with industry professionals to identify key factors influencing purchasing decisions, including supply chain resilience, technological advancements, sustainability, and geopolitical risks. Findings indicate flexible sourcing strategies, real-time logistical adjustments, and predictive analytics are …

Unraveling The Narrative: How External Messaging Shapes The Academic Identities Of Neurodiverse Women Of Color, Timarie A. Franco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how neurodiverse Women of Color understand and experience academic self-concept (ASC) within higher education systems shaped by whiteness, ableism, and gendered expectations. Traditional ASC measures rely on internalized perceptions of ability and often exclude the influence of external messaging and systemic oppression—especially for students with intersecting marginalized identities. Grounded in Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), this study centers the voices of nine undergraduate collaborators at a large public university who identify as Women of Color and experience neurodivergence. Using narrative interviews and arts-based methods, collaborators explored how academic, social, and cultural experiences informed their sense of …

Precarious Pedagogy: A Critical Autoethnography Of Adjunct Labor, Erin V. Howell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following autoethnographic study explores the experiences and use of adjunct faculty within the neoliberal higher education landscape. Adjunct faculty comprise most of the contemporary professoriate, accounting for nearly 75 percent of higher education instructors. Precarious labor practices, lack of job security, and limited institutional support often characterize adjunct employment. The use of adjunct labor and the vulnerability of their positions are impacted by structural inequities perpetuated by academic capitalism. By privileging the experiences of adjunct faculty, this study contributes to an ongoing conversation about labor practices and inequities in higher education. This dissertation examines the ways in which adjuncts …

Large Area Sintering Test Platform And Associated Method Of Use, Christopher Joseph Gardiner, Justin Nussbaum, Nathan Crane

USF Patents

A large area sintering platform, system, and methodology. The system includes a convection oven with a projection window disposed within a top surface of the oven. A platform is disposed within the oven below the window at a spaced distance away from the window. A powder is positioned on top of the platform, with a thermocouple positioned within the powder on the platform. A high intensity projector moves in sync with the platform, and uses low intensities and long exposure times to project an image through the window onto the powder and sinter the powder to fabricate the desired model …

Ultrahigh Surface Area Materials And Methods Of Making The Same, Jay A. Bieber

USF Patents

In one embodiment, a surface has a laser-beam machined area including an array of micro-sized conical pillars that are arranged in orthogonal rows and columns across the surface and that extend upward, the conical pillars defining deep troughs between them that are configured to absorb electrons, electromagnetic radiation, or both, the conical pillars tapering from relatively wide bases to pointed tips, the conical pillars comprising outer surfaces that are covered with a plurality of nanoparticles.

Topics In Knot, Quandle, And Quiver Theory, Brooke Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the algebraic and combinatorial structures arising from the study of knot theory through the lens of quandles, their colorings, and associated quiver and ring constructions. It is organized around three central themes: the analysis of quandle coloring quivers for torus links, the development of polynomial invariants and quiver invariants for stuck knots and links, and the algebraic and graphical study of quandle rings. The first chapter begins with an introduction to relevant concepts throughout the dissertation.

In the second chapter, we classify quandle coloring quivers of torus links using dihedral quandles. We describe these quivers as weighted …

Mysterious Munitions In Sleepy St. Pete: The Story Of A 1924 Filibustering Campaign, Arturo Sebastian Gonzalez

Tampa Bay History

No abstract provided.

Work, War, Wit, Wisdom: Lessons And Legacies From Ybor City, Donna Piñero Parrino

Tampa Bay History

No abstract provided.

Enhancing State-Of-The-Art Motor Imagery Classification With Reinforcement Learning, Anton Shepelev

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the key obstacles to the rapid adoption of non-invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) for Motor Imagery (MI) is the low signal-to-noise ratio, and the substantial data requirements which can be mentally taxing for users. EEGNet, a compact Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), has long been considered the state-of-the-art (SOTA) for MI classification, demonstrating strong performance even with limited data. However, recent studies advocate for integrating Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) to further enhance classification accuracy by dynamically optimizing feature extraction and decision-making processes. Despite this potential, practical implementations remain scarce due to challenges in stabilizing RL training and adapting it to …

Cyber Security Of Autonomous Vehicles: The Implications For City Planning, Tegg Westbrook

Journal of Strategic Security

The rise of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has proclaimed positive consequences for urban quality, including reductions in accidents and deaths. As automobiles become digitalized, questions over cyber or electronic threats require further contextualization in urban security scholarship. Focusing on literature on radiofrequency interference of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-aided and -dependent systems, the aim of this article is to consider threats to vehicle safety from electronic interference and the implications for users, city planners, asset managers, and vehicle manufacturers.

While well-known issues such as privacy aversion, tax avoidance, and fraud are documented, it expands on other less-well-known threats to autonomous vehicles …

Experience Accounting To Improve Strategic Decision-Making In A Rural Resort: Application Case Report, Mats Carlbäck, Ganna V. Demydyuk

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This report explores the application of Experience Accounting (EA) to enhance strategic decision making in a rural resort, focusing on improving profitability through customer-centric financial management. This study addresses the challenges faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality industry, particularly the lack of tailored information systems for effective decision-making. By integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm, EA aligns cost accounting with customer-perceived value, optimizing resource allocation to enhance customer experience and willingness to pay. The case study of a rural upmarket resort demonstrates the practical implementation of EA, revealing insights into resource consumption …

Combating Genocide Denial Through Rwanda’S Foreign Policy, Jonathan R. Beloff

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Rwanda’s foreign policy is still greatly influenced by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, commonly referred to as the Rwanda Genocide. Despite the genocidal massacres ending over thirty years ago, the Rwandan government still perceives its continued threat. Despite tangible threats to the state, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) decline, the concern of the genocide’s lasting ideology and denial still concerns Rwandan policymakers responsible for the nation’s foreign policy and remembrance. This research relies on in-depth fieldwork with various Rwandan government agencies responsible for crafting state security, foreign policy, and anti-genocide policies. It examines …