Digital Commons Network^™

Predicting Freshwater Spring Distribution Using Maxent Modeling: A Case Study In Groundwater Management Area 9 (Gma-9), Texas, Zayed Mallick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater springs are one of the most vital groundwater sources and they have been a reliable water source for mining, irrigation, drinking, and farming, particularly in hot and arid regions like Groundwater Management Area-9 (GMA-9), Texas. However, excessive groundwater extraction, climate change, and environmental degradation have created tremendous stress on the sustainability of freshwater springs and as a result, they might not be able to meet the future water demand. This study uses the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the distribution of springs in GMA-9 and to identify the key topographic and climatic factors influencing their occurrence. This study …

Accretion And Accumulation Of Mangrove Soils In Clam Bay, Naples, Fl: The Impact Of Hydrological Alterations And Sea-Level Rise, Matthew C. Fairchild

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ability of mangrove soils to accrete at a rate that keeps up with the rate of sea-level rise (SLR) is widely debated, especially for soils impacted by variations in influxes of nutrients and alterations in natural flows of water from surrounding urban areas. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of SLR on mangrove soils in Clam Bay (Naples, Florida, USA), which has an extensive system of mangroves that have faced increasing human pressure in recent decades as well as SLR. Cores were collected from two different sites within Clam Bay to identify differences in soil accretion, mass accumulation, …

Understanding The Coping Mechanisms Used By Older Formerly Incarcerated Persons During Reentry, Sayla Victores

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the coping mechanisms employed by older formerly incarcerated individuals during reentry. While there is research on the reentry experiences of older formerly incarcerated individuals, less is known about how they cope with the strains of reentry. As such, this study fills this gap in the literature by exploring both adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms employed by this population during reentry. Using in-depth interviews with 20 older, formerly incarcerated individuals, I found that older formerly incarcerated persons experienced challenges related to securing stable housing, finding employment and economic security, community supervision, stigma and judgment, and overall reintegration. …

Functional Characterization Of Cryopreserved Plasmodium Yoelii Sporozoites In Vitro, Victoria I. Mills

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a major global health burden, contributing to morbidity and mortality across various continents. Due to challenges in malaria research and its advancements, developing novel interventions and further understanding host-parasite interactions is required for future studies. Plasmodium vivax is a human malaria species that is difficult to maintain in laboratory settings, posing obstacles in research. Cryopreservation offers a reliable method to provide a consistent supply of sporozoites for reproducible studies. Plasmodium yoelii is a rodent malaria model commonly used in studies due to its genetic similarity to human malaria species. Utilizing cryopreserved P. yoelii sporozoites potentially extends their usability …

Synthesis, Characterization And Delamination Studies Of Metallic Thin Films Prepared Using Sputtering And Ebeam Evaporation Methods, Anoop Joseph

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In many mechanical applications, including the manufacturing, automotive, and cutting tool sectors, metallic thin film coatings are crucial due to their tribological and protective properties. This research focuses on the development of metallic thin films of Aluminum (Al), Chromium (Cr) and Titanium (Ti) using deposition techniques like Sputtering and Electron Beam Evaporation. Metallic thin films were fabricated, with variations in thickness for each material, allowing for an in-depth study of the effects of Sputtering and Ebeam Evaporation deposition method on film characteristics. The thickness of these metallic thin films were evaluated using High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM) and Profilometer while …

Genetic Counseling Student Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, And Study Strategy Use For The Genetic Counseling Board Certification Exam., Teagan E. Nunnery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With a 76% pass rate for the 2024 American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification exam, it's crucial to evaluate the study strategies used by candidates and their alignment with evidence-based practices. This study surveyed 84 genetic counseling students and graduates from 35 U.S. and Canadian training programs, focusing on demographic data, study strategy usage, anxiety, and self-efficacy. Study strategies were categorized into one of three groups: 1) active strategies, which promote recall and understanding, 2) passive strategies, and 3) hybrid, for strategies that involve both active and passive engagement as well as three metacognitive strategies: regulating learning, monitoring learning, …

Three Essays Exploring The Interaction Between Health And Labor Market Outcomes, Jingxin Nie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the influence of health policies and employment disruptions on individual health, behavior, and cognitive outcomes, utilizing quasi-experimental methods to address causal inference challenges across three distinct studies.

The first chapter examines the effects of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act on workers' compensation claims, leveraging variation in insurance coverage resulting from the policy change. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) approach and a staggered DID framework following Callaway & Sant'Anna, this study uses data from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplements (ASEC). The findings reveal that despite increasing insurance coverage, Medicaid expansion did not significantly …

Evaluating And Improving The Serious Game Life With Hereditary Cancer, Jenna K. Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hereditary cancer syndromes increase cancer risks for individuals with pathogenic variants and their family members, yet many at-risk individuals do not pursue genetic testing due to barriers in family communication. Serious games—interactive tools designed to educate through gameplay—offer a promising approach to addressing these barriers by engaging users and creating supportive learning environments. LIFE with Hereditary Cancer is a serious game designed to improve genetic literacy, promote informed decision-making, and encourage family conversations about hereditary cancer risks and genetic testing. This evaluation used a mixed-methods approach to assess participant emotions, perceptions, and experiences with LIFE with Hereditary Cancer and identify …

Media Literacy Efficacy & The Rise Of Native Advertising In Social Media: A Sequential Mixed-Method Approach To Behavioral Interaction With Deceptive Advertising Content, Elyse F. Dipisa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Native advertising has grown in advertiser usage and relevance within the advertising space. Branded or sponsored content is in no way a new concept; however, with less consumer participation with traditional advertisements, the industry has shifted to make advertising content look “native” - as if they belong within the format of the platform and among the user-generated content published. Social media presents a continuously progressing digital landscape that is available and accessible for consumers. The environment’s accessibility allows for it to be reachable by consumers from a range of backgrounds. This study engages a two-step explanatory mixed methodology aimed at …

Dancin’ In The Dark: Exploring The Possibilities For Queer Joy And Belonging In Sotu Nights, Trinidad And Tobago, Emily Hernandez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When I talk about “dancin’ in the dark,” I mean three things: 1) the moments that are written off as ordinary, the ephemeral yet joy-filled moments that seem hardly worthy of further reflection; 2) the act of dancing and experiencing joy against the backdrop of state-sanctioned homophobia in a dominant heteropatriarchal regime; and 3) queer people existing locally in the Caribbean region, a region in the metaphorical dark, typically mystified or diminished by western framings of the Caribbean as simply a vacation destination or an underdeveloped graveyard of colonization. Yet, queer people not only exist in this region, but we …

Gender Dynamics In Newsroom Leadership: The Influence Of Gender Norms On The Career Trajectories Of Women Journalists, Isabella L. Hackett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the field of journalism, women journalists face obstacles impeding their career progression and autonomy. This qualitative study uses field theory, which explores how social spaces are structured and how actors access resources; a key avenue for exploring the power relationships within a field. This theory is put in conversation with interviews with women leaders in journalism from across the United States (n=13). The study examines how women in leadership navigate their career trajectories amid structural barriers, such as gender expectations for leadership, the struggle to balance work and family, and unequal access to mentorship and resources. Despite these challenges, …

Efforts To Improve General Chemistry Student Success: Describing Stoichiometry Solution Patterns And Investigating Challenge Perceptions, Dianna Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a need for capable STEM graduates to fill needed STEM career gaps, particularly for people who have been historically under-represented in the STEM field (e.g., women, people of color, people of lower economic status, etc.). A course that have great impact would be General Chemistry which typically acts as a pre-requisite for manty STEM majors and careers. The efforts to be described in this thesis was conducted at a large, public doctoral granting university in the southeastern United States of America. The first effort described in this thesis explores how students solve different types of stoichiometry-based problems along …

Breaking Binaries: Gender Non-Conforming Lesbians And The Undercurrent Of Biopower On Dating Apps, Lily M. Connolly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how gender nonconforming lesbians experience and navigate algorithmic constraints, commodification, and self-expression on dating apps. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower, this study analyzes focus group discussions to argue that dating apps encode and enforce traditional gender norms. However, rather than acting solely as sites of constraint, dating apps also provide spaces where gender nonconforming lesbians creatively resist these limitations and subvert platform design to assert their politicized queer identities. This research highlights how biopower operates within digital dating platforms while also illuminating the subversive strategies users employ to reclaim agency. By situating gender nonconforming lesbian …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Chinos, Casta, And La Florida, Kylie A. Culver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Hidden in Plain Sight: Chinos, Casta, and La Florida" looks at the origin and use of the term chino/a within the Spanish casta system, focusing on its role in the St. Augustine Parish Archives from 1693 to 1754. In the St. Augustine parish registers, there were thirty-two separate entries that consisted of chinos/as. The presence of multiple individuals identified as chinos in Spanish Florida highlights the diversity of colonial Spain and demonstrates crucial understandings of the legal effects of casta. A careful analysis of these individuals reveals that the term chino/a did not necessarily refer to people of Asian origin …

Characterizing Lava Flow Morphology And Lava Flow Dynamics: A High-Resolution Lidar And Structure From Motion Study Of The Hell’S Half Acre Lava Flow, Idaho, Rachel T. Bakowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Basaltic lava flow eruptions can impact vast areas, profoundly altering the landscape. Although many past eruptions have gone unobserved by scientists, they often leave behind substantial deposits that preserve key elements of the eruption’s history. By studying lava textures and the overall structure of lava flows, we can reconstruct the specific conditions that occurred during the eruption and contributed to the final morphology of the lava flows. Hell’s Half Acre is a large, well-preserved basaltic lava flow in the Eastern Snake River Plain, containing a variety of significant geological features resulting from its distinctive eruption history. This thesis examines a …

From Russia With Love: The Transposal Of Hunger Strikes From Russia To Britain In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries, Rachel Yvonne Stanton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The British suffragettes’ utilization of the hunger strike as a political tool in the early twentieth century has roots tracing back to Russian political prisons of the late nineteenth century. The unique adoption and adaptation of the Russian method of hunger strike in England cannot be fully understood without examining the origins of the revolutionary hunger strikes through a gendered lens. Using case studies of various Russian women and their experiences as both university students and political prisoners, this research aims to unearth the reasons why women in both Russia and England had a particular affinity for the use of …

Crow's Nest, March 10, 2025, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The March 10, 2025, issue of Crow's Nest.

Biblical Theodicy The Evolution Of Satan As A Solution To The Problem Of Evil, Madison Estrada

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to serve two functions. The first is to discuss how the problem of evilin Christianity has been a problem not only in modernity, but also with premodern authors and editors of biblical canon. The second is to explain how the literary character of Satan has developed alongside the narrative in a way that seeks to answer to the problem of evil in the form of a literary theodicy. While it may be demonstrated in the textual evidence that this character can take away some of the ethical implications imposed on God by taking on evil himself, it …

Llms In Network Intrusion Detection – A Comprehensive Analysis, Sudharshan Balaji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) play a critical role in identifying and mitigating malicious activities within computer networks. With the rapid evolution of natural language processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as transformative tools across various domains. LLMs, such as OpenAI’s GPT series and Meta’s LLaMA models,have demonstrated remarkable performance in tasks like language generation, reasoning, and classification. Their ability to understand and process vast amounts of data has enabled groundbreaking advancements in areas like healthcare, finance, and cybersecurity. Recent trends highlight their potential to handle unstructured data, perform complex reasoning, and adapt to a wide range of …

“We Will Tend To It”: The Reconstruction Of The Wimauma, Florida’S Bethune Area Through Archival Research And Oral Histories, Alanah Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on heritage preservation efforts led by Wimauma community members interested in preserving the history and heritage of Wimauma’s Bethune Area—a historically African American community. This study aims to challenge the dominant narratives of Wimauma that erase/silence the tangible and intangible legacy of the Bethune Area. By collecting and drawing upon oral histories from community residents; engaging in participant observations; conducting archival research, my thesis will strive to construct an expanded narrative of Wimauma to include the history and heritage of the Bethune Area and the everyday lives of underrepresented people and families who helped shape Wimauma. This …

The Knowledge, Ability And Willingness Of Instructors To Accommodate Students With Disabilities In Higher Education, Hawa Allarakhia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the findings of a study investigating the knowledge, ability, and willingness of faculty at a large university to accommodate students with disabilities (SWD). It reveals that while many instructors demonstrate a solid understanding of disability legislation, variations in knowledge and confidence exist based on demographic factors, particularly years of experience. Accommodations like extended time and distraction-free testing environments are more likely to be received positively by instructors and granted easily, while there needs to be more inclination to offer resource-intensive options like note-takers. The study also recommends future research and practical strategies for higher education institutions to …

Teachable Moments In Virtual Reference, Matt Torrence, Carl Dinardo, Andrew Beman-Cavallaro

USF Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Work Engagement As A Mediator Between Organizational Ostracism And Sparking Leadership, Perihan Senel Tekin, Selman Kizilkaya

Journal of Global Business Insights

Workplace ostracism can undermine employee morale, reduce productivity, and negatively impact organizational outcomes. Sparking leadership plays a vital role in shaping workplace culture and mitigating ostracism’s effects. This study investigates the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between organizational ostracism and sparking leadership. It sheds light on how leaders can foster a more engaged workforce by reducing ostracism within organizations. It was designed as a quantitative causal survey. By examining data from 790 healthcare professionals in Turkey, the research highlights how sparking leadership can enhance work engagement and reduce ostracism. The findings show a significant negative correlation between …

A Bibliometric Analysis Of The Pygmalion Effect In Organization Studies, Perihan Senel Tekin, Fevziye Bekar, Duysal Askun Celik

Journal of Global Business Insights

This research aims to examine the literature on the Pygmalion effect, which is expressed as a self-fulfilling prophecy in the context of management organization from a bibliometric perspective. In this context, all relevant publications in the Web of Science database were scanned between 01-06.06.2024. In the first and second searches with the words Pygmalion, Pygmalion effect, Pygmalionism, management, and organization, a total of 27 research articles were subjected to content analysis within the scope of a systematic review. As a result of the content analysis, it was seen that although the Pygmalion effect has been found in …

Antarctic Tunicate Synoicum Species-Derived Alkaloids And Methods Of Treatment, Bill J. Baker, Laurent J. Calcul, Kim Pham, Sofia Kokkaliari, Alexander Dettmar Crawford, Nargess Shahbazi

USF Patents

Pharmaceutical compositions containing one of five novel alkaloids isolated from a deep water Antarctic tunicate and methods of uses thereof are presented. The alkaloids belong to a family of compounds with known central nervous system (CNS) activity. The compounds display more oxidation than other members of the family, which may bestow additional bioactivity.

Crow's Nest, February 24, 2025, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The February 24, 2025 edition of Crow's Nest.

Librarian-As-Teacher: A Multiple Case Study Of Academic Librarian Professional Identity And Teaching Practice, Jessica Nicole Szempruch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how the educational experiences and professional identities of academic librarians shape their approach to information literacy instruction within the context of post-secondary research universities. Through deep engagement with three academic librarian-teacher participants, the study sought to understand how information literacy instruction is enacted, administered, and experienced by these individual academic librarians. The quintain, or binding concept, connecting all of these cases was the intersection of academic librarian professional identity and information literacy instructional practice at a large, R1 institution in the southeastern United States.

Multiple data collection methods were …

Systems And Methods For Determining Cell Number Count In Automated Stereology Z-Stack Images, Palak Pankajbhai Dave, Dmitry Goldgof, Lawrence O. Hall, Peter R. Mouton

USF Patents

Systems and methods for automated stereology using deep learning are disclosed. The systems include an update in the form of a semi-automatic approach for ground truth preparation in 3D stacks of microscopy images (disector stacks) for generating more training data. The systems also present an exemplary disector-based MIMO framework where all the planes of a 3D disector stack are analyzed as opposed to a single focus-stacked image (EDF image) per stack. The MIMO approach avoids the costly computations of 3D deep learning-based methods by using the 3D context of cells in disector stacks; and prevents stereological bias in the previous …

Algebraic Proof-Of-Work Algorithm For Blockchains, Muslum Ozgur Ozmen, Rouzbeh Behnia, Attila Altay Yavuz

USF Patents

An algebraic proof-of-work algorithm is provided that can be used as part of the consensus algorithm used by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Instead of solving blocks using a hash puzzle, the present algorithm uses an algebraic puzzle such as a lattice-based puzzle based on the shortest vector problem and/or the knapsack problem. A cryptocurrency using the proposed proof-of-work algorithm has only a small quantum advantage when compared with existing proof-of-work algorithms.

Automated And Assisted Identification Of Stroke Using Feature-Based Brain Imaging, Karl A. Kasischke, William Scott Burgin

USF Patents

Provided herein are systems and methods for automated identification of volumes of interest in volumetric brain images using artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced imaging to diagnose and treat acute stroke. The methods can include receiving image data of a brain having header data and voxel values that represent an interruption in blood supply of the brain when imaged, extracting the header data from the image data, populating an array of cells with the voxel values, applying a segmenting analysis to the array to generate a segmented array, applying a morphological neighborhood analysis to the segmented array to generate a features relationship …