Digital Commons Network^™

Site Suitability Modeling In The Sand Pine Scrub Of The Ocala National Forest, Jelane M. Wallace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Central Florida’s Ocala National Forest is the largest remnant of the unique-to-the-region Sand Pine Scrub ecosystem. This ecosystem exhibits a surprising wealth of biodiversity despite what may be characterized as barren, difficult, dry, pyrogenic conditions. Significant prehistoric sites exist throughout the forest, even in the Sand Pine Scrub; however, most are on the margins and few systematic surveys penetrated this ecosystem, until now. I utilized GIS and these recently collected archaeological survey data, in conjunction with other environmental, geological, or historical data in GIS format, to model prehistoric settlement and land use patterns. This model attempts to address questions of …

Reference-Dependent Choice On Digital Platforms, Joshua K. Kaisen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout this dissertation I explore a significant departure from the standard model of rationality known as reference-dependence. The theory reference-dependence asserts that an individual’s choice is dependent on their frame of reference established through factors divorced from their rational cost and benefit. This behavior is inefficient as individuals fail to rationally optimize their payoffs. This behavior is understudied in natural settings where isolating specific stimuli which may establish a reference is challenging. However, digital platforms contain limited stimuli which are fully observable to researchers and present an ideal setting to study the theory of reference-dependence. Thus, I introduce three new …

Fire Severity Effects On Herpetofaunal Diversity In Florida Scrub Communities Of The Lake Wales Ridge, Michelle Lindsay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fires, either natural or prescribed, are essential for conserving pyrogenic ecosystems; however, climate change is predicted to increase fire severity that could negatively impact species diversity. Reptile and amphibian species may be particularly at risk given they are ectothermic species. The objective of this study was to better understand the impacts of fire severity on the herpetofaunal communities of the Florida scrub habitats, which is an imperiled ecosystem that sustains over two-thirds of listed reptiles and amphibians in Florida. We conducted a field-based study to test taxonomic and functional herpetofaunal diversity differences across four varying fire severities: unburned, low, medium …

The Early Medieval Transition: Diet Reconstruction, Mobility, And Culture Contact In The Ravenna Countryside, Northern Italy, Anastasia Temkina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research project evaluates the effects of increased mobility and culture contact on dietary practices, and on dietary variation among people buried at two northern Italian sites, Chiunsano di Ficarolo and Chiesazza di Ficarolo, located near the ancient Roman capital of Ravenna and dating 4th to 7th century CE. The Early Medieval period was a time of change, political instability, migration and invasion of the “barbarian” tribes, and diet was not unaffected. In particular, it is hypothesized that a new staple crop, millet, was introduced and that meat consumption had increased. The goal of this research is to use stable …

Affectivetda: Using Topological Data Analysis To Improve Analysis And Explainability In Affective Computing, Hamza Elhamdadi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present an approach utilizing Topological Data Analysis to study the structure of face poses used in affective computing, i.e., the process of recognizing human emotion. The approach uses conditional comparison of different emotions, both respective and irrespective of time, with multiple topological distance metrics, dimension reduction techniques, and face subsections (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.). The results confirm that our topology-based approach captures known patterns, distinctions between emotions, and distinctions between individuals, which is an important step towards more robust and explainable emotion recognition by machines.

A Self-Study Of Need-Supportive Teaching In Elementary Art, Craig Jacobowitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I present a self-study of my need-supportive teaching practice. I have long been curious about what it is about my teaching, what I say and do, that motivates students to work harder on their artwork and persevere when they become mired in difficulties. Need-supportive teaching addresses students' basic psychological needs within the classroom setting through high-quality teacher/student relationships and structure. Need-supportive teaching, motivation, and academic resilience are areas I made an extensive study of, as presented in chapter two. In March of 2020, the educational landscape in the United States was altered by the arrival of the unprecedented and novel …

The Science Of Guessing: Critiquing Ancestral Estimation Through Computer Generated Statistical Analysis Within Forensic Anthropology In A Real-World Setting, Christopher J. Turner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on current methods of ancestral estimation must reflect on biological heritage to aid in human identification. Using modern craniometrics methods, how do individuals with a varied biological history affect ancestral estimation? Today, the most used and reliable methods for craniometrics analysis for ancestral estimation in forensic anthropology are computer programs. Two programs are analyzed in this study, Fordisc 3.0 and 3D-ID. The analysis of these computer programs goes beyond the controlled environment provided by an osteological collection. These remains of individuals were unidentified, only to be identified later, through academic research, police work, and public outreach. The selection of …

The Feasibility Of 18f-Fdg Labeled Rbc And Pet/Ct Imaging Blood Perfusion And Vascular Dysfunction Measurements In Pre-Clinical Research, Shaowei Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heart disease, dementia, and stroke are significant public health issues and leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Abnormalities in blood perfusion and vascular structures are seen in varieties of pathologies, including cerebrovascular diseases like stroke and dementia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease like atherosclerosis, diabetes, peripheral artery disease, and vasculitis, and tumor angiogenesis. Imaging perfusion/vascular abnormalities in these patients often plays a vital role in clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Vascular diseases typically present as macrovascular or microvascular diseases. Microvascular disease (MVD) refers to vascular disease primarily affecting the arterioles, venules, and capillaries in various organs. Furthermore, MVD is widely found …

Health Risk Assessment Of Local Populations Ingesting Water With Naturally Occurring Arsenic And Fecal Related Contaminants In Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, Marisol Alvarez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala acts as a sink for wastewater discharge and as a source of drinking water. The populations living in the lake basin are primarily indigenous with a large percentage (70%) living in poverty. Wastewater effluent entering the lake poses an immediate health risk to those using it as a drinking-water source. Additionally, the lake is surrounded by three volcanoes and the water has concentrations of naturally occurring arsenic above the recommended reference level of 10 µg/L. Arsenic is acutely poisonous at high concentrations and has carcinogenic and neurological effects when chronically exposed at low concentrations.

The goal of …

Development And Validation Of An Isothermal Amplification Assay For Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, Mikayla D. Maddison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a neurotrophic alphavirus for which there is no effective treatment or vaccine for humans. Periodic outbreaks in the Eastern United States represent an ongoing public health problem; Florida serves as the reservoir for EEEV for the rest of the country. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the current gold standard for molecular diagnostic testing of the presence of EEEV in vectors. However, RT-PCR is technically complex and can be difficult for mosquito control districts to utilize. In order to provide a simple, cost-effective alternative for mosquito surveillance and control, a novel one step reverse …

Influencing Motivation For Alcohol Through Social Bonding, Bryan Benitez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human survival depends upon the ability to cooperate by forming affiliative social bonds. Social bonding should therefore be a powerful motivating force in practically all human decision making. Past research demonstrates that social bonding and motivation for alcohol consumption share similar psychological and neurobiological pathways. In this study, we attempted to reduce alcohol motivation by enhancing perceptions of social bonding prior to and during the hours and days when alcohol consumption was most likely. In a predominantly female college student sample, we found mixed support for our hypotheses that a novel social bonding manipulation delivered through mobile technology would satiate …

When I Rhyme It’S Sincerely Yours: Burkean Identification And Jay-Z’S Black Sincerity Rhetoric In The Post Soul Era, Antoine Francis Hardy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

‌ ‌ The‌ ‌slang,‌ ‌attitude,‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌memory,‌ ‌creativity‌ ‌and‌ ‌innovation‌ ‌of‌ ‌African‌ ‌diasporic‌ ‌youth‌ ‌created‌ ‌a‌ ‌ global‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌movement-hip-hop--that‌ ‌informs‌ ‌all‌ ‌aspects‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌society.‌ ‌In‌ ‌this‌ ‌dissertation;‌ ‌ however,‌ ‌I‌ ‌examine‌ ‌how‌ ‌post-soul‌ ‌hip-hop‌ ‌featured‌ ‌black‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌conversations,‌ ‌specifically‌ ‌the‌ ‌ ‘conversation’‌ ‌between‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌and‌ ‌his‌ ‌imagined‌ ‌black‌ ‌audience.‌ ‌Over‌ ‌the‌ ‌past‌ ‌25‌ ‌years‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌ known‌ ‌as‌ ‌one‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌acclaimed‌ ‌and‌ ‌successful‌ ‌recording‌ ‌artists‌ ‌of‌ ‌his‌ ‌time;‌ ‌however‌ ‌this‌ ‌study‌ ‌ examines‌ ‌what‌ ‌I‌ ‌term‌ ‌his‌ ‌‌black‌ ‌sincerity‌ ‌rhetoric‌ ‌(BSR)‌.‌ ‌At‌ ‌times‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌is‌ ‌praised‌ ‌for‌ ‌his‌ ‌commitment‌ ‌to‌ ‌ community‌ ‌in‌ ‌verse;‌ …

Dynamic Loading Directed Neural Stem Cell Differentiation, Abdullah Revaha Akdemir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are among the biggest challenges for medical and engineering fields in the modern era. Many people experience various accidents every year that cause major irreversible trauma in the spinal cord. Damaged neural cells caused by SCI cannot be regenerated, and patients have to live with pain, spasms, or loss of movement. Stem cell differentiation can be a potential solution to generate enough neurol cells in vitro to apply at the defective region. In this research, the impact of dynamic mechanical stimulation on the differentiation of PC-12 cell lines towards neurol cells was studied. Models to apply …

Architectural Complexity Of Oyster Reefs: Evaluating The Relationship Between Interstitial Spaces And Macroinvertebrates, Elizabeth A. Salewski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how organisms utilize and interact with habitat features may improve predictions of habitat preferences and species interactions, and may assist in the development of conservation and management strategies. The architecture of a habitat provides a complex array of structural features that influences interactions between the abiotic and biotic factors, and impact the biodiversity and species abundance through altering recruitment patterns and the survival of associated fauna. Characterizing potential refugia however has been challenging with minimal attempts to measure interstitial space size and abundance in reef systems. Here, I present novel methodology utilizing 3D technology to characterize interstitial spaces within …

Hyperoxia-Induced Cardiac Pathophysiology In Guinea Pig Hearts, Zain Ul Abidin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hyperoxia, is regularly introduced to critically ill patients in ICU. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown the negative effects of this treatment on patients in critical care, including increased rates of lung and cardiac injury and thereby high in-hospital mortality. Large part of the literature related to hyperoxia was majorly focused on lung injury, with no or minimal investigations on cardiac injury. Our lab is the first to investigate the effect of hyperoxia on cardiac pathophysiology in mice and showed that mice exposed to hyperoxia for 3 days demonstrated brady-arrhythmia, cardiac hypertrophy, QTc prolongation along with other electrical remodeling and functional …

Identifying Skeletal Puberty Stages In A Modern Sample From The United States, Jordan T. Wright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Investigating the onset and progression of puberty can provide insight and evidence for social changes regarding the transition to adulthood. There are also many social factors that can lead to variation in the timing of the onset and progression of puberty. Methods created by Mary Lewis and Fiona Shapland for assessing changes in skeletal development associated with pubertal timing were applied to computerized tomography scans (n=400) from the New Mexico Decedent Image Database and recorded in an attempt to identify adolescent growth trends in a modern skeletal sample from the United States. This is a novel study using the methods …

Nietzsche On Criminality, Laura N. Mcallister

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Nietzsche scholarship, little has been done regarding Nietzsche’s reflections on penology and criminology. This dissertation aims to critically examine Friedrich Nietzsche’s thoughts on justice, punishment, and the criminal and to show that his interest in these topics runs throughout his writings. Nietzsche attacked the tradition of Western justice theory and the idea that justice consists in giving each their due. I argue that in place of this notion of justice, he puts forth a non-metaphysical, naturalistic account of justice that refuses to judge and hold man accountable. In addition, I explicate Nietzsche’s passionate critique of punishment, which stops short …

Listening To Women: Using A Mixed-Methods Approach To Understanding Women’S Desires And Experience During Childbirth, Nicole Loraine Falk Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is based on evolutionary medicine and applied anthropological research where the narratives and biology of modern women are used to inform evolutionary theory, specifically obligate midwifery, and modern birth practices. Improvements to the US maternity care systems are needed as rates of maternal mortality and morbidity are continually higher than rates in other technologically advanced nations. Additionally, women birthing under the technocratic model of care, as is predominant in the US, report trauma and post-traumatic stress disorders due to their birthing experience, and more women are experiencing postpartum depression. Thus, I seek to use an evolutionary medicine perspective …

A Macro Analysis Of Illegal Hunting And Fishing Across Texas Counties: Using An Economic Structural Approach, Leo J. Genco Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this disseration is to examine the distribution of illegal hunting and fishing violations across Texas counties in respect to the economic structure. Illegal hunting plays a part in the extraction of resources that are overly withdrawn, and criminologists have ignored this form of deviancy that has large ramifications for the environment. To view this criminal phenomenon, the study uses the Treadmill of Production theory to determine economic structural factors and whether those factors explain the distribution of illegal hunting and fishing. Using regression analyses and SatScan, the findings suggested that while there are significant factors related to …

Land Goddesses, Divine Pigs, And Royal Tricksters: Subversive Mythologies And Imperialist Land Ownership Dispossession In Twentieth Century Irish And American Literature, Elizabeth Ricketts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Land ownership dispossession is a key feature in establishing imperial hegemonies. In the colonial context, limiting access to land concentrates wealth, power, and influence in the hands of a small colonial or neocolonial elite, excluding others from financial independence, accumulation of generational wealth, political representation, and a stable living situation. British imperial activities spanned multiple continents, engaging similar patterns of dispossessing the native population from their land, language, and cultures. In this endeavor, culture and literature in particular, as Edward Said points out in Culture and Imperialism, have been complicit in inculcating imperial ideologies and justifying territorial occupation. As Said …

Relationship Between Working With Professional Evaluators And An Organization’S Evaluation Culture, James M. Wharton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mission-based organizations like zoos and aquariums are investing in evaluation capacity to help them improve their mission performance, but are these resources improving their professional culture, or merely creating evaluations? This study surveyed the leadership from 100 programming departments at accredited U.S. zoos and aquariums to learn how work with professional evaluators might be related to the nature of an organization’s evaluation culture. Survey results showed no statistically significant relationships between a self-reported measure of evaluation culture and either institutional demographics or work with professional evaluators. Follow-up interviews with nine case study organizations, however, were more supportive of the role …

Cannabis Capitalism In Colorado: An Ethnography Of Il/Legal Production And Consumption, Lia Berman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coloradans have changed their fundamental views on illegal substances since the decriminalization of cannabis in Colorado. Since the legalization of medical cannabis in 2014, state-sold dispensary cannabis products have straddled the line between legal and illegal network systems in a hybridized “il/legal” market system, a term designed to be ambiguous of the formal and informal economies that it represents (Nordstrom 2007, xxvii). The cannabis commodity chain has proved both familiar and strange when it comes to its production, consumption, and distribution of a federally illegal substance. Colorado’s history as a pioneer in culture and legislature has been repeated with cannabis …

Activity-Dependent Regulation Of Extracellular Ube3a In A Novel Angelman Syndrome Rat Model, Andie Dodge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a rare genetic and neurologic disorder affecting approximately 1 in every 15,000 people. This disorder is characterized by seizures, absence of speech, motor and cognitive deficits, ataxia, and notably an abnormal happy demeanor with frequent smiling and laughter. A neuron-specific loss of function of the maternal allele of UBE3A, encoding for an E3 ubiquitin ligase, leads to the manifestation of AS. There are currently no cures for AS and few therapeutic options to abate symptoms. Although much investigation is required, research using the null mutation AS mouse model suggests a plausible case for pharmacological intervention.

Major …

The Communicative Constitution Of Environment: Land, Weather, Climate, Leanna K. Smithberger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My project examines the communicative constitution of environment: how we mediate environment in discursive practice, and arrange chaotic and complex timeplaces into organized relationships of agents and objects which act and are acted upon. Climate scholars across disciplines are calling for a paradigm shift in how we understand, study, inhabit, and relate to Earth’s varied environments. In this dissertation, I demonstrate how communication practices do the work of constituting the environment as we know it, and therefore conclude with the hopeful suggestion that these same practices can be used to do the work of a paradigm shift — that is, …

Epigenetic Potential In An Introduced Passerine, Haley E. Hanson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epigenetic modifications play a critical role in numerous processes throughout the lifetime of an organism by influencing gene regulation. Responsive to both endogenous cues and external stimuli, epigenetic modifications are key mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity. Epigenetic potential, or the capacity for phenotypic plasticity mediated by epigenetic modifications, can be encoded within the genome via genetic variation underlying aspects of epigenetic modifications. For example, one type of epigenetic modification, DNA methylation, predominately occurs at CpG motifs in vertebrates. The number of CpG sites within the genome then represents the capacity for DNA methylation to occur and is one form of epigenetic …

Stop-Motion As Theory, Method, And Praxis: Arresting Moments Of Racialized Gender In The Academy, Sasha J. Sanders

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this autoethnographic qualitative study, I introduce “STOP-motion” as a Black feminist organizing concept, methodological approach, and praxis to examine the twinness of arresting moments when disruption, displacement, disorientation, or disembodiment prompts critical reflection and transforms outsider-within moments into movements of resistance and collective empowerment. I recount three ARRESTING moments of racialized gender I have endured in white-dominated academic spaces: being STOPPED in a breakfast line at a conference, STOPPED in a department bathroom, and STOPPED by a large promotional department banner that exhibited myself and two Black colleagues. Relying on Black feminist aesthetics, I experiment …

Mechanisms And Mitigation: Effects Of Light Pollution On West Nile Virus Dynamics, Meredith E. Kernbach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Light pollution, or the presence of unnatural light at night, is a pervasive and growing problem across the globe. While often pictured in urban centers, light pollution is far reaching and can affect seemingly safe and minimally developed environments. For example, agricultural communities with artificial lighting near facilities can generate such light pollution in rural areas. Further, streetlights and illuminated billboards along roads and highways can generate light pollution far from cities. Given how pervasive this anthropogenic stressor is, it is surprising that not much is known about how artificial light at night, or ALAN, affects humans or wildlife, especially …

Increasing Personal And Product Influence Through Background Auditory And Visual Cues, Zhihao Yu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Effective persuasion is indispensable for success in business and in life. People may have the best idea, the best product, and the best policy, but without persuading their target audiences to take actions, none of those would matter. However, getting people to say “Yes” is becoming harder and harder. We are living in a complicated world that is busy and crowded with too much information. People are getting more used to processing information in an automatic way and not bothering to scrutinize every bit of information. As a result, companies and individuals have fewer chances to influence their audiences through …

Political Ideologies, Political Party Affiliation, And Treatment Decisions Of Clinical Mental Health Counselors, Aaron L. Norton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Literature in the counseling profession has emphasized the importance of recognition of the potential impact of counselor bias on clinical care for decades. A large body of research has been developed on the potential for the personal, social, and religious beliefs of clinical mental health counselors (CMHCs) to impact their work with clients, but comparatively little research has been conducted on the potential impact of the political beliefs of CMHCs and their clinical practice, creating a gap in the professional literature. The present study sought to bridge the gap in CMHC literature by examining the relationship between the political ideologies, …

Blue Rage: A Critical Cultural Analysis Of Policing, Whiteness, And Racial Surveillance, Wesley T. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an interpretive project deploying critical media analysis and interpretive qualitative methods to examine televisual and cinematic performances of policing. I use interpretive qualitative inquiry to explore blue rage, policing, and whiteness. By highlighting the racial surveillance which undergirds policing, I analyze blue rage as a critical race concept that addresses the affective policing of racial resentment and racial solidarity among law enforcement. My media analyses demonstrate the ways that whiteness is operationalized through law and order and criminal justice. Analyzing cinematic and televisual depictions of the police and racist surveillance, I address policing—as a profession, as a …