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Capillary Self-Assembly And Its Application To Thermoelectric Coolers, James K. Tuckerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The thermoelectric effect was discovered well over a century ago, yet performance has not shown improvement until recent years. Prior work has shown that the thermoelectric effect can be enhanced by the use of microscale pieces of thermoelectric material. Conventional assembly techniques are inadequate to deal with parts of this size, making it necessary to find a suitable alternative before these devices can be made economically. Capillary self-assembly is a promising alternative to conventional techniques. This method employs the use of preparing substrates with areas of favorable surface tension to place and align parts. Still, many obstacles have to be …

Ballistic Penetration Of A Sandbagged Redoubt Using Silica Sand And Pulverized Rubber Of Various Grain Sizes, Robert Paul Cole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The basis of this work is to find how varying the grain size of materials contained in sandbags (sand and crumb rubber) effects the ballistic penetration of the projectiles from both the 7.62x39mm (308-short), and 9mm Luger cartridges. The sandbags were stacked in a pyramidal stacking configuration according to military specifications in order to simulate a section of a sandbag barrier or redoubt as would be seen on the battlefield. The projectiles were fired at the targets, and the velocity and penetration data was recorded. The results concern both military and civilian applications alike. The 7.62x39 round was found to …

The Design And Synthesis Of Functionalized Porphyrins And Their Applications In Group Transfer Reactions, Medicine, And Materials, Kimberly Bliss Fields

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Porphyrins and their analogs are a class of chemically and biologically important compounds that have found a variety of applications in different fields such as catalysis, medicine, and materials. The physical, chemical, and biological dependence of the peripheral substituents of porphyrins on their properties has prompted great effort towards the synthesis of new porphyrins with different electronic, steric, and conformational environments. To this end, porphyrins have been prepared using a modular approach from bromo- and triflate synthons. These synthons underwent palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with chiral amines, amides, alcohols, and boronic esters to create products that were tested for biological activity.

Metalloporphyrins …

Analysis Of Stochastic Disruptions To Support Design Of Capacitated Engineered Networks, Andrés Fernando Uribe-Sánchez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work is a compilation of four manuscripts, three of which are published and one is

in the second round of review, all in refereed journals. All four manuscripts focus on analysis

of stochastic disruptions to support design of capacitated engineered networks. The work

is motivated by limited ability to mitigate elevated risk exposure of large-scale capacitated

enterprise networks functioning in lean environments. Such inability to sustain enterprise

capacity in the face of disruptions of various origins has been causing multi-billion enterprise

forfeitures and hefty insurance premiums. At the same time, decision support methodologies

for reliable design of dynamic capacitated …

Synthesis Of Functionalized Resorcin[4]Arene Via Click Chemistry, Ali Husain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Click chemistry is a very powerful chemical strategy that overcome carbon-carbon bond with carbon-heteroatom bond by joining small units with heteroatom links (C-X-C) using spring-loaded reactants. The Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is a major example based on the click chemistry philosophy. This method was used for the last 10 years to join different functional groups, carbohydrates, aminoacids, polymers to calix[4]arene and resorcin[4]arene cavitands by a stable 1,2,3-triazole linkages.

Herein I describe our interest in this type of click chemistry reaction in the synthesis of dimeric capsules resorcin[4]arene via four 1,2,3-triazole linkages. Two different resorcin[4]arene derivatives were synthesized in which four …

Kinematic And Experimental Evaluation Of Commercial Wheelchair-Mounted Robotic Arms, John William Capille Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Commercially available wheelchair-mounted robotic arms (WMRAs) are becoming more prevalent internationally but have yet to be largely developed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate commercially available WMRAs in a controlled test environment. The goal was to quantitatively compare each device through a standardized testing protocol. The study produced theoretical manipulability measurements as well as efficacy ratings of each device based on Denavit-Hartenberg kinematic parameters and physical testing, respectively. Both the manipulator and control devices of WMRA systems were evaluated. The iARM WMRA system was presented …

Exploring The Human Interactivity With A Robot To Obtain The Fundamental Properties Of Materials, William L. Christian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research studies the way in which humans and robots interact with each other. When two humans are working together through a set of robotic devices, do they tend to work together or fight with each other more? In which Cartesian direction do they have the most difficulty? Does fighting drastically affect the performance of the team? Finally, what measures can be taken to promote better cooperation between humans and robots to ultimately allow humans to work just as comfortably with a robotic partner as with a human partner? This research answers these questions and provides an analysis of human-robot …

A Narrative Study Of Perspectives Of Puerto Rican Doctoral Graduates, Doreen Rivera Rapp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A review of the literature indicates that Latinos lag behind Whites and Blacks in college degree attainment. This educational disparity is of concern because Latinos are currently the largest minority group in the United States, and the Latino population is expected to increase exponentially in the future. College degree attainment for Latinos is imperative because statistics show an undeniable relationship between degree attainment and income level. In order to ensure the economic wellbeing of Latinos, it is important that Latinos persist through college degree programs. This is especially true for Puerto Ricans because they are the second largest Latino subgroup. …

Factors That Influence Faculty Intentions To Support The Community College Baccalaureate, Lori Kielty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of community colleges in the United States are becoming baccalaureate-granting institutions. Proponents of the community college baccalaureate (CCB) argue that the CCB provides students with access to higher education, while others argue the CCB will compromise the community college's core values.

The purpose of this study is to explore faculty members' intention to support the CCB transition. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior provides the theoretical framework for the study. The theory assumes that changes in behavior are intentional and, therefore, can be planned. This theory posits that attitudes, subjective (social) norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intentions …

Academic Performance, Persistence, And Degree Completion Of Associate In Arts Degree Recipients Transferring To A Four-Year Multi-Campus Institution, Saul Reyes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed if there were differences in the academic performance, persistence, and degree completion for Associate in Arts transfer students in selected majors who enrolled in the different campuses of a multi-campus university. This causal comparative study analyzed historical student enrollment data from a large, urban, public, research university. Multiple and logistic regression techniques were used to simultaneously control for important independent variables identified in the literature. Variables that were significant (p < .05) for at least one of the three dependent variables included campus, major, community college GPA, gender, and ethnicity. Significant campus differences were found in academic performance, but not for persistence or degree completion. Significant differences by major were reported for academic performance, persistence, and degree completion.

A Microwave Radiometer For Close Proximity Core Body Temperature Monitoring: Design, Development, And Experimentation, Quenton Bonds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presented is a radiometric sensor and associated electromagnetic propagation models, developed to facilitate non-invasive core body temperature extraction. The system has been designed as a close-proximity sensor to detect thermal emissions radiated from deep-seated tissue 1 cm – 3 cm inside the human body. The sensor is intended for close proximity health monitoring applications, with potential implications for deployment into the improved astronaut liquid cooling garment (LCG). The sensor is developed for high accuracy and resolution. Therefore, certain design issues that distort the close proximity measurement have been identified and resolved. An integrated cavity-backed slot antenna (CBSA) is designed to …

Architecture And Compiler Support For Leakage Reduction Using Power Gating In Microprocessors, Soumyaroop Roy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Power gating is a technique commonly used for runtime leakage reduction in digital CMOS circuits. In microprocessors, power gating can be implemented by using sleep transistors to selectively deactivate circuit modules when they are idle during program execution. In this dissertation, a framework for power gating arithmetic functional units in embedded microprocessors with architecture and compiler support is proposed. During compile time, program regions are identified where one or more functional units are idle and sleep instructions are inserted into the code so that those units can be put to sleep during program execution. Subsequently, when their need is detected …

Design Of A New Suturing And Knot Tying Device For Laparoscopic Surgery, Sinan Onal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgery has completely changed the focus of surgery becoming an alternative to various types of open surgery. Minimally invasive surgery avoids invasive open surgery as the operation is performed through one or more small incisions in the abdomen and using a small camera called laparoscope. Through these incisions, surgeons insert specialized surgical instruments to perform the operation resulting in less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery. However, the main problems during minimally-invasive surgery are the limited space for operating instruments and the reduced visibility and range of motion inside the patient’s body. During minimally-invasive …

Design And Combinatorial Synthesis Approach Of Non-Peptidic Trimeric Small Molecules Mimicking I, I + 4(3), I + 7 Positions Of Alpha-Helices, Mingzhou Zhou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein-protein interactions are key to several biological processes that facilitate signal transduction and many other processes. These interactions are involved in pathways that are critical to many human diseases. Targeting specific protein-protein interactions is a challenging goal because protein-protein interactions are predominately through hydrophobic interactions. Antagonists of the protein-protein interactions need to be perfectly fit into the binding pockets to ensure the activity. The -helical domain of the proteins behaves as the recognition motifs for numerous protein-protein, and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Research has shown that pathways of many diseases contain protein-protein interactions involving -helical domains, e.g. neurological disorders, bacterial infections, …

Design, Combinatorial Synthesis, And Biological Evaluation Of Novel Α-Helical Mimetics Based On Functionalized Piperazines As Antagonists Of P53/Mdm2 Interactions, Melissa Elizabeth Topper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The p53 protein promotes tumor eradication upon activation, making it an attractive target in cancer therapies. A reported 50% of all human cancers display aberrant activation of the MDM2 oncoprotein, which directly promotes tumorgenesis by inactivating the transcriptional activity of wild type p53, and is commonly associated with drug, chemo, and radio therapy resistance. Previously reported crystallographic analysis of the p53/MDM2 complex infers that the p53 protein forms a 2.5 turn amphipathic alpha helix whose hydrophobic face interacts within a deep hydrophobic cleft in the NH2-terminal domain of the globular MDM2. This suggests that the synthesis of small molecular antagonists …

Applications Of Molecular Dynamics Techniques And Spectroscopic Theories To Aqueous Interfaces, Anthony Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of spectroscopy is to obtain molecularly detailed information about the system under study. Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is a nonlinear optical technique that is highly interface specific, and is therefore a powerful tool for understanding interfacial structure and dynamics. SFG is a second order, electronically nonresonant, polarization experiment and is consequently dipole forbidden in isotropic media such as a bulk liquid. Interfaces, however, serve to break the symmetry and produce a signal. Theoretical approximations to vibrational spectra of O-H stretching at aqueous interfaces are constructed using time correlation function (TCF) and instantaneous normal mode (INM) …

Preservice Teachers’ Developing Understandings About Culturally Responsive Teaching In A Field-Based Writing Methods Course, Susan V. Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I investigated eight preservice teachers’ understandings about culturally responsive pedagogy as they participated in a writing methods course in which they tutored children from different ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in an afterschool program at a local community center. I also investigated how these preservice teachers demonstrated culturally responsive teaching within the writing curriculum. I recognized the need for research relevant to my own personal beliefs and how to strive for more equitable schools. I want to contribute further to the understandings and insights related to culturally responsive pedagogy. According to the literature, it appears teachers remain unprepared to …

Investigation Of Buildup Dose For Therapeutic Intensity Modulated Photon Beams In Radiation Therapy, Khosrow Javedan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Buildup dose of Mega Voltage (MV) photon beams can be a limiting factor in intensitymodulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatments. Excessive doses can cause patient discomfort and treatment interruptions, while underdosing may lead to local failure.

Many factors which contribute to buildup dose, including the photon beam energy spectrum, scattered or contaminant radiation and their angular distribution, are not modeled well in commercial treatment planning systems. The accurate Monte Carlo method was employed in the studies to estimate the doses.

Buildup dose of 6MV photon beams was investigated for three fundamentally different IMRT modalities: between Helical TomoTherapy and traditional opposed tangential …

Literacy And Behavior In Early Childhood: Exploring The Factors That Impact Achievement, Melissa Farino Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Academic achievement has been the focal point in education for decades. In 2001, an Act of Congress was proposed to improve individual outcomes in education through evidenced based research using measurable goals, higher standards, and accountability. This federal legislation, known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, mandates that all teachers be highly qualified by 2006 and that all students become proficient by the 2013/14 school year, specifically in the area of literacy. Consequently, kindergarten readiness has become an area of concern, thus placing preschool teachers under pressure to prepare children for school. The purpose of this study …

The Role Of Rater Motivation In Personnel Selection Validation Studies, Dan Ispas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Personnel selection validation studies are routinely conducted in contemporary organizations for selecting and placing employees. Although numerous studies have been conducted with the goal of identifying new predictors, less research was focused on the criterion side. In the current paper, across three studies and five samples, I examined the role played by rater motivation in validation studies. I proposed that rater motivation would impact criterion-related validity of various predictors, the reliability, and the variance of performance ratings. In Study 1, these hypotheses were tested in two samples with varied operationalizations of predictors and of rater motivation. In Study 2, I …

Visionary Of Control: The Efficiency, Expertise, And Exclusion Of Alexander James Inglis, Heidi Tilney Kramer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alexander James Inglis was the key contributor to changes enacted in education during the Progressive era. He instituted an administrative and curricular hierarchy in order to create social organization during a chaotic time in American history, thus advancing professionalism in teaching and systematizing a future workforce - teaching previously had no standards, and throngs of immigrants overwhelmed the school system. While necessary at the time, this system of centralization, homogenization, and sorting continues to result in exclusion in secondary education and middle schools. Categorization is Inglis' hallmark in his work in education, following Frederick W. Taylor's managerial practices, and he …

Modeling And Analysis Of Cooperative Search Systems, Carlos A. Portilla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The analysis of performance gains arising from cueing in cooperative search

systems with autonomous vehicles has been studied using Continuous Time Markov

Chains; where the search time distributions are assumed to follow the exponential

distributions. This work proposes the use of Petri Nets to model and analyze these

systems. The Petri Net model considers two types of autonomous vehicles: a search-only

vehicle and n search-engage vehicles. Specific performance metrics are defined to

measure system’s performance. Through simulation, it is shown that the search time with

stationary targets and cues that provide exact target location follows a triangular

distribution. A methodology …

Upper Elementary Boys’ Participation During Group Singing Activities In Single-Sex And Coeducational Classes, Zadda M. Bazzy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As boys in the upper elementary grades become increasingly influenced by peer pressure, many are less likely to participate in singing activities because singing is considered a "feminine" activity. The purpose of this research was to explore if there was an effect on upper elementary boys' level of participation during group singing activities when they attended music classes in a single-sex setting.

This study employed a true experimental design and a mixed method. Boys (N = 186) were videotaped during their regular coeducational music classes on two occasions to establish baseline data. Then the students were randomly assigned to …

A Survey Of The Development Of Daubechies Scaling Functions, Amber E. Age

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wavelets are functions used to approximate data and can be traced back to several different areas, including seismic geology and quantum mechanics. Wavelets are applicable in many areas, including fingerprint and data compression, earthquake prediction, speech discrimination, and human vision. In this paper, we first give a brief history on the origins of wavelet theory. We will then discuss the work of Daubechies, whose construction of continuous, compactly supported scaling functions resulted in an explosion in the study of wavelets in the 1990's. These scaling functions allow for the construction of Daubechies' wavelets. Next, we shall use the algorithm to …

Low-Level Programming Of A 9-Degree-Of-Freedom Wheelchair-Mounted Robotic Arm With The Application Of Different User Interfaces, Punya A. Basnayaka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Implementation of C++ and Matlab based control of University of South Florida's latest wheelchair-mounted robotic arm (USF WMRA-II), which has 9 degrees-of-freedom, was carried out under this Master's thesis research. First, the rotational displacements about the 7 joints of the robotic arm were calibrated. It was followed by setting the control gains of the motors. Then existing high-level programs developed using C++ and Matlab for USF WMRA-I were modified for WMRA-II. The required low-level programs to provide complete kinematics of the joint movements to the controller board of WMRA-II (Galil DMC-2183) were developed using C++. A test GUI was developed …

Human Factors Consideration In Developing A New Drive-By-Wire Interface, Sravan Kumar Elineni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined specific aspects of human factors involved in driving a vehicle with a modified Drive-by-Wire (DBW) control system. A DBW system is an electro-mechanical system which controls the primary operations of a vehicle such as steering, acceleration, and braking using a controller such as a joystick. Designing a human interface system for a DBW system involves three main phases in the human factors design process namely user centric/ergonomic design conception, building a prototype and validating the prototype based on human factor considerations. The main objective and focus of this research is to conceptualize a more ergonomic DBW …

Tracking Chemistry Self-Efficacy And Achievement In A Preparatory Chemistry Course, Carmen Alicia Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-efficacy is a person's own perception about performing a task with a certain level of proficiency (Bandura, 1986). An important affective aspect of learning chemistry is chemistry self-efficacy (CSE). Several researchers have found chemistry self-efficacy to be a fair predictor of achievement in chemistry. This study was done in a college preparatory chemistry class for science majors exploring chemistry self-efficacy and its change as it relates to achievement. A subscale of CAEQ, Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (developed by Dalgety et al, 2003) as well as student interviews were used to determine student chemistry self-efficacy as it changed during the …

Electrospinning Protein Nanofibers To Control Cell Adhesion, Cynthia Chinwe Nwachukwu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The structural and mechanical properties of a surface often play an integral part in the determination of the cell adhesion strength and design parameters for creating a biodegradable electrospun scaffold. Nanofibers composed of the globular proteins bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fibronectin were produced by electrospinning with the electrospun protein scaffold serving as an extracellular matrix to which adhesion interaction will exist with cells via cell surface integrin. This interaction is vital in regulation cell differentiation, growth and migration and cell adhesion.

We will demonstrate the ability to manipulate ligand-receptor interaction, the properties of the electrospun fibers, control and the …

Concepts Of Variable In Middle-Grades Mathematics Textbooks During Four Eras Of Mathematics Education In The United States, James K. Dogbey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used content analysis to investigate the development of the concept of variables in middle grades mathematics textbooks during four eras of mathematics education in the United States (New Math, Back to Basics, Problem Solving, and the NCTM Standards era: 1957 – 2009). It also examined the nature of support that the curricula provide for teachers to enact variables ideas in the classroom. Findings revealed that each of the middle grades mathematics curricula examined used variables, but in varied proportions and levels of complexity. Formal definitions for variables were found in 11 of the …

The Lived School Experiences Of A Select Group Of Female Adolescents Labeled Emotionally/Behaviorally Disordered, Anna Robic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Being a female and having a disability has been referred to as 'double jeopardy' (Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 2001). However research in the area of disabilities has either focused on the specific disability as a whole (i.e. research on learning disabilities or behavior disorders) or on mostly males (i.e. interventions in a classroom made up predominantly of boys). Researchers have pointed out that the school experiences for typical males and females are different as is the development of the two genders (Proctor & Choi, 1994). However in disability studies, the gender issue is seldom addressed (Deschler, 2005; Oswald, Best, Coutinho & …