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Teaching Social Studies In An Age Of Globalization: A Case Study Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Participation In The Una-Usa’S Global Classrooms Curriculum Program, Kelly R. Miliziano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The researcher found few studies that explore decisions of social studies teachers as they plan what and how to teach their classes. Over a century, social studies educators have adapted and responded to political, social, and economic changes. From educating immigrants a century earlier to addressing contemporary cross-border issues, social studies educators inherit unique challenges in today's increasingly globalized world. In addition to these external forces, constraints are placed on teachers which prescribe what content must be included in an already crowded curriculum. This qualitative approach using a case study provides a better understanding of the influence a globally oriented …

Characterization Of Electrowetting Systems For Microfluidic Applications, Pradeep K. Mishra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrowetting is the change in apparent surface energy in the presence of an electric field. Recently, this phenomenon has been used to control the shape and location of individual droplets on a surface. However, many microfluidics researchers have acknowledged unexplained behaviors and performance degradation. In this work, electrowetting systems are characterized with different methods. The electrowetting response is measured by measuring contact angle for different applied voltages. A novel technique for direct measurement of Electrowetting Force (EWF) using nano indenter is proposed in this work. The EWF measurements show that, for aqueous solution the EWF is more as compared to …

Gallium Nitride Sensors For Hydrogen/Nitrogen And Hydrogen/Carbon Monoxide Gas Mixtures, Christopher Nicholas Monteparo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As hydrogen is increasingly used as an energy carrier, gas sensors that can operate at high temperatures and in harsh environments are needed for fuel cell, aerospace, and automotive applications. The high temperature Fischer-Tropsch process also uses mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to generate synthetic fuels from non-fossil precursors. As the Fischer-Tropsch process depends upon particular gas mixtures to generate various fuels, a sensor which can determine the proper ratio of reactants is needed. To this end, gallium nitride (GaN) has been used to fabricate a resistive gas sensor. GaN is a suitable semiconductor to be used in hydrogen …

Ecis Assessment Of Cytotoxicity And Trans-Endothelial Migration Of Metastatic Cancer Cells, Daniel Opp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The investigations conducted within this dissertation centers around the use of electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS). This system is able to characterize in real-time analysis, the adhesion of cells to their substrate and neighboring cells. With this, valuable information can be gathered with in-vitro experiments regarding a tissue culture's response to physiological stimulation. This dissertation has taken advantage of ECIS' ability to analyze toxicology, barrier function, and cancer invasion on a tissue culture. With proper analysis modifications, trans-epethelial resistance (TER) can be used as a cytotoxicity assay with higher sensitivity than previously thought. In vitro assessment of cytotoxicity based on …

Exploring Efficient Design Approaches For Display Of Multidimensional Data To Facilitate Interpretation Of Information, Chitra S. Pathiavadi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prescriptions for effective display of quantitative information involving more than two variables are not available. To explore the effectiveness of retinal variables in facilitating the interpretation of information and decision making when used in conjunction, a study with 135 participants was conducted. The study involved the use of color shape, color value, and value shape as retinal variables in interactive displays that required participants to answer nine questions in three levels of complexity (identification of data points, analyses of local comparisons and global trends). Time-on-task scores and performance scores were measured. In addition, a View Clamp eye tracker system was …

An Explanatory Examination Of Relationships Between Measures Of School And Student Socioeconomic Status And Reading And Math Achievement Of Hispanic Limited English Proficient (Lep) High School Students, Osvaldo Piedra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U.S. requiring limited English proficiency services (Guglielmi, 2008). Many schools and school districts place heavy emphasis on high stakes testing. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires all children to have access to a fair, equal, and high-quality education. Many schools and school districts focus on individual students to show grade level performance for small populations such as limited English proficient (LEP) students. The purpose of this study was to examine the question, "What was the relationship between measures of school and student socioeconomic status, and …

Digital Holography Applications In Ophthalmology, Biometry, And Optical Trapping Characterization, Mariana Camelia Potcoava

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation combines various holographic techniques with application on the two- and three-dimensional imaging of ophthalmic tissue, fingerprints, and microsphere samples with micrometer resolution. Digital interference holography (DIH) uses scanned wavelengths to synthesize short-coherence interference tomographic images. We used DIH for in vitro imaging of human optic nerve head and retina. Tomographic images were produced by superposition of holograms. Holograms were obtained with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 50 dB. Optic nerve head characteristics (shape, diameter, cup depth, and cup width) were quantified with a few micron resolution (4.06 -4.8 microns). Multiple layers were distinguishable in cross-sectional images of the …

Cocrystals Of Nutraceuticals: Protocatechuic Acid And Quercetin, Twarita Anil Pujari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The cocrystallization of two or more pure compounds by crystal engineering to create a new functional material is of a great academic and industrial interest. Pharmaceutical cocrystallization has allured a lot of attention by means of altering the physicochemical properties of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) such as solubility, stability and bioavailability. Crystal engineering of nutraceuticals can produce novel compounds such as pharmaceutical cocrystals. To establish the importance of nutraceutical cocrystallization and its use; polyphenols, a major class of nutraceuticals and potential disease preventing agents, are the appropriate targets. The work herein focuses on two polyphenols, protocatechuic acid and quercetin, which …

Determination Of Nanogram Mass And Measurement Of Polymer Solution Free Volume Using Thickness-Shear Mode (Tsm) Quartz Resonators, Anthony James Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More commonly referred to as a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), thickness-shear mode (TSM) quartz resonator devices utilize an acoustic wave to establish a bulk-detection mechanism prompting their utilization as gravimetric sensors with nanogram mass sensitivity and capability to measure various film property dynamics, due to variations in the system environment, of thin-films that are uniformly distributed across the resonator surface. The development of an absolute TSM-based nanobalance and an experimental technique using conventional TSM resonators for the real-time measurement of the change in the viscoelastic shear modulus and fractional free-hole volume of a poly(isobutylene) film due to the sorption of …

Naturalism In The Philosophies Of Dewey And Zhuangzi: The Live Creature And The Crooked Tree, Christopher C. Kirby

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will compare the concept of nature as it appears in the philosophies of the American pragmatist John Dewey and the Chinese daoist Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) and will defend two central claims. The first of these is that Dewey and Zhuangzi share a view of nature that is non-reductive, philosophically liberal, and more comprehensive than the accounts recurrent in much of the Western tradition. This alternate conception of nature is non-reductive in the way that it avoids the physically mechanistic outlook underwriting much of contemporary Anglo-American thought. It is philosophically liberal in that it accepts a more generous and …

Sharing The Power Of Words And Changing Lives Through College-Level Instruction In Grammar And Mechanics, Carol Ann Tillema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intrigued by the English language and its far-reaching applications worldwide as a standard means of communication, I begin my disquisition with a focus on the meaning and derivation of grammar and its place in the trivium of ancient and modern study. I stress the need to reemphasize college-level instruction in grammar and mechanics as a complement to rhetoric and logic by studying and teaching editing, which involves semantics, syntax, phonology, morphology, conventions, mechanics (spelling, punctuation and format), in writing centers and classrooms. Noting growing nationwide illiteracy, I research the pedagogies and writing of experts in the field of rhetoric and …

Considerations Of Multicultural Science And Curriculum Reform: A Content Analysis Of State-Adopted Biology Textbooks In Florida, Margaret H. Delgato

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which multicultural science education, including indigenous knowledge representations, had been infused within the content of high school biology textbooks. The study evaluated the textbook as an instructional tool and framework for multicultural science education instruction by comparing the mainstream content to indigenous knowledge perspectives portrayed in the student and teacher editions of 34 textbooks adopted in Florida within the last four adoption cycles occurring from 1990 to 2006. The investigation involved a content analysis framed from a mixed methods approach. Emphasis was placed, in consideration of the research questions …

Design And Implementation Of A Hard Real-Time Telerobotic Control System Using Sensor-Based Assist Functions, Eduardo J. Veras-Jorge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a novel concept of a hard real-time telerobotic control system using sensory-based assistive functions combining autonomous control mode, force and motion-based virtual fixtures, and scaled teleoperation. The system has been implemented as a PC-based multithreaded, real-time controller with a haptic user interface and a 6-DoF slave manipulator. A telerobotic system is a system that allows a human to control a manipulator remotely and the human control is combined with computer control. A telerobotic control system with sensor-based assistance capabilities enables the user to make high-level decisions, such as target object selection, and it enables the system to …

Orthogonal Filters And The Implications Of Wrapping On Discrete Wavelet Transforms, Sarah K. Bleiler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Discrete wavelet transforms have many applications, including those in image compression and edge detection. Transforms constructed using orthogonal filters are extremely useful in that they can easily be inverted as well as coded. We review the major properties of three well-known orthogonal filters, namely, the Haar, Daubechies, and Coiflet filters. Subsequently, we analyze the Fourier series that corresponds to each of those filters and recall some important results about the smoothness of the modulus of those Fourier series. We consider a specialized case in which the length of the discrete wavelet transform is not much longer than the length of …

A Comparative Study Of Six Decades Of General Science Textbooks: Evaluating The Evolution Of Science Content, Anna Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined science textbooks over time to better understand the science content expectations that the U.S. educational system deems appropriate for 8th and 9th grade science students. The study attempted to answer the questions: 1) What specific science content has been presented via the textbook from 1952 to 2008? 2) Within which areas and in what way does the science content change? 3) Are new scientific findings reflected in 8th and 9th grade U.S. general science textbooks? Twenty-six themes were identified which reflect five areas in science: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Biology, and Process of Science. Trends in science …

The Drama Of Collaborative Creativity: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Hollywood Film Making-Of Documentaries, Robert M. González Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current creativity research is dominated by attention to the individual, with increasingly less attention paid to creativity in its context, in groups, and in filmmaking as a collaboratively creative enterprise. This study answers the research call to explore filmmaking as an exemplar for collaborative creativity. Utilizing the stories told on DVD extras on special edition releases of feature films, this study analyzes how collaborative creativity is storied. In turn, these stories reveal specific communication forms, practices, and strategies that enrich theoretical conceptions of collaborative creativity. Following dramatistic concepts elaborated by Kenneth Burke, this rhetorical analysis finds three emergent patterns of …

Electromagnetic Modes In Cylindrical Structures, Jakub Pritz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanostructures have received much attention from the physical and engineering communities in the past few years. The understanding of the behavior of nanostructures in various conditions is warranted since the applications of such materials in optics, electronics, and mechanics is ever expanding. This thesis investigates a specific type of structure, a concentric cylindrical. More specifically, the dispersion relation of radiating and non-radiating plasmon polaritons (quasi-particles resulting from interactions of photons and surface electrons) is studied under varying conditions. We intend to show the influence of changing the thickness of the layers, the number of layers, the curvature of each layer, …

Ocean Literacy And Reasoning About Ocean Issues: The Influence Of Content, Experience And Morality, Teresa Greely

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ocean issues with conceptual ties to science and a global society have captured the attention, imagination, and concern of an international audience. Climate change, over fishing, marine pollution, freshwater shortages and alternative energy sources are a few ocean issues highlighted in our media and casual conversations. From the life-giving rain that nourishes crops and our bodies, to life-saving medicines; from the fish that come from the ocean, to the goods that are transported on the sea's surface-the ocean plays a role in our life in some way every day (NOAA, 1998). However, a disconnect exists between what scientists know and …

Peirce On The Passions: The Role Of Instinct, Emotion, And Sentiment In Inquiry And Action, Robert J. Beeson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the least explored areas of C.S. Peirce's wide range of work is his contributions to psychology and the philosophy of mind. This dissertation examines the corpus of this work, especially as it relates to the subjects of mind, habit, instinct, sentiment, emotion, perception, consciousness, cognition, and community. The argument is that Peirce's contributions to these areas of investigation were both highly original and heavily influenced by the main intellectual currents of his time.

An effort has been made to present Peirce's philosophy without apology, within the conceptual framework and idiom of its time, and without appeal to a …

School As A Center For Community: Establishing Neighborhood Identity Through Public Space And Educational Facility, Fred Goykhman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Safety is an opportunity for people to open their minds” -Jin Baek, 2008

For my thesis I will design an education facility. That education facility will strive to meet with today's security needs and will provide a safe-feeling place for growth. In identifying the problem, I found two main causes for the described conditions in today's schools. They are improper adaptation and uniform building type.

Improper adaptation has to do with surface applications, rather than integrating with the social fabric of the school's communal requirements. Unfortunate incidents have caused the solutions to heightened security around schools to be fortressing and …

Modeling Upper Body Kinematics While Using A Transradial Prosthesis, Derek J. Lura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prostheses used by the majority of persons with upper limb amputations today offer a limited range of motion. Relative to anatomical joints transradial (below the elbow) prosthesis users lose at least two of the three degrees of freedom provided by the wrist and forearm. Some myoeletric prostheses currently allow for forearm pronation and supination (rotation about an axis parallel to the forearm) and the operation of a powered prosthetic hand. Body-powered prostheses, incorporating hooks and other cable driven terminal devices, have even fewer active degrees of freedom. In order to perform activities of daily living, an amputee must use …

Paleoclimatic Reconstruction And Evaluation Of Sub-Centennial Climate Variability In The Late Holocene Using Records From Massive Corals (New Caledonia), Tree-Rings (New Mexico) And Speleothems (China), Kristine Lee Delong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how the construction of a paleoclimate time series influences the interpretation in the frequency domain. Three time series are examined: a New Caledonian coral (Amedee Island), a Chinese speleothem (Dongge Cave), and New Mexican trees (El Malpais).

This study presents a monthly resolved coral Sr/Ca time series from New Caledonia that reconstructs sea surface temperature (SST; 1648-1999). The chronology is based on density-band counting, cross-correlating Sr/Ca, and ²³°Th dating. The intracolony coral Sr/Ca variations are coherent on interannual to centennial time scales and are reproducible for >300 years. The SST reconstruction reveals estimated cooling trend (~0.4°C) …

Mathematical Modeling Of Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Colleen Spiegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fuel cells are predicted to be the power delivery devices of the future. They have many advantages such as the wide fuel selection, high energy density, high efficiency and an inherent safety which explains the immense interest in this power source. The need for advanced designs has been limited by the lack of understanding of the transport processes inside the fuel cell stack. The reactant gases undergo many processes in a fuel cell that cannot be observed. Some of these processes include convective and diffusional mass transport through various types of materials, phase change and chemical reaction. In order to …

Owss And Mimo-Stc-Ofdm: Signaling Systems For The Next Generation Of High Speed Wireless Lans, Dinesh Divakaran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current popularity of WLANs is a testament primarily to their convenience, cost efficiency and ease of integration. Even now the demand for high data rate wireless communications has increased fourfold as consumers demand better multimedia communications over the wireless medium. The next generation of high speed WLANs is expected to meet this increased demand for capacity coupled with high performance and spectral efficiency. The current generation of WLANs utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. The next generation of WLAN standards can be made possible either by developing a different modulation technique or combining legacy OFDM with Multiple Input …

The Acquisition Of Procedural Skills: An Analysis Of The Worked-Example Effect Using Animated Demonstrations, David Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While many educators suggest active, rather than passive learning, this is not always the best solution, especially when learners are novices. Sweller and Cooper found learners who passively studied worked examples were significantly more efficient than those who actively solved problems (Cooper & Sweller, 1987; Sweller & Cooper, 1985) later described as the "worked-example effect" (Sweller & Chandler, 1991).

The current study tested the claims of Lewis (2005) who suggested animated demonstrations act as worked examples. It compared the performance of groups of preservice teachers who: studied animated demonstrations (demo); studied animated demonstrations and practiced procedures (demo+practice & demo2+practice), or …

Sedimentation Of Organic - Inorganic Composites By Optical Turbidity, Reshma K. Harrinauth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentation is one of many characterization tools used to test materials in nanotechnology. Characterization of settling behavior is complex as there are many variables which can affect sedimentation. In our research, we focused on sedimentation in colloidal systems with the aid of an optical turbidometer. Nanoparticles of CeO₂ (Ceria Oxide) and TiO₂ (Titanium Dioxide) are embedded onto a polymeric matrix of a thermally responsive microgel of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and interpenetrating chains of poly(acrylic acid) to create novel composites. The composites are loaded with the inorganic oxide nanoparticles at different weight percent from a low value of 10 weight …

Fault-Tolerant Adaptive Model Predictive Control Using Joint Kalman Filter For Small-Scale Helicopter, Carlos L. Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel application is presented for a fault-tolerant adaptive model predictive control system for small-scale helicopters. The use of a joint Extended Kalman Filter, (EKF), for the estimation of the states and parameters of the UAV, provided the advantage of implementation simplicity and accuracy. A linear model of a small-scale helicopter was utilized for testing the proposed control system. The results, obtained through the simulation of different fault scenarios, demonstrated that the proposed scheme was able to handle different types of actuator and system faults effectively. The types of faults considered were represented in the parameters of the mathematical representation …

Motion-Logger: An Attitude And Motion Sensing System, Andres Felipe Marquez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes a motion sensing system for wheelchairs with the main objective of determining tips, falls and risky situations. The system relies on measurements from an Inertial Measurement Unit, (IMU), consisting of a 3-axis accelerometer and a 2-axis gyroscope as the source of information. The IMU was embedded in a portable device, the "Motion Logger", which collects motion data in a Secure Digital memory card after running a real time preprocessing algorithm. The algorithm was designed to reduce energy consumption and memory usage. Actual signal analysis and attitude estimation is carried out offline.

The motion sensing system was developed …

Discrete Linear Constrained Multivariate Optimization For Power Sources Of Mobile Systems, Stelios G. Ioannou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned ground and aerial vehicles (UGVs and UAVs) have strict payload limitations, limited free space affecting on board power availability resulting in limited endurance and operational range. This limitation is exacerbated by the addition of sensors, actuators and other related equipment needed to accomplish mission objectives in diverse applications.

Two energy sources are mainly available for mobile applications; batteries and fuel cells. Batteries are a relatively cheap, tested technology with good performance under varying loads. On the other hand, fuel cells offer fast and easy refueling solutions. Furthermore, preliminary studies have shown that a hybrid system can combine the advantages …

The Virtual Landscape Of Geological Information Topics, Methods, And Rhetoric In Modern Geology, Sarah Elizabeth Fratesi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geology is undergoing changes that could influence its knowledge claims, reportedly becoming more laboratory-based, technology-driven, quantitative, and physics- and chemistry-rich over time. This dissertation uses techniques from information science and linguistics to examine the geologic literature of 1945-2005. It consists of two studies: an examination of the geological literature as an expanding network of related subdisciplines, and an investigation of the linguistic and graphical argumentation strategies within geological journal articles.

The first investigation is a large-scale study of topics within articles from 67 geologic journals. Clustering of subdiscipline journals based on titles and keywords reveals six major areas of geology: …