Digital Commons Network^™

Anticipatory Motivation For Drinking Alcohol: An In-Vivo Study, Bryan Benitez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies from various research groups have already shown the usefulness of alcohol expectancies as predictors of long-term future alcohol consumption. The present study extends this line of research by directly testing whether alcohol expectancies measured in the moment using free association are useful as predictors of alcohol consumption in the next few hours. An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) procedure was used to examine how alcohol expectancies might fluctuate during days in which many people expect to drink (e.g. Fridays, Saturdays) and how these fluctuations in alcohol expectancies might predict future drinking and/or co-vary with important contextual variables during that …

Identification Of Regulatory Mirnas Associated With Ethanol-Induced Microglial Activation Using Integrated Proteomic And Transcriptomic Approaches, Brandi Jo Cook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic consumption of, and acute intoxication from, alcohol can have profound effects on the functional integrity of the central nervous system (CNS). The resident immunomodulatory cells of the CNS, microglia, provide signaling factors with both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects for protection. Microglial activation ranges through a multiplex of phases, of which have yet to be defined when induced by exposure to alcohol, and how the activation impacts surrounding cells. Exposure of alcohol has been revealed to induce an immune response in microglia, which can exhibit characteristics unique to a pro-inflammatory response depending on dose and time of alcohol exposure. To …

Direct Print Additive Manufacturing Of Optical Fiber Interconnects, Roger B. Tipton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High performance communications, sensing and computing systems are growing exponentially as modern life continues to rely more and more on technology. One of the factors that are currently limiting computing and transmission speeds are copper wire interconnects between devices. Optical fiber interconnects would greatly increase the speed of today’s electronic devices. In this study it has been demonstrated that by using a new Direct Print Additive Manufacturing (DPAM) process of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) of plastic and micro-dispensing of pastes and inks, we can 3D print single and multi-mode optical fibers in a controlled manner such that compact, 3-dimensional optical …

"He Didn't Mean It": What Kubrick's The Shining Can Teach Us About Domestic Violence, Kelley O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With Second Wave Feminism and the Women’s Rights Movement, 1970’s Americans began to see a shift in gender norms affecting how we relate to one another, particularly within a family structure. Scholars have noted an anxiety permeating the decade over the potential negative ramifications of such a drastic cultural shift. We see these issues of gender politics played out in numerous popular films from the 1970s and into the 1980s. Kubrick’s The Shining, like many horror films of the time, preys upon the societal fear for the family, due to these shifting gender norms, by featuring a crumbling patriarch (Jack), …

Cool Moms & Cool Media: Returning To, Morgan Wallace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I posit that contemporary fears about the effect electronic media has on us and our children is anything but new. Therefore, reminiscing about the "good ole days" and wanting to go back would not actually solve the problem. However, looking back to a time when there was also anxiety about electronic media and the shifting field of public and private may reveal new possibilities for relating to and with these media. Rather than flatly blame media as an apparently new cause of harm, it is essential to reveal media's historical and political conditions, only in this way can we better …

Promoter Effects On Iron-Based, Sba-15 Supported Ultra-High Temperature Fischer- Tropsch Catalysts, David P. Weber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Promoter effects on SBA-15 supported iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts were investigated for their potential to improve high temperature catalyst performance. FTS catalysts promoted by manganese (0.15%-1.4%), copper (0.15%-1%), and potassium (0.5%-3%), with all percentages stated on the basis of mass percentage of final catalysts, were prepared and tested at 430°C and ambient pressure in a fixed bed reactor. Manganese showed the ability to promote the FT reaction, increasing both the CO conversion and the average chain length of hydrocarbon products. Compared to the unpromoted catalyst composed only of iron supported on SBA-15, 1.4%Mn (mass) promotion of 15% (mass) iron on SBA-15 …

Perception Of Kazakhstan In The U.S Through The New York Times Coverage, Tursynay Alikhanova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study examines how the image of Kazakhstan was covered by the New York Times during 11 years and analyzed the most common perception of the Central Asian country, using framing as a theoretical framework. Textual-analysis approach was used as a method, exploration produced seven frames. The textual analysis approach demonstrated that negative coverage prevailed in the coverage of Kazakhstan, “in spite of friendly relationships with the USA”. Kazakhstan was framed as “authoritarian” “petro-state”, which got independence, but still followed “soviet-style” politics and was largely influenced by its “hegemon Russia”. The country, which “has a complex about being recognized …

Analysis Of User Interfaces In The Sharing Economy, Taylor B. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers claims of discrimination and the interfaces that six platforms use as companies in the sharing economy.

In 2015, Benjamin Edelman, Michael Luca, and an Svirsky did an experiment with Airbnb to test the discrimination of names that sounded distinctly African American. Before and after their findings, there were members of the community who claimed that they had been discriminated against, some suing the company for not upholding their anti-discrimination policy. This leads to the question of how is one able to discriminate against someone whom they have never met and lives thousands of miles away? What information …

The Revival Western And, Kevin Thomas Mckenna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I create a dialogue between films credited with reviving the Western film genre in the early 1990’s. I examine spatial representations in a group of films I label “the revival westerns”: Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves (1990), Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992), and George P. Cosmatos’ Tombstone (1993). Through the use of extreme long shots, characters demonstrating a confined sense of place, and continuity editing, the revival westerns erect a concentrically scaled conception of space and place and maintain a linear temporality. However, I offer Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man (1995) as an intervention that reassembles these spatial and temporal notions. Dead …

Shithole Countries: An Analysis Of News Coverage In The U.S., Murewa O. Olubela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research paper studied the first two weeks after President Donald Trump allegedly called African countries “shithole countries” in a bi-partisan meeting on immigration. It explored the frames and emerging themes used by the media when covering the incident and the surrounding issues. Using the framing theory as a theoretical framework, the study examined the six identified news frames through qualitative content analysis. The six frames used in the coverage of the “shithole countries” incident are racial, conflict, consequences, morality, human interest, and policy. The study examined articles from four news sources that lean liberal, conservative, central-liberal, and central conservative. …

Cultural Adaptation And Maintenance: Chinese International Students' Use Of Facebook And Wechat, Mengni Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In terms of Uses and gratification theory, this study examined the relationships between the usage of social networking sites and acculturation among Chinese students who are studying in U.S. colleges (N=246). By comparing two different SNSs, American SNS (Facebook) and ethnic SNS (WeChat), it was discovered that Chinese students exposed differential needs and gratification achievement in these two SNSs. This study applied a quantitative method, and data were collected with an online survey platform "Qualtrics," which was carried out on February 2018. The present study found that the degree of Facebook gratification can lead to the increasing of use intensity. …

A Queer And Crip Grotesque: Katherine Dunn's, Megan Wiedeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The grotesque has long been utilized in literature as a means for subverting societal constraints and inverting constructions of normalcy. Unfortunately, in many instances, it has been constructed at the expense of disabled characters using their embodiment as metaphorical plot devices rather than social and political agents. Criticism of the grotesque’s use of bodily difference has prompted this analytical project in order to rethink disability as socially and politically positioned within texts, rather than simply aesthetics for symbolic means. The aim of this paper is to explore the ways the literary grotesque can be reread using queer theory and crip …

I’M Your Fan – Engaging In Celebrity’S Social Media Page With The Mediation Of Parasocial Interaction And Parasocial Relationship, Jiahui Zhuang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social media enable celebrity to interact with their followers and enable followers to build the relationship through the interaction. Former research has found that openness and perceived interactivity are antecedents for parasocial interaction. In order to investigate the way to increase user’s engagement in celebrity’s social media page, this research examines the relationship between celebrity’s posts employ openness and perceived interactivity, other user’s posts employ openness and perceived interactivity, parasocial interaction, parasocial relationship, and social media engagement. Survey data were collected from 595 followers of one Chinese celebrity through an online survey. The results indicate that neither celebrity’s nor other …

Better Safe Than Sorry: The Relationship Between Locus Of Control, Perception Of Risk, And Cyber Misbehaviors, Kim Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Information security is of vital importance to organizations. Breaches in security very often stem from behaviors of the system operator. Cyber misbehaviors on the part of employees can have devastating repercussions on the well-being of an organization. Up to now, research has mainly focused on how to protect information systems from outside attack, and only recently have researchers turned to the part the operator plays in keeping the systems safe. The present study investigated some individual differences that may play a role in people’s cyber behavior. The purpose of the study was to determine if locus of control was related …

Field Testing Of Affordable Well Head Protection For Locally Manufactured, Self-Supply Pitcher Pumps On Manually Driven Tubewells In Madagascar, Michal Usowicz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lack of water access is an issue of global importance. The WHO and UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Program estimated that in 2015 71% of the world’s population used a safely managed drinking water source and 89% of the world’s population used an improved water source within a 30-minute round trip of home. Madagascar’s national statistics lags far behind these global statistics with 54% of the population using improved water sources, 31% using unimproved water sources, and 16% with no service at all.

This research studied water access in Madagascar with self-supply Pitcher Pumps attached on hand-driven tubewells. The term self-supply in …

Design, Synthesis, Application Of Biodegradable Polymers, Mussie Gide

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial infections have posed a serious threat to the public health due to the significant rise of the infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There has been considerable interest in the development of antimicrobial agents which mimic the natural HDPs, and among them biodegradable polymers are newly discovered drug candidates with ease of synthesis and low manufacture cost compared to synthetic host defense peptides. Herein, we present the synthesis of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers including polycarbonate polymers, unimolecular micelle hyperbranched polymers and dendrimers that mimic the antibacterial mechanism of HDPs by compromising bacterial cell membranes. The developed amphiphilic polycarbonates are highly …

Three Essays On Digital Annual Reports For Nonprofessional Investors: The Impacts Of Presentation Formats On Investment-Related Judgments And Decisions, Yibo Zhang (James)

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of presentation formats on nonprofessional investors’ impressions of firm performance in the context of digital annual reports. The dissertation implements a three-essay approach.

Essay 1 examines whether the effect of positive/negative financial performance news on nonprofessional investors’ impressions of management and firm performance depends on whether the graphical display of that news is vivid or pallid. Conducting a 2 x 2 between-participants experiment with 470 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (M-Turk), I find that when the news is positive, presenting graphs vividly allows nonprofessional investors to have a more positive …

Embedded System Design Of Low-Power Wearable Bioelectronic Devices, Matthew S. Hopper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The miniaturization of electronics in modern times has enabled the possibility of creating a “continuity of care” using small wearable bioelectronic devices. Using wearable devices, such as the Fitbit or Garmin fitness trackers, allows for the exchange of data between devices which can be used to improve the accuracy of data analysis and thus patient health.

In this thesis work, three wearable bioelectronic devices are proposed: an EOG-based eye-gaze tracking assistive technology device for the physically disabled to control a computer cursor, a battery-operated miniaturized polysomnograph that can store and transmit data wirelessly to sleep technicians and a trauma-detecting personal …

Les Femmes Et L'Éducation Dans Le Théâtre Du Grand Siècle:, Hayley E. Jayson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Notre thèse vise à analyser la représentation de l'éducation des femmes dans le théâtre français du dix-septième siècle. Dans cette période du théâtre néoclassique, on écrivait des pièces dans le style classique avec des thèmes et des personnages qui reflétaient la société de l'époque. Les dramaturges créaient leurs œuvres afin de divertir le public ainsi que d'instruire aux spectateurs comment on devrait se comporter. Nous avons choisi quatre pièces des genres et des thèmes différents afin d'analyser comment les femmes étaient éduquées ainsi que comment elles s'instruisaient. Nous considérons l'instruction dans un sens formel et académique ainsi que dans un …

An Examination Of Image Repair Theory And Bp’S Response To The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, William Anthony Korte Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 2010 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig was an environmental disaster unparalleled in United States history. Because of this, there has been a great deal of research studies regarding the matter.

The purpose of this study was to determine what inshore fishing guides in the Tampa Bay Area feel should be a response to future oil spills using Image Repair Theory, as well as how this important group of stakeholders felt about the image repair responses employed by BP in the wake of the spill.

In depth interviews were used to gather data and answer the pertinent research …

Reproducing Intersex Trouble: An Analysis Of The M.C. Case In The Media, Jamie M. Lane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How do members of the media represent intersex people? Do the voices of intersex activists find their way into mainstream media representations, or are they ignored? What types of discourses are produced by the presence (or lack thereof) of activist voices in news articles? The goal of this thesis is to interrogate the discourse surrounding intersex, or individuals who fall outside of the typical male/female binary for sex classification, and intersex activism in the media. The legal case M.C. vs. Aaronson, settled in 2017, was one of the first legal cases in the United States involving an intersex person. This …

Penalizing Pregnancy: A Feminist Legal Studies Analysis Of Purvi Patel's Criminalization, Abby Schneller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purvi Patel is an Indian American woman who, in 2015, was the first U.S. citizen to be convicted under feticide statutes for allegedly attempting her own abortion. Though her 2015 conviction was overturned the same year, the feticide conviction was significant as a legal precedent as well as part of a larger trend criminalizing pregnant women of color. With an eye towards the greater pattern of the criminalization of other pregnant women of color (Boyd, 1999; Faludi, 1991; Humphries, 1999; Mahan, 1996; Roberts, 1997), in this thesis I employ a feminist legal studies methodology and the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality …

Political Talk Shows In Taiwan: First- And Third-Person Effects, Their Attitudinal Antecedents And Consequences, Shou-Chen Hsieh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the political talk show phenomenon in Taiwan. Specifically, the study examined the perceived influence of political talk shows on the Taiwanese audience themselves (first-person effect) and others (third-person effect), the attitudinal antecedents of the perceived influences, and attitude toward restrictions on political talk shows. Data were collected from a convenient sample of 1053 adult Taiwanese citizens via an online survey. The results supported the hypothesized relationships between attitude toward political talk shows and perceived influence of the shows on self and others. Results also supported the looking glass perception hypothesis whereby …

General Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Response To Intervention Implementation: A Qualitative Interview Study, Adhwaa Alahmari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interview study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation in their school. Particularly, the study explored teachers’ knowledge of RtI, teachers’ perceptions of RtI tiers intervention/instruction in their school, and teachers’ suggestions of RtI implementation in their school. The study design was a qualitative interview study and data were collected from the face-to-face interviews with four teachers in one school. Findings revealed that RtI is meant to identify students’ problems. Positive teachers’ perceptions of their implementation included: (a) Students who demonstrate progress through RtI, (b) Students who receive special education services, (c) …

Failing To Move Forward: Journalism, Media, And Affect In David Fincher's, Nicholas Orlando

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) offers a critique of the mass media’s efforts to restore American valiance with heroic narratives of ordinary people in the aftermath of 9/11. Amending prior scholarly readings of Zodiac as a serial killer narrative, I reconfigure my analysis by taking Fincher at his word and treating it as a journalism film. Borrowing a term from political theorist Elisabeth Anker, I argue that, unlike other contemporary journalism films, Zodiac is constructed as a “melodrama of failure” that, rather than seeking mastery, unveils the instability of evidence and the obsessive uncertainty of procedure.

With his film sitting between …

Comparison Of Functional Porous Organic Polymers (Pops) And Natural Material Zeolite For Nitrogen Removal And Recovery From Synthetic Urine, Yan Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urine comprises around 1% of domestic sewage volume but holds 80% of total nitrogen. Source separation is a sustainable way to wastewater management than traditional way due to low energy cost and preventing certain pollutants into wastewater treatment plants. Currently, removing and recovering nitrogen from source-separated urine has attracted more and more interests. Of them, ion exchange was used for removal and recovery of nitrogen in the form of ammonia from synthetic urine for potential application as a fertilizer in agriculture. No previous research studies were conducted to investigate the removal and recovery of nitrogen from hydrolyzed urine by ion …

Conversion Of Biomass To Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels Via Anaerobic Digestion: A Feasibility Study, Ahmad Naqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of biomass as a potential feedstock for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels has been under investigation in the last few decades. This paper discusses a preliminary design and a feasibility study of producing liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass through a combined biochemical and thermochemical route. The process involves anaerobic digestion (AD) of the biodegradable portion of the biomass to produce methane rich gas. The methane rich biogas stream is purified by removing contaminants and upgraded to liquid hydrocarbon fuel in a gas to liquid facility (GTL) via thermochemical conversion route. The biogas conversion involves two major steps: …

Once Upon A Genre: Distant Reading, The Newbery Medal, And The Affordances Of Interdisciplinary Paradigms For Understanding Children’S Literature, Melanie Griffin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Typical critical patterns for studying children’s literature, defined in this study as a written text intended for a reader up to the age of 14, make it difficult to chart generic change across a large corpus of texts. Traditionally, criticism of children’s literature focuses on cherry picked archetypes, exemplars, and the standout extraordinary. This study employs interdisciplinary methods and data sources from library science, education, and literary studies to create a method for analyzing a sample corpus of children’s literature more holistically vis-à-vis distant, macroscopic reading techniques.

In this dissertation, I macroscopically read the corpus of Newbery Medal-winning texts in …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Institutional Financial Resources And Global Ranking, Matthew S. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global rankings are a popular way for governments, HEI’s, faculty, staff, and students to compare institutions worldwide, therefore it is important to rank well. However, in order to have top-quality research and education programs, HEI’s need to have significant financial resources. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between an institution’s financial resources and its global ranking. The results of this study provide additional insight and a better understanding of global rankings and the nature of the relationship between various financial resources and global rankings.

This was a quantitative study that used ranking data from the Academic …

The Promised Body: Diet Culture, The Fat Subject, And Ambivalence As Resistance, Jennifer Dolan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the turn of the twentieth century, middle-class Americans have considered the thin body--ostensibly the result of self-control and self-discipline--a moral imperative and a symbol of good citizenship. In this thesis, I provide a critical perspective on fat studies by examining the ways in which the field authorizes itself in a society that deems the fat body unhealthy, costly, and immoral. As one potential solution to fat-hatred, fat studies proposes fat-positivity, but I argue that fat-positivity requires an extraordinary act of imagination in which the fat person overcomes what I term the ideology of thinness and subsequently feels good about …