Digital Commons Network^™

Automated Device To Measure Slurry Properties In Drilled Shafts, Miles Patrick Mullins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slurry is the fluid within a drilled excavation that is introduced when an excavation is deeper than the water table or where additional stability is needed for loose sandy dry soils. Although construction practices vary greatly throughout the country and the world, slurry levels should be maintained above the existing ground water level by a suitable margin. The most widely used slurry type is mineral slurry formed by mixing dry clay powder with water; either bentonite or attapulgite powder may be used (attapulgite being used in saline water conditions). Regardless of whether the slurry material is mineral, polymer or natural, …

Differential Association Of Vitronectin And Fibronectin With Glass And Electrospun Fibers Of A Poly (D-Lysine) /Poly (Acrylic Acid), Syed Muhammad Sohaib Zafar Zafar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proteins represent major constituent of the extracellular matrix which plays an important role in the formation, maintenance and remodeling of tissues, this project focuses on adsorption of two specific serum proteins fibronectin (FN) and vitronectin (VTN) responsible for mediating cell matrix interaction through integrin binding, tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence found in these protein features are recognized by αβV₃ integrin which ultimately helps in clot formation.

Making A Place For People At A Wildlife Corridor On Chicago's South Side, Alexis Winter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What role do environmental conservation projects play in the transformation of American cities? How do these projects affect city residents? In this study, I ask these questions at the Burnham Wildlife Corridor, where the Chicago Park District worked with institutional and community-based partner organizations to engage city residents in the creation of a lakefront wildlife habitat and public nature area. Through ethnographic interviews and participant observation I explored how actors at various levels understand this changing landscape and their roles in shaping it. I situate the Burnham Wildlife Corridor project in the broader context of a state-level plan, the Millennium …

Media Representations Of Abortion Politics In Florida: Feminist Geographic Analysis Of Newspaper Articles, 2011-2013, Jennifer Iceton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Feminist geographers argue that gendered bodies and power are deeply entwined (McDowell 1992; Rose 1993). However, few geographers have investigated how gender and power interact in relation to the politics of abortion access. This thesis seeks to fill this gap by conducting a feminist content analysis of six newspapers from Florida’s three largest metropolitan areas to determine how articles featuring abortion are framed. Analysis of the dataset concludes that the politicization of the abortion debate results in the erasure of women from the conversation, the identification of a pregnant women trope which homogenizes all women into one category, and Planned …

Photic Stress In Symbiont-Bearing Reef Organisms: Analyses Of Photosynthetic Performance, Natasha Mendez-Ferrer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Photo-oxidative stress is one of the key factors that can induce bleaching in reef organisms. With the decline of coral reefs and recurrent bleaching events, many studies have focused on understanding the mechanism behind this phenomenon. Two of the hypotheses that explain how the photosynthetic performance of the symbiont is affected and influences bleaching are: (1) disruption of the photosynthetic pathway by direct damage to the photosystem II (PSII), and (2) by inhibition of the Calvin-Benson cycle. In this dissertation I examine different aspects of photosynthetic performance in symbiont-bearing reef organisms and how this is influenced by symbiont loss and …

Reclaiming The Activity Of Lost Therapeutics, Rallya Telussa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ESKAPE pathogens are notorious in causing nosocomial infections and escaping current antibiotic treatments. There has been a dramatic increase in nosocomial infections accompanied with a decrease in the number of antibiotics developed, leading to significant increase in morbidity and mortality among patients. In an attempt to combat this problem, derivatives of ciprofloxacin, rifabutin and beta-lactam antibiotics were synthesized and tested against the ESKAPE pathogens. From minimum inhibitory concentration assays, 4 ciprofloxacin analogs and 8 beta-lactam analogs were found to be effective against multiple bacterial species. Additionally, 12 rifabutin analogs and 23 beta-lactam analogs were potent against single bacterial species, primarily …

Authentication In Wireless Body Area Networks (Wban), Nagalaxmi Yenuganti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the advancements in technology and computing environment capabilities, the number of devices that people carry has increased exponentially. This increase initially occurred as a result of necessity to monitor the human body condition due to chronic diseases, heart problems etc. Later, individuals’ interest was drawn towards self-monitoring their physiology and health care. This is achieved by implanting various sensors that can proactively monitor the human body based on medical necessity and the health condition of the user. Sensors connected on a human body perceive phenomena such as locomotion or heartbeat, and act accordingly to form a Body Area Network. …

Using Instructions And Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Facebook Skills To Seniors, Alison Ann Oconnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The senior population is growing faster than any other population group, and life expectancy is increasing. E-mail and social media enable people of all ages to stay in touch, and find information, resources, and entertainment. Positive effects are associated with computer and internet use for older adults, but not all seniors have embraced technology and some seniors feel negatively about it. Several different methods have been used to teach seniors computer skills, including mentoring, lecturing, and providing instructions, but not many procedures have been evaluated for effectiveness. In the current study, we recruited three to five seniors, taught them to …

Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Infected Mesenchymal Stem Cells Regulate Immunity Via Interferon-Beta And Indoleamine-2,3-Dioxygenase, Michael B. Cheung

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in young children worldwide, accounting for an estimated 33.8 million cases of respiratory disease, over 3 million of which require hospitalization, and between 66,000 and 199,000 deaths in this susceptible population. Additionally, severe RSV infection early in life is associated with an increased risk of wheeze and other airway disorders later in life. Despite this, there is currently no vaccine or economically reasonable prophylactic regimen to prevent infection. While disease is typically more severe in infancy RSV can infect throughout the lifespan repeatedly as the …

Polymer Characteristics Of Polyelectrolyte Polypeptides, Jorge Monreal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polypeptides are polymerized chains of amino acids linked covalently through peptide bonds. Polyelectrolyte polypeptides are polypeptides with electrolyte repeating groups. Several amino acids contain ionizable side chains which result in charge distributions when dissolved in aqueous solutions. This dissertation is motivated by a desire to gain knowledge of polyelectrolyte polypeptides as recent advances in chemical synthesis of polypeptides have made possible the fabrication of designed polypeptides that do not naturally occur in nature. Potential applications of newly designed polypeptides span the range from medical to clothing and energy even to robotics.

In this dissertation we compare the characteristic behavior of …

Heavy South: Identity, Performance, And Heavy Music In The Southern Metal Scene, Michael A. Mcdowell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Metal scene depends heavily on the performance of a Southern Identity. While considerable research has been done on other musical genres and scenes from the American South (country music, blues, gospel music), less attention has been given to the extreme metal scene of Southern Metal. Using scholarship of Nadine Hubbs, Philip Auslander, Jefferey C. Alexander, and Keith Kahn Harris, among others, I analyze two films, Slow Southern Steel (2010) and NOLA: Life, Death, and Heavy Blues from the Bayou (2014), and one song, Down’s “Eyes of the South” as cultural productions of this Southern Metal scene. In …

Hexamethylene Diisocyanate Homopolymer And Monomer Exposure Assessment And Characterization At An Automobile Manufacturer In The United States, Karthik Reguram Sivaraman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of paint products are used for their aesthetic and anti-corrosive properties. Isocyanates are consistently found in automobile paint products, particularly in clear coat polyurethane products. Clear coat is typically sprayed via pressurized air by means of an auto-spray robot. In clear coat repair situations, manual, air-powered spray guns are used, and manual spray Operators administer the clear coat material. The isocyanates are a primary anti-corrosive agent in polyurethane products. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not established a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and American Conference of Governmental …

Evaluating Video Modeling To Teach Caregivers To Conduct Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessments, Cristina Diane Andersen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stimulus preference assessments have been shown to identify stimuli that are likely to function as reinforcers for individuals with disabilities. It is important to identify these stimuli to increase the effectiveness of interventions. The ability to conduct a stimulus preference assessment is a skill that parents and caregivers should have. Research on training preference assessments is limited to staff, teachers, and students. The following study evaluated the effectiveness of video modeling to teach caregivers to conduct paired stimulus preference assessments. The results showed that video modeling was effective and that the results maintained during a one week follow up.

Computational Code For Optimization Of Thermal Treatment Of Fine Grained Soils As A Method Of Expediting Their Load Induced Consolidation, Radhavi Abeysiridara Samarakoon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Construction in soft soils has been a challenging task for engineers due to the excessive time taken for dissipation of construction induced pore water pressure and the ensuing postconstruction settlement. Use of vertical drains has proven to be an effective and economical method for soft ground improvement and hence extensive research has been carried out to further improve its efficiency. Effect of temperature on radial consolidation is one aspect of such research among many others that have been pursued.

Elevated temperature certainly has a pronounced effect on the hydraulic conductivity due to the reduction it causes in the viscosity of …

Digital Integration, Jacob C. Boccio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology; something far beyond smartphones, cloud integration, or surgical microchip implantation. Utilizing the work of Ray Kurzweil, Nick Bostrom, and Steven Shaviro, this thesis investigates technology and artificial intelligence through the lens of the cinema. It does this by mapping contemporary concepts and the imagined worlds in film as an intersection of reality and fiction that examines issues of individual identity and alienation. I look at a non-linear timeline of films involving machine advancement, machine intelligence, and stages of post-human development; Elysium (2013) and Surrogates (2009) are about technology as an extension of the self, …

The Psychometric Evaluation And Validation Of A Measure Assessing Pharmacological And Social Alcohol Expectancies In Adolescents, Megan Victoria Mcmurray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extending prior alcohol expectancy measurement research, this researcher (McMurray, 2013) recently developed the Pharmacological and Social Alcohol Expectancy Scale (PSAES). The PSAES is the only alcohol expectancy measure to date that provides adequate coverage of both social expectancies and the anticipated positive pharmacological effects resulting from alcohol consumption, and was developed and validated in a sample of young adults (aged 18-23). Research has shown that adolescents at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) hold higher expectations of reward from alcohol, suggesting that expectancy patterns may help distinguish at-risk youth. Building upon the previous PSAES validation study, the primary purpose …

Secure Communication Scheme In Smart Home Environment, Hari Krishna Jonnalagadda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internet of Things, has started to mark its existence from past few years. Right from its inception with a coke machine at Carnegie Mellon University, it has come a long way, connecting billions of devices to internet. This journey is well supported by the advancements in networking, hardware miniaturization and sensing capabilities. Diverse nature of applications of Internet of Things, has cut the communication barriers between the varieties of fields ranging from manufacturing industry to health-care industry. Smart Home is one such application of Internet of Things. Connectivity of home appliances, to achieve automation in living, defines Smart Home. Out …

Diversity And Distribution Of Diatom Endosymbionts In Amphistegina Spp. (Foraminifera) Based On Molecular And Morphological Techniques, Kwasi H. Barnes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diatoms associated with foraminifers of the genus Amphistegina were assessed using a combination of morphological and molecular techniques. These included: 1) microscopic identification of diatoms cultured from the host, 2) sequencing of portions of the small subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene (18S) and the large subunit of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase [i.e., RubisCO] gene (rbcL) from DNA extracted directly from the Amphistegina hosts and also from diatoms cultured from these hosts, and 3) denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles of rbcL and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR amplicons from DNA extracted directly from …

Environmental And Community Health In South San Diego County: A Behavior Analysis Of Recreational Ocean Users Along Imperial Beach, California, Trista Brophy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Garbage & sewage runoff into the Pacific Ocean at the shoreline along the U.S./Mexico Border region poses serious health and environmental threats. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current beach users’ behavioral factors that may be linked to illness prevalence from Coronado Island to the U.S./Mexico border at Imperial Beach in San Diego County. It is a continuation of a study completed by Wildcoast and Imperial Beach Clinic in 2011. The study tried to answer the following two major questions: How have the number of illnesses reported by users along South San Diego County beaches changed in …

Smoking Among Youth Living With Hiv: The Intersection Of Behavioral Health And Chronic Disease, Todd Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Smoking amongst youth living with HIV (YLWH) has major public health implications. When combined with the complications associated with smoking such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or heart disease, the impact of a HIV positive diagnosis increases morbidity exponentially (Nahvi & Cooperman, 2009). The purpose of this study was two-fold, to investigate the perceptions of smoking amongst YLWH aged 18-25 who received care at the CMS Clinic located at the University of South Florida and to determine factors related to cessation. A study design utilizing two components, a systematic literature review and primary qualitative data was used in this …

Video Data Collection For Continuous Identity Assurance, Janani Venkatesan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Frequently monitoring the identity of a person connected to a secure system is an important component in a cyber-security system. Identity Assurance (IA) mechanisms which continuously confirm and verify users’ identity after the initial authentication process ensure integrity and security. Such systems prevent unauthorized access and eliminate the need of an authorized user to present credentials repeatedly for verification. Very few cyber-security systems deploy such IA modules. These IA modules are typically based on computer vision and machine learning algorithms. These algorithms work effectively when trained with representative datasets. This thesis describes our effort at collecting a small dataset of …

Blind And Visually Impaired Users Adaptation To Web Environments: A Qualitative Study, Raneem Saqr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although much research exists on human behavior in online environments, research on users with disabilities is still rare. To draw more attention to this population, this dissertation explored browsing patterns and adaptive behaviors of people with visual disability across different online environments common in daily activities: social network, e-commerce, online information, and search engines’ websites. The main objective of this study is to propose a conceptual framework of how blind and visually impaired users browse and adapt to different web environments. We achieve this objective using a qualitative approach through three studies. In the first study, the researchers collect data …

Drop, Cover, And Hold On: Analyzing Fema's Risk Communication Through Visual Rhetoric, Samantha Jo Cosgrove

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to understand the relationship between visual rhetoric and power structure between FEMA’s Earthquake publications and their audience. Research shows images leave a longer impression on readers than text, causing more studies to focus on visuals rather than just text in technical communication. Author uses Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze the images in relation to text, design, and intended audience to determine what information is being privileged. It is determined that homeowners are being privileged with information over non-homeowners, established through a collection of images and image types. The lack of information for non-homeowners could result in injury …

Spatially Directional Resorcin[4]Arene Cavitand Glycoconjugates For Organic Catalysis In Aqueous Media, Ali Husain Husain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Resorcin[4]arenes and their rigid structures “cavitands” offer a unique molecular structure scaffolds suitable for attaching and orienting multi-ligands on their upper rims. Their remarkable structure properties, the relative ease of chemical modification on their either rims or through the multiple phenolic hydroxyl (-OH) groups, manipulating their cavity size and the role of spatial directionality provided by their cores, led synthetic chemist to explore their utilities in the synthesis of valuable resorcin[4]arene/cavitand assemblies with wide range of applications in many research areas such as supramolecular chemistry, host-guest chemistry, glycoconjugates, polymer chemistry, host-guest chemistry, micro-reactors in chemical catalysis and others. In particular, …

Assessing Excessive Noise Exposure Of Music-Oriented Nightclub Employees, Aiyanna Fitzgerald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much research has gone into noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and the effects of high intensity noise levels on the hearing mechanism of individuals. A study by the National Institutes of Health has established that high intensity sounds can cause hearing damage of either a temporary, or worse, a permanent nature; regardless of the age of the person. While sound levels below 75 decibels are considered comparatively harmless and have been found not to cause any kind of permanent hearing loss; sound levels greater than 85 decibels and regular exposure of approximately 8 hours per day, on an average, has been …

A New Materialist Approach To Visual Rhetoric In Photoshopbattles, Jonathan Paul Ray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to examine the visual rhetoric of one online community. Drawing heavily from the work of Laurie Gries (2015), I track the evolution of an image as it circulates through a forum of photo manipulators in the group “PhotoShopBattles.” While Gries’ work traced the evolution of the iconic Obama Hope poster and its iterations in various media, this project restricts its observations to the images posted to one webpage, focusing on one evolutionary chain. By narrowing the focus to one internet forum page that evolved over the course of one week, we can observe linear …

Use Of A Game-Based App As A Learning Tool For Students With Mathematics Learning Disabilities To Increase Fraction Knowledge/Skill, Orhan Simsek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a game-based app (Motion Math: Fraction) to help students with Mathematics Learning Disabilities (MLD) to gain fraction skills including comparison, estimation, and word problem solving in an after school program. The researcher used multiple baseline design by extending with follow-up phase to determine whether students retained the knowledge they learned while engaging with the app. Even though six students participated to the study, the researcher withdrew two of them and analyzed data came from four students. The result o the study showed that all of the students …

Cause Placement: A Conceptual Framework And Empirical Findings, Ream A. Shoreibah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of embedded marketing, the practice of seamlessly integrating advertising messages into entertainment vehicles, continues to grow as media consumption shifts to on-demand forms, and reaching audiences with traditional advertising becomes more challenging. This dissertation investigates cause placement, the term proposed for the social marketing equivalent of product placement, the more widely known form of embedded marketing. Cause placement is the promotion of pro-social causes by verbally and/or visually inserting related elements into entertainment programming. Cause placement merits its own stream of research, because consumers are expected to react differently to the placement of social issues than to the …

Venezuela, From Charisma To Mimicry: The Rise And Fall Of A Televised Political Drama, Rebecca Blackwell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I build on the assumption that collective emotional experience plays an important role in sustaining the group identity central to nation-making processes inspired by charismatic leaders. This analysis is based on a case study of the Venezuelan government after the death of Hugo Chávez. I examine ways in which elements of the leader’s narrative are used by his successors after his death. I also argue that the current political actors of the bureaucratized Revolutionary Government of Venezuela are attempting to sustain popular support by reaffirming a national identity that resonated among the masses largely due to the …

Urban English Language Arts Teachers’ Stories Of Technology Use: A Narrative Inquiry, Bridget Abbas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Technology use in high-minority, low-income middle school ELA classrooms is defined by traditional instructional practices (Applebee & Langer, 2013; Attewell, 2001; Boser, 2013; Cuban, 2001; Lankshear & Knobel, 2008), barriers to access (O’Dwyer et al., 2005; Purcell et al., 2013; Warschauer & Matuchniak, 2010), and inequalities in use (Banister & Reinhart, 2011; Beers, 2004; Gorski, 2009; Makinen, 2006; Powell, 2007; Reinhart et al., 2011; Dijk, 2003, 2006; Warschauer et al., 2004). This characterization, or grand narrative, of technology use is echoed and challenged by this narrative inquiry. Here the stories of two ELA teachers frequently using technology in instruction and …