Digital Commons Network^™

Enhanced Co2 Storage In Confined Geologic Formations, Roland Tenjoh Okwen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many geoscientists endorse Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a potential strategy

for mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases. Deep saline aquifers have been reported to

have larger CO

2 storage capacity than other formation types because of their availability

worldwide and less competitive usage. This work proposes an analytical model for screening

potential CO

2 storage sites and investigates injection strategies that can be employed to

enhance CO

2 storage.

The analytical model provides of estimates CO

2

storage efficiency, formation pressure

profiles, and CO

2

–brine interface location. The results from the analytical model were

compared to those from …

Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Solid State Complex Borohydride Hydrogen Storage Materials, Pabitra Choudhury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Materials that are light weight, low cost and have high hydrogen storage capacity are essential for on-board vehicular applications. Some reversible complex hydrides are alanates and amides but they have lower capacity than the DOE target (6.0 wt %) for 2010. High capacity, light weight, reversibility and fast kinetics at lower temperature are the primary desirable aspects for any type of hydrogen storage material. Borohydride complexes as hydrogen storage materials have recently attracted great interest.

Understanding the above parameters for designing efficient complex borohydride materials requires modeling across different length and time scales. A direct method lattice dynamics approach using …

A Randomized Trial Of A Dissonance-Induction Intervention To Decrease Tanning Behaviors Among College Females, Sari R. Chait

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sun exposure is implicated in the majority of skin cancer cases so it is important to identify interventions that successfully decrease young people's tanning behaviors and increase their sun protection behaviors. Research suggests that interventions that focus on the more immediate appearance related effects of tanning, rather than on future health risks, may be more effective in altering UV-related behaviors. Dissonance induction is a strategy that has been used to successfully alter other health-related behaviors. This study sought to determine if a dissonance induction intervention might be similarly successful in changing UV-related behaviors. The study yielded mixed findings. Relative to …

Enhancing Nature Of Science Understanding, Reflective Judgment, And Argumentation Through Socioscientific Issues, Brendan E. Callahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a distinct divide between theory and practice in American science education. Research indicates that a constructivist philosophy, in which students construct their own knowledge, is conductive to learning, while in many cases teachers continue to present science in a more traditional manner. This study sought to explore possible relationships between a socioscientific issues based curriculum and three outcome variables: nature of science understanding, reflective judgment, and argumentation skill. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine both whole class differences as well as individual differences between the beginning and end of a semester of high school Biology …

College Students' Use Of Science Content During Socioscientific Issues Negotiation: Impact Of Evolution Understanding And Acceptance, Samantha R. Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution science content used during college students' negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students' conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. Specific research questions were, (1a) what specific evolutionary science content do college students evoke during SSI negotiation, (1b) what is the depth of the evolutionary science content reflected in college students' SSI negotiation, and (2) what is the nature of the interaction between evolution understanding and evolution acceptance as they relate to depth of use of evolution content during SSI negotiation? The Socioscientific Issues …

“The Bitch,” “The Ditz,” And The Male Heroes: Representations Of Feminism And Postfeminism In Campaign 2008, Dana Schowalter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is a textual analysis of the mainstream media coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, surveying more than 1,000 news stories featuring Clinton, Palin, Obama, Biden and McCain published between January 1, 2007 and November 11, 2008. The central findings of this study are twofold: first, mainstream news sources continue to use stereotypical and sexist news frames that describe women in ways that are at odds with the criteria we set for being a good president; and second, feminism is characterized in ways that divorce the ideas of the movement from the activism necessary to overcome existing injustices. …

Adolescent Response To Peer Substance Use, Haley Ann Snodgrass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Substance use during adolescence is of particular concern because it is known to be associated with many undesirable outcomes. When an adolescent discovers that a peer is using substances, he or she is faced with a decision regarding the response to be taken (e.g., use substances with the peer, report it to authorities, tell the peer to stop). Available literature has given little consideration to this issue; therefore, the current study sought to examine the response of adolescents to discovering that a peer is using substances, within an ethnically diverse sample of 139 students from a public high school located …

Humor And Attitude Toward Homosexuals: The Case Of Will & Grace, Heather Cribbs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Data collected from a survey questionnaire disseminated to college students was used to examine the relationship between humor in the mass media on audience attitude. This research study attempted to link the comedic nature of media with a heightened tolerance toward unpopular messages by looking specifically at the show Will & Grace. Results supported the hypothesized positive relationship between humor on attitudes toward the show, as well as attitudes toward real life homosexuals. In addition, distraction and interpersonal communication served as mediators between humor and attitudes. Results supported positive relationships between humor and both distraction and interpersonal communication, and supported …

Reel Images: Representations Of Adult Male Prisons By The Film Industry, Melissa E. Fenwick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the criminal justice system, punishment, and media continue to generate academic interest, particularly in the realm of social constructionism. The social construction perspective provides insight into the process through which media-controlled images are translated into social definitions of crime and justice. One new area of interest is the representations of prisons and penal culture by the entertainment media, namely the film industry. In this study, the author contributes to the area of social constructionist literature by administering a content analysis of eleven feature films on male prisons produced between 1979 and 2001. The author examines the frequency and …

Environmental Remediation Of Tnt Using Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron Metal, Erica Echols

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on the use of nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) to remediate trinitrotoluene (TNT). Zero-valent iron has demonstrated effective degradation of TNT, however, these particles themselves have significant problems in treating sorbed phase TNT in the aerobic environment. This research was comprised of four areas: degradation studies of neat nano-iron with aqueous TNT, degradation studies of nanoiron emulsion with aqueous TNT, characterization of TNT in Vieques, Puerto Rico sediment, and Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) technique interface with HPLC. Both neat and emulsion NZVI studies showed TNT degradation. More degradation was seen in studies using fresher iron. The results from …

Removing Arsenic From Landfill Leachate In Batch Reactors With Kemiron Adsorbent, A Commercially Available Iron Oxide, Douglas Oti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated the effectiveness of a commercially available adsorbent, Kemiron, to remove arsenic from conditions representative of landfill leachate. Kemiron was identified as an iron oxide of 39.8 m

^{2/g surface area, 44 % of which resided in the less than 3 nm pore size range. Batch experiments of As(V) and As(III) were conducted with particle sizes either ≤38 μm and in the range 500 – 600 μm with equilibrium being reached in the smaller particles in ~ 36 hours and estimated at 374 hrs for the larger particles. Ionic strength did not affect the mass loadings of As(V) …}

Thiomicrospira Crunogena: A Chemoautotroph With A Carbon Concentrating Mechanism, Kimberly P. Dobrinski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gammaproteobacterium Thiomicrospira crunogena thrives at deep-sea vents despite extreme oscillations in the environmental supply of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC; =CO₂ + HCO₃^- + _CO3^-2). Survival in this habitat is likely aided by the presence of a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM). Though CCMs are well-documented in cyanobacteria, based on this study T. crunogena is the first chemolithoautotroph to have a physiologically characterized CCM. T. crunogena is capable of rapid growth in the presence of 20 micrometers DIC, has the ability to use both extracellular HCO₃^- and CO₂, and generates intracellular DIC concentrations …

Motivation And Instructor’S Self-Disclosure Using Facebook In A French Online Course Context, James M. Aubry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the effects of instructor's self-disclosure using the Facebook social networking online platform on students' motivation types, attitudes, and performance in the course.

The participants were 104 beginning French students enrolled in an online French course at a research one university in the southeast U.S. The participants were divided into a Facebook group, where they could access the instructor's Facebook profile throughout the semester, and a control group. Demographic data about the participants were gathered through a background questionnaire. Two instruments were used for determining respectively the types of motivation exhibited by students and their attitudes toward the …

Glycosylation Modulates Cardiac Excitability By Altering Voltage-Gated Potassium Currents, Tara A. Schwetz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neuronal, cardiac, and skeletal muscle electrical signaling is achieved through the highly regulated activity of several types of voltage-gated ion channels to produce an action potential (AP). Voltage-gated potassium (K_v) channels are responsible for repolarization of the AP. K_v channels are uniquely and heavily glycosylated proteins. Previous reports indicate glycosylation modulates gating of some K_v channel isoforms; often, terminal sialic acid residues alter K_v channel gating. Here, we questioned whether alterations in glycosylation impact K_v channel gating, thus altering APs and cardiac excitability. ST3Gal-IV, a sialyltransferase expressed at uniform levels throughout the heart, adds …

Establishing Creative Writing Studies As An Academic Discipline, Dianne J. Donnelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The discipline of creative writing is charged "as the most untheorized, and in that respect, anachronistic area in the entire constellation of English studies (Haake What Our Speech Disrupts 49). We need only look at its historical precedents to understand these intimations. It is a discipline which is unaware of the histories that informs its practice. It relies on the tradition of the workshop model as its signature pedagogy, and it is part of a fractured community signaled by its long history of subordination to literary studies, its lack of status and sustaining lore, and its own resistance to reform. …

Contemporary Daughter/Son Adult Social Role Performance Rating Scale And Interview Protocol: Development, Content Validation, And Exploratory Investigation, Dana Everett Cozad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and content validate a Performance Rating Scale and Interview Protocol, enabling study of the social role performance of adult daughters and sons as they fulfill the societal norms and expectations of adult children. This exploratory investigation was one of 13 contemporary adult social roles completed by the University of South Florida Social Roles Research Group to update research of Havighurst in the 1950s.

The Daughter/Son Performance Rating Scale and Interview Protocol were created through a series of panel reviews and suggestions by experts drawn from adult education, human development, gerontology, and educational …

Six Fifth Grade Students Experiences Participating In Active Gaming During Physical Eduction Classes, Lisa Witherspoon Hansen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technology and sedentary lifestyles have become an integral part of children's lives, so too has the prevalence of childhood obesity. Although video games are often associated with influencing sedentary behaviors, active gaming is a new genre that requires children to become physically active while playing the games. In this inquiry I explored six fifth grade students' experiences participating in active gaming in physical education classes for 30 minutes, twice weekly, during an eight week (16 sessions) study. I used qualitative methods including interviews, journal entries, and observational field notes. Analysis of data revealed students have a "Persistence to Game" …

Design And Synthesis Of Substituted 1,4-Hydrazine-Linked Piperazine-2,5- And 2,6-Diones And 2,5-Terpyrimidinylenes As Α-Helical Mimetics, Laura Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most common secondary structure of proteins is the alpha-helix. The alpha-helix can be involved in various protein-protein interactions (PPIs) through the recognition of three or more side chains along one face of the alpha-helix (Wells and McClendon, 2007). In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of peptidic and non-peptidic compounds that bind to PPI surfaces. We focused on the design and synthesis of compounds that mimic the orientation of side chain residues of an alpha-helical protein domain. Although our scaffolds could potentially inhibit various PPIs, we focused mainly on the disruption of interactions among …

The Effect Of Celebrity Endorsements On Gift-Giving Purchases: An Application Of The Elaboration Likelihood Model, Christine Anghel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine how effective celebrity endorsements are in regards to the type of gift purchase one decides to make (i.e., buying for someone who has a high significant meaning to the buyer, such as a best friend, versus buying for someone who has a low significant meaning to the buyer, such as a casual friend). The study seeks to extend upon the anthropology research exploring gift-giving and marketing research exploring celebrity endorsements by applying the tenants of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). This study uses an experimental procedure in order to determine the effect …

Plp-Dependent Α-Oxoamine Synthases: Phylogenetic Analysis, Structural Plasticity, And Structure-Function Studies On 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase, Tracy D. Turbeville

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

5-Aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS) and 8-amino-7-oxononanoate synthase (AONS) are two of four homodimeric members of the alpha-oxoamine synthase family of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. The evolutionary relationships among α-oxoamine synthases representing a broad taxonomic and phylogenetic spectrum have been examined to help identify residues that may regulate substrate specificity.

The structural plasticity of ALAS has been documented in studies of functional circularly permuted ALAS variants and the single polypeptide chain ALAS dimer (ALAS/ALAS) exhibiting a greater turnover number than wild-type ALAS. An examination of the contribution of each ALAS/ALAS active site to the enzymatic activity shows that each active site makes …

Synergy And Resistance Mechanisms In R115777 And Ps-341 Models Of Myeloma And Leukemia, Robert William Buzzeo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The farnesyl transferase inhibitor R115777 (Zarnestra, Tipifarnib) has been found to have clinical activity in diverse hematopoietic tumors. Clinical efficacy, however, does not correlate with Ras mutation status or inhibition of farnesyl transferase. To further elucidate the mechanisms by which R115777 induces apoptosis and to investigate drug resistance, we have identified and characterized a R115777-resistant human myeloma cell line. 8226/R5 cells were found to be at least 50 times more resistant to R115777 compared with the parent cell line 8226/S. 8226/R5 cells were insensitive to a diverse group of antitumor agents including PS-341 (Bortezomib, Velcade). Comparison of gene expression profiles …

Sequential Afterglow Processing And Non-Contact Corona-Kelvin Metrology Of 4h-Sic, Eugene L. Short Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide band-gap semiconductor with advantageous electrical and thermal properties making it attractive for high temperature and power applications. However, difficulties with oxide/SiC structures have posed challenges to the development of practical MOS-type devices. Surface conditioning and oxidation of 4H-SiC were investigated using a novel sequential afterglow processing approach combined with the unique capabilities of non-contact corona-Kelvin metrology. The use of remote plasma assisted thermal oxidation facilitated film growth at low temperature and pressure with the flexibility of sequential in-situ processing options including pre-oxidation surface conditioning. Corona-Kelvin metrology (C-KM) provided a fast, non-destructive method for electrical …

Nanocrystalline Diamond For Rf Mems Applications, Srinath Balachandran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) due its outstanding thermal, mechanical and tribological properties is an ideal candidate for MEMS/NEMS devices. NCD offers the possibility to increase the reliability and life time of RF-MEMS switches and by mitigating the problems of stiction, charge trapping, surface wear and cold welding found in traditional all metal MEMS devices.

In this work, nanocrystalline diamond cantilever beams and bridges have been fabricated on a low resistive silicon substrate by using standard micromachining techniques. The diamond structures are then integrated onto alumina and aluminium nitride substrates upon which microwave transmission lines in the microstrip and coplanar waveguide (CPW) …

A Family „Affear‟: Three Generations Of Agoraphobics, Sherri Elizabeth Green B.A.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the disabling condition agoraphobia with panic disorder across the life spans of three individuals who are related: 63 year old Grandmother, her daughter - 43 year old Mother, and her grandson - 23 year old Son. As their life stories are told, glimpses of experienced stigma, emotional management, creation of identities, and coping mechanisms are revealed. These are analyzed using the sociological theories of Goffman, Ellis, Cahill, and Davidson. The notion of nature versus nurture is most apparent in Son's story which details the effects of growing up with Grandmother's severe agoraphobic episodes. While each individual does …

Magnetization Dynamics And Interparticle Interactions In Ferrofluids And Nanostructures, Marienette B. Morales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticle assemblies are of current interest as they are used in a wide variety of industrial and biomedical applications. This work presents two studies aimed at understanding the magnetization dynamics and interparticle interactions in nanoparticle assemblies and various types of ferrofluids. First, we studied the influence of varying strengths of dipolar interaction on the static and dynamic magnetic properties of surfactant-coated monodispersed manganese-zinc ferrite nanoparticles using reversible transverse susceptibility. We tracked the evolution of the anisotropy peaks with varying magnetic field, temperature, and interaction strength. The anisotropy peaks of weakly interacting particles appears as non-symmetric peaks and at lower fields …

Public Service Television Policy And National Development In Morocco, Bouziane Zaid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Like many developing countries, and for many years, Morocco has sought the help of television to disseminate development ideas to its citizens. The Moroccan government has recently given policy considerations to regulate the use of television and radio airwaves as important outside sources for promoting its development objectives. The newly assigned importance of television in Moroccan developmental policies makes a study on the relationship between television and development interesting and crucial. This study investigates the extent to which the Moroccan public service television meets the challenges of effectively contributing to the development objectives of the nation. It focuses on the …

Identification And Characterization Of Mitochondrial Genome Concatemers In Aids-Associated Lymphomas And Lymphoma Cell Lines, Felipe Bedoya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent advances in the understanding of the molecular bases of hematological malignancies, the specific mechanisms on how they originate and why some subtypes are more prevalent than others still remain to be elucidated. These two important aspects have been even more difficult to analyze when dealing with individuals under immune suppression because other factors must be considered. Questions still remain as to why individuals with AIDS tend to develop lymphoproliferative disorders differently from those observed in individuals under iatrogenic immunosuppressive therapy. Most of lymphomas occurring in transplant recipients are B-cell neoplasias typically associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. In …

Evaluation Of A Level System With A Built In Token Economy To Decrease Inappropriate Behaviors Of Individuals With Mental Retardation, Ashley Tomaka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The level system is a behavioral procedure that alters the status of a participant contingent on his or her behaviors; within each level the amount of reinforcement is different. In most cases, level systems are paired with another form of treatment such as a token economy. In the current study, the effectiveness of a level system with a built in token economy was evaluated within three intensive residential group homes with 3 male participants. Each participant was diagnosed with mental retardation and behavioral issues. The level system was comprised of 5 different levels, each having different privileges and reinforcers. Each …

The Neuron-Silicon Carbide Interface: Biocompatibility Study And Bmi Device Development, Christopher L. Frewin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Damage to the central nervous system (CNS) leads to the generation of an immune response which culminates with the encapsulation of the damaged area. The encapsulation, known as a glial scar, essentially breaks neural signal pathways and blocks signal transmissions to and from the CNS. The effect is the loss of motor and sensory control for the damaged individual. One method that has been used successfully to treat this problem is the use of a brain-machine interface (BMI) which can intercept signals from the brain and use these signals to control a machine. Although there are many types of BMI …

Rape Attitudes And Beliefs: A Replication Study, Rhissa Emily Briones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The phenomena of sexual violence have been studied on college campuses for over 50 years. Despite changes in society's attitudes towards women and gains made by women in education and the work force since the 1960s, research reveals that the incidence and prevalence rates of date rape have not changed significantly over the years. Extant literature indicates that endorsement of rape myths has been found to be associated with sexual aggression by males. A review of existing instruments revealed that current assessments of rape supportive attitudes and beliefs appear outdated in their language and may not be geared for today's …