Digital Commons Network^™

Chk2 Is Negatively Regulated By Protein Phosphatase 2a, Alyson Freeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is an effector kinase of the DNA damage response pathway and although its mechanism of activation has been well studied, the attenuation of its activity following DNA damage has not been explored. Here, we identify the B'α subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a major protein serine/threonine phosphatase of the cell, as a CHK2 binding partner and show that their interaction is modulated by DNA damage. B'α binds to the SQ/TQ cluster domain of CHK2, which is a target of ATM phosphorylation. CHK2 is able to bind to many B' subunits as well as the PP2A …

Ac/Dc: Let There Be Hybrid Cooling, Christopher Podes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today’s increasingly energy conscious society, the methods of providing thermal comfort to humans are constantly under scrutiny. Depending on the climate, and the comfort requirements of the occupants, buildings can be designed to heat and cool occupants with passive methods, as well as mechanical methods. In the subtropics, where buildings often need to be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, a synthesis of these two methods would be ideal. However, there is a disconnect between the integration of passive cooling and mechanical air conditioning, in subtropical architecture.

A study of user attitudes, based out of Australia, …

Effects Of Monoclonal Anti-Abeta Antibodies On The Amyloid Beta Peptide Fibrillogenesis And Their Involvement In The Clearance Of Alzheimer's Disease Plaques, Jeffy Pilar Jimenez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia worldwide. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of memory and language skill, collapse of the cognitive function, and distortion of social behavior. As of today, the onset mechanisms of AD and cure are unknown; however, three hallmarks are commonly encountered: extra and intracellular accumulation of amyloid beta (A!) peptide plaques, formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and inevitable neuronal death. Hypothetically, a possible scenario provoking or involved in the onset of AD is a cascade effect that starts with an imbalance in the production and clearance of …

"Speaking" Subalterns: A Comparative Study Of African American And Dalit/Indian Literatures, Mantra Roy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Speaking Subalterns” examines the literatures of two marginalized groups,African Americans in the United States and Dalits in India. The project demonstrates how two disparate societies, USA and India, are constituted by comparable hegemonic socioeconomic-cultural and political structures of oppression that define and delimit the identities of the subalterns in the respective societies. The superstructures of race in USA and caste in India inform, deform, and complicate the identities of the marginalized along lines of gender, class, and family structure. Effectively, a type of domestic colonialism, exercised by the respective national elitists, silence and exploit the subaltern women and emasculate the …

Ecotourism And Water Quality: Linking Management, Activities And Sustainability Indicators In The Caribbean, Ken Darrie Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecotourism from its genesis and founding theories has been set out to conserve and preserve the environment through sustainable operation that includes surrounding communities in efforts to reduce their poverty levels. Over the years ecotourism has been hypothesized to have departed from this ideal with several researchers, through social, qualitative analyses, have said that these non-sustainable ecotourism operations are simply due to poor management. This work sought to test this central hypothesis as a first approach to quantitatively linking ecotourism activities to management with surface water quality as the key indicator of sustainable ecotourism as a complex system through systems …

"A Border Is A Veil Not Many People Can Wear": Testimonial Fiction And Transnational Healing In Edwidge Danticat's The Farming Of Bones And Nelly Rosario's Song Of The Water Saints, Megan Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on recent attempts to reconcile the divergent nations of Hispaniola, I will examine the ways in which fiction by U.S. immigrant writers Danticat and Rosario looks back to the traumatic history of race relations on Hispaniola and the 1937 massacre as a means of approaching reconciliation and healing amongst the inhabitants of Hispaniola. As invested outsiders to their homelands, Danticat and Rosario may work, as Chancy suggests, in the capacity of actors for Hispaniola. Both Danticat and Rosario graciously admit that their writing is largely contingent on the relative freedom from censure that their American citizenship affords them. In …

"Something Begins Its Presencing": Negotiating Third-Space Identities And Healing In Toni Morrison's Paradise And Love, Kristen King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toni Morrison’s Paradise deconstructs the pathology of patriarchy and its oppressive nature, which limits language and knowledge. Patriarchal language silences female voice as they unknowingly adopt male definitions of gender and femininity. As long as the women are denied access to a language that allows them to define themselves, their existence is marked by a perennial state of self-destruction and stasis. As the women, specifically Consolata, begin to reject patriarchal limitations, they gain agency and with it an access to words and ideas that allow them to identify and articulate their own definition of self.

Morrison’s Love illustrates the individual’s …

"In My Church We Don't Believe In Homosexuals": Queer Identity And Dominant Culture In Three Texts Of The Aids Era, Steven Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis seeks to examine the relationship that exists between queer selfidentification and heterosexual hegemonic/heteronormative power in three works of and about the AIDS era. Working from feminist and queer theory perspectives, I first chart the way in which a problematic identity—be that identity a non-identity of utter invisibility, a sick identity, a dangerous identity, or (most commonly) an identity of utter hedonism disconnected from any notions of attachment, affection, or love beyond the physical sexual act—has been and is still wholly adopted by some. I do this principally with a close reading of Renaud Camus' 1981 novel Tricks, …

Consumer Responses To Stereotypical Vs. Non-Stereotypical Depictions Of Women In Travel Advertising, Jessica Eran Mcdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women are active travel consumers, yet travel advertising notoriously depicts women stereotypically. If consumers react negatively to these stereotypical portrayals in advertising, they may disregard the ad or brand and purchase a different travel product. The purpose of this study is to determine if consumers react differently to stereotypical versus non-stereotypical depictions of women in travel advertising. The study will examine these reactions, by measuring attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and cognitive responses to carefully prepared advertisements that are characterized as ―stereotypical‖ or ―non-stereotypical.‖ Ads are defined as stereotypical by utilizing Goffman‘s (1979) framework for …

Emergent Morphogenetic Design Strategies, Dawn Gunter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emergent morphogenetic designs provide a superior architectural response to programmatic, technical, structural, environmental and spatial requirements that conventional unit based architectural forms are too inflexible to fully address.

Architecture has reached an exciting stage in its development, where structures are attempting to behave more like nature, which does not function as a static state, but as a complex grouping of symbiotic processes which are constantly evolving to adapt to environmental changes.

Digital fabrication and materials engineering have promoted an explosion in formal architectural typologies. By utilizing these digital tools and enhanced materials to embrace a morphogenetic design strategy, architecture can …

Path Centrality: A New Centrality Measure In Networks, Tharaka Alahakoon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In network analysis, it is useful to identify important vertices in a network. Based on the varying notions of importance of vertices, a number of centrality measures are defined and studied in the literature. Some popular centrality measures, such as betweenness centrality, are computationally prohibitive for large-scale networks. In this thesis, we propose a new centrality measure called k-path centrality and experimentally compare this measure with betweenness centrality.

We present a polynomial-time randomized algorithm for distinguishing high k-path centrality vertices from low k-path centrality vertices in any given (unweighted or weighted) graph. Specifically, for any graph G = …

The Relationship Between Technology Support And Extent Of Technology Integration Into College-Level Foreign Language Curricula, James T. Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although computer use has become widespread throughout foreign language (FL) education, availability of computers alone is not sufficient for increasing their use. Integration requires rich and varied technology support, which includes instructional as well as technical support. To date, in the field of adult FL learning no quantitative examination of the relationship between the different aspects of technology support and computer integration into the curricula has been attempted.

This study explores the direction and strength of the relationships among the different types of technology support and the integration of computers into the curricula of college and university FL programs. The …

Women’S Perceptions Of Postpartum Stress: A Narrative Analysis, Nancy Gilbert Crist

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The impact of stress on the health of postpartum mothers is poorly understood. Although the postpartum period increases risk for stress related diseases such as depression and autoimmune disorders, little qualitative research has focused on women’s perceptions of postpartum stressors.

A constant comparative content analysis using Atlas.Ti was done on data collected by Groer (NIH R01 NR05000“Influence of Lactation on Postpartum Stress & Immunity) from 2001 to 2005. Women (n=127) answered the prompt, “Think of any one incident, thought, or feeling that stands out as very stressful to you and describe in as much detail as you choose.” Researcher triangulation …

To What Extent Does A Social Compact Exist Between Higher Education And Society: A Study Of Two Minnesota Universities, Laurie Woodward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the nature, applicability and usefulness of social contract theory, and the resulting compact between higher education and society as a way to understand the growth and development of higher education in the United States. The goal is accomplished with an in-depth look at two different universities in the state of Minnesota at four different periods or pivotal points in the history of higher education in the United States. The underlying assumption was that if there is a social compact between higher education and society, traces of its existence would be found in the historical evidence concerning the …

The Dynamic Graphic Organizer And Its Influence On Making Factual, Comparative, And Inferential Determinations Within Comparative Content, Cameron Spears

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

By augmenting an existing static medium (a graphic organizer) with attributes such that learners were able to sort or rearrange information in multiple ways, two new types of “dynamic” graphic organizers were created. An experiment was performed to investigate the effectiveness of these dynamic graphic organizers as instructional tools. One-hundred-sixty-one students were recruited for participation in the study from a two-year community college and a four-year public university in the southeast United States. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three graphic organizer treatment groups: static, sortable, and shuffle-sortable. Response accuracy and response latency measurements for three types of mental …

Geos: A Service For The Management Of Geo-Social Information In A Distributed System, Paul Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Applications and services that take advantage of social data usually infer social relationships using information produced only within their own context, using a greatly simplified representation of users' social data. We propose to combine social information from multiple sources into a directed and weighted social multigraph in order to enable novel socially-aware applications and services. We present GeoS, a geo-social data management service which implements a representative set of social inferences and can run on a decentralized system. We demonstrate GeoS' potential for social applications on a collection of social data that combines collocation information and Facebook friendship declarations from …

Closet Space: Investigating Gay Identity Through Advertising In Gay Media, Jonathan A. Hanna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to examine advertising in gay media publications, namely, The Advocate, in order to assess how advertising corresponds with gay identity formation. This study differed from previous inquiries in that the application of hegemony theory formed the basis of the project and was used as a tool to explicate the preponderance of certain images in gay media advertising and what they signify for gay men. Likewise, a phenomenological method of analysis was applied to the advertisements in order to render them more accessible as aesthetic and literary mediums. Classifying the advertisements according to their notional …

Design And Characterization Of Microwave Assisted Plasma Spray Deposition System: Application To Eu Doped Y2O3 Nano-Particle Coatings, Marek Radoslaw Merlak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a Microwave Plasma Assisted Spray Deposition (MPASD) system design, characterization, and application to produce nano-sized particle coatings of metal oxides. A commercially available rectangular waveguide microwave power delivery system is utilized to initiate and sustain the plasma discharge within the customized plasma applicator where micron-sized droplets of a metal ion solution are heated to evaporate the solvent and thermally process the resulting nano-sized particles. The investigation of optimum conditions for oxygen, argon, and air plasma ignition in the MPASD system was presented. Measured electron temperature of the plasma was between 6000K and 40000K for the plasma conditions …

An Examination Of The Influence Of Band Director Teaching Style And Personality On Ratings At Concert And Marching Band Events, Timothy J. Groulx

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive correlational study examined the relationship between high school band directors' teaching style and personality and their ratings in marching and concert band festivals using the Five-Factor Model of personality and Gumm's Music Teaching Style Inventory. The sample (N=176) consisted of 46% of all high school band directors in Florida. Criterion variables included marching and concert festival ratings, state concert band ratings, Florida Marching Band Coalition marching competition scores, frequency of attendance of these last two events, and the balance between marching and concert band. Predictor variables included thirty personality facets and eight teaching styles. Four demographic …

Characterization Of An Urban Heat Island (Uhi) In The Tampa Region Of Florida, Joann Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous research studies have been conducted on the modification of weather and local climate by the urban environment. In studying the urban environment effects, researchers have investigated the urban heat island (UHI), anthropogenic cloud condensation nuclei, anthropogenic heat emissions and other factors. Many of these studies used data sampling networks, while other studies relied solely on computer modeling. This research has taken an approach between the sampling network studies (which were often limited in spatial density) and the pure computer model studies (which lacked the benefits of observational data) to investigate the Tampa Bay Region UHI. The research utilized inexpensive …

Rem: Relational Entropy-Based Measure Of Saliency, Kester Duncan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The incredible ability of human beings to quickly detect the prominent or salient regions in an image is often taken for granted. To be able to reproduce this intelligent ability in computer vision systems remains quite a challenge. This ability is of paramount importance to perception and image understanding since it accelerates the image analysis process, thereby allowing higher vision processes such as recognition to have a focus of attention. In addition to this, human eye fixation points occurring during the early stages of visual processing, often correspond to the loci of salient image regions. These regions provide us with …

A Descriptive Study Of The Achievement Gap In A Florida County, Harriet Davis-Waller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives of five participants representing the school district and community regarding the achievement gap between Black and White students. This study attempted to answer two major questions:

1. What are the components of their perspectives and how they are formed?

2. What beliefs support or hinder that perspective? In this study social conflict theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study, harnessing the concept of resiliency as a new paradigm shift looking at Black students and community not as "deficient" or "deficits" but implementing their unique cultural …

Community College Faculty Perceptions And Behaviors Related To Academic Advising, Karl A. Debate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary propose of this study was to identify community college faculty's perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the self-contained campus academic advising center, the importance of the eight established NACADA advising goals, and the role of faculty in the advising process. In addition, the current advising behaviors of faculty at a community college with a self-contained advising system were examined. The study also investigated if perceptions and behaviors regarding advising vary among full-time and part-time faculty.

The results of this study provide an overview of community college faculty perceptions and behaviors with regard to academic advising and the established NACADA …

Exergy Modeling To Compare Engineered Products To Biological Systems For Sustainable Design, Richard D. Stokes Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An ambitious and novel approach to engineering design and sustainability has been taken to explore the potential of drawing parallels between mechanical and biological systems for the possible development of sustainable engineering design metrics using a thermodynamic model. This approach looks to biology. Natural selection has given biological beings and processes high exergetic efficiencies, even while being only 30-40% energy efficient on the cell level. This energy inefficiency, resulting in a release of heat, can then be used to aid in driving other biochemical processes. The Gibbs free energy becomes more negative proportionally with an increase in temperature, resulting in …

Evaluating Knowledge And Attitudes Of Undergraduate Nursing Students Regarding Pain Management, Jessica Latchman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unmanaged pain is a widespread problem that many cancer patients face on a daily basis. Cancer pain, which can either be caused by complications due to the disease process itself or from treatment measures used, has devastating effects on the quality of life for these patients and their caregivers. This study examined the knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate students regarding pain management.

The sample in this study consisted of 41 undergraduate students at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. The students sampled were predominantly white, (n=30), female (n=37), seniors (n=41) taking Leadership and Management in Nursing. After volunteering …

Human-Wildlife Conflict Across Urbanization Gradients: Spatial, Social, And Ecological Factors, Amanda H. Gilleland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As suburban and exurban residential developments continue to multiply in urban areas, they encroach on wildlife habitats leading to increased human-wildlife interactions. The animals involved in direct conflict with homeowners are often relocated or exterminated by the homeowners. Often the homeowners contact state licensed wildlife trappers to eliminate the problem animal. In this study I examined how landscape, ecological, and social factors influence the incidence of human-wildlife conflict of thirty two residential areas in the Tampa, Florida metropolitan area. These residential areas, totaling over 300 km2, are part of the urban development gradient representing a range of urban land use …

Diffuse Degassing And The Hydrothermal System At Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua, Sophie C. P Pearson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydrothermal systems change in response to volcanic activity, and in turn may be sensitive indicators of volcanic activity. Fumaroles are a surface manifestation of this interaction. We use time series of soil temperature data and numerical models of the hydrothermal system to investigate volcanic, hydrologic and geologic controls on this diffuse degassing.

Soil temperatures were measured in a low-temperature fumarole field located 3.5 km from the summit of Masaya volcano, Nicaragua. They respond rapidly, on a time scale of minutes, to changes in volcanic activity also manifested at the summit vent. The soil temperature response is repetitive and complex, and …

Comparison And Improvement Of Different Access Methods In Femtocell Networks, İbrahim Demirdögen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of wide band wireless systems have been pushed towards their limits in order to meet growing interest for high data rate in wireless communications.In particular, the limit due to the spectrum scarcity forces communication systems to utilize the spectrum resource at maximum efficiency level. One of the methods that allow effective spectrum employing is to cover multiple systems over same spectrum source by allowing bearable interference to occur between them. Femtocells have been recently introduced as a remedy to spectrum scarcity and coverage problems in current cellular structures. Femtocells are personal use base stations and they share the …

Dust, Ash, And The Sublime: Tracing Kant's Aesthetics In Cormac Mccarthy's The Crossing And The Road, Ben Gerdts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis entails an examination into the presence of the sublime in two novels by Cormac McCarthy: his postmodern western The Crossing and his apocalyptic work The Road. I draw on Kant's aesthetic theory of the sublime, specifically focusing on the Dynamical and Mathematical sublime in relation to the settings of these two narratives. For the sake of brevity, I limit my study to nature's and religion's relation to the sublime in these works. Areas of particular interest to me include: a) How/why the characters of each novel appear unaffected by or even resigned to the lack of control …

Illusion In Troilus And Cressida, Edward Janz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of Shakespeare's 1603 satire Troilus and Cressida that looks at illusion and the value given to it by means of war, Helen of Troy, and ultimately the two lovers themselves. Although it is depressingly obvious throughout the drama that life is an illusion, it is also obvious that there is a need for that illusion, and an equally profound necessity to have the illusion debunked.

The first part of the thesis examines the impact of war on Troy. This part concentrates on the myth of the hero, who like Falstaff presents himself to the world …