Digital Commons Network^™

Re-Tooling An American Metropolis, Robert Shawn Hott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Re-tool:

v.tr. re-tooled, re-tooling, re-tools

1. To fit out (a factory, for example) with a new set of machinery and tools for making a different product.

2. To revise and reorganize, especially for the purpose of updating or improving.

The American ideals inherent in the suburbs are the promise of space, affordability, convenience, and traditional family life; conversely the public realms of the suburban typology become disconnected from each other as well as the larger city. The Generic City condition in which the periphery is no longer captivated by the center from which it was created is pervasive in the …

Carbon Dioxide Capture From Fossil Fuel Power Plants Using Dolomite, Drupatie Latchman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this research is to develop a simple and cost effective separation method that captures carbon dioxide from power plant flue gas, as a pure stream that can be stored using regenerable dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) as the sorbent. The developed dolomite sorbent was evaluated for carbon dioxide capture capacity using muti-cycle tests of cyclical carbonation/calcination experiments in the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) model SDT 600. The variables controlled in the experiment were weight of calcium oxide and sintering time of the sample. The dolomite materials investigated were from two sources Alfa Aesar and Specialty Minerals. The prepared …

Elevating Communication, Thao Thanh Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The products of vehicular transportation have led the modern traveler into a crisis of place. The modern journey that is held within ceaseless flux, confine movement to edges facilitating prompt passage yet negating active participation. These edges govern movement, highlighting points of destination while simultaneously obscuring our journey in between travels. The limited participation and extended observation of one's place within the concurring boundaries renders the senses dormant, causing passivity and reluctance to participate or communicate with the city. These lines of movement, demanding our attention toward beginning and end but omitting the middle, transforms the city, home, and place …

Refusing To Go Silently: Female Wit As Combating A Culture Of Silence In Frances Burney And Elizabeth Inchbald's Texts, Megan M. Weber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the hands of two prominent authors, Elizabeth Inchbald and Frances Burney, a critical paradox concerning female silence arises: while both authors operate very successfully in the publishing world, both do so while subverting impositions of silence, exhibiting a clear breach of propriety. An examination of Inchbald's novel A Simple Story and play Wives as they Were, Maids as they Are and Burney's novel Cecilia and play The Witlings, elucidates how each author adapts literary genres to portray female wit, exposing eighteenth-century impositions of silence in the process. By engendering female characters with the ability to employ humor as …

Analysis Of Two Strategies For Structuring Medicare Reimbursement To Maximize Profitability In Acute Care General Hospitals, James D. Barrington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The healthcare literature sometimes cites Medicare as a negative determinant of hospital profitability. However, a review of Florida acute care short-term general hospital data revealed a subset of profitable hospitals with high percentages of their revenue structure comprised of Medicare reimbursements. Some investigators might contend that these hospitals are just better managed; that hospital profitability is not related to patient mix or payer source. Although good management enhances financial health, there are perhaps other reasons why certain hospitals can become profitable with Medicare as their primary revenue source.

Research findings indicate there is wide geographic variability shown for per-capita volumes …

Founding Fathers: An Ethnic And Gender Study Of The Iliadic Aeneid, Rob Brannon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a 2005 work, Yasmin Syed concluded that the Aeneid created for ancient readers an idea of Romanness that was inclusive for all and not founded along strict genetic lines. Under this hypothesis, the Aeneid offers a sort of blueprint for becoming Roman, one in which biological descent from Aeneas is unnecessary. Syed reached this conclusion by analyzing themes of ethnicity and gender, in particular the ethnic other represented by the epic's female characters. This was accomplished in the manner so often chosen by Vergil scholars-by limiting analysis to the first half of the epic. The work concludes with an …

Shamanism, Spiritual Transformation And The Ethical Obligations Of The Dying Person: A Narrative Approach, Ellen W. Klein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The person experiencing chronic or protracted illness is confronted with a complex array of physical, emotional and spiritual trials. This thesis explores how chronic illness can be viewed through the lens of the shamanic experience of dismemberment and re-memberment and shows how clinical, narrative, and relational models on their own are insufficient to speak meaningfully to illness experiences, but the integration of aspects of each of these models when coupled with shamanic initiation experience creates an innovative model for patients and those with whom they are in relationship.

Wayfinding In Architecture, Jason Brandon Abrams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In many of today’s modern educational institutions, architects have designed spaces that are disconnected and difficult for users to navigate. The underdevelopment of directional guides more accurately describes common issues of wayfinding. Wayfinding is a term used to describe user experience and orientation within an environmental context. When accomplished successfully, wayfinding contains order and simplicity achieved through five hierarchical components including; point of reference, location of information, determining a path to take, maintaining that path, and access or denial of the path chosen.

Currently, the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, a design institution of higher learning, lacks the components necessary to …

Neuroprotection With Anesthetics In Two Models Of Cerebral Ischemia, Rafael Eduardo Chaparro Buitrago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neuroprotection with anesthetics has been studied for many decades; important advances in this field have modified the way Anesthesiologists treat patients in the operating room. Animal models have played an important role in the study of ischemia in the operating room. Recent studies have demonstrated that the effect of anesthetics seems to be different in different animal models. We decided to evaluate anesthetics in a well-known model of cerebral ischemia and also in hypotensive models designed by us. We used a model of cerebral ischemia (MCAO) to test anesthetics neuroprotective effect in a two-week period. Then, we used a model …

Religion And Resistance: The Role Of Islamic Doctrine In Hamas And Hezbollah, Matthew Lawson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The recent conflict in Gaza between the state of Israel and Palestinians led by Hamas has again brought the question of Palestinian statehood to the attention of the international community. Religion has often been mentioned as a cause for the conflict between the two, as well as a reason for the perceived instability of the Middle East. It is within this frame of reference that this study takes place. This study attempts to use this emergence in current events as the starting point for the interaction between religion and resistance movements, examining the incorporation of Islamic doctrine into the actions …

The Third Realm: Suburban Identity Through The Transformation Of The Main Street, Alberto Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When one researches the city, the neighborhood appears as an indispensable building block. Kevin Lynch, In The Image of a City, suggests that neighborhoods are "the basic element of the city" and the main way "most people structure their city". Furthering the idea of the neighborhood as a building block of the city, Sidney Brower discusses the need for different types of neighborhoods to allow for a diverse social setting to create diversity in the city. The research put forward by Lynch and Brower shows the idea of the neighborhood as a strong concept in older cities. However, the concept …

Is There An "Innocent Female Victim" Effect In Capital Punishment Sentencing?, Amelia Lane Kirkland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disparities in the administration of capital punishment are a prominent social and political issue. While the focus of death penalty disparity research initially lay with the defendant and how the defendant’s race or ethnicity affects sentencing outcomes, only marginal support for offender effects has been found. A consistent finding, however, is that victim race has a significant effect on capital sentencing outcomes. Recent examinations of the joint effects of victim characteristics indicate that victim gender also has some influence in capital sentencing decisions. While these prior studies have examined the interactive effects of victim gender and victim race the current …

Sports Fans’ Media Usage At A Kansas City Chiefs’ Fan Club, Robert J. Huebert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The media play a major role in every part of American society by distributing content that has value to individuals, and a National Football League (NFL) sports fan club is no different. This study examines how members of a Kansas City Chiefs' fan club use media to stay connected to their team and socialize with fellow members. Social identification theory explains that when an individual comes together with one or more individuals with like-minded interests, they form social bonds. Their shared interests allow them to disseminate Chiefs' information through content gathered from media usage. To understand how the Chiefs' fans …

Haole, Shawn Alff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Just after midnight on a chilly April night in 2005, the author finds himself homeless in Hawaii, searching for a place to sleep. The account that follows is the true story of a young man's misadventures on the road as he attempts to reconcile his wanderlust with a need for order and security. This work of creative nonfiction reconstructs the first half of the summer the narrator spent wandering Hawaii. Specifically, this section concentrates on the author's experiences on the island of Oahu. There, the narrator, who constantly changes his name, is stuck at a crossroads; he is torn between …

A Descriptive Study Of The View From The Top: Perspectives Of Experts In Continuing Medical Education, Martha C. Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study describes and explains the perspectives of selected experts in continuing medical education (CME) and provides a glimpse at their lived experience. The theoretical frameworks are inclusive of constructivism and social constructivism reflecting the learning that takes place in medicine and that which occurs in the interview process. The voice of the researcher is heard through her professional role as a continuing medical education provider.

The major elements of CME are identified as the role of accreditation and physician involvement in the design and delivery of CME; the primary influences as funding, physician involvement and accreditation; the significant issue …

Struggle In The Sunshine City: The Movement For Racial Equality In St. Petersburg Florida 1955-1968, Peyton L. Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent decades have seen a shift in the focus of civil rights historiography. Building upon the exhaustive studies of national figures and events, and in search of new perspectives, many historians have concentrated on local movements often ignored or forgotten. Other than the work of a few local scholars, the civil rights movement as it occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida, has received little attention. Furthermore, the limited scholarship lacks the cohesion necessary to compare and contrast the movement with similar events throughout the state and across the nation. The story of St. Petersburg's active and significant struggle for social equality, …

Measurement Of Community And Laboratory-Generated Airborne Particulates Using A New Sampling Method, Laura Farina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project resulted from an alleged dust problem affecting the residents in a Florida community. The residents claimed that there were elevated dust levels caused by a rock quarry adjacent to their homes. The purpose of this work was to assess total particulate, respirable particulate, and the coarse content of the sampled particles through traditional NIOSH methods, and using a new, real-time instrument known as the EPAM 5000. Data from the EPAM and NIOSH methods were compared to the EPA's particulate matter standards and the OSHA permissible exposure limits for total and respirable dust. Dust levels using the NIOSH methods …

Factors Affecting The Process Of Clinical Decision-Making In Pediatric Pain Management By Emergency Department Nurses, Teresa A. Russo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to describe the cognitive processes/knowledge sources used by Emergency Department (ED) nurses in decision-making activities regarding triage and pediatric pain assessment and management. Deficiencies persist in ED pediatric pain assessment, and management methods or approaches that might help resolve these deficiencies have not been identified previously. Methodology triangulation with sequential use of qualitative- quantitative methods provided a rich description of knowledge sources and cognitive processes used by ED nurses relative to pediatric pain assessment decisions. Based on qualitative results, a set of vignettes was developed to assess ED nurses. Data analysis using …

Headline Hawai`I: Racial Aloha In Kama`Aina News, Cory J. Weaver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The front page of Hawai`i's largest-circulated newspaper - The Honolulu Star-Bulletin - was reviewed for a three-month period: March 1, 2008 - June 1, 2008, to examine representations of race in a media market where Caucasian individuals are the minority. Analysis of the newspaper seeks to present a greater understanding of ethnic portrayals in island news and examines ethical implications that have/can arise from adopting journalistic values typical of "white news" or mainstream reporting practices in areas where the mainstream is, in fact, the minority.

Architectural Symbiosis, Tim Kimball

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The world is facing two fundamental problems. The first problem is a rapidly increasing demand for energy. The second problem is increasing greenhouse gas emissions that are directly resulting from our energy consumption. The primary greenhouse gas in question here is carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels. It has been demonstrated through scientific articles and studies that carbon dioxide is directly linked to rising atmospheric temperatures. Buildings represent a significant percentage of this CO2 production.

Many architectural theses and treatises have been written advocating architecture that is more energy efficient and which uses sustainable materials and processes …

Extending Situational Crisis Communication Theory: Attitude And Reputation Following The 2004-05 Nhl Lockout, Melanie Formentin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory case study positions the 2004-05 National Hockey League (NHL) lockout as an organizational crisis, studying it within a Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) frame. A mixed methodology approach used qualitative and quantitative content analyses and a survey of NHL fans to gauge the NHL's reputation five years after the lockout. For the content analyses, 282 newspaper articles from 7 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada were coded for SCCT variables and presentation of the lockout by news writers. NHL fans (n = 140) were surveyed with the goal of assessing SCCT variables as predictors of attitude. Results …

Upgrading Design: A Mechatronic Investigation Into The Architectural Product Market, Matthew Gaboury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It was first stated 200 years ago, and reiterated numerous times since, that "architecture is frozen music". While this romantic analogy sufficiently satisfies many in the realm of architecture, it actually is a sad way of defining an idea so inherently lively. Goethe's quote conjures up the notion of a world that is silent, one in which we can see the notes but never hear the music because we are trapped by stasis in time. Like the note admired on a piece of paper, architecture in this world is static regardless of the changing conditions around it.

What if the …

From Airport To Spaceport: Designing For An Aerospace Revolution, Paula Selvidge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Airports will shape business location and urban development in the 21st century as much as highways did in the 20th century, railroads in the 19th and seaports in the 18th" - John D. Kasarda, Ph.D. Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina http://www.aerotropolis.com/author.html

I say, spaceports will shape the urban development of the 21st century, more than airports, bringing about an aerospace revolution. Just as new technologies triggered the global revolutions of the past, so the invention of reusable spacecraft will revolutionize transportation.

The invention of such spacecraft suggests the need for a different kind of transportation hub: a spaceport. …

Statistical Idealities And Expected Realities In The Wavelet Techniques Used For Denoising, Eric-Jan D. Denooyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of signal processing, one of the underlying enemies in obtaining a good quality signal is noise. The most common examples of signals that can be corrupted by noise are images and audio signals. Since the early 1980's, a time when wavelet transformations became a modernly defined tool, statistical techniques have been incorporated into processes that use wavelets with the goal of maximizing signal-to-noise ratios. We provide a brief history of wavelet theory, going back to Alfréd Haar's 1909 dissertation on orthogonal functions, as well as its important relationship to the earlier work of Joseph Fourier (circa 1801), …

Extending The Principal Stratification Method To Multi-Level Randomized Trials, Jing Guo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Principal Stratification method estimates a causal intervention effect by taking account of subjects' differences in participation, adherence or compliance. The current Principal Stratification method has been mostly used in randomized intervention trials with randomization at a single (individual) level with subjects who were randomly assigned to either intervention or control condition. However, randomized intervention trials have been conducted at group level instead of individual level in many scientific fields. This is so called "two-level randomization", where randomization is conducted at a group (second) level, above an individual level but outcome is often observed at individual level within each group. …

Prospects For Nuclear Non-Proliferation: An Actor-Oriented Case Study Of Iran’S Future, James Martin Lockwood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is designed to assess the effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime and analyze theories for effectively analyzing countries that are a risk for proliferating nuclear armaments. The initial phase of my research is designed to assess the existing literature and primary theoretical approaches for analyzing nuclear non-proliferation initiatives and potential nuclear proliferators. My main means of analysis will be to examine the national and international actors involved in each case. With this method, I plan to analyze a government at the level of each of its ruling institutions. Each of these institutions will be analyzed in the context …

The Psychometric Validation Of The Physical Body Experiences Questionnaire, Jessie E. Menzel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Embodiment is defined as a state in which one experiences one's body as an essential and loved aspect of one's lived experiences, a potential protective factor against body image and eating disturbance. While qualitative studies have been conducted to examine the nature of embodiment, a quantitative measure has not yet been created. The Physical Body Experiences Questionnaire was rationally derived as a measure of embodiment based on focus groups, literature reviews, and expert review. These qualitative methods resulted in a 32-item scale measured on a 7-point Likert scale. Based on the results of a pilot study conducted with 670 female …

Differential Decomposition Patterns Of Human Remains In Variable Environments Of The Midwest, Melissa A. Pope

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Where do people die alone when they remain undiscovered for extended periods of time? Estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is critical to reconstructing the events surrounding a person's death and this is an area in which forensic anthropologists have played a leading role. This thesis applied an anthropological framework that takes a comprehensive approach to analyzing the demography of unaccompanied deaths, the relationships and timing of decomposition in multiple depositional contexts, and created a model for the prediction of accumulated degree days (ADD) for bodies within enclosures.

While there have been extensive experimental and case study reviews on decomposition …

The Female Colonizer And Othered Woman In Isak Dinesen's Out Of Africa, Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, Tayeb Salih's Season Of Migration To The North, And Paule Marshall's The Chosen Place, The Timeless People, Lindsay L. Sloan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The central issue of this thesis is the complicated relationship between the colonized individual and the constitutive as well as emblematic female colonizer in Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa, Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, and Paule Marshall's The Chosen Place, The Timeless People. Each of these novels displays colonization by a female (or females) and relates back to historical colonialism, but each characterizes the relationship between the oppressors and oppressed differently. Dinesen's and Rhys's works stem from historical colonization in which European colonizers conquered and ruled other territories; …

Evaluation Assessment Of Metropolitan Ministries “Uplift U™” Program And Preliminary Analysis Of Collected Data, Robert D. Bowers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using the methodology and criteria put forth by the Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (part of the Justice Research and Statistics Association, Washington D.C.), an assessment for evaluation of the Metropolitan Ministries "Uplift U^TM" Program was conducted using review of data previously collected by Metropolitan Ministries, examination of documents provided by the organization, participant observation, and interviews with Metropolitan Ministry staff. This assessment reveals that there are significant problems in several areas that must be addressed before their program can be formally evaluated; including data collection and organization, outcomes measures, client selection standards, and how the program is portrayed …