Digital Commons Network^™

An Assessment Of Paired Similarities And Card Sorting, Theodore James Dwyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol expectancies have been shown to be predictive of risk for alcohol problems. Experimental research studies have challenged participants' expectancies with the end result demonstrating a mediational effect on participant drinking. Cognitive research using priming and word recognition tasks have led to the theory that expectancies operate in an associative network. Using dissimilarities information this network has been mapped using multidimensional scaling. The current techniques for collecting dissimilarities information directly in alcohol expectancy research has been limited to the use of the paired comparisons tasks. In order to investigate the utility of a different similarities task a comparison was made …

Three Dimensional Finite Element Model For Lesion Correspondence In Breast Imaging, Yan Qiu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Predicting breast tissue deformation is of great significance in several medical applications such as surgery, biopsy and imaging. In breast surgery, surgeons are often concerned with a specific portion of the breast, e.g., tumor, which must be located accurately beforehand. Also clinically it is important for combining the information provided by images from several modalities or at different times, for the planning and guidance of interventions. Multi-modality imaging of the breast obtained by mammography, MRI and PET is thought to be best achieved through some form of data fusion technique. However, images taken by these various techniques are often obtained …

Transport And Survival Of Water Quality Indicator Microorganisms In The Ground Water Environment Of Florida: Implications For Aquifer Storage And Waste Disposal, David E. John

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ground water resources are heavily used for drinking water supply and often as a receptacle for waste water. One concern is the possible contamination of wetland areas by ground water receiving septic system infiltration. To investigate this, two tracer studies were performed using the bacteriophage PRD-1 by seeding septic systems adjacent to wetlands with the phage and monitoring migration towards wetland areas. Transport velocities were evaluated based on appearance of tracer in sampling wells at various distances from the injection point. Velocities were estimated to be 0.25 m/d and 0.4 m/d at the two sites. Some retardation with respect to …

Assessing The Reproducibility Of Coral-Based Climate Records: A Multi-Proxy Replication Test Using Three Porites Lutea Coral Heads From New Caledonia, Christie L. Stephans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coral-based climate studies commonly use elemental ratios and stable isotopes of coral skeletons to address seawater temperature and hydrologic balance issues in the tropical surface oceans. Replication, or cross-checking, a standard technique used to assess the fidelity of proxy records in paleoclimatology has not been widely applied in coral-based climate studies, primarily because of the time and cost associated with generating multiple records from a single reef site. Modern and paleoclimate reconstructions based on a single proxy-coral record from a site may contain errors if individual corals from the same reef record different geochemical signals. In this study we perform …

Genetic Changes In Natural Populations Caused By The Release Of Cultured Fishes, Michael Dominic Tringali

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Genetic changes likely occur in wild fish populations as a consequence of interactions with cultured fish, but to what extent do those changes threaten the maintenance of natural genetic diversity and population viability? Following a review and categorization of numerous processes suspected of being agents of post-release genetic change in recipient wild populations (Chapter 1), I focus on risks relating to the magnitude and duration of releases -- but with a twist. That is, I assume that the mean fitness of released, cultured individuals does not differ from that of the recipient natural population. Throughout, attention is devoted to potential …

Perceptions Of Family Functioning Between Children With Behavior Difficulties And Their Primary Caregiver, Melissa Farino Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study compared perceptions of family functioning among preadolescent children with behavior difficulties and their primary caregivers. Participants consisted of 29 caregiver-child dyads as well as each child's classroom teacher. Eligibility for the study was based on the child's placement within a self-contained Emotionally Handicapped (EH) or Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED) classroom in one of three elementary schools within two west coast Florida counties. Data collection included teacher rating scales pertaining to the severity of each child's behavior and the presence of Callus Unemotional (CU) traits in addition to caregiver and child interviews tapping perceptions of family functioning.

Results …

Mass Transfer Of Ionic Species In Direct And Reverse Osmosis Processes, Silvana Melania Stefania Ghiu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the importance of diffusional and convective fluxes for salts in reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Moreover, the physical and thermodynamic factors controlling the salt permeability are analyzed. The study utilizes direct osmosis (DO) experiments and RO experiments, the later using both flat sheet and spiral wound membrane configurations. The salts considered are chlorides and acetates of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals.

The equation governing the salt transport in DO experiments is derived and a phenomenon inverse to concentration polarization in RO is observed. The salt permeability in DO is equal to the salt permeability …

Crystal Engineering Of Binary Compounds Containing Pharmaceutical Molecules, Leslie Ann Morales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The synthesis or the interaction between two or more molecules is known as supramolecular chemistry. The concept of supramolecular chemistry can be applied to the design of new pharmaceutical materials affording new compositions of matter with desirable composition, structure and properties.

The design of a two-molecule, or binary, compound using complementary molecules represents an example of an application of crystal engineering. Crystal engineering is the understanding of intermolecular interactions, in the context of crystal packing, in the design of new solid materials. By identifying reliable connectors through molecular recognition or self-assembly, one can build predictable architectures.

The study of supramolecular …

Gender Differences In Alcohol Expectancies: Influence Of Context And Specificity Of Items, Andrea Hope Weinberger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of alcohol expectancies have been equivocal regarding the existence of gender differences. A review of past studies suggested variables that could be useful for future studies such as investigating context-specific expectancies. The current study was designed to investigate the influence of context and item content on gender differences in expectancies. Undergraduate students who reported going to bars once a month or more (N = 321) completed an expectancy measure either while imagining themselves in a bar situation (Context condition) or with no contextual instructions (No Context condition). The expectancy measure consisted of expectancies that were "general" (Social and Tension …

Diversity And Production Of Phytoplankton In The Offshore Mississippi River Plume And Coastal Environments, Boris Wawrik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

River discharge leads to extensive phytoplankton blooms often observed in ocean color satellite images to extend far into the open ocean as high chlorophyll plumes. We investigated diversity, distribution and ecology of phytoplankton populations in the Mississippi River plume, both spatially and in the water column using molecular tools. A method was developed for the quantification of diatom/pelagophyte rbcL (large subunit of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase) mRNA using quantitative PCR and applied to cultures and in the plume. The vertical structure of phytoplankton species in the Mississippi River plume was described by flow cytometry, pigments, rbcL mRNA and rbcL cDNA libraries. High …

The Bases Of Opposition To Affirmative Action: An Attitude Change Effort, Meisha-Ann Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of perceptions of fairness, prejudice and collective self-interest on the affirmative action attitudes of 85 White undergraduate students. Participants were classified as non-racists, modern racists or old-fashioned racists based on their scores on the Implicit Association Test and Attitudes Toward Blacks scale. In the first phase of the study, participants read affirmative action information preceded by either high or low attention instructions. In the second phase, fairness, status of position and race of the target of an affirmative action plan were manipulated using vignettes. No significant differences were found in the first phase of …

Organizational Office Space In The Virtual Age: The Role Of Shared Space In Communication, Sheila Gobes-Ryan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis takes a phenomenological approach to the examination of the organizational need for shared office space. Questions are developed in a reflexive narrative that introduces challenges to the assumption that space is a given in organizations. The narrative also uses the process of questioning this basis assumption to develop a new understanding of the role of space in organizations in supporting the development of common language needed for the creation of organizational knowledge. Key ideas from systems theory, autopoiesis, organizational theory, semiotics, and psychology are utilized as resources developing the ideas.

A Molecular Approach To Assessing Meiofauna Diversity In Marine Sediments, Heather C. Hamilton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Molecular Approach to Assessing Meiofauna Diversity in Marine Sediments Heather C. Hamilton Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if a molecular approach could be applied to calculating the diversity of meiofauna in marine sediments from two sites in Tampa Bay, FL, similar to the approach of McCaig et al, 1999 in calculating the diversity of microbes in pastureland soils. The approach includes extracting total DNA directly from the sediment and amplifying the 18S rRNA gene by PCR. Clone libraries from the 18S gene would be created for each site and 300 sequences from each clone library …

Falun Gong In The United States: An Ethnographic Study, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, has been described in many ways. It has been called qigong, one of many schools of physical exercises that aim at improving health and developing "supernatural abilities". Scholars and mainstream media have referred it to as a "spiritual movement" or religion, although practitioners claim it is not a religion. It has been called a cult, in the pejorative sense rather than in a sociological context, by the Chinese government and by some Western critics. In the writings of Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, it is referred to in different ways, …

Herbivore Abundance In Simple And Diverse Habitats: The Direct And Indirect Effects Of Plant Diversity And Habitat Structure, Laura F. Altfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Herbivore abundances are determined by a set of interacting factors that vary among different habitat types. Specifically, herbivore abundances in monocultures and polycultures may be governed by the same set of factors but with varying influences in the different habitats. In addition, monophagous and polyphagous herbivores may respond differently to the same set of influencing factors. I examined several abiotic and biotic factors in manipulated monocultures and polycultures of Borrichia frutescens in a west central Florida salt marsh. The experimental plots differed in both plant diversity and aboveground habitat structure to see how each component of diversity contributed to variability …

Brand Loyalty In The Automotive Community: A Case Study On The Chevrolet Corvette, Michele Ann Motichka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a qualitative case study conducted to investigate the relationship between consumers who are brand loyal to a certain product and the groups that are formed to bring these enthusiasts together, using the Chevrolet Corvette and its community as a model. Qualitative research lends itself to studying relationships and social situations, in being able to observe and participate in a social context, rather than analyzing it from the outside looking in. By approaching this subject as a case study, an element of flexibility was allowed. This study primarily focuses on one main phenomena, the social groups formed by loyal …

Dermal Absorption Of A Dilute Aqueous Solution Of Malathion, John E. Scharf Md

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malathion is a commonly used organophosphate pesticide on field crops, fruits, nut trees, vegetables, livestock, agricultural premises, and land. The approved uses also include mosquito and medfly control. These uses can result in human skin contact. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the human skin absorption of malathion for the purpose of assessing the risks associated with aqueous solution exposures following applications. Aerial applications can result in solubilized malathion in swimming pools and other waters that may be contacted. Human volunteers were selected and exposed to aqueous solutions of malathion at various concentrations. Participants submerged their arms and …

Reproductive Characteristics, Multiple Paternity And Mating System In A Central Florida Population Of The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, Jamie Colleen Colson-Moon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I studied the reproductive characteristics and mating systems of a central Florida population of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). Using x-radiography, females were monitored for stage in egg-shelling and clutch size. Eggs began to appear on x-ray photographs in the first week of May in both 2001 and 2002; however, fully shelled eggs were not found before the end of May. In total 55% of the females x-rayed were gravid. Clutch sizes ranged from 4-12 with a mean of 7.29, with a mean clutch mass of 40.9 g. Clutch size increased with an increase in mean carapace length and …

Perceptions Of Parental Differential Treatment: Correlates In Chronically Ill And Non-Ill Samples Of Children, Julie A. Reich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We studied perceptions parental differential treatment as reported by parents and children in two different settings. Perceptions of differential affection and control were examined in healthy families and in families that include a child diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Parental differential treatment was assessed using questionnaires that measured perceptions of absolute parenting for children and their siblings. Difference scores were subsequently utilized to generate perceived parental differential treatment scores. Participants were 61 parents (half with healthy children, half with one child who has diabetes) and 62 children (half comprising sibling pairs unaffected by any medical problems, half including one child …

Bioterrorism Syndromic Surveillance: A Dual-Use Approach With Direct Application To The Detection Of Infectious Disease Outbreaks, Kristin Broome Uhde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The threat of bioterrorism forces the public health infrastructure to focus attention on overall issues related to challenges posed by emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. There is a crucial need to strengthen existing surveillance systems and to validate real-time approaches to surveillance that can provide timely alerts of epidemics whether they occur naturally or through a bioterrorism attack. The purpose of this study is to implement and evaluate a bioterrorism syndromic surveillance system called BioDefend™, to determine if the system could detect a potential epidemic/bioterrorism attack within 24-36 hours, more rapidly than it would be identified by routine health surveillance. …

Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging Of Prostate Histopathology, Daniel Celestino Fernandez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vibrational spectroscopic imaging techniques have emerged as powerful methods of obtaining sensitive spatially resolved molecular information from microscopic samples. The data obtained from such techniques reflect the intrinsic molecular chemistry of the sample and in particular yield a wealth of information regarding functional groups which comprise the majority of important molecules found in cells and tissue. These spectroscopic imaging techniques also have the advantage of acquisition of large numbers of spectral measurements which allow statistical analysis of spectral features which are characteristic of the normal histological state as well as different pathologic disease states. Databases of large numbers of samples …

Hearing Evaluation In Infants: An Update For Pediatricians, Janet E. Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper provides an overview of developmental timetables relevant to hearing and of current pediatric audiological techniques and practices. The first sections summarize structural and functional development of the auditory pathway and the development of primary auditory processing. These developmental sequences appear to follow similar paths in humans and animals. Speech and music perception involve more complex processing and are strongly influenced by experience. Hearing disorders affect the perception of complex sounds in a variety of ways, depending on the site(s) of lesions. Early onset hearing impairment, including conductive loss from chronic otitis media, can seriously impede language development.

Language …

Designing Interactive Multimedia For The Anthropology Exhibit Gallery, Kelley Curtis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Computer-based multimedia offer an alternative means of providing instruction to learners in two primary, yet disparate, ways. Multimedia can be used to convey information to learners, or alternatively, learners can make use of multimedia to impart information. One example of the use of multimedia technologies at the University of South Florida is an interactive computer kiosk installed in the Anthropology Exhibit Gallery. The development of the educational program featured on the kiosk's touchscreen computer is the subject of this paper.

The purpose of the kiosk's program was twofold: 1) to introduce the field of anthropology to university students and the …

Inhibitory Effects Of Food Matrices On Inhibition Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection Of Foodborne Viruses, Kevin Patrick Mcmullen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 23,000,000 cases of viral gastroenteritis caused by Norovirus in 2000, 40% of which were transmitted by food including: a variety of fresh produce, cake, deli meats, fruit salad, cheeses and ice. (CDC, 2003). An estimated 83,391 cases of Hepatitis A virus was reported in 2000, of which 5% was attributed to foodborne transmission (CDC, 2003). These figures underscore an urgent need for a method that can isolate virus from a variety of food matrices.

The aim of this study was to develop an overall assessment of the inhibitory effects of a variety …

The Influence Of Air Mass Origin On The Wet Deposition Of Nitrogen To Tampa Bay, Florida, Ronald David Smith Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen has been implicated in the destruction of seagrass beds and in the decline of water quality of Tampa Bay, Florida. The objective of this research was to determine the tendency for air masses of different origins to wet-deposit nitrate and ammonium species to the bay.

Precipitation chemistry data was obtained via the NADP AIRMoN Gandy Bridge monitoring site for the period of 1 August 1996 through 31 December 2000. Rainfall events were classified by using the NOAA HYSPLIT trajectory model, precipitation chemistry data, and tropical storm history data. Average nitrate and ammonium concentrations and nitrogen fluxes …

Population Structure Of The Gopher Tortise (Gopherus Polyphemus) In Florida, Using Microsatellites, Tonia S. Schwartz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) population sizes have drastically declined in the past 100 years. Much of this decline has been attributed to past human predation, to habitat loss from human development, and potentially to the recently discovered upper respiratory tract disease. An understanding of the genetic structure among populations is critical for the long-term success of relocation and other management strategies. This research focuses on the development of a suite of genetic markers and the answers they provided to questions concerning present day population genetics and its use in management. In addition, this study provides inference on historical …

Modeling Dynamic Interactions In A Software Development Project, Chetan D. Vajre

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Software industry is getting very competitive in the wake of recession. In most cases, an organization that quotes a lower price and promises to deliver the product at the earliest walks away with the project. But the factor of quality of the product delivered is also very important because that in turn determines the reputation of an organization, which also plays an important role in getting the next project.

Interactions in a software development are dynamic in nature and involve human factors. Models are built taking into account all possible factors so as to present a realistic picture of the …

Count Or Pointcount: Is Percent Octocoral Cover An Adequate Proxy For Octocoral Abundance?, Matthew J. Lybolt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Keys Coral Reef Monitoring Project (CRMP) began video transect sampling in 1996 and has continuously monitored 107 Florida Keys stations through 2002. The video was downward pointing and produced images from which planar projection data were calculated to determine percent cover of living benthic organisms. An absence of data assessing correlation between octocoral percent cover and octocoral abundance motivated a study to compare octocoral percent cover with abundance data acquired from the same video transects. The methods employed to extract octocoral abundance data from videotape were validated. Temporal changes in octocoral abundance, size and taxonomic group were determined …

Pipe Dreams And Primitivism: Eugene O'Neill And The Rhetoric Of Ethnicity, Donald P. Gagnon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eugene O'Neill included within his vision of humanity a series of complex, emotionally and psychologically developed black characters. Despite critical controversy over his methods or effectiveness, from his eerily silent mulatto in "Thirst" through the grandiose incarnation of The Emperor Jones and the everyman of Joe Mott and The Iceman Cometh, O'Neill created characters of African descent that thrilled and infuriated critics and audiences alike.

A closer exploration of the issues involved in his portrayal of ethnically identified characters seems necessary, an exploration that does not limit itself to an interrogation of ethnicity per se in O'Neill's plays, but …

"Intelligent" Design Of Molecular Materials: Understanding The Concepts Of Design In Supramolecular Synthesis Of Network Solids, Brian D. Moulton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work endeavors to delineate modern paradigms for crystal engineering, i.e. the design and supramolecular synthesis of functional molecular materials. Paradigms predicated on an understanding of the geometry of polygons and polyhedra are developed. The primary focus is on structural determination by single crystal x-ray crystallography, structural interpretation using a suite of graphical visualization and molecular modeling software, and on the importance of proper graphical representation in the presentation and explanation of crystal structures.

A detailed analysis of a selected series of crystal structures is presented. The reduction of these molecular networks to schematic representations that illustrate their fundamental connectivity …