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Great Apes And Other Stories, Ryan Zimmerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thoreau said that, "in wildness is the preservation of the world." The characters in the following collection of stories might be tempted to rephrase that statement to read, "in wildness is the preservation of the criminal world." These stories feature wild places where the natural world often is not as dangerous as the people who seek refuge in the borderlands between wilderness and civilization.

Many crime stories take place in cities-for good reason. More people usually equates with more crime. However, anywhere that people choose to live, crime is sure to follow-crime against each other, crime against themselves, and even …

Design And Implementation Of A Hard Real-Time Telerobotic Control System Using Sensor-Based Assist Functions, Eduardo J. Veras-Jorge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a novel concept of a hard real-time telerobotic control system using sensory-based assistive functions combining autonomous control mode, force and motion-based virtual fixtures, and scaled teleoperation. The system has been implemented as a PC-based multithreaded, real-time controller with a haptic user interface and a 6-DoF slave manipulator. A telerobotic system is a system that allows a human to control a manipulator remotely and the human control is combined with computer control. A telerobotic control system with sensor-based assistance capabilities enables the user to make high-level decisions, such as target object selection, and it enables the system to …

Managing Geographic Data As An Asset: A Case Study In Large Scale Data Management, Clay Smithers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geographic data is a hallowed element within the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) discipline. As geographic data faces increased usage in distributed and mobile environments, the ability to access and maintain that data can become challenging. Traditional methods of data management through the use of file storage, databases, and data catalog software are valuable in their ability to organize data, but provide little information about how the data was collected, how often the data is updated, and what value the data holds for an organization. By defining geographic data as an asset it becomes a valuable resource that requires acquisition, maintenance …

Living Chassis: Learning From The Automotive Industry; Site Specifi C, Prefabricated, Systems Architecture, Christopher Emilio Emiliucci Cox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Suburban Americans suffer from homes built with: a low standard of craftsmanship, poor efficiency of construction, excessive use of material resources and a disregard for their site. Architectural diversity is at a low, driven by a consolidation of homebuilders and fewer floor plans. The current home production workflow from commission to build pales in comparison to the automotive industries solutions.

Influenced by heavy machinery and hot swappable computers, ideas are born for a better way to build houses. These ides evolve though understanding the principles of several successful vehicles, analyzing census data, and studying floor plans.

The flexible autonomous systems …

Reside…Commute…Visit... Reintegrating Defined Communal Place Amongst Those Who Engage With Tampa’S Built Environment, Matthew D. Suarez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The phenomenon of place has always been a key issue of inquiry throughout theoretical discourse in relation to architecture and urban planning. To comprehend such a phenomenon, one must begin to understand how to concretize the factors that can be used to create such a meaningful environment. With respect to such a topic, what becomes of interest are the four primary elements that come together to illustrate how the structure and spirit of place are defined. Space, character, orientation, and identification are the elements that begin to provide such a definition.

Ever since the end of the Second World War, …

Analysis Of Pump Oil And Alkanes Evaporation, Nathaniel A. Waldstein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are many products, including hard drives, which require trace amounts, on the order of several mg, of lubricants for proper operation. The following study investigated the evaporation rates of pump oil and several alkanes, which have a wide range of applications, using a thermogravimetric machine. Both static and dynamic temperature tests were conducted. The rate of evaporation of the test specimen was determined as the percentage of mass loss per unit time. Using the Arrhenius Equation, the activation energy of the evaporation process, Ea, can be calculated as the slope of the best fit line for a plot of …

Development Of Novel Biocompatible Hydrogel Coatings For Implantable Glucose Sensors, Chunyan Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to sensor -tissue interactions, currently none of the commercially available glucose sensors are capable of continuous, reliable monitoring of glucose levels during long-term implantation. In order to improve the lifetime of implanted glucose sensors, two series of biocompatible novel hydrogel coatings were designed, synthesized and the physical properties were measured.

Different hydrogels with various 2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate (DHPMA) compositions were coated onto glucose sensors. Results show that the higher freezable water content, swelling rate and uniform porosity that resulted from high DHPMA content increased the sensitivity and shortened the response time of glucose sensors. The linear range of a glucose …

The First Icomde A Library For The Information Age, Daniel Elias Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The library has existed as a repository for knowledge for centuries. However, in spite of the information revolution and its watershed component, the internet, this institution has found itself fundamentally unchanged. Great strides have been taken to adapt the library to this changing world, but these incremental changes are timid and reactionary.

Through the internet the floodgates have opened; individuals are creating and sharing information both personal and academic, in the form of not-so-private journals, works of creative fiction, works of journalism, works of scholarship, and every other form of intellectual (and not so intellectual) propagation imaginable.

Additionally, advances in …

Urban Fabric As A Calayst For Architectural Awareness: Center For Architectural Research, Bernard C. Wilhelm

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Architects throughout have been forced to practice design surrounded by a society that generally lacks of architectural awareness and interest. A growing trend to transition from a relatively isolated profession into a field that promotes stronger public involvement is critical for architecture to evolve. Within the past 10 years, the growth of architectural centers have begun to dissolve the barrier between the profession and the general public in that their primary function regardless of what form they represent, is to introduce and educate issues of architecture that are an inescapable part of our built environment.

An investigation of architectural research …

The Builders Versus The Birds: Wetlands, People And Public Policy In The United States, Florida And Hillsborough County, Allyson R. Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an interdisciplinary analysis of humans' relationship to the natural environment, specifically how wetlands are reflected in our legislative decisions. Our perceptions of wetlands and our relationship to the environment are influenced by our locality, history, and inter-generational relationships. These perceptions shape decision-making within a community. Our relationship to the natural environment and the way we interact with it can be explained through psychological and geographical theories. Historical trends reveal our consistently negative perspectives of wetlands in the United States and a rapid decline in wetlands acreage. At the federal, state, and local level, Americans have attempted to …

A Comparative Study Of Six Decades Of General Science Textbooks: Evaluating The Evolution Of Science Content, Anna Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined science textbooks over time to better understand the science content expectations that the U.S. educational system deems appropriate for 8th and 9th grade science students. The study attempted to answer the questions: 1) What specific science content has been presented via the textbook from 1952 to 2008? 2) Within which areas and in what way does the science content change? 3) Are new scientific findings reflected in 8th and 9th grade U.S. general science textbooks? Twenty-six themes were identified which reflect five areas in science: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Biology, and Process of Science. Trends in science …

Electromagnetic Modes In Cylindrical Structures, Jakub Pritz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanostructures have received much attention from the physical and engineering communities in the past few years. The understanding of the behavior of nanostructures in various conditions is warranted since the applications of such materials in optics, electronics, and mechanics is ever expanding. This thesis investigates a specific type of structure, a concentric cylindrical. More specifically, the dispersion relation of radiating and non-radiating plasmon polaritons (quasi-particles resulting from interactions of photons and surface electrons) is studied under varying conditions. We intend to show the influence of changing the thickness of the layers, the number of layers, the curvature of each layer, …

Historical Archaeology Research Designs For Gamble Plantation, Ellenton, Florida, Felicia Bianca Silpa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a research design that will serve as a baseline for further research and as a more inclusive interpretation at the Judah P. Benjamin Memorial at the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park in Ellenton, Florida. It reviews the history and archaeology of Robert Gamble's nineteenth-century enslaved labor-worked sugar plantation, focusing on how the demands of this capitalistic enterprise were expressed in the plantation's culture and on the landscape. This thesis reviews the literature on the archaeology of slavery in the United States and the Caribbean to provide a critical lens through which new directions in research might be …

Ocean Literacy And Reasoning About Ocean Issues: The Influence Of Content, Experience And Morality, Teresa Greely

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ocean issues with conceptual ties to science and a global society have captured the attention, imagination, and concern of an international audience. Climate change, over fishing, marine pollution, freshwater shortages and alternative energy sources are a few ocean issues highlighted in our media and casual conversations. From the life-giving rain that nourishes crops and our bodies, to life-saving medicines; from the fish that come from the ocean, to the goods that are transported on the sea's surface-the ocean plays a role in our life in some way every day (NOAA, 1998). However, a disconnect exists between what scientists know and …

Analysis Of Current Flows In Electrical Networks For Error-Tolerant Graph Matching, Alejandro Gutierrez Munoz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Information contained in chemical compounds, fingerprint databases, social networks, and interactions between websites all have one thing in common: they can be represented as graphs. The need to analyze, compare, and classify graph datasets has become more evident over the last decade. The graph isomorphism problem is known to belong to the NP class, and the subgraph isomorphism problem is known to be an NP-complete problem. Several error-tolerant graph matching techniques have been developed during the last two decades in order to overcome the computational complexity associated with these problems. Some of these techniques rely upon similarity measures based on …

School As A Center For Community: Establishing Neighborhood Identity Through Public Space And Educational Facility, Fred Goykhman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Safety is an opportunity for people to open their minds” -Jin Baek, 2008

For my thesis I will design an education facility. That education facility will strive to meet with today's security needs and will provide a safe-feeling place for growth. In identifying the problem, I found two main causes for the described conditions in today's schools. They are improper adaptation and uniform building type.

Improper adaptation has to do with surface applications, rather than integrating with the social fabric of the school's communal requirements. Unfortunate incidents have caused the solutions to heightened security around schools to be fortressing and …

Can Waters Around Durney Key, Pasco County, Florida, Support Coral Recruitment To Artificial Substrates?, Kelley L. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To determine whether an artificial reef installation is feasible, there must be a thorough characterization of the habitat. An understanding of both small-scale and large-scale environmental processes is needed to determine factors that potentially will influence the reef. Large-scale processes include coastal circulation, wave climate, and sediment dynamics that take place over spatial scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers in the region of the reef. Small-scale processes include the physical characteristics in the immediate vicinity of the reef - the local current, wave and tide characteristics, temperature, salinity, and suspended and bottom sediments at a proposed reef site.

The …

Florida Expressways And The Public Works Career Of Congressman William C. Cramer, Justin C. Whitney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the introduction of automobiles to Florida in the 1900s, highways have been integral to the state's economy. In the 1950s, statewide limited-access highway projects were introduced in the form of a state-operated turnpike and the national Interstate highway system. This paper traces the simultaneous development of both expressway systems, outlining the previous condition of Florida's highways, the initiatives taken by Florida's governors, and especially the role of William C. Cramer of St. Petersburg, Florida's first Republican United States Congressman since Reconstruction.

In the House of Representatives, as a ranking member of the Roads Subcommittee of the Public Works Committee, …

Design And Testing Of A Lightweight Modular Seven-Degree-Of-Freedom Robot Arm For Mobile Use, Peter J. Schrock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wheelchair-bound individuals who have limited or no upper-limb usage have difficulty with picking and placing of objects, opening doors, and other activities of daily living (ADLs), such as turning on a light switch or drinking from a cup. A wheelchair-mounted robot arm (WMRA) would aid individuals with completing ADLs and increase their independence, therefore an improved WMRA has been designed. Building upon previous WMRA research and incorporating research from industrial robot arms, carbon fiber tubing is the main component for the structure of the arm, a novel development for WMRAs. Factors that go into WMRA design include weight, speed, safety, …

The Biomechanics And Evolution Of Shark Teeth, Lisa Beth Whitenack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measuring the effects of morphology on performance, and performance on fitness, is necessary to gain a full picture of selection, adaptation, ecology, and evolution. The performance of an organism's feeding apparatus, of which teeth are an integral part, has obvious implications for its fitness and survival. Extant shark teeth encompass a wide variety of shapes, and are often ascribed qualitative functions without any biomechanical testing, employing terminology such as gripping, piercing, crushing, cutting, or tearing. Additionally, teeth also comprise the vast majority of the fossil record of sharks. Therefore to understand the evolution of the shark feeding mechanism, we must …

Novel Nanoindentation-Based Techniques For Mems And Microfluidics Applications, Ke Du

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the mechanical characterization of thin films, bulk materials, compliant MEMS and Microfluidics has been discussed. In chapter1 and chapter 2, the Indentation Size Effect (ISE) has been studied for single crystal aluminum and the substrate effect has also been studied for 200 nm gold film on mica substrate and 50 nm gold film on (100) silicon wafer substrate. The mechanical characterization of super hard SiC films (prepared by CVD) has also been discussed.

In chapter 3, the actuation of compliant MEMS devices with a nanoindentation apparatus has been investigated. Friction forces become important at the device level, …

Crack Patterns In Thin Films And X-Ray Optics Thermal Deformations, Grygoriy A. Kravchenko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin films and multilayers are widely used in many applications, ranging from X-ray optics to microelectronic devices. In service, the X-ray optics elements are exposed to the X-ray beam, which heats up the structure resulting in the thermal deformations, and consequently in distortions of the reflective surface. In addition, the excessive heating may activate interdiffusion in the multilayers coatings and result in degradation of their reflective performance and even film cracking. Therefore, analysis of the thermally-induced deformations and stresses in the X-ray optical elements is important.

The presented work is organized in two major parts. The first part examines formation …

Monocytes As Gene Therapy Vectors For The Treatment Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Lori Ann Lebson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accumulation of amyloid-ß; protein (Aß) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a well known pathological event. Decreasing the production or increasing the degradation of Aß; is therefore thought to serve as a potential therapeutic intervention in AD. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that certain proteases may be involved in the catabolism of Aß; and defects in the degradation of Aß; could contribute to AD disease progression. Studies implicating the homing of monocytes to regions of CNS damage have led to the idea that it may be possible to use genetically modified monocytes to carry exogenous genes …

Modeling Upper Body Kinematics While Using A Transradial Prosthesis, Derek J. Lura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prostheses used by the majority of persons with upper limb amputations today offer a limited range of motion. Relative to anatomical joints transradial (below the elbow) prosthesis users lose at least two of the three degrees of freedom provided by the wrist and forearm. Some myoeletric prostheses currently allow for forearm pronation and supination (rotation about an axis parallel to the forearm) and the operation of a powered prosthetic hand. Body-powered prostheses, incorporating hooks and other cable driven terminal devices, have even fewer active degrees of freedom. In order to perform activities of daily living, an amputee must use …

Investigation Of The Validity Of The Astm Standard For Computation Of International Friction Index, Kranthi Kavuri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Runway friction testing is performed in order to enhance the safety of aircraft operation on runways. Preventative maintenance friction surveys are performed to determine if there is any deterioration of the frictional resistance on the surface over a period of time and to determine if there is a need for corrective maintenance. In addition operational performance friction surveys are performed to determine frictional properties of a pavement surface in order to provide corrective action information in maintaining safe take-off or landing performance limits. A major issue encountered in both types of friction evaluation on runways is the standardization of the …

Irradiated Single Crystal 3c-Sic As A Maximum Temperature Sensor, Viacheslav G. Kuryachiy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A neutron flux on the order of 2·10²° neutrons/cm² at 0.18 MeV induces formation of point defects (vacancies and interstitials) in single crystal 3C-SiC causing a volume lattice expansion (swelling) of over 3% that can be measured by X-Ray diffraction. The crystal lattice can be completely restored with an annealing temperature equal to or higher than the irradiation temperature. This phenomenon serves as a basis for temperature measurements and allows the determination of the maximum temperature, if the exposure time is known.

The single crystal 3C-SiC sensor is applicable to small, rotating and hard to access parts due to its …

Microsphere-Aided Characterization Of Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Networks, Carlos A. Bello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The fabrication and characterization of surface-anchored hydrogel microstructures are described. The hydrogel structures are constructed from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), or poly(NIPAAm), which is a well-known thermoresponsive polymer that swells and contracts with changes in temperature. When patterned on a surface, these structures can experience a variety of shape changes induced by nonuniform swelling. Depending on the aspect ratio, patterns can, for instance buckle upon swelling and form wave-like patterns. Such structural changes replicate oscillatory motion of the smooth muscle cells and can be used to transport objects in microfluidics. The work, herein, investigates methods of pattern production and introduces a new technique …

Endurance Materials For Hydrogen Sulfide Splitting In Electrolytic Cell, Jonathan Chinwendu Mbah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the development of a novel thin membrane exchange assembly (MEA) from a solid acid material, cesium hydrogen sulfate (CsHSO₄), and from a composite anode electrocatalyst for electrolytic splitting of (100 %) H₂S feed content gas operating at 135 kPa and 150 °C. A new class of anode electrocatalyst with the general composition, RuO₂/CoS₂, and an improved proton conductor, CsHSO₄, have shown great stability and desired properties at typical operating conditions. This configuration demonstrated stable electrochemical operation for 24 h with a (100 %) H₂S fuel …

Mathematical Modeling Of Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Colleen Spiegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fuel cells are predicted to be the power delivery devices of the future. They have many advantages such as the wide fuel selection, high energy density, high efficiency and an inherent safety which explains the immense interest in this power source. The need for advanced designs has been limited by the lack of understanding of the transport processes inside the fuel cell stack. The reactant gases undergo many processes in a fuel cell that cannot be observed. Some of these processes include convective and diffusional mass transport through various types of materials, phase change and chemical reaction. In order to …

Owss And Mimo-Stc-Ofdm: Signaling Systems For The Next Generation Of High Speed Wireless Lans, Dinesh Divakaran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current popularity of WLANs is a testament primarily to their convenience, cost efficiency and ease of integration. Even now the demand for high data rate wireless communications has increased fourfold as consumers demand better multimedia communications over the wireless medium. The next generation of high speed WLANs is expected to meet this increased demand for capacity coupled with high performance and spectral efficiency. The current generation of WLANs utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. The next generation of WLAN standards can be made possible either by developing a different modulation technique or combining legacy OFDM with Multiple Input …