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Cars, Collisions, And Violence In Southern Literature, Bryan Thomas Mccabe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Southern literature, from the first half of the twentieth century, deals primarily with the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society. The conflict in the Southern novel is a result of the protagonist's inability to transition from the structure of the Old to the New South. The Southern protagonist is often quite unconscious of his inability to adapt to the modern world because he suffers from a "diffusion of time perspective." As the protagonist struggles to find a harmonic balance between traditional and modern, he is ultimately unable to avoid a tragic fate. The "violence" that must take place …

A Novel Antibody Based Capture Matrix Utilizing Human Serum Albumin And Streptococcal Protein G To Increase Capture Efficiency Of Bacteria, Christie Renee Mccabe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel capture matrix utilizing human serum albumin (HSA) and streptococcal Protein G (PG), which possesses an albumin binding domain (ABD), was used to immobilize antibodies for improved bacterial capture efficiency in immunoassays. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to characterize and optimize a specific protocol for the HSA-PG capture matrix; which revealed several critical factors that should be considered. The Fc binding domain, on PG, should have high affinity for the species of capture antibody used in the assay. Goat and rabbit species antibodies bound strongly to the Fc binding domain of PG. Displacement of the capture antibody, …

“Desirable Images”: Sexual Mapping In William S. Burroughs’S Naked Lunch And Samuel R. Delany’S Dhalgren, Patrick Mcgowan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In "Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism," Fredric Jameson describes the disappearance, within postmodernism, of an objective framework for mapping the social totality. In order to illustrate this concept, Jameson draws upon the ideas of urban planner Kevin Lynch as formulated in his seminal work, The Image of the City. For Lynch, the design of the postwar alienated city results in varying and fragmentary "cognitive maps" used by its inhabitants to negotiate urban space, a problem that can be rectified by "good" urban planning, which aims to create mappable public space through the implementation of external orientation markers. …

‘Adding Wisdom To Their Natures’: British Victorian And Colonial Educational Practices And The Possibility Of Women’S Personal Emancipation In Charlotte Brontë’S Jane Eyre, Buchi Emecheta’S Joys Of Motherhood And Tsitsi Dangrembga’S Nervous Conditions, Megan Mcintyre

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Popular opinion suggests that education is the 'silver bullet' to end poverty, famine, and all the worlds' ills. The reality of education for women, however, is not as easily classified as transformative. This paper seeks to illuminate, through historical research and literary analysis, the connections between the charity education of Victorian Britain, a system examined in Jane Eyre, and the missionary education which comprised the majority of the educational systems in the British colonies, including Nigeria and Zimbabwe, the settings of Emecheta and Dangarembga's works.

Beginning with Charlotte Brontë's Victorian classic, Jane Eyre, and moving through time, space and situation …

The Financial Literacy Of University Students: A Comparison Of Graduating Seniors‟ Financial Literacy And Debt Level, Vandeen M. Mckenzie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The level of university students' financial literacy has been discussed in Congress, opinion pieces in the media and the increasing level of student debt has been used to suggest their financial illiteracy. This study investigated the financial literacy of graduating university seniors by comparing their financial literacy level with their debt level. The difference in financial literacy levels of business majors, minors and non-business majors was assessed. The relationship between graduating university seniors' financial literacy level and their credit card and student loan debt was also reviewed. Gender, employment status, ethnicity, family income and college major were similarly examined to …

“Re-Homing”: Sustaining Housing First, Jennifer Mckinney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem of homelessness is an issue in every city of America. Increasingly there are more individuals and families that find themselves without a permanent residence due to varying factors. Traditionally, the approach to this crisis has been to shuffle from emergency shelters to transitional shelters towards temporary housing. However, this lengthy, regulated process prohibits a large portion of the homeless population from ever settling back into housing. It is also merely a stop gap for the issue and this process absorbs a large sum of resources in land, money and manpower. However, there is a new model emerging to …

Tthe Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 Complex And Bif-1 Regulate Multiple Mechanisms That Affect Sensitivity To Dna Damage, Cheryl L. Meyerkord

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The resistance of cancer cells to traditional chemotherapeutic agents is a major obstacle in the successful treatment of cancer. Cancer cells manipulate a variety of signaling pathways to enhance resistance to anticancer agents; such mechanisms include disrupting the DNA damage response and hyperactivating survival signaling pathways. In an attempt to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, we investigated multiple processes regulated by the Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 (9-1-1) complex and Bif-1. The 9-1-1 complex plays an integral role in the response to DNA damage and regulates many downstream signaling pathways. Overexpression of members of this complex has been …

Teaching Social Studies In An Age Of Globalization: A Case Study Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Participation In The Una-Usa’S Global Classrooms Curriculum Program, Kelly R. Miliziano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The researcher found few studies that explore decisions of social studies teachers as they plan what and how to teach their classes. Over a century, social studies educators have adapted and responded to political, social, and economic changes. From educating immigrants a century earlier to addressing contemporary cross-border issues, social studies educators inherit unique challenges in today's increasingly globalized world. In addition to these external forces, constraints are placed on teachers which prescribe what content must be included in an already crowded curriculum. This qualitative approach using a case study provides a better understanding of the influence a globally oriented …

Characterization Of Electrowetting Systems For Microfluidic Applications, Pradeep K. Mishra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrowetting is the change in apparent surface energy in the presence of an electric field. Recently, this phenomenon has been used to control the shape and location of individual droplets on a surface. However, many microfluidics researchers have acknowledged unexplained behaviors and performance degradation. In this work, electrowetting systems are characterized with different methods. The electrowetting response is measured by measuring contact angle for different applied voltages. A novel technique for direct measurement of Electrowetting Force (EWF) using nano indenter is proposed in this work. The EWF measurements show that, for aqueous solution the EWF is more as compared to …

Gallium Nitride Sensors For Hydrogen/Nitrogen And Hydrogen/Carbon Monoxide Gas Mixtures, Christopher Nicholas Monteparo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As hydrogen is increasingly used as an energy carrier, gas sensors that can operate at high temperatures and in harsh environments are needed for fuel cell, aerospace, and automotive applications. The high temperature Fischer-Tropsch process also uses mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to generate synthetic fuels from non-fossil precursors. As the Fischer-Tropsch process depends upon particular gas mixtures to generate various fuels, a sensor which can determine the proper ratio of reactants is needed. To this end, gallium nitride (GaN) has been used to fabricate a resistive gas sensor. GaN is a suitable semiconductor to be used in hydrogen …

Data Acquisition For Modeling And Visualization Of Vascular Tree, William Lafayette Mondy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Data can be acquired from tissue's vascular structure and used for modeling and visualization. To acquire data from a vascular tree, we make its structure available for the gathering of data by separating it from the structures of surrounding tissues, which includes the capillary structure. The capillary structure contains important information, but, because of its size, is the most difficult to acquire data from. In this work, we look at methods for contrasting the vascular structure from surrounding tissues, and focus on the use of corrosion casting for this procedure. We collected image data using micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) and converted …

The Morphological Complexity Of Spelling, Ages 8 To 15 Years, Courtney R. Mossing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Learning to spell requires integration of phonological, orthographic, and morphological knowledge. Historically, spelling development has been characterized by linear stages in which children learn to use these knowledge bases in succession. A more recent view challenges the linearity of this approach and proposes that spelling development from the beginning is characterized by the simultaneous interaction of all three linguistic factors. Minimal research exists that qualitatively investigates the integration of these three factors, especially as noted in derivational morphology. The study's purpose was to investigate spelling accuracy and qualitatively analyze the morphological error patterns of typically developing children, ages 8-15 years, …

Particulate Carbon, Nitrogen And Phosphorus Stoichiometry Of South West Florida Waters, Susan Mary Murasko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The southwestern Florida shelf marine environment has often been characterized as oligotrophic, yet these waters can support large, high biomass, persistent phytoplankton blooms, including blooms of the toxin producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Little is known regarding which major nutrient potentially limits primary production in these waters as both inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are often near the limits of analytical detection and it is difficult to estimate what percentage of the dissolved organic pool is available for phytoplankton uptake. To assess the nutrient status of phytoplankton populations on the southwest Florida shelf, this project examines the particulate nutrient stoichiometry of …

Living Behind Bars? An Investigation Of Gated Communities In New Tampa, Florida, Scott E. Nonnemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With protective gates and guard booths restricting access to their entrances, master-planned gated communities have become a dominant form of suburban development throughout much of the country. Many home builders, developers, and real estate companies promote gated communities as a developmental step towards the creation of a real-life utopia. However, many academics, like Karina Landman and Martin Schonteich (2002), argue that their existence simply marks a new chapter in the fragmentation and polarization of societies all across the world. This study used a mixed methods approach to analyze the demographic makeup of individuals living in gated communities in New Tampa, …

Devised Architecture: Revitalizing The Mundane, Jason Novisk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's society, we view new as good, a universal standpoint that has become so commonly accepted as true, that to question it would be absurd. While many new items are an upgrade over their predecessor, it is important to understand that used items still retain a high amount of value and efficacy. Our landscape is filled with the mundane, industrial elements that surround us, yet due to our familiarity with them they are pushed to the background of our consciousness. However their commonplace should not mask their true potential value. By using what is already there before us, we …

Development And Investigation Of Novel Nanostructures And Complex Hydrides For Hydrogen Storage, Michael Ulrich Niemann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few years, the need for a clean and renewable fuel has sharply risen. This is due to increasing fossil fuel costs and the desire to limit or eliminate harmful by-products which are created during the burning of these fuels. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and can be used in either fuel cells or traditional internal combustion engines to produce energy with no harmful emissions. One of the main obstacles facing the implementation of a hydrogen economy is its storage. Classical methods of storage involve either high and unsafe pressures or liquid storage involving …

Ecis Assessment Of Cytotoxicity And Trans-Endothelial Migration Of Metastatic Cancer Cells, Daniel Opp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The investigations conducted within this dissertation centers around the use of electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS). This system is able to characterize in real-time analysis, the adhesion of cells to their substrate and neighboring cells. With this, valuable information can be gathered with in-vitro experiments regarding a tissue culture's response to physiological stimulation. This dissertation has taken advantage of ECIS' ability to analyze toxicology, barrier function, and cancer invasion on a tissue culture. With proper analysis modifications, trans-epethelial resistance (TER) can be used as a cytotoxicity assay with higher sensitivity than previously thought. In vitro assessment of cytotoxicity based on …

A Phenomenological Study Of Nursing Faculty’S Experiences In Transitioning From A Classroom To An Online Teaching Role, Denise A. Passmore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As universities increasingly offer online nursing education, the transition that faculty members must make to their new instructional role is often overlooked. This phenomenological qualitative research involved the use of semi-structured interviews with 16 nursing faculty from four Florida public universities, who were asked to describe their experiences transitioning from classroom to online teaching. Interview questions focused on their prior assumptions about online education, their preparation for online teaching, their current teaching methods, and the identification of information they would recommend as vital for successful online teaching. Participants were voluntary and selected by both criterion and network sampling. Interviews were …

Exploring Efficient Design Approaches For Display Of Multidimensional Data To Facilitate Interpretation Of Information, Chitra S. Pathiavadi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prescriptions for effective display of quantitative information involving more than two variables are not available. To explore the effectiveness of retinal variables in facilitating the interpretation of information and decision making when used in conjunction, a study with 135 participants was conducted. The study involved the use of color shape, color value, and value shape as retinal variables in interactive displays that required participants to answer nine questions in three levels of complexity (identification of data points, analyses of local comparisons and global trends). Time-on-task scores and performance scores were measured. In addition, a View Clamp eye tracker system was …

The Concept Of Action And Responsibility In Heidegger’S Early Thought, Christian Hans Pedersen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In his early thought (which for our purposes will be considered to be roughly the time period from his first post World War I lecture course in 1919 to the publication of Being and Time in 1927), Heidegger offers a rich description of our practical engagement with the world. The aim of this project is to develop a Heideggerian conception of action from these early, concrete descriptions of the practical dimension of human life. The central feature of this Heideggerian conception of action is that action is understood as involving interdependent aspects of passivity and activity (or receptivity and spontaneity, …

Prevalence And Influence On Quality Of Life Of Symptoms Caused By Inhaled Odors, Chemicals And Irritants: A Comparison Between Hispanics And Americans, Carmen Perez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to estimate the population prevalence of chemical sensitivities have been limited and have yielded different estimates of the prevalence of affected individuals. Researchers recognize that people differ in their biological susceptibility to environmental contaminants as well as the amount of contaminant to which they are potentially exposed. Lack of information on the population prevalence of people, who report sensitivity to a chemical or many chemicals, as well as variables associated, has been recognized in previous studies (Kreutzer et al., 1999). In a more recent report, Berg et al., in 2007 reported the prevalence and consequences related to inhalation of …

Does Michelangelo's Poetic Veil Shroud A Secret Luther?, Edith Carolyn Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The thesis poses a question derived from an unlikely nexus of two prominent figures of the Renaissance and the Reformation: the artist whose creative abilities ostensibly dominate the Vatican and religious art, juxtaposed with the rebel who splintered the dominance of Roman Catholicism. Michelangelo's program of artistic and religious reform in the second quarter of the sixteenth century strikes a chord similar to Martin Luther's theological perspectives set forth in the Reformation. Through the influence of the artist's friendship with the noblewoman, Vittoria Colonna, and subsequent involvement with an elite and cultured Italian reform group called the Spirituali, his later …

Hierarchical Complexity In Metal-Organic Materials: From Layers To Polyhedra To Supermolecular Building Blocks, John Jackson Perry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The design and synthesis of novel functional materials with fine-tunable physical and chemical properties has been an aspiration of materials scientists since at least Feynman's famous speech "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" which has fittingly been credited with ushering in the nanotechnology era. Crystal engineering, as the solid-state manifestation of supramolecular chemistry, is well positioned to make substantial contributions to this worthwhile endeavor. Within the realm of crystal engineering resides the subdiscipline of metal-organic materials (MOMs) which pertains most simplistically to the coordination bond and includes such objects as coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and discrete architectures, each …

An Explanatory Examination Of Relationships Between Measures Of School And Student Socioeconomic Status And Reading And Math Achievement Of Hispanic Limited English Proficient (Lep) High School Students, Osvaldo Piedra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U.S. requiring limited English proficiency services (Guglielmi, 2008). Many schools and school districts place heavy emphasis on high stakes testing. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires all children to have access to a fair, equal, and high-quality education. Many schools and school districts focus on individual students to show grade level performance for small populations such as limited English proficient (LEP) students. The purpose of this study was to examine the question, "What was the relationship between measures of school and student socioeconomic status, and …

Biotopia: An Interdisciplinary Connection Between Ecology, Suburbia, And The City, Jessica Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an era when cities and towns are changing rapidly, public spaces are the key to reviving civic engagement. By re-introducing these public realms as ecological environments, we can re-structure the organic growth of civic tissue, re-define the city street into a park environment, and reveal the ecological landmarks that once beautified the landscape. These ecological landmarks will be used as corridors, nodes of circulation and storm water management to not only creates a regenerative landscape but to create a connection between ecology, suburbia and the city. The public realm in America has two roles: it is the dwelling place …

Digital Holography Applications In Ophthalmology, Biometry, And Optical Trapping Characterization, Mariana Camelia Potcoava

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation combines various holographic techniques with application on the two- and three-dimensional imaging of ophthalmic tissue, fingerprints, and microsphere samples with micrometer resolution. Digital interference holography (DIH) uses scanned wavelengths to synthesize short-coherence interference tomographic images. We used DIH for in vitro imaging of human optic nerve head and retina. Tomographic images were produced by superposition of holograms. Holograms were obtained with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 50 dB. Optic nerve head characteristics (shape, diameter, cup depth, and cup width) were quantified with a few micron resolution (4.06 -4.8 microns). Multiple layers were distinguishable in cross-sectional images of the …

Mentorship Racial Composition And The Judgments Made By Individuals External To The Relationship, Laura F. Poteat

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how the racial composition of a mentoring relationship influences three types of judgments made by individuals external to the relationship: (1) causal attributions formed to explain successful protégé performance; (2) evaluations of protégé career advancement potential; and (3) reward recommendations for the mentor and protégé. Additionally, the associations among causal attributions, evaluations of potential, and reward recommendations were investigated. A 2 (protégé race: white vs. black) x 2 (mentor race: white vs. black) factorial between-subjects design was used. Mentor and protégé races were manipulated within a written vignette. After reading the vignette, …

Experience + Evolution: Exploring Nature As A Constant In An Evolving Culture And Building Type, Robin Plotkowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout time, our natural environment has been one of the only constants in our evolution. While cultures change and evolve, nature's beauty and positive effects on humans have always been present. Unfortunately, our built environment has generated much attention for its profound impact on our natural environment. Buildings in the United States consume a third of our total energy use, raw material use, and waste output, not to mention the negative effects they can have on our well-being, economy, health and productivity. In an effort to protect our natural environment, our built environment must become more responsible to the environment …

For Neither Love Nor Money: Gender, Sexuality, And Tourism In Costa Rica, Ellen Puccia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Costa Rica has been a popular tourist destination for decades, and is currently the second largest industry in the country. With so many tourists coming into the country, Costa Rica provides a rich environment within which to examine sex tourism. Costa Rica is a known destination for male sex tourists hoping to experience legal prostitution or child prostitution. Although it is lesser known, female sex tourism also occurs in Costa Rica. Female sex tourism occurs in the form of pseudo-romantic relationships between female tourists and Costa Rican men working in the tourist industry. These people spend a great deal of …

Cocrystals Of Nutraceuticals: Protocatechuic Acid And Quercetin, Twarita Anil Pujari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The cocrystallization of two or more pure compounds by crystal engineering to create a new functional material is of a great academic and industrial interest. Pharmaceutical cocrystallization has allured a lot of attention by means of altering the physicochemical properties of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) such as solubility, stability and bioavailability. Crystal engineering of nutraceuticals can produce novel compounds such as pharmaceutical cocrystals. To establish the importance of nutraceutical cocrystallization and its use; polyphenols, a major class of nutraceuticals and potential disease preventing agents, are the appropriate targets. The work herein focuses on two polyphenols, protocatechuic acid and quercetin, which …