Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Interatomic Potentials For Large Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Carbon Materials Under Extreme Conditions, Romain Perriot

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this PhD research project is to devise a robust interatomic potential for large scale molecular dynamics simulations of carbon materials under extreme conditions. This screened-environment dependent reactive empirical bond order potential (SED-REBO) is specifically designed to describe carbon materials under extreme compressive or tensile stresses. Based on the original REBO potential by Brenner and co workers, SED-REBO includes reparametrized pairwise interaction terms and a new screening term, which serves the role of a variable cutoff. The SED-REBO potential overcomes the deficiencies found with the most commonly used interatomic potentials for carbon: the appearance of artificial forces due …

Responses To Chemical Exposure By Foraminifera: Distinguishing Dormancy From Mortality, Benjamin James Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in the 83 days between the initial explosion and the capping of the well. Response included extensive use of Corexit© oil dispersant. Although South Florida was spared exposure by currents, this event highlights the need for effective bioassay organisms for coral reefs. Amphistegina spp. are benthic foraminifers that host diatom symbionts in a relationship similar to that of coral and their zooxanthellae. Amphistegina spp. occur abundantly in reef communities nearly worldwide, are easily collected and maintained in culture, and are …

Cyberwar And International Law: An English School Perspective, Anthony F. Sinopoli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cyberwar challenges future endeavors of state security. As technological capability has improved, and access to information has become more widespread the importance of the issue in today's ever-globalizing world grows each day. A primary objective is to evaluate the place of cyber-warfare against nation-states and any repercussions under an international law paradigm. Utilizing an English School perspective, emphasis will be applied to the argument that disruptive circumstances could come to fruition if international conventions are not created to bring consensus and order among nation-states on this subject. This study hypothesizes that a future application could be an agreement under international …

Use And Development Of Computational Tools In Drug Discovery: From Small Molecules To Cyclic Peptides, Daniel Navarrete Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The scope of this work focuses on computationally modeling compounds with protein structures. While the impetus of drug discovery is the innovation of new therapeutic molecules, it also involves distinguishing molecules that would not be an effective drug. This can be achieved by inventing new tools or by refining old tools. Virtual screening (VS, also called docking), the computational modeling of a molecule in a receptor structure, is a staple in predicting a molecule's affinity for an intended target. In our Virtual Target Screening system (also called inverse-docking), VS is used to find high-affinity targets, which can potentially explain absorption, …

Two Essays On Corporate Governance, Yuwei Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes two related chapters that investigate corporate governance. In the first chapter, we examine the effectiveness of board monitoring on CEOs. It is widely believed that outsider boards are better monitors. In fact, regulations now require that the board of directors of publicly traded firms be composed of a majority of independent directors (or outsiders). However, this paper documents that an insider-dominated board can monitor the CEO just as well as an outsider board can when the firm's CEO is hired from outside. The results suggest that what matters is not so much as the structure of the …

Changes In Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Physical Activity, Nutrition, And Social Support For Middle School Students Using The Afit App As A Suppliment To Instruction In A Physical Education Class, Thomas Andrew Watterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Finding ways to improve nutritional and physical activity components with today's adolescents is a significant problem. The obesity epidemic is over 10 years old and little research has been done on successful interventions that motivate today's students using the latest technology. A total of 140 middle school students and four physical education teachers participated in a 4-week study using a newly created application (AFIT app) for supplemental teaching in and out of the classroom. Combining a theoretical framework of Self-Determination and motivating strategies implored in today's mobile technology, significance was found using the PACE (2001) instrument in fruits and …

"Are We Supposed To Be The Guy On The Horse?" A Case Study On The Use Of Political Cartoons In The American History Classroom, James Manuel Duran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent reports on the media saturation experienced by the twenty-first century student have brought about an increased interest in focusing attention on the issue of visual literacy in today's schools. Concepts such as instructional personalization, where approaches to curriculum design and instruction are created to concentrate on the individual strengths of the learner, have been promoted by some as a path to improving overall student performance. Many believe that the content of the Social Studies classroom easily lends itself to a visually stimulating approach and as such is an ideal laboratory to test hypotheses on such an approach. This study …

Contract Law Walks The Plank: Carnival Cruise Lines V. Shute, Charles L. Knapp

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Standing Doctrine's Dirty Little Secret, Evan Tsen Lee, Josephine Mason Ellis

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Link Between Image Segmentation And Image Recognition, Karan Sharma

Dissertations and Theses

A long standing debate in computer vision community concerns the link between segmentation and recognition. The question I am trying to answer here is, Does image segmentation as a preprocessing step help image recognition? In spite of a plethora of the literature to the contrary, some authors have suggested that recognition driven by high quality segmentation is the most promising approach in image recognition because the recognition system will see only the relevant features on the object and not see redundant features outside the object (Malisiewicz and Efros 2007; Rabinovich, Vedaldi, and Belongie 2007). This thesis explores the following question: …

Figurative Language In The Immigration Debate: Comparing Early 20th Century And Current U.S. Debate With The Contemporary European Debate, Ensieh Biria

Dissertations and Theses

This study analyzes newspaper coverage of immigration reform in mainstream newspapers prior to, and following the debate in June 2007. The newspaper text is analyzed using metaphor interpretation supported by content analysis. The quantitative result categorizes the identified metaphors in three distinct metaphor categories about: immigrants and immigration, immigration policy and enforcement, and metaphors about the debate and immigration issue itself. The relative distribution of metaphors among categories is provided. Using an open coding process, emergent metaphor categories are identified. The qualitative findings describe metaphors and schemas that were potentially activated by particular metaphorical phrases in this context. Lastly, this …

A Fault-Tolerant Alternative To Lockstep Triple Modular Redundancy, Andrew Lockett Baldwin

Dissertations and Theses

Semiconductor manufacturing defects adversely affect yield and reliability. Manufacturers expend vast resources to reduce defects within their processes. As the minimum feature size get smaller, defects become increasingly difficult to prevent. Defects can change the behavior of a logic circuit resulting in a fault. Manufacturers and designers may improve yield, reliability, and profitability by using design techniques that make products robust even in the presence of faults. Triple modular redundancy (TMR) is a fault tolerant technique commonly used to mask faults using voting outcomes from three processing elements (PE). TMR is effective at masking errors as long as no more …

Dynamics Of Channel Complexity And Nitrate Retention In Upper Fanno Creek, Oregon, Robert Allen Bean

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the relationship between channel complexity and nutrient spiraling along 31 reaches of an urbanized watershed in Portland, Oregon. Much research shows that urbanization has an effect on watershed hydrology and nutrient loading at the watershed scale for various sized catchments. However, the flux of nutrients over short reaches within a stream channel has been less studied because of the effort and costs associated with fieldwork and subsequent laboratory analysis of the surface water samples. In this study I measure channel complexity and uptake velocity of nitrate to determine if this relationship is indicative of a healthy, functioning …

Assessing Environmental Inequality In Portland, Oregon: An Exploration Of Local Environmental Justice Struggles, Jordan Douglas Folks

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores patterns of environmental inequality in Portland, Oregon; both the existence of spatial environmental inequalities and the structural and local forces which contribute to them. Research on environmental inequality, or inequitable exposure to toxins, has shown that minority and low-income populations experience the bulk of the exposure to environmental hazards. Although Portland is often cited as the archetype of a sustainable city, environmental inequality is a pervasive issue. This thesis examines the health inequalities that characterize underserved communities in Portland. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the researcher uses 1) logistic regression to statistically assess the relationship between race, …

The Role Of Compliment Topics In Compliment Response, Hiroko Katsuta

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the role of compliment topic by analyzing compliment responses by Japanese and American college students. Compliment responses can be seen as solutions for maintaining a balance between (1) a preference to avoid self-praise and (2) a preference to accept or agree with the compliment (Pomerantz 1978). Building on studies showing that response strategies can be influenced by compliment content and context, the study analyzed responses to compliments on ability, achievement, belongings, appearance, and personal characteristics by determining the subjects' choice of response strategy--categorized as acceptance, avoidance, or rejection--for each compliment topic. Compliment responses were elicited in a …

Development And Implementation Of Acoustic Feedback Control For Scanning Probe Microscopy, Rodolfo Fernandez Rodriguez

Dissertations and Theses

A remote-sensing acoustic method for implementing position control feedback in Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) is presented. The capabilities of this feedback control using the new Whispering Gallery Acoustic Sensing (WGAS) method is demonstrated in a Shear-force Scanning Probe Microscope that uses a sharp probe attached to a piezoelectric Quartz Tuning Fork (QTF) firmly mounted on the microscope's frame. As the QTF is electrically driven its mechanical response reaches the SPM frame which then acts as a resonant cavity producing acoustic modes measured with an acoustic sensor strategically placed on the SPM head. The novelty of the WGAS resides in using …

Climate Change Effects And Water Vulnerability In The Molalla Pudding River Basin, Oregon, Usa, Susan Amelia Wherry

Dissertations and Theses

Water management plans are typically developed using historical data records and historical return periods for extreme events, such as floods or droughts. Since these analyses of return periods typically assume a certain degree of stationarity (constant mean, standard deviation, distribution) in hydrologic variables, the potential future impacts of climate change are excluded. In developing water management plans, predicted changes to climate variables should be considered to evaluate the degree of non-stationarity that may exist in the future. In this way, regions most sensitive to climate change can be identified and managed appropriately. This study performed such a task by using …

Engaging Community Food Systems Through Learning Garden Programs: Oregon Food Bank's Seed To Supper Program, Denissia Elizabeth Withers

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover whether learning garden programs increase access to locally grown foods and successfully empower and include food insecure populations. This study examined the Oregon Food Bank's Seed to Supper program which situates garden-based learning in food insecure communities. Through a mixed-methods community-based research process, this study found that community building, learner empowerment and sustainability leadership in place-based learning garden programs increased access to locally grown foods for food insecure populations. When food insecure populations participated in these learning garden programs they often engaged in practices described in the literature as the "web of …

Black Swans, Ostriches, And Ponzi Schemes, Nancy B. Rapoport

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Worst Supreme Court Case Ever? Identifying, Assessing, And Exploring Low Moments Of The High Court, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Test Design On Student Motivational Strategies For Learning And Student Retention, Jeanne Carol Samuel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Large numbers of students attending community college lack essential college success skills (motivation and study strategies). Many of these students do not complete their degree programs. Identifying learning and teaching methods that promote the development of lifelong learning skills in addition to content acquisition is essential. This quasi-experimental research design study examined the effect of alternative multiple-choice question design on student motivational strategies for learning and retention. Participants were 59 students enrolled in a Microsoft® Office applications course at a public gulf coast community college. The discrete-option multiple-choice (DOMC) test was designed to limit cheating and guessing on tests. The …

The Power Of Protection: A Population-Based Comparison Of Native And Non-Native Youth Suicide Attempters, Juliette Mackin, Tamara Perkins, Carrie Jeanne Furrer

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

This study provides actionable information about intervening with American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth to prevent suicide. Statewide school survey data were used to model the impact of risk and protective factors on self-reported suicide attempts (both AI/AN and non-AI/AN). The cumulative risk and protective model worked similarly for both groups. AI/AN youth had a higher threshold of risk before making a suicide attempt. Protective factors buffered the impact of risk, particularly for the higher risk youth.

Spatial Assessment And Analysis Of Pollution Sources And Water Quality In The Bogue Falaya River And Abita River Watersheds, St. Tammany Parish, La, Chelsea Core

LSU Master's Theses

Watershed planning is an important ongoing process for enabling communities to repair polluted waterways and ensuring the health and vitality of waterways for future generations. This study defines a process to spatially track pollution sources entering into our waterways. An essential tool used in the watershed planning process is geographic information systems. It is important to gather spatial information to illustrate where all potential pollution sources are located within each watershed. The data for this study were assembled into a database and mapped to locate pollution sources including: commercial/small business wastewater treatment plants; subdivisions without community wastewater treatment; and individual …

The Ethical Implications Of Bartering For Mental Health Services: Examining Interdisciplinary Ethical Standards, Joel A. Lane

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The present paper discusses literature concerning the practice of bartering for counseling, psychological, or social work services in lieu of traditional monetary payment. The author contrasts the language concerning the practice of bartering found in the respective ethical codes for each profession, and presents literature describing both risks and potential benefits of bartering arrangements. The primary risks of bartering include liability concerns and the potential for harmful or exploitive dual relationships. The primary benefits are that bartering makes mental health services available to those who cannot afford traditional fees, and allows for a culturally relevant compensation method for those whose …

Development And Validation Of An Electron Monte Carlo Model For The Elekta Infinity Accelerator, Guy Merritt Harris

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to create a Monte Carlo BEAMnrc/EGSnrc model of the electron beam delivery system of an Elekta Infinity linear accelerator that could simulate electron percent depth doses and off-axis profiles to within a specified tolerance criteria, ±2% relative quantities (Dmax) or 1 mm distance to agreement (DTA), when compared to a subset of the measured commissioning data for the accelerator’s existing set of scattering foils and applicators. Methods: The model was constructed with the BEAMnrc user code from vendor provided schematics and correspondence with manufacturer engineers under a nondisclosure agreement. The spatial distribution of …

Object Protocols As A Tool For Debugging Method Call Sequencing Constraints, Ronald William Gilkey

LSU Master's Theses

Clearly conveying and enforcing the proper ordering of method calls on objects has become a common problem among developers and interface designers. Without the ability of the compilation environment to enforce these constraints, programmers must rely on clear documentation being provided and diligence in programming to ensure that a proper sequence of operations is performed. Commonly, though, type-checking becomes the only tool to help support the correctness of operation sequences as API documentation rarely describes inter-object communications. Thus, the likeliness of producing erroneous and buggy software increases. Object protocols provide a simple and straight-forward approach to solving this problem. They …

Evaluation Of A Proton Pencil Bean Algorithm For Dose Calculations In Heterogenous Media, Nels C. Knutson

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To develop an improved nuclear halo dose model of a pencil beam algorithm (PBA) for dose calculation of proton beams in heterogeneous media. Methods: The proton PBA consisted of a central axis term and an off axis term. The central axis term was determined from a central axis depth dose profile of a Monte Carlo simulated proton beam in water and was scaled by a mass stopping power ratio to account for other materials. The off axis term was determined from Fermi-Eyges scattering theory with material-dependent scattering powers to calculate the lateral spread of the proton beam in heterogeneous …

The Return To The World: Precís Of A Defense Of Heideggerian Realism, Graham Charles Bounds

LSU Master's Theses

I defend Martin Heidegger’s philosophy from Lee Braver’s contention that it espouses or entails anti-realism, and instead contend that it strongly supports a robust realism. Realism is, in essence, the metaphysical position which states that human beings are aware—or are capable of being aware—of entities that exist independently of us. The counter-position, anti-realism, sometimes equated with idealism, holds that this is not the case. Braver breaks down these simplistic definitions into several more technical propositions, or “matrices,” and attempts to show how Heidegger rejects the realism matrices in favor of their anti-realist counterparts. I will likewise examine the matrices, arguing …

An Experimental And Theoretical Critique Of Flow Model Accuracy, Shannon Ray Chollett

LSU Master's Theses

In today’s exploration and production environment it is required that engineers must collect and use vast amounts of data for flow model construction and calibra- tion, as well as reservoir estimation and optimization. With modern technology, the data volume can be overwhelming. It is necessary that data monitoring and calibration are highly efficient. It is also essential that physical and mathematical models can be tested in repeatable, inexpensive experiments. The experiments described in this thesis will develop and perform verification of algorithms and can generate prior geomodels, collect and process seismic refraction data, collect and process production data, and calibrate …

Insights From A National Conference: "Conflicts Of Interest In The Practice Of Medicine", David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.