Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Relative Frequency Of Commuting Modes During Covid-19 Pandemic", Shreya Chintawar

All Theses

At the end of December 2019, a new coronavirus spread in Wuhan, China, and worldwide and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this outbreak of the COVID-19 virus a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Different states and cities implemented various strategies including school closure, working from home, and restaurant and shop closures to control the virus spread, resulting in reduced travel demand. COVID-19 provided an opportunity to understand the differential impacts of a pandemic on travel demand. This study investigates the changes in the U.S. transportation mode use and factors influencing changes in mode use frequency for commuting during the …

Thermoplastic-Thermoset Bonding Via Reactive Interfaces, Eric Charles Rozelsky

All Theses

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is widely regarded as a high-performance thermoplastic material due to its desirable properties, including a high strength to weight ratio and excellent chemical stability. However, a practical challenge to working with PEEK is that its chemical resistance and inertness make the adhesion of functional coatings to PEEK surfaces quite difficult. To this end, we have developed a method for promoting adhesion between PEEK and a thermoset epoxy coating by introducing a reactive and mechanically robust polymer layer at the interface, which bonds with both the substrate and the coating.

Our process involves pre-treatment of PEEK using …

Demystifying Structure-Property Correlations For Perovskite Oxides Using Machine Learning To Discover Lead-Free Alternatives Solar Cells, Afrid Mazhar Shirsekar

All Theses

Discovering optimal materials for a given application has become extremely difficult due to the vast scope of structure possibilities and requires substantial computational expense to evaluate even one of all possible structures. An increase in the structural complexity can offset combinatorial explosion and could take months, if not years, even with the advanced computational architecture, to screen every candidate.Here in this study, we propose a computational approach based on statistical learning combined with DFT based computations that can effectively screen over the entire range of possible candidates and predict the material’s electronic properties with high fidelity. Specifically, we use advanced …

Fluid Rheological Effects On Insulator-Based Dielectrophoresis, Joseph Armakan Bentor

All Theses

Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) has been increasingly used to focus, trap and separate particles and cells for various microfluidic applications in the fields of analytical chemistry, bioanalysis, cell biology and clinics etc. It exploits insulating structure(s) to create electric field gradients for dielectrophoretic manipulation of particles and cells in microchannels. However, iDEP has thus far been demonstrated to work with Newtonian fluids only in the majority of the reported applications. As many of the biological (e.g., blood, saliva, DNA solutions, etc.) and chemical (e.g., polymer and colloidal solutions) fluids exhibit non-Newtonian behaviors, it is important and necessary to understand how the …

Exploiting Multi Stability Of Compliant Locking Mechanism For Reconfigurable Articulation In Robotic Arm, Troy Justin Carhart

All Theses

This study analyzes a biology inspired approach of utilizing a compliant unit actuator to simplify the control requirements for a soft robotic arm. A robot arm is constructed from a series of compliant unit actuators that precisely actuate between two stable states. The extended state can be characterized as a rigid link with a high bending stiffness. The compressed state can be characterized as a flexible joint with a low bending stiffness. Without the use of an external power source, the bistable mechanism remains in each of the stable states. The unit actuator can demonstrate pseudo-linkage kinematics that require less …

Initial Investigation Of Connection Behavior For Buckling-Restrained Braces (Brbs) In Precast Concrete Frames, Hannah Dillingham Kessler

All Theses

Recently, there has been increased interest in using buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) in pinned precast concrete frames located in seismic zones. BRB frames (BRBFs) are a relatively new, but well-understood lateral force resisting system for steel structures. A codified method of design for precast BRBFs cannot be created due to a lack of experimental studies on this system. To act as a first step in the codification process, the objectives of this thesis are to complete an extensive review of potential brace-to-frame connection designs for precast BRBFs and to experimentally test a connection design through representative seismic loads. To complete the …

Evaluation Of Strategies For Treatment Of Complex Waste Mixtures At An Industrial Site In South America, Jimena Paola Jimenez Garcia

All Theses

Environment pollution is a global problem that has been created through decades of industrial development. Remediation activities are needed to mitigate the resulting health and environmental impacts. Nowadays there are still numerous sites that require clean-up of complex mixtures of contaminants that exhibit an even greater challenge to scientists and engineers. Area P, located in the Camaçari industrial site, is the subject of this research. The environmental impacts created by this area is a consequence of petrochemical industries located within the zone.The main objectives of this research were to evaluate the interactions among chemicals of concern in Area P during …

Theory Of Ion Transport And Ion Current Rectification In Nanofluidic Diodes, Julia Ellen Proctor

All Theses

In this thesis, nanofluidic diodes were studied theoretically using fundamental physics as a basis. A comprehensive theory was constructed for ion current rectification (ICR) in nanofluidic systems, written from an engineering and physics perspective. The primary goal of this work was to clarify the fundamental theory of ICR through the interpretation and consideration of various literature sources on the topic, which often use contradictory definitions and simplifications. New figures were created for this research to more effectively convey and clarify vital concepts such as electric double layers (EDL), and included multiple definitions to compare different theoretical approaches. Lastly, a simulation …

Reproducing The Status Quo In The Middle School English Classroom: A Critical Examination Of Literacy Learning Via Personalized Learning Technology, Michele Mcconnell

Dissertations

Personalized learning technology (PL Tech) is a growing educational reform movement supported by federal grant dollars. As a bourgeoning educational movement, no research has been conducted to explore the potential effects of such structures in supporting student literacy learning. Additionally, current education reform research often lacks the perspective of the students experiencing the reform. Therefore, this study sought to examine the lived experiences of middle school students using PL Tech to understand what structural and cultural arrangements influenced students’ literacy learning.

Portraiture, a qualitative methodology, was employed to conduct the study at a charter school in Fresno, California implementing PL …

New Tech, New Deal: Mining Policy Options In The Face Of New Technology, Isabelle Ramdoo, Aaron Cosbey, Jeff Geipel, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Throughout the history of mining, technological innovation has played a vital role across all cycles of mining projects. The new wave of technological adoption is a combination of evolutionary and revolutionary technologies, with an increasing focus on the latter. An acceleration in investments in disruptive technologies in recent years has seen the large-scale mining sector finally catching up with a dynamic that has already advanced in many other sectors. The reasons for this shift include more difficult geology, declining ore deposits, the need to reverse a secular decline in productivity, the need to improve safety for mine workers, a need …

Investigation Into Bacterial Impairment Of Greene And Polk County Water Systems, John C. Kincaid

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Bacterial impairment of water systems is a major issue facing mankind. Bacteria that are introduced into a system have the potential to cause harmful diseases to wildlife and humans. In Greene and Polk counties, many water systems have become bacterially impaired over the years. Despite this, little is known about the contamination of known harmful bacteria in this region. To address this issue, I investigated the presence of known human pathogens across water systems in these two counties, many of which have displayed high levels of E. coli and fecal indicator microorganisms over many years. I used a high-throughput sequencing …

A Values-Based Self-Management Program For Undergraduate Students With Remote Delivery: Looking At Emotion Regulation, Sara Elizabeth Johnson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

College students face significant levels of stress (American College Health Association, 2019) and recent data suggests a high prevalence of diagnostic-level mental health concerns being reported by students and treated by mental health professionals (Blanco et al., 2008). College counseling centers are thus facing an increase in demand for services, creating a growing need for innovative treatment options to flexibly accommodate the demand (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2016). In response to the unique needs of college students, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based interventions have received support for their use in increasing wellbeing in engineering students and graduate students (Abiadbe …

Impact Of Long-Term Annealing On Photoluminescence From Ge1-XSnX Alloys, Oluwatobi Olorunsola, Hryhorii Stanchu, Solomon Opeyemi Ojo, Krishna Pandey, Abdulla Said, Joe Margetis, John Tolle, Adrian V. Kuchuk, Yuriy I. Mazur, Gregory J. Salamo, Shui-Qing Yu

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report on the connection between strain, composition, defect density and the photoluminescence observed before and after annealing at 300 °C for GeSn samples with Sn content of 8% to 10%. Results show how the composition and level of strain influenced the separation between the indirect and direct optical transitions, while changes in the level of strain also influenced the density of misfit dislocations and surface roughness. The effect of annealing is observed to lower the level of strain, decreasing the energy separation between the indirect and direct optical transitions, while also simultaneously increasing the density of misfit/threading dislocations and …

Implementation Of Technology In The Foreign Language Classroom, Bashar Farid Al Saadi

All Theses And Dissertations

The domain of foreign language learning (FLL) is critical to modern education because it allows learners to integrate with the global community in a meaningful way and offers a multitude of advantages to graduates and professionals (Akbar, 2015; Hampel, 2015). The intersection of technology implementation in foreign language education was this study's central area of interest (Carrio Pastor, 2016). This study sought to examine technology implementation in foreign language (FL) classrooms within the context of higher education. The study examined the views, opinions, and beliefs of FL educators about the role of technology in FL education and possible obstacles to …

Augmenting Benthic Habitat Mapping With Low-Cost Imagery: An Application Of The Coastal And Marine Ecological Classification Standard (Cmecs), Sean V. Terrill

Graduate Masters Theses

One of the first steps of ecosystem-based management should be to classify and map habitats. The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) was adopted by the federal government to standardize habitat classification in coastal U.S. waters. CMECS provides a hierarchal framework to define and interpret benthic habitats and biotopes but does not prescribe specific sampling methods to adopt. Imagery techniques have been utilized for many decades in benthic ecology but have rarely been employed in habitat classification using CMECS. Furthermore, no study to date has quantitatively examined the benefit of incorporating benthic imagery into the classification of biotopes using …

Study Of Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Gold Nanoparticles Dispersed In Nematic Liquid Crystals, Changshuo Fu

Graduate Masters Theses

Gold nanoparticles come in various sizes and shapes. Their optical properties arise from surface plasmon resonance, collective excitation/oscillation of conduction electrons. The study of the nonlinear optical properties of these materials is essential for photonic and biomedical applications. In this thesis, nonlinear optical properties of gold nanoparticles dispersed in the nematic liquid crystal were studied using optical and photoacoustic Z-scan techniques. Results show enhanced nonlinearity when gold is dispersed in planar-oriented 5CB liquid crystals compared to when liquid crystals were not oriented (degenerate). Also, sample with low gold concentration, by weight percentage, shows the better nonlinearity. Reasons behind the influence …

System Integration Of A Tour Guide Robot, Suhasa Prabhu Kandikere

Theses

In today's world, people visit many attractive places. On such an occasion, It is of utmost importance to be accompanied by a tour guide, who is known to explain about the cultural and historical importance of places. Due to the advancements in technology, smartphones today have the capability to help a person navigate to any place in the world and can itself act as a tour guide by explaining a significance of a place. However, the person while looking into his phone might not watch his/her step and might collide with other moving person or objects. With a phone tour …

Measurements Of Radiation Pressure On Diffractive Films, Ying-Ju Lucy Chu

Theses

One of the few ways to reach distant stars is by radiation pressure, in which photon momentum is harnessed from free sunlight or extraordinarily powerful laser systems. Large but low mass light-driven sails reflect photons and transfer momentum to the sailcraft, providing large velocity from continuous acceleration. Over the past decade, demonstrative reflective light sail missions were enabled by cost-efficient small satellites and the emerging private space economy. The maneuver of these metal-coated polyimide films is mechanically cumbersome because the sail must be rapidly tilted towards and away from the sun line during navigation. Modern diffractive films such as high-efficiency …

Probabilistic Measures Of Hiv-1 Transmission In Different Hiv-1 Key Population Groups Of Larkana, Pakistan, Syed Rizwan-Ul-Hasa, Abiha Abdullah, Shakil Arshad Siddiqui, Shakil Ahmed, Sharaf Ali Shah, Fatima Mir, Syed Hani Abidi

Medical College Documents

Objective: To estimate the probability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 transmission from different key HIV population groups using probabilistic modelling.
Methods: This study was conducted in December 2020. A probabilistic model was used to estimate the probability of HIV-1 transmission from different key HIV population groups in Larkana. Our model was run on three probabilistic assumptions: 1) each replication gave two conceivable results: 'true' or 'false'; 2) the chance of giving a 'true' result is the same for each replication; and 3) the replications are independent - 'true' in one will not impact the likelihood of 'true' in another.
Results: …

Turning Disruption Into Growth Opportunity: The Red Team Strategy, Sunny Li Sun, Yanli Zhang, Zhu Zhu

Department of Management Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this paper is to propose a broadened and integrated red team strategy with concrete steps to help companies better deal with the disruptive forces prevalent in our world today and turn disruptions into growth. We suggest four key steps to help companies implement the red team strategy: 1) create a red team culture and encourage diverse perspectives, 2) establish an independent red team to overcome organizational inertia, 3) use the red team to embrace disruption and growth opportunities, and 4) take a milestone approach to red team execution and resource allocation. Our red team strategy provides concrete …

Analyzing The Students' Intention To Use Online Learning System In The Context Of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Theory Of Planned Behavior Approach, Kamel Mouloudj, Ahmed C. Bouarar, Karolina Stojczew

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

COVID-19 caused universities to close their doors and compelled the switch toward online education system, Although this option was the best and the only way that guarantees the continuity of studies, yet students were not satisfied, in front of this situation exploring the key factors that affect students' intention to accept online education is of vital importance, and that is what the study seeks to pursuit. To empirically test the intentions to use online learning, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was applied to Algerian university students. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 213 college students of six …

The Learner’S Engagement And Mobile Learning Environment: A Proposal Of An Integrated Model, Zakariya Belkhamza

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The emergence of mobile technology has changed the way humans behave and act. Learning behavior is an essential aspect that required investigation regarding this technology. Since its inception, mobile technology in the learning context has yet to receive enough attention. The idea of employing the least effort or least energy to fulfill a need is a crucial notion in mobile learning. The lazy user model illustrates that the user selects a fulfillment based on the identified user need, user state, and overall effort related to the use of technology. According to the model, the user will most often choose the …

Learning Efl Online Through Blogger And Flipgrid In Higher Education: A Collaborative Project In Times Of Pandemic, Montserrat Iglesias

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

A methodological online approach for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a higher education context is presented in this paper. The pedagogical experience is described and examined following a mixed-methods approach based on bibliometric analysis, content analysis, and categorization. The participants were a group of undergraduate students (n=17) at CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy, from the University of Barcelona (Spain), who had to switch to virtual learning due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. They were required to work on a collaborative project arranged in four stages using a …

All Aboard! Is Space Tourism Still A Fantasy Or A Reality: An Investigation On Turkish Market, Emrah Tasarer, Vahit O. Kiper, Orhan Batman, Oguz Turkay

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This paper aims to investigate the spending limit of space enthusiasts in Turkey. To determine this, space tourism activities are divided into 3 sections as earth-based space tourism activities, suborbital and orbital space tourism activities. Data were collected through one of the biggest open-air events held yearly by space enthusiasts. In addition to that, researchers reached social media groups which are solely focused about space tourism. 1041 questionnaires were collected which are available for analyses. According to additional variables about interest on space tourism, the sample of this research is highly interested in space tourism although they have limited budget …

The Effects Of Organizational Culture On Information Sharing Attitude, Mohammadi L. Nasrin, Cicek Isik

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The effect of technology on businesses and organizations has made it even more important to use the information, which is used as an input in business processes, to achieve the desired organizational goals. Especially in the service sector, organizational culture becomes important as an institutional variation in the use of information in accordance with organizational purposes. With the increasing importance of teamwork, individuals' attitudes towards information sharing in working groups play a critical role in the emergence of group synergy in the IT sector. The increase in the level of task interdependency in the business processes, the increase in the …

Tourism And Women Empowerment: Empirical Findings From Past Experience And Predictions For The Post-Covid Era, Burcu Turkcan

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Tourism industry is one of the major industries of today’s world and hence it is in the forefront of current national and international policies. Tourism is perceived as one of the fundamental engines of economic growth and development due to the fact that it has many contributions to the economy. Moreover, tourism has a dimension of women empowerment which is one of the critical issues of modern world. Hence, researchers and policymakers have begun to pay more attention to the issue of gender discrimination and tourism relationships. There are some direct linkages between tourism and women empowerment, and what is …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Services Management: Volume 2, Cihan Cobanoglu, Valentina Della Corte

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the second volume of the Global Conference on Services Management Proceedings Series.

ISSN: 2641-5062

The Effect Of Authentic Task-Oriented Applications On Problem-Solving Skills In Robotic Programming Teaching, Yunus E. Ozenoglu, Sehnaz Baltaci

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study aims to examine the effect of authentic tasks in group programming education on the problem-solving skills of secondary school 5^th-grade students. A weak experimental single-group pretest-posttest model was applied to gather data. The study participants consisted of 56 5th grade students, 25 girls, and 31 boys, studying in a private secondary school in the 2018-2019 academic year. The "problem-solving skill scale" was applied as a pre-test and post-test to define the participants' problem-solving skills. There is no statistically significant difference in students' problem-solving skills (p = 0.657) according to related (dependent) samples t-test results. The effect …

An Entrepreneurship Innovative Curricular Module For Non-Business Students, Ponmalar N. Alagappar, Payam Ansari, Logaiswari Indiran

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

With growing popularity of start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses in various sectors and the government's support towards graduate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education for non-business disciplines has been expanding in higher education institutes. To infuse entrepreneurial skills among non-business students, entrepreneurship education should be more specific and discipline-based. The relevant medium in the teaching and learning process is a module, which is a resource that contains materials, methods, limitations, and evaluation systematically arranged to best capture the student’s interest. In this paper, we will describe an innovative curricular model that was tested in developing an entrepreneurship module for students of social sciences. The …

Socio-Intercultural Entrepreneurship: A Case On A Postgraduate Program In Economics And International Business Of An Indigenous University, Ernesto Guerra-Garcia, Jose G. Vargas-Hernandez

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This article presents a critical approach to the proposal of socio-intercultural entrepreneurship. The concept of cultural and social entrepreneurship and that which has been as a product of neoliberalism is limited, so a framework analysis is necessary to improve the understanding of socioeconomic realities. Through an exploratory and analytical research methodology, a review of pertinent literature and the exemplification of the specific case of a postgraduate program in economics and international business at the Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México, it is concluded that socio-intercultural entrepreneurship presents a theoretical and methodological frame that allows entrepreneurs to have a major perception of …