Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Adsorption Studies For Arsenic Removal Using Modified Chabazite, Ashutosh S. Vakharkar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic contamination in drinking water has been a cause of serious concerns across the United States as well as throughout the world. Over 70 million people in Eastern India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Northern China have been victims of arsenic poisoning. The USEPA has classified arsenic as a Class A carcinogen and recently reduced the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in drinking water from 50ppb to 10ppb. The deadline for all the water utilities to meet this level is 23rd January 2006. To meet those drinking water standards, small water utilities need low cost and effective arsenic removal techniques.

Natural zeolites …

Differences In Frequency And Severity Of Violence For Intimate Terrorism Across Genders: A Test Of Johnson's Theory, Shelly Wagers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to further build on previous empirical findings regarding Johnsons theory that the gender symmetry debate can at least be partially resolved by acknowledging that two distinct subgroups of physical violence exist within intimate partner violence: Intimate Terrorism (IT) and Situational Couple Violence (SCV). According to Johnsons predictions these separate groups can be distinguished by the use of non-violent control tactics. This study focused on testing the ability of non-violent control tactics to predict the frequency and severity of violence within the sub-group intimate terrorism. It further explored Johnsons assertion that intimate terrorism is gender asymmetric with females …

The Relationship Between Plasticity Ratio And Hydraulic Conductivity For Bentonite Clay During Exposure To Synthetic Landfill Leachate, Whitney M. Allen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In landfill design, the containment of solid and liquid contaminant is essential. Leachate is produced from the biodegradation of the waste with the migration of liquid including rain-water through the heap. This liquid can become a health hazard if it leaches into the groundwater. Liners are placed beneath leachate collection systems to prevent leachate from seeping into the soil underneath the landfill.

Compacted clay liners, usually containing bentonite clay, are widely used. Bentonite can be characterized by its low hydraulic conductivity and high swell potential. With a low hydraulic conductivity, the liner can serve as a barrier. The high swell …

Social Structure And Social Learning In Delinquency: A Test Of Akers’ Social Structure-Social Learning Model, Stephen W. Verrill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social learning theory (Akers, 1973, 1977, 1985, 1998; Burgess & Akers, 1966) is an established general theory of criminal, deviant, and conforming behavior that finds substantial empirical support (e.g., Akers, Krohn, Lanza-Kaduce & Radosevich, 1979; Akers, La Greca, Cochran & Sellers, 1989; Alarid, Burton & Cullen, 2000; Krohn, Skinner, Massey & Akers, 1985). Although the theory provides insight into the processes that influence criminal behavior, the theory does not speak to the environments that produce such behavior--the domain of structural theories.

Akers (1998) has suggested that social learning theory accounts for differences in crime rates through its mediation of structural …

Cognitive Dissonance In Early Colonial Pictorial Manuscripts From Central Mexico, Lorena Diane Mihok

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between the imagery and glosses displayed on folios from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, the Codex Magliabechiano, and the Codex Ixtlilxochitl through the application of Leon Festingers concept of cognitive dissonance in order to introduce an alternative approach to the study of codices as points of culture contact. The work analyzes the ways in which this psychological condition manifested itself in post-contact codex production as a result of sixteenth century political and social circumstances.

Festinger (1957:14) identifies the existence of cultural mores as a source of potential dissonance between culturally specific consonant elements. According to …

Perceived Barriers To Breast Cancer Screening: A Comparison Of African American And Caucasian Women, Natalie E. Bastien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the incidence of breast cancer is high among Caucasian women, African American women continue to experience higher breast cancer mortality and lower survival rates in comparison to Caucasian women of the same age and cancer stage (Thomas, 2004). Research regarding breast cancer screening among ethnic minority women from lower socioeconomic groups is extensive, but there is a lack of research that investigates barriers to breast cancer screening among African American women of higher socioeconomic status. The purpose of this study was to compare health beliefs of African American and Caucasian women regarding perceived barriers to breast cancer screening.

The …

Does Increasing Public Awareness Of The Anti-Globalization Movement Affect Its Growth?, Richard Eugene Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis tests the hypothesis that increasing public awareness of the anti-globalization movement fuels its growth. The independent variable in this thesis is public awareness of the anti-globalization movement and is operationalized/measured using a database of anti-globalization protest events covered by the global media created by Dr. Bruce Podobnik. The dependent variable in this thesis is the growth of the anti-globalization movement and is measured through a content analysis of anti-globalization related postings to an anti-corporate transnational advocacy network known as the Independent Media Center in 2002. It purports to measure such growth in two dimensions, action and discourse, using …

A Methodology For Developing A Nursing Education Minimum Dataset, Aziza A. Rajab

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Globally, health care professionals, administrators, educators, researchers, and informatics experts have found that minimum dataset and taxonomies can solve the problem of data standardization required in building an information system to advance disciplines body of knowledge. Disciplines continuously gather complex data, but data collected without an organizational context does not increase the knowledge-base. Therefore, a demand exists for developing minimum dataset, controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, and classification systems. To fulfill nursings needs for standardized comparable data, two minimum dataset are used in nursing for organizing, classifying, processing, and managing information for decision-making and advancing clinical nursing knowledge.

No minimum dataset in …

Reconstruction Of Late Holocene Precipitation For Central Florida As Derived From Isotopes In Speleothems, Limaris R. Soto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the paleo-precipitation of the Florida Peninsula. In order to better understand Floridas late Holocene climate variability (last 4,200 years), the isotopic composition was analyzed of four speleothems from two caves, in West-Central Florida. Two speleothems were collected from BRC Cave in Hernando County, and two others from Briar Cave in Marion County. This study represents the first speleothem-based paleoclimate records for Florida.

Uranium-series disequilibrium analyses were determined by using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) to provide accurate determination of chronology of the deposition of the speleothems. Stable isotopic analyses of oxygen and carbon were performed using …

A Study In The Relationships Between Organizational Structures And Public Relations Practitioner Roles, Allison Stokes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While there exists extensive research in the area of public relations roles, as well as the arena of organizational structure, little research focuses on the relationship between organizational structure and the role of the public relations practitioner in the organization.

This study will provide a review of the different types of organizational structures, as well as a review of public relations practitioner roles. Organization theory literature supplies information on the characteristics of each structure, including levels of complexity and decentralization involved in each organizational type. Public relations literature includes research that aids in formulation of role classifications that may be …

Ammonium Distribution And Dynamics In Relation To Biological Production And Physical Environment In The Marguerite Bay Region Of The West Antarctic Peninsula, Yulia Mikhailovna Serebrennikova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, biogeochemical regimes of Marguerite Bay and the adjacent part of the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) continental shelf were delineated through integration of nutrient, hydrographic, and biological measurements obtained during the LTER and SO GLOBEC studies during austral summer, autumn, and winter of 2001 and 2002.

Marguerite Bay biogeochemical regime was found to differ from those of the adjacent WAP continental shelf. In terms of Treguer and Jacques (1992), Marguerite Bay is a combination of Coastal Continental Shelf Zone (CCSZ) and Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ) distinguished by shallow mixing regime, high primary production and export production. At the …

The Effects Of A Leadership And Diversity Awareness Program On Adolescents' Attitudes And Behaviors, Eileen M. Lyons

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A nonequivalent control-group longitudinal design was used to examine the effects of a leadership and diversity awareness program on adolescents knowledge of discriminatory terms, acceptance of diversity, social competence, feelings of social responsibility, and community involvement. Adolescents who did and did not attend a leadership and diversity awareness program (Anytown) completed three analogous surveys in a 12-month period. Similarly, parents of adolescents who did and did not attend the program reported on their childs social competence and community involvement.

Adolescents who attended the program reported greater increases in their social competence, acceptance of diversity, feelings of social responsibility, and community …

The Relationship Between Hot Flashes And Sleep Quality In Women Being Treated For Breast Cancer, Carly Pabon Rn, Bsn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hot flashes are one of the most bothersome symptoms experienced by women who have undergone breast cancer treatment-induced menopause. This vasomotor symptom has been hypothesized to be responsible for decreased sleep quality. This study further investigated the relationship between hot flashes and sleep quality in this population.

The convenience sample consisted of 30 women being seen at an outpatient clinic in a comprehensive cancer center in southwest Florida. All participants were between the ages of 36-65, had a diagnosis of breast cancer and were currently taking a selective estrogen receptor modulator for at least six weeks. The participants completed the …

Comparison Of The Use Of Single And Multiple Oxidants On The Generation Of Particulate Matter In Water Distribution Systems Derived From Groundwater Sources Containing Hydrogen Sulfide And Dissolved Organics, Rochelle J. Minnis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to increasingly stringent regulations, concerns about disinfection byproduct formation, and the need for improved control of distribution system water quality, there has been a shift towards the use of alternative disinfectants and oxidants in the production of drinking water. Technologies that modify water chemistry, such as hydrogen peroxide, UV irradiation, chlorine and/or chloramines may result in the generation of mineral and organic precipitates. Turbidity provides an indirect measure of the presence of particles by evaluating the light scattering properties of water. Turbidity levels are currently not monitored or regulated in treated groundwater.

An important water quality parameter that influences …

Predicting Obesity From Four Eating Behaviors, Tovah Yanover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of obesity is vital. One past study examined four eating behaviors in relation to obesity: eating beyond satiety, snacking, night eating, and feeling hungry within three hours of eating. Only eating beyond satiety was associated with obesity. The present study examined these same eating behaviors while correcting some of the flaws of the previous study. Using a cross-sectional design, university undergraduates reported on the frequency of the above-named eating behaviors. Current weight and height were collected. Multiple regression analyses determined that eating beyond satiety …

"And So He Plays His Part:" Theatrical Prejudice And Role-Playing In As You Like It And King Lear, Erin Rutter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although most critics affirm the importance of interior direction and role-playing in many of Shakespeares plays, there is a considerable disagreement concerning the result of this role playing: does it lead to positive growth or to degeneration? Moreover, this debate is often associated with the sixteenth-century controversy about the role of the theater in society. Some moralists insist that the theater can be an instrument for instilling virtue while others view the theater as sinful, debasing, and a catalyst to social breakdown. In this thesis, I will explore the antitheatrical prejudice in the early modern era and show how Shakespeare …

Practical Behavioral Modeling Technique Of Power Amplifiers Based On Loadpull Measurements, Jiang Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate linear and nonlinear models for devices and components are essential for successful RF/microwave computer aided engineering (CAE). The modeling techniques can be categorized in different levels based on the abstraction of the model as well as the application of the models at various design phases. This dissertation deals with behavioral modeling techniques for nonlinear RF components, especially amplifiers.

There is an increasing demand for accurate behavioral models of RF and microwave components, or integrated circuit (IC) blocks used in wireless system designs. Accurate behavioral models help designers evaluate and select the appropriate components at simulation phase, thereby cutting development …

Age-Related Differences In Cocaine Place Conditioning And Cocaine-Induced Dopamine, Kimberly A. Badanich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In humans, adolescent exposure to illicit drugs predicts the onset of adult drug abuse and suggests that early drug use potentiates adolescent vulnerability to drug addiction. In experiment 1, it was hypothesized that adolescent rats would show a CPP for a low cocaine dose if in fact adolescents are more vulnerable to cocaine's rewarding effects. Place preferences were measured in early adolescent [postnatal day (PND) 35], late adolescent (PND 45) and young adult (PND 60) rats by injecting either 0, 5 or 20 mg/kg cocaine and conditioning them to environmental cues in a 2-chamber place conditioning apparatus. Significant cocaine preferences …

Safety Effects Of Left Turn Overflow At Signalized Intersections, Isaac Kwamena Sankah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Signalized Intersections on the State Roads in Hillsborough and Pinellas County, Florida with observed left turn lane overflow (spill) were selected for a safety and operational study. The study analyzed the crash data for safety hazards that the situation presents. Crashes within 100 feet from the center line of the crossroad of intersections under study to distances 200 feet beyond the end of the turn lane were chosen for the analysis. Left turn overflow is the situation at the approach of an intersection where left turning vehicles back up from the turn lane into the through traffic lane.

Crashes within …

Arterial Perfusion Detection Method By Synchronous Detection, Yohan Prevot

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The pressure ulcer is a well-known clinical problem that has plagued many patients in acute-care hospitals and chronic-care facilities. The pressure ulcer has the potential to diminish the quality of a patient's life by hindering the person's physical and emotional well-being. In addition, pressure ulcers are a high-cost problem. Past studies have shown that costs related to the treatment of pressure ulcers have reached 1.335 billion dollars a year in the United States alone.

A pressure ulcer is defined as a lesion created by unrelieved pressure, which causes tissue ischemia and subsequently damages the underlying tissue. This sequence of events …

Development And Implementation Of A Dsp Based Air Detector System To Prevent Embolism During Hemodialysis Therapy, Nhat Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the design of a DSP based air detector system to prevent air embolism during Hemodialysis, which is a treatment option for kidney failure disease. Hemodialysis consists of removing blood from the body, filtering and treating the blood to remove toxic substances such as wastes and fluids, reestablishing proper chemical levels in the blood and returning the processed blood to the body. The functions of hemodialysis are performed through the use of a dialyzer, which is also known as an artificial kidney. During hemodialysis small air bubbles may infiltrate the tubing used during the therapy and combine to …

Use Of Random Subspace Ensembles On Gene Expression Profiles In Survival Prediction For Colon Cancer Patients, Vidya Kamath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a disease process that emerges out of a series of genetic mutations that cause seemingly uncontrolled multiplication of cells. The molecular genetics of cells indicates that different combinations of genetic events or alternative pathways in cells may lead to cancer. A study of the gene expressions of cancer cells, in combination with the external influential factors, can greatly aid in cancer management such as understanding the initiation and etiology of cancer, as well as detection, assessment and prediction of the progression of cancer.

Gene expression analysis of cells yields a very large number of features that can be …

Chromosome Missegregation In Alzheimer’S Disease Caused By Presenilin 1, Debrah I. Boeras

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mutations in the presenilin 1 gene account for most early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). The presenilins and AD may also be related through a common involvement in the cell cycle. Here we report that one important aspect of the cell cycle---proper chromosome segregation---is dependent on presenilin function and therefore may be involved in AD pathogenesis. Specifically we find that FAD mutations in presenilin 1 (M146L and M146V) lead to chromosome missegregation and aneuploidy in vivo and in vitro: 1) Both metaphase chromosome analysis and in situ hybridization reveal significant aneuploidy in the lymphocytes and neurons of PS-1 transgenic mice. 2) …

A Measurement-Based Admission Control Mechanism For Wireless Local Area Networks, Srinivas Bandi Ramesh Babu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As users become more comfortable using IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks, the need for quality of service is becoming more important because of the lack of support in current standards and the increase of multimedia traffic over the Internet. The IEEE 802.11 working group has recognized this fact proposing the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), a priority-based distributed scheme meant to provide service differentiation. EDCA relies on either different Arbitrary Interframe Space (AIFS), or Contention Window (CW) parameters, or both to provide service differentiation. In this thesis, a performance evaluation of the EDCA using five different combinations of the …

Archeological Impact Evaluations And Surveys In The Texas Department Of Transportation's Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Bryan, Fort Worth, Waco, And Yoakum Districts, 2001-2003, Ross C. Fields, Karl W. Kibler, E. Frances Gadus, Douglas K. Boyd, Timothy B. Griffith

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in seven TxDOT districts—Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Bryan, Fort Worth, Waco, and Yoakum. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement among the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 21 September 2001, and the last work authorization …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2005-11-01, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

The War That Wasn't: Religious Conflict And Compromise In The Common Schools Of New York, 1865-1900 (Book Review), R. Bryan Bademan

History Faculty Publications

Book review by R. Bryan Bademan.

Justice, Benjamin. The War That Wasn't: Religious Conflict and Compromise in the Common Schools of New York, 1865-1900. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005. ISBN 9780791462119; 9780791484463

Mosaic, Vicki L. Kennedy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mosaic is the story of Alicia O'Day, a woman who looks back at her life from the vantage point of middle age and attempts to arrange the shards of her past into something meaningful. As she relates her story, illustrating her errors, we realize she has changed and grown enough to see herself with added wisdom and humor. The chaos of her younger days is seen as a learning process. The broken vessel has been mended, and the scars from the seams add interest to the original piece.

As Alicia reviews her life, she glues the broken fragments back into …

Seeking Story: Finding The Modern Day Folktale In The Daily News, Brandice Palmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the local news story for evidence of the folktale tradition. It examines a range of local news stories for their folktale functions. The study compares the cultural and psychological function of the news story to that of the folktale and compares the functional definition of folklore to that of journalism. The study also explores the idea of a classifiable sphere of formal character, motif and plot functions that may be explored within the news story and folktale texts. This study builds on the premise that the study of folklore should be at the center of a consideration …

Scalable Energy-Efficient Location-Aided Routing (Selar) Protocol For Wireless Sensor Networks, George Lukachan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large-scale wireless sensor networks consist of thousands of tiny and low cost nodes with very limited energy, computing power and communication capabilities. They have a myriad of possible applications. They can be used in hazardous and hostile environments to sense for deadly gases and high temperatures, in personal area networks to monitor vital signs, in military and civilian environments for intrusion detection and tracking, emergency operations, etc. In large scale wireless sensor networks the protocols need to be scalable and energy-efficient. Further, new strategies are needed to address the well-known energy depletion problem that nodes close to the sink node …