Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Myth Management: The Nature Of The Hero In Callimachus’ Hecale And Catullus’ Poem 64, Oraleze D. Byars

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two of the best known examples of the Hellenistic epyllion are the Hecale by Callimachus and poem 64 by Catullus. Both poems feature Theseus, a traditional hero whose mythology dates to Homer and Hesiod. Callimachus chose an episode from the Theseus tradition which highlighted his positive side, while Catullus picked a chapter from the mythic stores which put him in the worst possible light. This paper will examine the two poet's use of mythological material - how they suppressed, included and altered the earlier traditions - to make their very antithetical cases for Theseus. In addition to Theseus, I will …

The Effects Of Professional Development Efforts On Educator Beliefs And Perceptions Of Competency Within A School-Based Response To Intervention Model, Joshua Nadeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and understand relationships between educators' perceived skills, observed practices, and stated beliefs - as well as the impact of evidence-based professional development upon those relationships - during the first year of ongoing school-based implementation for Florida's Statewide Problem- Solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) Project. The PS/RtI model is conceptualized as providing a data-based template to drive student service delivery decisions; as providing a tiered framework of assessment and evaluation to maximize efficiency of allocated school funds; and as defining the determination of eligibility for special education services to be based solely upon a …

Development Of Three Dimensional Fluid-Structure Interaction Models For The Design Of Surface Acoustic Wave Devices: Application To Biosensing And Microfluidic Actuation, Reetu Singh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices find uses in a plethora of applications including

but not limited to chemical, biological sensing, and microfluidic actuation. The primary aim of

this dissertation is to develop a SAW biosensor, capable of simultaneous detection of target

biomarkers in fluid media at concentrations of picogram/ml to nanogram/ml levels and removal

of non-specific proteins from sensor surface using the process of acoustic streaming, for potential

chemical sensing, medical, and clinical diagnostic applications. The focus is on the development

of three dimensional finite element structural and fluid-structure interaction models to study wave

propagation and acoustic actuation of fluids …

Enhanced Co2 Storage In Confined Geologic Formations, Roland Tenjoh Okwen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many geoscientists endorse Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a potential strategy

for mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases. Deep saline aquifers have been reported to

have larger CO

2 storage capacity than other formation types because of their availability

worldwide and less competitive usage. This work proposes an analytical model for screening

potential CO

2 storage sites and investigates injection strategies that can be employed to

enhance CO

2 storage.

The analytical model provides of estimates CO

2

storage efficiency, formation pressure

profiles, and CO

2

–brine interface location. The results from the analytical model were

compared to those from …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Ecological Validity Of A Performance-Based Assessment Of Attention, Eun- Yeop Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Executive functions impact everyday functioning. An individual’s ability to adapt

to and navigate their physical and social environments is largely determined by the ability

to organize oneself, to plan and to coordinate activities. Despite the wide variety of

cognitive tests that assess various aspects of executive function, there has been little work

to validate the use of these measures in predicting real world functioning (Sbordone,

Seyranian, & Ruff, 2000), particularly in children where characterization of executive

function is less specified. Evaluating the ecological validity of neuropsychological tests

has become an increasingly important topic over the past decade (Chaytor & Schmitter- …

Co-Transcriptional Splicing And Functional Role Of Pkcβ In Insulin-Sensitive L6 Skeletal Muscle Cells And 3t3-L1 Adipocytes, Eden Kleiman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

PKC

βII is alternatively spliced during acute insulin stimulation in L6 skeletal

muscle cells. This PKC

βII isoform is critical in propagating GLUT4 translocation.

PKC

β protein and promoter dysfunction correlate with human insulin resistance. TZD

treatment ameliorates whole-body insulin-resistance. Its primary target is adipocyte

PPAR

γ, which it activates upon binding. This causes both altered circulating serum FFA

concentrations and adipokine secretion profile. How TZDs affect the intracellular

signaling of skeletal muscle cells is unknown. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis

showed that TZDs elevated PKC

βII by a process that involves co-transcriptional splicing.

PGC1

α overexpression most closely resembled …

Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Solid State Complex Borohydride Hydrogen Storage Materials, Pabitra Choudhury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Materials that are light weight, low cost and have high hydrogen storage capacity are essential for on-board vehicular applications. Some reversible complex hydrides are alanates and amides but they have lower capacity than the DOE target (6.0 wt %) for 2010. High capacity, light weight, reversibility and fast kinetics at lower temperature are the primary desirable aspects for any type of hydrogen storage material. Borohydride complexes as hydrogen storage materials have recently attracted great interest.

Understanding the above parameters for designing efficient complex borohydride materials requires modeling across different length and time scales. A direct method lattice dynamics approach using …

Literary Bodies: The Novel As Experience, Britt Dienes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For my MA thesis I propose to examine a series of novels that combine motifs of the body with structural and linguistic experimentation that parallels the state of the bodies within the text. Using Tsitsi Dangarembga's 1988 "bodybildungsroman" Nervous Conditions, Sherley Anne Williams' 1986 neo -slave narrative Dessa Rose, Samuel Beckett's 1938 existential novel Murphy, Vikram Seth's 1986 poetic novel Golden Gate, and Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 poetic novel Pale Fire, I will argue that these texts portray the body as a readable space of culture, a legible site of conflict or creation.

I contend that these novels …

Neoliberalism And Dependence: A Case Study Of The Orphan Care Crisis In Sub-Saharan Africa, Christine Concetta Gibson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have examined the impacts of neoliberal policies on women, children, small farmers and more, but little attention has been paid to the impact of these policies on orphans. The issue of orphan care is crucial now, and will become increasingly more urgent in the future. Even as HIV/AIDS rates are on the decline, more and more children are being orphaned by the disease. This paper examines the policies, positions and language of the World Bank and I.M.F. regarding orphans in order to understand the biases and assumptions within neoliberalism about orphans, and who is responsible for providing care for …

Nursing Advocacy And The Accuracy Of Intravenous To Oral Opioid Conversion At Discharge In The Cancer Patient, Maria L. Gallo R.N., O.C.N.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pain is a common problem for cancer patients at home and when hospitalized. Pain interferes with all aspects of a patient's life including sleep, appetite, sexual desire, emotion and productivity. The under-prescribing of opioids can lead to uncontrolled pain in cancer patients. This study examined nursing advocacy related to pain management and the accuracy of the intravenous (IV) to oral (PO) opioid conversion at discharge in cancer patients.

Retrospective chart audits were done on 50 cancer patients. The physicians in the charts surveyed who prescribed the discharge medications consisted of a mix of hematologist/oncologists, surgeons and internists/hospitalists in a southwest …

Martian Modules: Design Of A Programmable Martian Settlement, Craig A. Trover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of human beings is marked

by adaptation. The ability to adapt to and

manipulate our environment is one definer of

intelligence, and ours is unique among life

on Earth. Since moving off of the African

Continent, humans have migrated to inhabit

every part of the Earth. Human existence

and perpetuity in the universe depends upon

the success of this adaptation, and inevitably,

migrating off of this planet. The technological

advances being developed today will change

our way of life, and enable people to travel to

and live permanently on the Moon and Mars.

This study involves the architectural …

Factors Surrounding And Strategies To Reduce Recapping Used Needles By Nurses At A Venezuelan Public Hospital, Luis J. Galindez Araujo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nurses as health care workers are at risk of biological agents such as bacteria, viruses and others. At health care settings exposure to bloodborne pathogens can cause infections through needlestick injuries. The objectives of this research were to determine factors surrounding recapping needles in hospital nurses and to implement an educational strategy to reduce the recapping practices.

It was a descriptive and exploratory approach where the PRECEDE component of the PRECEDE/PROCEDE Model was used as the framework to systematize and analyze the information obtained from the focus group sessions.

A total of 120 nurses participated from four different departments. The …

Motion Analysis Of Fluid Flow In A Spinning Disk Reactor, Valentina N. Korzhova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The flow of a liquid film over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk has numerous industrial applications including pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, bioengineering, etc. The analysis and control of complex fluid flows over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk is an important issue in the experimental fluid mechanics. The spinning disk reactor exploits the benefits of centrifugal force, which produces thin highly sheared films due to radial acceleration. The hydrodynamics of the film results in excellent fluid mixing and high heat or mass transfer rates.

This work focuses on developing a novel approach for fluid flow tracking and analysis. Specifically, the developed algorithm …

Density Functional Theory Studies Of Energetic Materials, Michael W. Conroy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

First-principles calculations employing density functional theory (DFT) were

performed on the energetic materials PETN, HMX, RDX, nitromethane, and a recently

discovered material, nitrate ester 1 (NEST-1). The aims of the study were to accurately

predict the isothermal equation of state for each material, improve the description of these

molecular crystals in DFT by introducing a correction for dispersion interactions, and

perform uniaxial compressions to investigate physical properties that might contribute to

anisotropic sensitivity.

For each system, hydrostatic-compression simulations were performed. Important

properties calculated from the simulations such as the equilibrium structure, isothermal

equation of state, and bulk moduli were compared …

Sustainable Design Analysis Of Waterjet Cutting Through Exergy/Energy And Lca Analysis, Matthew Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A broad scope analysis of waterjet cutting systems has been developed using thermodynamics, life cycle analysis, and biological system comparison. The typical assessments associated with mechanical design include measures for performance and thermodynamic efficiency. Further analysis has been conducted using exergy, which is not typically incorporated into design practices.

Exergy measures the effectiveness of a process with respect to a base state, usually that of the systems surroundings. Comparing Gibbs free energy of biological processes to exergy efficiency has served to illustrate the need for various levels of comparison. Each biological process used in this comparison correlates to a different …

A Randomized Trial Of A Dissonance-Induction Intervention To Decrease Tanning Behaviors Among College Females, Sari R. Chait

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sun exposure is implicated in the majority of skin cancer cases so it is important to identify interventions that successfully decrease young people's tanning behaviors and increase their sun protection behaviors. Research suggests that interventions that focus on the more immediate appearance related effects of tanning, rather than on future health risks, may be more effective in altering UV-related behaviors. Dissonance induction is a strategy that has been used to successfully alter other health-related behaviors. This study sought to determine if a dissonance induction intervention might be similarly successful in changing UV-related behaviors. The study yielded mixed findings. Relative to …

Interrelationships Among Personality, Perceived Classmate Support, And Life Satisfaction In Adolescents, Devon Renee Minch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationships among personality factors and life satisfaction in high school students. High school students (

N = 625) completed self-report measures of personality characteristics (namely, extraversion, neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and global life satisfaction. Results include the specific contribution of each of these personality dimensions as they relate to life satisfaction, gender differences, and the role of perceived classmate support in relationships between personality factors and life satisfaction. Specifically, findings revealed that about 45% of the variance in adolescents‟ life satisfaction scores was accounted for by their self-reported measures of …

Hunger Of The Body, Hunger Of The Mind: The Experience Of Food Insecurity In Rural, Non-Peninsular Malaysia, Elizabeth Elliott Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supplementary feeding continues to be a widespread strategy for child health promotion though its efficacy remains contested. The long-standing, Malaysian national food assistance program for children - Program Pemulihan Kanak-Kanak Kekurangan Zat Makanan (PPKZM) - fits this pattern, receiving severe criticism for its limited impact on child nutritional status. Still, the program remains, producing a seeming paradox and prompting questions of how it fits into (1) the larger political context of national health policy and (2) more localized village and clinic environments. This research combines historical inquiry with the in-depth, ethnographic study of two predominantly Malay coastal villages in Malaysian …

Boundary Profile Representation For Objects And Their Surroundings In Outdoor Videos, Joshua Candamo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel approach to represent the profile of objects using Gaussian models is presented. The profile is a representation of the object and its surrounding regions. The object profile can be viewed as a comprehensive feature of that object and its surrounding regions. Different algorithms to estimate the profile are described. Geometric descriptors of the model are also proposed. The profile model is empirically shown to be effective and easily applicable to certain object recognition and segmentation tasks. Application experiments include modeling thin and thick objects as straight-lines, curves, and blobs using different primitives such as gray-level intensities, RGB, and …

How Plastic Is Vendobionta Morphology? A Geometric Morphometric Study Of Two Groups Of Pteridinium From The Latest Neoproterozoic, Michael B. Meyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The analysis and interpretation of Vendobionta morphology is critical to elucidating a range of issues about their ontogeny and evolution, as well as life habits. These analyses, however, are complicated because these organisms are often morphologically enigmatic and defy ready categorization within modern taxonomic schemes. This study delves into the morphology of one of these problematic groups: Pteridinium. Specimens were investigated from two localities, Namibia and North Carolina, using geometric morphometrics. The landmark data, which was analyzed to compare specimens based on locality, taphonomy, and preservation, were subjected to three statistical tests: Principle Components Analysis, Procrustes shape analyses, and …

Autonomous Vertical Autorotation For Unmanned Helicopters, Konstantinos Dalamagkidis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are considered the stepping stone for the integration of civil unmanned vehicles in the National Airspace System (NAS) because of their low cost and risk. Such systems are aimed at a variety of applications including search and rescue, surveillance, communications, traffic monitoring and inspection of buildings, power lines and bridges. Amidst these systems, small helicopters play an important role because of their capability to hold a position, to maneuver in tight spaces and to take off and land from virtually anywhere. Nevertheless civil adoption of such systems is minimal, mostly because of regulatory problems that …

Enhancing Nature Of Science Understanding, Reflective Judgment, And Argumentation Through Socioscientific Issues, Brendan E. Callahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a distinct divide between theory and practice in American science education. Research indicates that a constructivist philosophy, in which students construct their own knowledge, is conductive to learning, while in many cases teachers continue to present science in a more traditional manner. This study sought to explore possible relationships between a socioscientific issues based curriculum and three outcome variables: nature of science understanding, reflective judgment, and argumentation skill. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine both whole class differences as well as individual differences between the beginning and end of a semester of high school Biology …

College Students' Use Of Science Content During Socioscientific Issues Negotiation: Impact Of Evolution Understanding And Acceptance, Samantha R. Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution science content used during college students' negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students' conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. Specific research questions were, (1a) what specific evolutionary science content do college students evoke during SSI negotiation, (1b) what is the depth of the evolutionary science content reflected in college students' SSI negotiation, and (2) what is the nature of the interaction between evolution understanding and evolution acceptance as they relate to depth of use of evolution content during SSI negotiation? The Socioscientific Issues …

Crystal Engineering Of Nutraceutical Cocrystals, Dalia A. Aboarayes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work presented herein focus upon crystal engineering of nutraceutical cocrystals. Cocrystals are considered unique solid dosage form which has many advantages over other traditionally known solid forms. Furthermore, cocrystals have proven to improve stability, solubility and bioavailability of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) as shown in the case of carbamazepine and other APIs in previous studies.

Crystal engineering is commonly used to design new solid forms based on the bases of supramolecular chemistry. In this study, crystal engineering based on intensive Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) analysis used to predict and design new cocrystals of targeted nutraceuticals. Two nutraceuticals were selected …

Evaluating Dissolved Oxygen Regimes Along A Gradient Of Human Disturbance For Lotic Systems In West-Central Florida, Daniel G. Hammond

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Land uses dominated by human activity can have a significant effect on ecological processes. In Florida, oxygen depletion is the most common impairment in lake, stream, and coastal water bodies. The continual growth and development in Florida, along with a conversion to more human intense land uses warrants study and discussion on impacts to dissolved oxygen regimes along a gradient of human disturbance. This research study is designed to identify observable trends in dissolved oxygen regimes along a gradient of increasing human intensity.

Twenty-six stations in the Tampa Bay area were selected to represent lotic systems in west-central Florida. Data …

Humor And Attitude Toward Homosexuals: The Case Of Will & Grace, Heather Cribbs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Data collected from a survey questionnaire disseminated to college students was used to examine the relationship between humor in the mass media on audience attitude. This research study attempted to link the comedic nature of media with a heightened tolerance toward unpopular messages by looking specifically at the show Will & Grace. Results supported the hypothesized positive relationship between humor on attitudes toward the show, as well as attitudes toward real life homosexuals. In addition, distraction and interpersonal communication served as mediators between humor and attitudes. Results supported positive relationships between humor and both distraction and interpersonal communication, and supported …

Population Genetics Of Antarctic Seals, Caitlin Curtis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I developed and tested a protocol for determining the sex of individual pinnipeds using the sex-chromosome specific genes ZFX and ZFY. I screened a total of 368 seals (168 crabeater, Lobodon carcinophagus; 159 Weddell, Leptonychotes weddellii; and 41 Ross, Ommatophoca rossii) of known or unknown sex and compared the molecular sex to the sex assigned at the time of collection in the Ross and Amundsen seas, Antarctica. Discrepancies ranged from 0.0% - 6.7% among species. It is unclear, however, if mis-assignment of sex occurred in situ or in the laboratory. It also is possible, however, that …

Effects Of A Commercially Available Energy Drink On Anaerobic Performance, Jason J. Downing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to improve aerobic and anaerobic performance, athletes and fitness enthusiasts consume a variety of supplements. Because of this, energy drinks are quickly becoming more and more popular every day. Despite its highly addictive nature, caffeine, which is the main active ingredient in energy drinks, is gaining recognition as an ergogenic aid. However, due to the many factors that affects the action of caffeine, and because the research on caffeine and anaerobic performance is limited, the potential for studying energy drinks and anaerobic performance is quite large. PURPOSE: To determine if a commercially available energy drink has any …

Adolescent Response To Peer Substance Use, Haley Ann Snodgrass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Substance use during adolescence is of particular concern because it is known to be associated with many undesirable outcomes. When an adolescent discovers that a peer is using substances, he or she is faced with a decision regarding the response to be taken (e.g., use substances with the peer, report it to authorities, tell the peer to stop). Available literature has given little consideration to this issue; therefore, the current study sought to examine the response of adolescents to discovering that a peer is using substances, within an ethnically diverse sample of 139 students from a public high school located …

“The Bitch,” “The Ditz,” And The Male Heroes: Representations Of Feminism And Postfeminism In Campaign 2008, Dana Schowalter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is a textual analysis of the mainstream media coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, surveying more than 1,000 news stories featuring Clinton, Palin, Obama, Biden and McCain published between January 1, 2007 and November 11, 2008. The central findings of this study are twofold: first, mainstream news sources continue to use stereotypical and sexist news frames that describe women in ways that are at odds with the criteria we set for being a good president; and second, feminism is characterized in ways that divorce the ideas of the movement from the activism necessary to overcome existing injustices. …