Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Physical And Statistical Analysis Of Functional Process Variables For Process Control In Semiconductor Manufacturing, Xi Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research aims at modeling and analyzing the interactions among functional process variables (FPVs) for process control in semiconductor manufacturing. Interaction is a universal phenomenon and different interaction patterns among system components might characterize the system conditions. To monitor and control the system, process variables are normally collected for observation which could vary with time and present in a functional form. These FPVs interact with each other and contain rich information regarding the process conditions. As an example in one of the semiconductor manufacturing processes, changes of interactions among FPVs like temperature and coefficient of friction (COF) might characterize different …

Development Of A Mangrove Quality Index In Tampa Bay, Florida, Monetta S. Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mangroves are an important resource. They provide a breeding ground for commercially and recreationally important fish, protect shorelines from erosion and improve coastal water quality. Historically, mangroves were undervalued, leading to a loss of 35% of mangroves worldwide and 44% in Tampa Bay due to anthropogenic stressors. Efforts to protect and restore mangroves have led to a variety of management programs. In Tampa Bay the main management program is the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP). The program has identified the need for simple and easy to use assessment tools to track mangrove quality and aid in mangrove quality. There are …

The Subjective Experience Of Pms: A Sociological Analysis Of Women’S Narratives, Christiana B. Chekoudjian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The phenomenon known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has been researched across many disciplines including Psychology, Women's Health, Women's Studies and Sociology. It has been researched as a personal issue, a health issue, a psychological issue, and a political issue. Underlying these approaches to the study of PMS are two basic paradigms: the medical model and the social constructionist model. A rather polarized debate has emerged between the two. While both approaches have contributed to research on PMS, neither paradigm has focused particular attention on what PMS is and what it means from the perspective of the women who experience it. …

Integrating Rural Cambodian Villagers’ Perspectives Into Monitoring And Evaluation Protocols For An Ngo’S Water And Sanitation Program, Elizabeth Churchill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bridges Across Borders (BAB), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Cambodia, directs diverse and complementary projects to improve the lives of Cambodians living in poverty. The Hand In Hand project (HIH) is one of these projects, implemented in the rural community of Chamcar Bei. This project started in 2006 and is designed to be completely sustained by the villagers after 5 years. One of the four components of HIH is a health component, whose goal is to improve the health of the community. In 2007 and 2008, through these health initiatives, BAB provided the community with 280 ceramic water filters, 20 …

Environmental Remediation Of Tnt Using Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron Metal, Erica Echols

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on the use of nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) to remediate trinitrotoluene (TNT). Zero-valent iron has demonstrated effective degradation of TNT, however, these particles themselves have significant problems in treating sorbed phase TNT in the aerobic environment. This research was comprised of four areas: degradation studies of neat nano-iron with aqueous TNT, degradation studies of nanoiron emulsion with aqueous TNT, characterization of TNT in Vieques, Puerto Rico sediment, and Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) technique interface with HPLC. Both neat and emulsion NZVI studies showed TNT degradation. More degradation was seen in studies using fresher iron. The results from …

Reel Images: Representations Of Adult Male Prisons By The Film Industry, Melissa E. Fenwick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the criminal justice system, punishment, and media continue to generate academic interest, particularly in the realm of social constructionism. The social construction perspective provides insight into the process through which media-controlled images are translated into social definitions of crime and justice. One new area of interest is the representations of prisons and penal culture by the entertainment media, namely the film industry. In this study, the author contributes to the area of social constructionist literature by administering a content analysis of eleven feature films on male prisons produced between 1979 and 2001. The author examines the frequency and …

Speech Recognition Software For Language Learning: Toward An Evaluation Of Validity And Student Perceptions, Deborah Cordier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A renewed focus on foreign language (FL) learning and speech for communication has resulted in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) software developed with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). ASR features for FL pronunciation (Lafford, 2004) are functional components of CALL designs used for FL teaching and learning. The ASR features available with the TeLL me More French software provides pronunciation, intonation and speaking practice and feedback. ASR features are examined quantitatively through French student performance of recorded ASR-scored speech and compared with human raters of the same produced speech samples. A comparison of ASR scores to human raters considers the validity of …

Improving Ad-Hoc Team Performance Using Video Games, Jeff David Craighead

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the effects of distributed, multiplayer training video games on the performance of distributed teams of robot operators. Two hypotheses were tested, the first hypothesis stated that online, game-based team training will improve the performance of an ad-hoc team versus an ad-hoc team formed of individually trained teammates. The second hypothesis stated that the fractal dimension of a robot's path can be used as an indicator of its operator's skill. Forty-one volunteers participated in an experiment in which they played a distributed, online training game which showed them the basics of operating an Inuktun Extreme VGTV for a …

Domestic Violence Within Law Enforcement Families: The Link Between Traditional Police Subculture And Domestic Violence Among Police, Lindsey Blumenstein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most recent research in police domestic violence has shown that officers may perpetrate domestic violence at a higher rate than the general population, 28% versus 16%, respectively (Sgambelluri, 2000). Traditional police sub-culture has been identified, in several studies, as contributing to higher work stress, and using force on the job (Alexander et al., 1993; Drummond, 1976; Johnson et al, 2005; Kop and Euwema, 2001; Sgambelluri, 2000; Wetendorf, 2000). This research, however, has not fully examined the link between adherence to the traditional police sub-culture and officer involvement in domestic violence. This study attempts to identify whether officers who adhere …

Thiomicrospira Crunogena: A Chemoautotroph With A Carbon Concentrating Mechanism, Kimberly P. Dobrinski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gammaproteobacterium Thiomicrospira crunogena thrives at deep-sea vents despite extreme oscillations in the environmental supply of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC; =CO₂ + HCO₃^- + _CO3^-2). Survival in this habitat is likely aided by the presence of a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM). Though CCMs are well-documented in cyanobacteria, based on this study T. crunogena is the first chemolithoautotroph to have a physiologically characterized CCM. T. crunogena is capable of rapid growth in the presence of 20 micrometers DIC, has the ability to use both extracellular HCO₃^- and CO₂, and generates intracellular DIC concentrations …

Falls In Bone Marrow Transplant Patients: A Retrospective Study, Lura Henderson R.N., B.S.N.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Falls are a contributing factor to increased morbidity in the elderly and chronically ill populations and can affect overall quality of life. The literature indicates that oncology patients are a particularly vulnerable population who are further at risk for falls due to increased age, treatment related fatigue, side effects of medications, co-morbidities, decreased muscle tone, altered mental status, and anemia. Although patients with cancer are at a high risk for falls, this is not a well-documented patient problem in the nursing literature. This study examined the validity of the use of the Morse Fall Assessment Tool for use with Bone …

Removing Arsenic From Landfill Leachate In Batch Reactors With Kemiron Adsorbent, A Commercially Available Iron Oxide, Douglas Oti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated the effectiveness of a commercially available adsorbent, Kemiron, to remove arsenic from conditions representative of landfill leachate. Kemiron was identified as an iron oxide of 39.8 m

^{2/g surface area, 44 % of which resided in the less than 3 nm pore size range. Batch experiments of As(V) and As(III) were conducted with particle sizes either ≤38 μm and in the range 500 – 600 μm with equilibrium being reached in the smaller particles in ~ 36 hours and estimated at 374 hrs for the larger particles. Ionic strength did not affect the mass loadings of As(V) …}

Motivation And Instructor’S Self-Disclosure Using Facebook In A French Online Course Context, James M. Aubry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the effects of instructor's self-disclosure using the Facebook social networking online platform on students' motivation types, attitudes, and performance in the course.

The participants were 104 beginning French students enrolled in an online French course at a research one university in the southeast U.S. The participants were divided into a Facebook group, where they could access the instructor's Facebook profile throughout the semester, and a control group. Demographic data about the participants were gathered through a background questionnaire. Two instruments were used for determining respectively the types of motivation exhibited by students and their attitudes toward the …

Glycosylation Modulates Cardiac Excitability By Altering Voltage-Gated Potassium Currents, Tara A. Schwetz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neuronal, cardiac, and skeletal muscle electrical signaling is achieved through the highly regulated activity of several types of voltage-gated ion channels to produce an action potential (AP). Voltage-gated potassium (K_v) channels are responsible for repolarization of the AP. K_v channels are uniquely and heavily glycosylated proteins. Previous reports indicate glycosylation modulates gating of some K_v channel isoforms; often, terminal sialic acid residues alter K_v channel gating. Here, we questioned whether alterations in glycosylation impact K_v channel gating, thus altering APs and cardiac excitability. ST3Gal-IV, a sialyltransferase expressed at uniform levels throughout the heart, adds …

Helping Our Toddlers, Developing Our Children’S Skills (Hot Docs): An Investigation Of A Parenting Program To Address Challenging Behavior In Young Children, Jillian Leigh Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated outcomes of a parent training curriculum: Helping Our Toddlers Developing Our Children's Skills (HOT DOCS), using secondary analyses of existing data collected between May 2007 and March 2009. The evaluation studied the impact of specific components of the parent training program on both participants' knowledge and attitudes and their perceptions of target children's behavior. Caregivers (n = 334) of children between the ages of 18 months and 5.11 years of age who were participants in the parent training program were included in the study. Measures included a pre/post knowledge test, pre/post rating scales of child …

Establishing Creative Writing Studies As An Academic Discipline, Dianne J. Donnelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The discipline of creative writing is charged "as the most untheorized, and in that respect, anachronistic area in the entire constellation of English studies (Haake What Our Speech Disrupts 49). We need only look at its historical precedents to understand these intimations. It is a discipline which is unaware of the histories that informs its practice. It relies on the tradition of the workshop model as its signature pedagogy, and it is part of a fractured community signaled by its long history of subordination to literary studies, its lack of status and sustaining lore, and its own resistance to reform. …

Contemporary Daughter/Son Adult Social Role Performance Rating Scale And Interview Protocol: Development, Content Validation, And Exploratory Investigation, Dana Everett Cozad

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and content validate a Performance Rating Scale and Interview Protocol, enabling study of the social role performance of adult daughters and sons as they fulfill the societal norms and expectations of adult children. This exploratory investigation was one of 13 contemporary adult social roles completed by the University of South Florida Social Roles Research Group to update research of Havighurst in the 1950s.

The Daughter/Son Performance Rating Scale and Interview Protocol were created through a series of panel reviews and suggestions by experts drawn from adult education, human development, gerontology, and educational …

Six Fifth Grade Students Experiences Participating In Active Gaming During Physical Eduction Classes, Lisa Witherspoon Hansen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technology and sedentary lifestyles have become an integral part of children's lives, so too has the prevalence of childhood obesity. Although video games are often associated with influencing sedentary behaviors, active gaming is a new genre that requires children to become physically active while playing the games. In this inquiry I explored six fifth grade students' experiences participating in active gaming in physical education classes for 30 minutes, twice weekly, during an eight week (16 sessions) study. I used qualitative methods including interviews, journal entries, and observational field notes. Analysis of data revealed students have a "Persistence to Game" …

Altman…Now, More Than Ever: Social Conflict In The Films Of Robert Altman, Walker Hicken

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is much scholarship to suggest that the idea of America is an idea of a meritocracy. Generally, the ideal construction of American meritocracy involves people working hard and being able to accomplish whatever they set their minds to. Filmmaker Robert Altman constructs a very different America. In Altman's eyes, success is achieved through promotion, either self-promotion or promotion by others. An individual's status, whether it be within a peer group or on a national level, is far more important that the actual work that that person has done. This thesis will also examine how Altman presents this promotion as …

Understanding And Improving Use-Tax Compliance: A Theory Of Planned Behavior Approach, Christopher Robert Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand specific factors that are pertinent to individuals when making a use-tax compliance decision and to test a remedy to improve use-tax compliance. This study investigates use-tax compliance using a three-step approach. The first step involved building a survey to determine potential salient beliefs that are pertinent to individuals when facing a use-tax compliance decision. Results of the initial survey reveal that the effort of complying with the use tax, potential revenue to the state if the individual complies, fairness of the use tax, monetary concerns of the individual, perceived knowledge of the use tax, and …

Design And Synthesis Of Substituted 1,4-Hydrazine-Linked Piperazine-2,5- And 2,6-Diones And 2,5-Terpyrimidinylenes As Α-Helical Mimetics, Laura Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most common secondary structure of proteins is the alpha-helix. The alpha-helix can be involved in various protein-protein interactions (PPIs) through the recognition of three or more side chains along one face of the alpha-helix (Wells and McClendon, 2007). In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of peptidic and non-peptidic compounds that bind to PPI surfaces. We focused on the design and synthesis of compounds that mimic the orientation of side chain residues of an alpha-helical protein domain. Although our scaffolds could potentially inhibit various PPIs, we focused mainly on the disruption of interactions among …

The Effect Of Celebrity Endorsements On Gift-Giving Purchases: An Application Of The Elaboration Likelihood Model, Christine Anghel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine how effective celebrity endorsements are in regards to the type of gift purchase one decides to make (i.e., buying for someone who has a high significant meaning to the buyer, such as a best friend, versus buying for someone who has a low significant meaning to the buyer, such as a casual friend). The study seeks to extend upon the anthropology research exploring gift-giving and marketing research exploring celebrity endorsements by applying the tenants of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). This study uses an experimental procedure in order to determine the effect …

Productive Whole-Class Discussions: A Qualitative Analysis Of Peer Leader Behaviors In General Chemistry, Teresa Mcclain Eckart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The intention of this research was to describe behaviors and characteristics of General Chemistry I peer leaders using a pedagogical reform method referred to as Peer-led Guided Inquiry (PLGI), and to discuss the ways in which these peer leaders created productive whole-class discussions. This reform technique engaged students to work on guided inquiry activities while working cooperatively in small groups, led by undergraduate peer leaders. These sessions were video recorded and transcribed. The data was evaluated using grounded theory methods of analysis. This study examined the dialog between students and peer leaders, paying specific attention to question types and observed …

Dressing Psychic Wounds: Clothing As Metaphor In Paule Marshall's Praisesong For The Widow And Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, Angela D. Tartaglia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I investigate the function of dress as it relates to cultural retention in Paule Marshall's Praisesong for the Widow and Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, drawing upon the work of fashion theorists Joanne Entwistle, Alison Lurie and Anne Hollander. My examination of the two novels is informed by several excellent scholarly works which hold that characters' well being is determined by the extent to which they connect with their folkloric roots, the central message in both Ceremony and Praisesong for the Widow. I build on this discourse by demonstrating that the novels' consistent attention to clothing is a device …

Building A Brighter Future Through Education: Student Housing For Single Parent Families, Carrie Cogsdale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On the possibilities of a child the Center for Disease Control says, “Every Child

should have the opportunity to reach their full potential”. (CDC) Children who grow up

in low-income families are at risk of falling behind in education before they even enter

kindergarten. Single parents that struggle to provide food and shelter often lack the time

and the resources to provide the early education that their children need. A college

education could provide these parents and their children with a better quality of life.

University student housing could include built in childcare services, educational

assistance and peer support, for …

Gulliver’S Travels To The Screen, Giant And Tiny, Mark Dekle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, has captured readers' imaginations for almost three hundred years, spawning countless adaptations over several different mediums. As different means of communicating and transforming art have been invented, these adaptations have grown to fill the new mediums and make use of the various possibilities each form has created. Film in particular has created an enormous opportunity to re-imagine Gulliver's Travels, since it can directly show the audience the fictional foreign locations in which Gulliver finds himself.

In this study, I examine seven screen adaptations of Swift's novel to determine what our current culture views as …

Caloric Expenditure And Substrate Utilization In Underwater Treadmill Running Versus Land-Based Treadmill Running, Courtney Schaal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to compare the caloric expenditure and oxidative sources of underwater treadmill running and land-based treadmill running at maximal and submaximal levels. Underwater running has emerged as a low load bearing form of supplementary training for cardiovascular fitness, as a way to promote recovery from strenuous exercise while maintaining aerobic fitness, and as a way to prevent injury. Prior studies have reported conflicting results as to whether underwater treadmill running elicits similar cardiorespiratory responses to land-based running. It is important to further investigate the similarities and differences between the two to determine if underwater running …

Power-Performance Tradeoffs In Database Systems, Zichen Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the total energy consumption of computing systems increasing at a steep rate, much attention had been paid to the design of energy-efficient computing systems and applications. So far, database system design has focused on improving the performance of query processing. The objective of this study is to explore the potential of energy conservation in relational database management systems. The hypothesis is: by modifying the query optimizer in a Database management system (DBMS) to take the energy cost of query plans into consideration, we will be able to reduce the energy usage of database servers and control the tradeoffs between …

The Biomechanics Of Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty, Sergio Gutiérrez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rotator cuff deficiency with glenohumeral arthritis presents a unique challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon. Under these conditions, total shoulder replacement has yielded poor results as a result of eccentric loading of the glenoid leading to loosening and early failure. Multiple procedures have been recommended to resolve this problem including total shoulder arthroplasty, shoulder arthrodesis, and hemiarthroplasty. Hemiarthroplasty, the current standard of care for this condition, offers only limited goals for functional improvement and only a modest improvement in pain.

Recently, there has been renewed interest in reverse shoulder arthroplasty. The main concept behind the reverse shoulder implant is the stabilization …

A Parent Training Program Combining Discrete Trial Training And Incidental Teaching In The Home Environment, Lindsey Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a parent training program teaching discrete trial teaching (DTT) and incidental teaching (IT) methods using a parent training manual. Three families with children between the ages of 5-6 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participated. Both parents received parent training although Parent A received training from the experimenter and Parent B received training from Parent A. The parents taught their children one skill each from three categories: communication, self-care routines and a household expectation. This study sought to expand upon the literature in the realm of combining DTT and IT as well as adding …