Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Learning On Complex Simulations, Robert E. Banfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores Machine Learning in the context of computationally intensive simulations. Complex simulations such as those performed at Sandia National Laboratories for the Advanced Strategic Computing program may contain multiple terabytes of data. The amount of data is so large that it is computationally infeasible to transfer between nodes on a supercomputer. In order to create the simulation, data is distributed spatially. For example, if this dissertation was to be broken apart spatially, the binding might be one partition, the first fifty pages another partition, the top three inches of every remaining page another partition, and the remainder confined …

Structure-Function Studies Of Conserved Sequence Motifs Of Cytochrome B5 Reductase:, Louis J. Crowley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

NADH:Cytochrome b₅ Reductase (cb₅r) catalyzes the two electron reduction of the iron center of the heme cofactor found within cytochrome b₅ (cb₅) utilizing reducing equivalents of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) coenzyme. Cb₅r is characterized by two domains necessary for proper enzyme function: a flavin-binding domain and a pyridine nucleotide-binding domain. Within these domains are highly conserved "motifs" necessary for the proper binding and orientation of both the NADH coenzyme and the FAD cofactor.

To address the importance of these conserved motifs site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to generate a …

The Association Between Risk Taking And Personality, Gabriella Anic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine the association between personality and risk taking in a sample of 461 older adults from the Charlotte County Healthy Aging Study (CCHAS). The personality factors of openness to experience, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness were measured with the NEO Five Factor Inventory. Risk-taking was measured with an 8-item questionnaire and a single-item question that assessed subjects' participation in sensation seeking behaviors. Spearman correlation coefficients, hierarchical linear regression and hierarchical logistic regression were used to assess the association. As consistent with past research, high scores on openness to experience (beta = 0.16, P<.0001) and low scores on neuroticism (β = -0.14, P<.01) and agreeableness (β = -0.16, P<.01) were associated with the total score of the 8-item risk taking questionnaire. The single-item risk question was also associated with openness [OR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.05-1.13], neuroticism [OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.97] and agreeableness [OR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.92-0.99]. After stratifying by gender, only openness was still significantly associated with risk-taking. Interaction terms including gender and personality factors were added to the models to test if gender was an effect modifier. Although personality differences existed between men and women, none of the interaction terms were statistically significant.

Growth Factor-Mediated Telomerase Activity In Ovarian Cancer Cells, Yira Bermudez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecological cancer death in the United States. Even though no single genetic alteration can be attributed to all ovarian cancers, 90% of ovarian tumors express telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein that elongates telomeric (TTAGGG)n repeats de novo. In normal somatic cells, telomerase is absent. In cancer cells, the re-expression of telomerase allows senescence to be bypassed contributing to cellular immortalization, a key step for cellular transformation, making telomerase a potentially important target for therapeutic intervention.

Ovarian cancer cells secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) that feedback through their receptors present …

Reality Cosmetic Surgery Makeovers: Potential Psychological And Behavioral Correlates, Steffanie Sperry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (2006), the number of cosmetic procedures has increased to over 10 million in 2005, showing a 38% increase from 2000. This increase in cosmetic surgery prevalence is paralleled by a surge in reality cosmetic makeover television programming, such as Extreme Makeover and Dr. 90210. No research to date has assessed the potential relationships between reality media viewership and body image, eating pathology, or cosmetic surgery attitudes. The tripartite model of core influence (Thompson et al., 1999) is presented as a theoretical framework for conceptualizing the link between media influences, internalization, body image …

Novel Polymer-Metal Nanocomposites For Applications In Detection And Sensing, Dayling L. Chaparro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Detection of trace elements such as organic contaminants, explosive residues, and metal ions is an intellectually challenging task in science and engineering. It is also a topic of increasing importance due to its impact on society and the environment. Designing molecularly imprinted materials is one of the most promising approaches to explore sensing and detection applications. “Stimuli-sensitive” polymer materials are ideal candidates for these imprinted sensors as they are able to respond to changes in their environment and can be tailored by cross-linking the polymer chains. The responses can be amplified and transduced into measurable signals due to macromolecular properties …

Symbolic Computations Of Exact Solutions To Nonlinear Integrable Di®Erential Equations, Vladimir Grupcev

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, first the tanh method, a method for obtaining exact traveling wave solutions to nonlinear differential equations, is introduced and described. Then the method is applied to two classes of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations. The first one is a system of two (1 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) type equations. The second one is a (3 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear wave equation. At the end, a few graphic representations of the obtained solitary wave solutions are provided, in correspondence to different values of the parameters used in the equations.

Evanescent Field Absorption Sensing Using Sapphire Fibers, Michael Grossman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the application of coiled sapphire multimode optical fibers for evanescent wave chemical sensing in both the visible spectrum and the near infrared. As has been suggested in the literature pertaining to silica fibers, bending converts low-order modes to high order ones, which leads to more evanescent absorption and thus a more sensitive chemical detector. By coiling the fiber many times, it was expected that even greater sensitivity would be attained.

Experiments were performed to investigate the sensor response to different solutions and to characterize this response. In the first of three experiments, the large absorption peak of …

Shakespearean Spin-Offs: Mindless Entertainment Or Conversations With Critics, Amy Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Literature is always in a state of evolution. Words change; the way writers write changes. Even actual literary works transform. William Shakespeare manipulated numerous classic works of literature to make extraordinary dramas for both his lifetime and eras since. Much as Shakespeare adapted literature to suit his purposes, writers today are constantly utilizing story lines introduced by the bard over four-hundred years ago in various modern-day mediums. Shakespeare wrote most of his works for the entertainment of the masses; Shakespeare's works are adapted today for both entertainment and academic endeavors. Certainly, a Klingon (Star Trek) version of arguably …

Natural Law Ethics: A Comparison Of The Theravāda And Thomistic Traditions, David Lantigua

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the topic of natural law in the Therav

āda and Thomistic traditions by utilizing the methodology of comparative religious ethics. Approaches to the method such as ethical formalism, ethical naturalism, and narrative ethics are assessed with the author opting for a multidimensional approach that is religious and ethical. This multidimensional approach, as defined by William Schweiker, conducts natural law inquiry from a hermeneutical standpoint of moral diversity and democratic pluralism.

The hermeneutical standpoint warrants a historicizing of natural law ethics that is compatible with modern secularity instead of a classicist metaphysical worldview. To achieve this task, the …

Influence Of Evapotranspiration On Patterns Of Ground-Water Conductivity In Small Basins, Ana Jiménez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ground-water conductivity data were obtained from shallow wells in a 12 km2 stream-basin along a 400 m transect, extending from the divide to the stream. The stream, Pringle Branch, is a second-order perennial stream in Hillsborough County, Florida. The shallow stratigraphy consists of 2-3 m of fine sand over a layer of clayey silt and silty clay. Vegetation cover includes grasses on the upper and middle slope, and riparian woodlands on the foot slope and floodplain. Precipitation is about 1.3 m per year. Shallow ground-water conductivity is about 50 uS/cm at the divide. It increases moderately along the mid slope, …

Impact Of Area Social Predictors Of Health On Black-White Disparities In Stroke Mortality, Tyra Dark

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the area social predictors of health (ASPoH) and Black-White disparities in stroke mortality relationship. Utilizing stroke mortality data obtained from the Florida Department of Health for years 1998-2002, and social and economic data obtained from the year 2000 Census of Population, this study examined the effect of resource availability at the census tract level on Black-White disparities in stroke mortality. The influence of social class on Black-White disparities in stroke mortality and effect modification by social class of the association between Black-White disparities and ASPoH variables was also investigated. Principal component analysis produced four ASPoH scores from …

Glyconanobiotics: Novel Carbohydrated Nanoparticle Polymers, Thotaha Wijayahewage Sampath Chrysantha Abeylath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbohydrates on the cell surface conjugates to proteins and lipids and participates in biological processes as glycoconjugates. Carbohydrate functionalized nanoparticles (glyconanoparticles) constitute a good bio-mimetic model of carbohydrate presentation at the cell surface and are currently centered on many glycobiological and biomedical applications. The most of the applications have been reported using gold glyconanoparticles. A brief review of gold glyconanoparticles and some of their applications will be discussed in Chapter I. Although metallic, semiconductor and magnetic glyconanoparticles have been reported, no polyacrylate glyconanoparticles have yet to be described.

Chapter II describes the first preparation of carbohydrate functionalized polymer nanoparticles by …

The Effects Of Invasive Cogongrass (Imperata Cylindrica) On The Threatened Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus), Katherine A. Basiotis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is critical to upland communities and considered a keystone species. A recent threat to gopher tortoise habitat is the invasive cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), which spreads rapidly, eliminating native vegetation. This study consisted of three experiments to investigate the effects of the cogongrass on a population of gopher tortoises. A feeding experiment revealed that individuals readily ate native vegetation, but would not eat cogongrass. A tracking experiment showed that there was a significantly different mean angle of movement between individuals whose home ranges were outside cogongrass compared to those that overlapped cogongrass, …

Sexy Sensationalism Case Study: The Fascination With Celebrity News And Why Usa Today Caters To The Obsession, Grant Edward Boxleitner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the digital age where newspapers compete with the Internet, cable TV and other publications for an audience, USA Today strives to stay relevant in the media with a daily dose of celebrity news. Newspapers continue to lose circulation during a time when the fascination with celebrities shows no signs of dwindling. This study explores how much celebrity news coverage USA Today gives readers, how much competition from other outlets plays a factor and whether the nation's largest newspaper is making a sacrifice of traditional forms of newspaper content in favor of celebrity coverage. The methodology for this qualitative case …

I'M Not Who I Was Then, Now: Performing Identity In Girl Cams And Blogs, Katherine Bzura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The task of documenting the evolution of the self over time has been attempted by women artists throughout history. The practice of this documentation has been greatly enhanced in the last several years by the progression of new technologies for the capture of digital images, the advent of the internet as a common textual and visual communication device, and the availability of free resources to publish and disseminate the resulting constructions. Women artists now have the tools needed to document the life of the self, and to publish it immediately to an audience.

Most of the women documenting their lives …

Danger Afoot: Sidewalks, Environmental Justice, And Pedestrian Safety In Pinellas County, Florida, Craig W. Harmak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Though often taken for granted, few everyday activities involve so much genuine danger as the hazards associated with motor vehicles. Urban areas are built, modified, and/or deconstructed with motoring in mind. Also true is that few are at as much risk, as are those pedestrians who dare to cross paths with motor vehicles. Unfortunately, all too often, pedestrians are casualties of encounters with the ubiquitous automobile. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida metropolitan statistical area (MSA) has recently been deemed, by one study, to be the nation's second most dangerous MSA for pedestrians. Using information on pedestrian/motor vehicle accident sites, sidewalk location …

Fabrication And Analysis Of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) Interfaces Using Electrospray Deposition And Photoemission Spectroscopy, John Lyon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

P3HT (Poly(3-hexylthiophene)) is an organic polymer that shows promise as an active material in semiconducting electronics. It is important to study the electronic properties of this material in order to determine its efficacy in such devices. However, many current studies of thiophene only examine the oligomer, since it is a simpler material to investigate.

In this study, several P3HT interfaces were analyzed to determine their electronic properties. The P3HT was deposited on Au, highly-ordered pyrolitic graphite (HOPG), and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates via electrospray deposition. The depositions were performed in several steps, with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet …

On Comparison Of Indentation Models, John Louis Daly Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin films that are functionally gradient improve the mechanical properties

of film-substrate layered materials. Mechanical properties of such materials are

found by using indentation tests. In this study, finite element models are

developed to simulate the indentation test. The models are based on an

axisymmetric half space of a specimen subjected to spherical indentation. The

film layer through the thickness is modeled to have either homogeneous material

properties or nonhomogeneous material properties that vary linearly.

Maximum indenter displacement, and maximum normal and shear

stresses at the interface are compared between the homogeneous model and

the nonhomogeneous model for pragmatic contact …

Hurricane Forecasting, Warning And Response Systems: A Lake Wales Public Perception Study, April E. Raulerson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the public perception of hurricane forecasting and warning systems with a view to improving response activities. The hazard literature shows that the effectiveness of such systems is contingent upon on the smooth operation of all components of the system and that warning recipients fully understand the implications of the warning message by taking appropriate action. It is argued that public perception of warning systems will vary depending on various socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, level of education, socioeconomic status and area, factors that will ultimately influence overall effectiveness. To test this, a questionnaire survey was undertaken …

The Rise Of Clostridium Difficile In Florida, Owen Bendixsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea in hospitalized patients, is on the rise in the United States as well as in other countries. This study was done to determine the extent of the problem in Florida's acute care hospitals. The Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) provided data for patients discharged from Florida's acute care hospitals for the years 1998 through 2004.

This study will focus on changes in the prevalence of Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) over time. The mortality and morbidity of patients that have CDAD will also be examined to show if the disease is increasing …

Naming And Inhibition In Aphasia, Lori R. Bartels-Tobin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lexical retrieval models illustrate both activation and inhibition between concepts, words, and phonemes. When semantic activation spreads from one concept to its related concepts, inhibition is recruited so that competition between related concepts can be overcome and a target production achieved. Persons with aphasia often exhibit difficulty with producing the desired response, which could be the result of inadequate inhibitory processes to overcome response competition.

Inhibitory processing is typically measured using a negative priming task. Twenty participants with aphasia, twenty-five young participants, and twenty age-matched aphasia group controls were recruited for this study. Participants with aphasia completed a picture-naming task, …

The Influence Of Dialect On The Perception Of Final Consonant Voicing, Stacy Nicole Kile

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children at risk for reading problems also have difficulty perceiving critical

differences in speech sounds (Breier et al., 2004; Edwards, Fox, & Rogers, 2003; de-

Gelder & Vroomen, 1998). These children rely more heavily on context than the acoustic

qualities of sound to facilitate word reading. Dialect use, such as African American

English (AAE) may influence literacy development in similar ways. Dialect use has been

shown to affect speech sound processing and can even result in spelling errors (Kohler, et

al., in press). The purpose of this study is to determine if children who speak AAE

process cues indicative of …

Making Sense Of Complex System Failure: The Case Of 9/11, Sandra M. Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks attributed the September 11 attacks on the U.S. homeland to the terrorists' exploitation of "deep institutional failings." These findings are similar to the conclusions of the Presidential Commission investigating the 1986 Challenger accident and the Columbia Accident Investigative Board (2003). Generally Commissions aim to provide the fullest possible account of events contributing to the catastrophe under investigation and to identify lessons learned, but avoid specifying responsibility and accountability. For this reason, various commission reports have been criticized for being abstract and shallow. These criticisms make a valid point. How commissions make sense of failures …

American Odyssey, Bernadette Kafwimbi Cogswell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of the two opening chapters of American Odyssey, a nouveau plantation novel that has its roots in two American fiction traditions---the nineteenth-century plantation novel and the twentieth-century neo-slave narrative. It is 1855 and Charles DeCoeur's only motivation to remain Riverwood's owner and master is that his widowed mother and sickly sister rely on the profits of the estate. Charles chafes under the responsibility and physicality of plantation life, unable to reconcile himself to the role of master of a cotton estate in the forgotten heart of East Florida. Then a female Negro, Hellcat, wanders onto the …

Kauffman-Harary Conjecture For Virtual Knots, Mathew Williamson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, we examine Fox colorings of virtual knots, and moves called k-swap moves defined for virtual knot diagrams. The k-swap moves induce a one-to-one correspondence between colorings before and after the move, and can be used to reduce the number of virtual crossings. For the study of colorings, we characterize families of alternating virtual knots to generalize (2, n)-torus knots, alternating pretzel knots, and alternating 2-bridge knots. The k-swap moves are then applied to prove a "virtualization" of the Kauffman-Harary conjecture, originally stated for classical knot diagrams, for the above families of virtual pretzel knot diagrams.

Government Public Relations: A Quantitative Assessment Of Government Public Relations Practitioner Roles And Public Relations Model Usage, Joelle Wiley Castelli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to identify how public relations are practiced in local governments. Traditional literature has stated that the public information model of public relations is the model of public relations practiced in local governments. This study also attempts to determine which roles are most common for lead communicators in municipal organizations governments. Based on Internet survey research methods, research findings indicated that while most practitioners stated they practiced a two-way communications model, they had the most expertise in the public information and press agentry models. The researcher also found that the role most often held by the highest ranking …

The Role Of Computer-Mediated Communication In Non-Native Speakers’ Acquisition Of Academic Literacy, Rui Cheng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that academic literacy is discipline specific. Students have to learning the ways of communication in order to gain access to the discourse community of the selected discipline through understanding and performing required genres and learning necessary disciplinary knowledge. Scaffolding is important in the process to help students internalize the disciplinary knowledge and improve students' performance on academic papers. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) provides good chances of scaffolding and mediation especially for non-native graduate students who may have lost many opportunities of class participation due to their limited language proficiency or other cultural issues.

In this dissertation, the researcher investigated …

An Unexplored Realm In The Heartland Of The Southern Gulf Olmec: Investigations At El Marquesillo, Veracruz, Mexico, Travis F. Doering

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines El Marquesillo, a settlement in an archaeologically unexplored region of the Southern Gulf Lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico. Evidence suggests the site has been consistently occupied from the Early Formative period (c. 1500 BC) to the present. Thus, this investigation presents an opportunity to re-examine the sociopolitical continuum encompassing the Olmec cultural phenomenon (c. 1150-300 BC), the emergence of which has been used repeatedly as an example of incipient social complexity.

Theorists have portrayed the development of sociopolitical complexity as a mosaic process in which environmental, social, political, economic, ideological, and demographic variables act independently or in combination …

How Individual Values And Trait Boredom Interface With Job Characteristics And Job Boredom In Their Effects On Counterproductive Work Behavior, Kari Bruursema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among individual values, trait boredom, job boredom, job characteristics, and CWB. Job boredom and trait boredom were expected to be positively related to CWB. Individual values and job characteristics were expected to moderate the relationship between boredom and different types of CWB.

Completed online questionnaires were received from 211 participants, and 112 co-worker matches also submitted online surveys. The Schwartz Value Survey, Job Descriptive Index, Job Boredom Scale, and Boredom Proneness Scale were used to assess independent variables. The Counterproductive Work Behavior Checklist measured the dependent variable. Results were analyzed using …