Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Access To Public Transportation: An Exploration Of The National Household Travel Survey Appended Data, Edward Maggio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding transit usage has become a critical transportation research interest and policy goal. This thesis presents results of an analysis of the 2001 NHTS data specifically focusing on the newly released appended variables that measure access or distance to public transportation. Statistically significant public transportation distance intervals from households and individuals were chosen for analysis in relation to other key variables in the original dataset. Actual relationships between public transportation and traditional household and person characteristics nationwide are explored, specifically focusing on both rail and bus transit modes for the work commute trip. Geographically, both inclusions and exclusions in analysis …

The Role Of Mental Health Problems In Explaining Violent Behaviors In Children And Adolescents Over The Lifecourse: An Exploratory Study, Denise Paquette Boots

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile violence is a phenomenon that consistently garners great attention in the media, the public, and across a multitude of academic disciplines. A growing body of literature in developmental and lifecourse criminology has called for innovative research to further investigate the causes and correlates of serious juvenile offenders. Toward this end, the present study uses prospective, longitudinal data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS) to gauge the temporal impact of childhood and adolescent mental health problems on the development of serious offending behaviors in boys. Borrowing largely from the work of Achenbach and colleagues (2001), data from parent and teacher …

Growth Of Oxide Thin Films On 4h- Silicon Carbide In An Afterglow Reactor, Eugene L. Short

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oxide thin films were grown on 4H-SiC at low pressure and reduced temperatures using a remote plasma afterglow thermal oxidation method, achieving significantly faster growth rates than standard atmospheric furnace processes. The resulting SiO2/SiC structures were characterized by a non-contact corona-voltage metrology technique in order to extract capacitance-voltage information, to facilitate further analysis of the afterglow oxidation growth mechanism, and to determine the electrical behavior of defects. In addition, mass spectrometry experiments revealed the concentration of nitric oxide species in the afterglow reactor gas exhaust produced by the cracking of N2O molecules in the microwave plasma discharge. Oxidations were performed …

Revenue Management Techniques Applied To The Parking Industry, Daniel Rojas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The time spent searching for a parking space increases air pollution, driver frustration, and safety problems impacting among other issues, traffic congestion and as consequence the environment. In the United States, parking represents a $20 billion industry (National Parking Association, 2005), and research shows that a car is parked on average 90 percent of the time. To alleviate this problem, more parking facilities should be built or intelligent models to better utilize current facilities should be explored. In this thesis, a general methodology is proposed to provide solutions to the parking problem. First, stated preference data is used to study …

A Game Theoretic Framework For Interconnect Optimization In Deep Submicron And Nanometer Design, Narender Hanchate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The continuous scaling of interconnect wires in deep submicron (DSM)circuits result in increased interconnect delay, power and crosstalk noise. In this dissertation, we address the problem of multi-metric optimization at post layout level in the design of deep submicron designs and develop a game theoretic framework for its solution. Traditional approaches in the literature can only perform single metric optimization and cannot handle multiple metrics. However, in interconnect optimization, the simultaneous optimization of multiple parameters such as delay, crosstalk noise and power is necessary and critical. Thus, the work described in this dissertation research addressing multi-metric optimization is an important …

Efficient Suspicious Region Segmentation Algorithm For Computer Aided Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer Based On Tomosynthesis Imaging, Ravi K. Samala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Computer aided diagnostic tool can aid the radiologist in the early detection of breast cancer. Even though mammography is considered to be the gold standard for breast cancer detection, it is limited by the spatial superposition of tissue. This limitation is the result of a using a two dimensional, (2D), representation of a three dimensional, (3D), structure. The limitation contributes to and results in misclassification of breast cancers. Tomosynthesis is a limited-angle 3D imaging device that overcomes this limitation by representing the breast structure with 3D volumetric data.This research, on tomosynthesis imaging, was a critical module of a larger research …

Design And Implementation Of A 200mm 3c-Sic Cvd Reactor, Christopher L. Frewin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon carbide, SiC, is a semiconductor material which has many diverse uses in many of today's leading technologies. The wide band-gap aspect of the material has been utilized to create power and high frequency electronics, its physical hardness enables its use for MEMS devices, and the biological compatibility make perfect for utilization in medical applications. SiC is not a chemical compound normally found in nature and must be artificially generated. One of the methods used for the creation of single crystal, high quality SiC material is provided through the use of a chemical vapor deposition reactor. The University of South …

Petroleum Cleanup In The United States: A Historical Review And Comparison Of State Programs, Timothy A. Terwilliger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cleanup of leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites has been a priority for the United States of America (USA) for more than 20 years due to the large number of sites, the potential harmful health affects associated with gasoline components and the fact that single owners may not have the ability to pay for cleanup of these sites. In June 2006, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that of the 459,637 confirmed releases from USTs that had occurred previously, 342,688 had been remediated, which leaves 116,949 sites yet to be completed across the USA. Petroleum cleanup programs tend to …

A Study Of Machine Learning Performance In The Prediction Of Juvenile Diabetes From Clinical Test Results, Shibendra Pobi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two approaches to building models for prediction of the onset of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in juvenile subjects were examined. A set of tests performed immediately before diagnosis was used to build classifiers to predict whether the subject would be diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. A modified training set consisting of differences between test results taken at different times was also used to build classifiers to predict whether a subject would be diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Neural networks were compared with decision trees and ensembles of both types of classifiers. Support Vector Machines were also tested on this dataset. The highest …

An Ahp Framework For Balancing Efficiency And Equity In The United States Liver Transplantation System, Vijayachandran M. Veerachandran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSRACT: Liver transplantation and allocation has been a controversial issue in the United States for decades. One of the main concerns in the allocation system is the trade-off between the two main objectives, efficiency and equity. Unfortunately, it is difficult to reach consensus on how to develop allocation policies that aim at balancing efficiency and equity, among transplantation policy makers, administrators, transplant surgeons and transplant candidates.Our research identifies and classifies the outcomes of liver allocation into two major categories, efficiency and equity, that are, often times, conflicting. Previous researchers did not consider how to balance outcomes in these two categories. …

Spatially Resolved Photoluminescence Spectroscopy Of Quantum Dots, Maciej Dybiec

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in nanotechnology create a need for a better understanding of the underlying physical processes that lead to the different behavior of nanoscale structures in comparison to bulk materials. The influence of the surrounding environment on the physical and optical properties of nanoscale objects embedded inside them is of particular interest. This research is focused on the optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots which are zero-dimensional nanostructures. There are many investigation techniques for measuring the local parameters and structural characteristics of Quantum Dot structures. They include X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy, etc. However, none of these …

Product Design: A Conceptual Development Of Product Remanufacturing Index, Swapnil B. Dixit

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In light of increasing pressure from environmental safety advocate groups and governments for eco-friendly manufacturing, safe after life product & waste disposal has had strong emphasizes in the past several years. Industrial manufacturers are becoming more and more responsive towards environment safety concerns. These efforts are being reflected by concepts such as green design or environmentally responsible design and manufacturing (ERDM). The key research areas in the 21st century for reducing the toll on the environment will be material recycling, controlled waste disposal (including fluids and gases) and remanufacturing. Remanufacturing offers a dual advantage over material recycling. First the geometrical …

Continuous Time Disaggregation In Hierarchical Production Planning, Rami Salhab Al-Tamimi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the objectives of disaggregation in hierarchical production planning is to minimize the setup costs incurred when changing production from one family to another. In this research, the setup costs are reduced by determining a production schedule that minimizes the number of setups during the planning horizon. Previous solutions to the disaggregation problem have considered discrete-time, and more recently continuous-time formulations. This research extends the continuous time disaggregation approach by incorporating production schedules allowing backorder. A mathematical formulation and a solution algorithm are presented and the computational complexity and convergence properties of the algorithm are discussed. Experimental results, using …

Unit Testing Database Applications Using Specdb: A Database Of Software Specifications, Rana Farid Mikhail

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I introduce SpecDB, a database created to represent and host software specifications in a machine-readable format. The specifications represented in SpecDB are for the purpose of unit testing database operations. A structured representation aids in the processes of both automated software testing and software code generation, based on the actual software specifications. I describe the design of SpecDB, the underlying database that can hold the specifications required for unit testing database operations.Specifications can be fed directly into SpecDB, or, if available, the formal specifications can be translated to the SpecDB representation. An algorithm that translates formal specifications …

High Growth Rate Sic Cvd Via Hot-Wall Epitaxy, Rachael L. Myers-Ward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research focused on the growth of 4H-SiC epitaxial layers in low-pressure horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactors. The goal of the research was to develop a growth process that maximized the growth rate and produced films of smooth morphology. The epitaxial growth of SiC was carried out in two different reactor sizes, a 75 mm reactor and a 200 mm reactor. The maximum repeatable growth rate achieved was 30-32 um/h in the 200 mm reactor using the standard chemistry of hydrogen-propane-silane (H2-C3H8-SiH4) at growth temperatures < ̲ 1600 °C, which is the highest growth rate reported to date in a horizontal hot-wall reactor at these temperatures. This growth rate was achieved with a silane flow rate of 30 sccm. The process development and characterization of 4H-SiC epitaxial films grown using the standard chemistry are presented.

There are many ways to increase the growth rate, such as changing …

Resonance Ultrasonic Vibrations (Ruv) For Crack Detection In Silicon Wafers For Solar Cells, William Dallas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The photovoltaic industry provides a pathway to allow renewable energy to meet world wide consumer energy needs. Past and present research and development on silicon based solar cells have helped make them the dominant player in the photovoltaic industry accounting for over 75% in 2005 as accounted by the US Department of Energy. One of the current technological problems is to identify and eliminate sources of mechanical defects such as thermo-elastic stress and cracks leading to the loss of wafer integrity and ultimately breakage of as-grown and processed Si wafers and cells.The RUV method, developed at the University of South …

Design And Evaluation Of New Power Management Methods To Reduce Direct And Induced Energy Use Of The Internet, Priyanga Chamara Gunaratne

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The amount of electricity consumed by devices connected to the Internet in the U.S. has rapidly increased and now amounts to over 2% of total electricity used, which is about 74 TWh/yr costing over $6 billion annually. This energy use can be categorized as direct and induced. Much of this energy powers idle links, switches, and network-connected hosts and is thus wasted.This dissertation contains the first-ever investigation into the energy efficiency of Ethernet networks. A method for matching Ethernet link data rate with link utilization, called Adaptive Link Rate (ALR), is designed and evaluated. ALR consists of a mechanism to …

Multi-Criteria Decision Making In Outpatient Scheduling, Jana Iezzi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hospital ambulatory patients are seen in outpatient departments (OPDs) located in the hospital. 83.3 million visits were made to these departments in 2002. Many sources of patient waiting time exist including: poor coordination of information, inefficient scheduling, inaccurate time estimation and others. Well-designed and executed patient scheduling has the potential to remedy some of these problems. To properly schedule patients, variability in demand must be addressed. Patients may cancel appointments, arrive late and arrive without appointments. We address this problem based on a Multi-attribute Decision Making (MADM) approach. Decision models are developed using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method to …

Micro- And Nano-Scale Switches And Tuning Elements For Microwave Applications, Thomas P. Ketterl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, various components for low power RF telemetry applications have been investigated. These designed, fabricated and tested devices include radio frequency (RF) micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) switches, single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) RF MEMS switches, nano fabricated capacitors and switching devices, and micromachined microstrip patch antennas.Coplanar waveguide (CPW) RF capacitive switches in shunt and series configuration were designed for high isolation, low insertion loss, and fast switching speed. Switches with > 35 dB isolation, < 0.3 dB insertion loss and switching speeds in the 10's of microseconds were fabricated and measured. These switches were packaged using photo-imagable resists and flip-chip bonding techniques. The MEMS shunt switch topology was also implemented into a single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) design by utilizing two such switches in a series and a shunt configuration, offset by a quarter wavelength section to provide a RF shor

t at the input of the shunt switch in the off state. This type of design has the advantage of requiring a simple on-off (0 V and 35 V) …

Lean Manufacturers Transcendence To Green Manufacturing: Correlating The Diffusion Of Lean And Green Manufacturing Systems, Gary G. Bergmiller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientific evidence of human impact on the natural environment, such as global warming, continues to mount. Green manufacturing systems that focus on minimizing environmental impact of manufacturing processes and products are ever more important to our sustainable future. Green manufacturing systems are slow to gain acceptance as manufacturers are focused on implementing Lean manufacturing systems, generally considered the most competitive manufacturing systems in the world.

In recent years, researchers and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have sought to "build a bridge" between Lean and Green manufacturing systems, in hopes that the rapid expanse of Lean can serve as a …

Reliability-Centric Probabilistic Analysis Of Vlsi Circuits, Thara Rejimon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability is one of the most serious issues confronted by microelectronics industry as feature sizes scale down from deep submicron to sub-100-nanometer and nanometer regime. Due to processing defects and increased noise effects, it is almost impractical to come up with error-free circuits. As we move beyond 22nm, devices will be operating very close to their thermal limit making the gates error-prone and every gate will have a finite propensity of providing erroneous outputs. Additional factors increasing the erroneous behaviors are low operating voltages and extremely high frequencies. These types of errors are not captured by current defect and fault …

Transmission Power Control For Wireless Sensors Networks, Karim Souccar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Energy saving, in battery operated wireless sensor networks, for the purpose of increasing the node and network lifetime, has gained substantial importance. This research was conducted with the objective of reducing the power consumption of the MICA2 sensors. The objective was pursued by manipulating the MAC layer, and by introducing a dynamic transmission power control algorithm. A new simulation tool was developed in order to reduce the complexity related to the design and testing of the transmission power control algorithm. The power control algorithm was also developed in the NesC language for the MICA2 sensors. In addition,several modifications were introduced …

Electromagnetic Characterization Of Miniature Antennas For Portable Devices, Diana P. Aristizabal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advances in technology have placed a great emphasis on the design of broadband antennas as well as antenna miniaturization to cope with the demands of making electronic and handheld communication devices smaller and more efficient. In this thesis, the design and fabrication of a frequency independent antenna and a narrow-band planar microstrip Balun are presented. An analysis of frequency selective surfaces is also introduced in order to demonstrate their capability to miniaturize antenna thickness. Lastly, s-parameters measurements and efficiency characterization are performed to determine the radiation properties of surface mount chip inductors in order to determine the feasibility of using …

Ieee 802.11b Wireless Lan Sensor System And Antenna Design, Leonard Guerra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel approach to miniaturizing an 802.11b WLAN card using folded-flex ultra-thin substrates is presented. A 73 percent reduction in size was realized using hybrid circuits on FR4 and polyimide. There is even more potential for further reduction if more copper layers are used. The miniaturized 802.11b WLAN cards were used to design 802.11b wireless sensor nodes. A research test-bed was setup to study how 802.11b networked sensor nodes could operate in the field. There are many applications for such sensor networks like habitat monitoring, object tracking, seismic detection, military surveillance, or fire detection to name a few. This investigation …

Effects Of Trait Anxiety And Cognitive Appraisals On Emotional Reactions To Psychological And Physical Stressors, Qutayba Abdullatif

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of individual differences in trait anxiety on cognitive appraisals and emotional reactions to stressful situations. Specifically, the effects of trait anxiety on the evaluation of psychological and physical threats to well-being were examined in relation to state-anxiety. To accomplish this goal, a proposed model consisting of elements from the Lazarus and Folkman Stress and Coping Model (1984) and Spielberger's State Trait distinctions is presented. To our knowledge, this is the first proposed model to attempt to combine trait anxiety, primary and secondary appraisals, and state anxiety and to utilize path analytic models in assessing empirical …

Analysis Of The Role Of Residential Segregation On Perinatal Outcomes In Florida, Georgia And Louisiana, Tabia Henry Akintobi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between residential segregation (the physical separation of Blacks and Whites in residential contexts) and adverse perinatal outcomes (low birth weight, preterm delivery and small for gestational age births) in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. The study determined the independent effect of the level of residential segregation on the likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes after controlling for contextual and individual factors. The study also assessed whether the relationship between residential segregation and adverse perinatal outcomes were moderated by ethnicity and median income.The studied employed an observational, cross-sectional study design that utilized secondary …

Interspecific Interactions Among Common Insects Of The Salt Myrtle, Baccharis Halimifolia L. (Asteraceae), Laura F. Altfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Baccharis halimifolia is host to many species of insect herbivore, including myrmecophilous aphids. Previous studies with B. halimifolia have revealed strong effects of competition by an early-feeding beetle, Trirhabda bacharidis, and nitrogen enrichment. The effects of ant mutualists, however, have not been evaluated for their potential influence on interspecific interactions among insects on the host plant. I have employed a series of experiments aimed at answering the following general questions. (1) How does the density of aphid-tending ants affect common insects on the host plant? (2) What are the relative effects of (a) competition from T. bacharidis, (b) nutrient enrichment, …

A Three Part Study On The Relationship Between Retirement Planning And Health, Linda Christine Albert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers consistently conclude that finances and health are the two most significant factors associated with retirement decision-making and a successful retirement experience. Retirement planning is one mechanism by which individuals prepare for the retirement transition; however, retirement planning routinely emphasizes financial concerns, often to the exclusion of health or other significant aspects of retirement. Retirement planning is an increasingly relevant topic at a time when the population is aging, company-sponsored pensions and retiree benefits have diminished significantly, and reform is being sought for the long-standing social programs that have provided support for generations of older Americans. From a financial perspective, …

What Is The Effect Of Retrieval Practice On Competing Associates In Cued-Recall?, Umit Akirmak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been many theories on why we forget. One of the recent approaches to this phenomenon is retrieval induced forgetting (RIF). The present study investigated RIF and different kinds of disruptions and their effects by using extra-list cued recall task. Some participants studied two additional word lists after the target list and some participants studied and were tested from these interpolated lists before their final recall of target list. Relatedness of the interfering lists was also manipulated. There were two control groups that either got an immediate test or got a math task before memory test. The particular interest …

The Relationship Between B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels And Hospital Length Of Stay And Quality Of Life In Congestive Heart Failure Patientsthe Relationship Between B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels And Hospital Length Of Stay And Quality Of Life In Congestive Heart Failure Patients, Irma B. Ancheta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on quality of life (QOL) and its relation to BNP levels in heart failure (HF) has been widely studied. However, the impact of physicians' knowledge of BNP levels at time of clinic visit on QOL and hospital length of stay (LOS) has yet to be fully investigated. The purpose of this study were to determine if physicians' knowledge of BNP levels affected a change in QOL scores at 90 days and reduce hospital length of stay among heart failure patients. QOL data from HF clinic patients (N = 108, 67.5 ± 12.3, 56% male, ejection fraction 26.5 ± …