Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Talking With Exotic Pet Owners: Exploratory Audience Research On Wildlife Television And Human-Animal Interactions, Susannah L. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative grounded study explores the potential relationship between wildlife TV viewing and human-animal interactions for exotic pet owners. The method involved 13 in-depth interviews and a qualifying open-ended questionnaire with 37 individuals. The interviews gathered viewers' interpretations of two different human-wildlife interactions on TV and served as a launching point for discussion. Findings supported the literature in that wildlife TV was an important source of information, emotion, and contradictory messages. Themes also emerged regarding participants' characterizations of their relationships with their pets. Drawing from social cognitive theory, this thesis suggests the following potential motivators for participants to model animal …

Eco_Urbanism Restitching Clearwater's Urban Fabric Through Transit And Nature, Daniel P. Uebler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Downtown Clearwater has grown to be disconnected from its surroundings due to an adjacent buffer area and the lack of a transit system to bring people into the city. The downtown core is also separated from its neighboring residential areas by an area of vacant land that holds in it the potential to become a gateway into the city. On a macro scale the city has grown to be separated from the Tampa Bay area due to the lack of a mass transit system.

The goal of this project is to create a new "new urbanism" in which transit and …

Y Cortázar Ganó Por Nocaut. Realismo Posvanguardista En La Cuentística Del Cono Sur, Alicia Carolina Mercado-Harvey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that a literary change occurred after the fall of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone, characterized by the emergence of markets that provoked a "mini-boom" in sales and, at the same time, a change of aesthetics which abandoned the allegorical models of the post-boom in favor of a realistic literature in dialogue with popular culture. This is the sign of postmodernity and globalization in Latin America, reflected in its literature, particularly in the short story writing of the Southern Cone, which has utilized the parody and pastiche of the postmodern era without the trivialization that occurred in …

Laser Remote Sensing Of Trace Chemical Species Using 10.6 Μm Co2 Laser Enhanced Breakdown Spectroscopy And Differential Absorption Lidar., Avishekh Pal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several different laser remote sensing techniques related to the detection of trace chemical species were studied. In particular, a Differential-Absorption lidar (DIAL), a Laser-Induced-Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) lidar, and a Raman lidar were studied. Several of the laser spectroscopic techniques that were used were common throughout these different studies. More precisely, 10.6 μm CO₂ laser related spectroscopy was common for the DIAL and LIBS studies, and 266 nm Nd:YAG laser related spectroscopy was used for the LIBS and Raman studies.

In the first system studied a tunable CO₂ DIAL system was developed for the first time to our knowledge …

Beyond Risk Factors: The Theoretical Contextualization Of Illicit Adhd Medication Use Among High School Students, William Christopher Watkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prescription ADHD medication has been shown to be on the rise as a drug of abuse among young people. Unlike other drugs that serve only the purpose of achieving a high, this particular substance can also be perceived as useful and beneficial by those who abuse it. It is these positive attributes given to the illicit use of these drugs that make them so dangerous, especially in the hands of youths. To date extant research has made little effort to contextualize this type of drug use within theories of deviance. This study looks to fill that void as well as …

Public Perceptions Of The Separation Of Church And State, Donald Foster

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the scholarly work in the area of the separation of church and state in America has centered on such lofty goals as examining the Constitution of the United States and voluminous court documents. Others meticulously scrutinize every word ever uttered by the founding fathers on the subject. During the last two decades, there has been a considerable increase in the debate concerning the separation of church and state. The religious right has become determined to infuse our governmental institutions with a decidedly more religious tone, while the religious left prefers the separation of church and state as it …

Chemical Mechanical Planarization: Study Of Conditioner Abrasives And Synthesis Of Nano-Zirconia For Potential Slurry Applications, Chhavi Manocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) has emerged as the central technology for polishing wafers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to make integrated multi-level devices. As the name suggests, both chemical and mechanical processes work simultaneously to achieve local and global planarization. In spite of extensive work done to understand the various components and parameters affecting the performance of this process, many aspects of CMP remain poorly understood. Among these aspects of CMP is the role of abrasives in the processes of conditioning and polishing. These abrasives are present in the chemical slurry between the wafer and the pad for polishing and …

High-Level Synthesis Framework For Crosstalk Minimization In Vlsi Asics, Hariharan Sankaran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Capacitive crosstalk noise can affect the delay of a switching signal or induce a glitch on a static signal causing timing violations or chip failure. Crosstalk noise depends on coupling parasitics, driver strength, signal timing characteristics, and signal transition patterns. Layout level crosstalk analysis techniques are generally pessimistic and computationally expensive for large designs due to lack of design flexibility at lower-levels of design hierarchy. The architectural decisions such as type of interconnect architecture, number of storage and execution units, network of communicating units, data bus width, etc., have a major impact on the quality of design attributes such as …

Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of The Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Assessment Tool, Cindy S. Tofthagen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of several chemotherapy drugs used for the treatment of many common malignancies. CIPN is both under-assessed and underreported and few self-report tools exist that measure CIPN. Existing instruments do not evaluate all of the multi-dimensional characteristics of neuropathic symptoms; intensity, distress, timing, and characteristics. The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a new self - report tool for CIPN, the Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Assessment Tool (CIPNAT). Interviews with 15 patients with known CIPN guided development of the CIPNAT.

The CIPNAT is a 69 …

Reconstructions: The Contemporary Southern Landscape By Its Photographers, Natalie Kersey Gillis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the work of landscape photographers living and working in the Southern region of the United States and to explore what their images visually communicate about their relationship to the Southern land and its distinctive history. This objective is accomplished through an analysis of the work of three contemporary landscape photographers who reside in the South, and work primarily within their local hometowns.

This thesis examines the work of photographers William Christenberry, Sally Mann, and John McWilliams. Each is a photographer who is native to the American South and has used his or …

Protecting The Self: An Ethnographic Study Of Emotion Management Among Child Protective Investigators, Aaron Christopher Howell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The question that I investigate here is what emotion work is performed by child protective investigators in order to be successful at their work, and how do they manage these emotional challenges within a community of their peers? Many different workers, from airline employees (Hochschild, 1983) to mortuary science students (Cahill, 1999) to 911 operators (Shuler & Sypher, 2000), have been studied to examine strategies and effects of emotion management. Yet scholars do not agree on whether emotion management at work is positive or negative.

For my research, I conducted interviews with ten investigators and observed a night unit of …

Developments Toward A Micro Bistable Aerial Platform: Analysis Of The Quadrantal Bistable Mechanism, Aaron A. Muñoz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bistable Aerial Platform (BAP) has been developed in order to further enlarge the repertoire of devices available at the microscale. This novel device functions as a switch in that its platform can lock in two positions, up or down. Herein, it will be examined and explained, but a true understanding of its workings requires a better understanding of its compliant constituent parts. The Helico-Kinematic Platform (HKP), which serves as an actuator for the BAP, is currently under investigation by another researcher and will be merely touched upon here. The focus, therefore, will rest on the analysis of the Quadrantal …

Sequential Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata Design And Analysis Using Dynamic Bayesian Networks, Praveen Venkataramani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increasing need for low power and stunningly fast devices in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Very large Scale Integration (CMOS VLSI) circuits, directs the stream towards scaling of the same. However scaling at sub-micro level and nano level pose quantum mechanical effects and thereby limits further scaling of CMOS circuits. Researchers look into new aspects in nano regime that could effectively resolve this quandary. One such technology that looks promising at nano-level is the quantum dot cellular automata (QCA). The basic operation of QCA is based on transfer of charge rather than the electrons itself. The wave nature of these …

Thin Film Metal-Insulator-Metal Tunnel Junctions For Millimeter Wave Detection, Subramanian Krishnan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millimeter wave imaging systems are the next generation imaging systems being developed for security and surveillance purposes. In this work, thin film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel junction based detector using Ni-NiO-Cr has been developed for the first time for millimeter wave detection operating at 94 GHz. Extensive process development has been carried out to fabricate the MIM junctions. Arrays of MIM junctions with 1 µm² contact area and ultra-thin insulator layer of ~3 nanometer have been developed using e-beam lithography and reactive sputtering, respectively. MIM diodes were also fabricated in a bulk-micromachined diaphragm configuration to minimize surface wave loss.

DC and …

Resting Oxygen Consumption Rates In Divers Using Diver Propulsion Devices, Adam J. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Marine Corps Systems Command documented mission requirements that cannot be met by current rebreathers. They need to extend dive times without compromising the stealth and compact design of existing devices. This can be accomplished by reducing the fresh gas flow rate. The current flow rate is adequate to support a diver in heavy work. However, the diver will be utilizing a Diver Propulsion Device (DPD) during a large portion of the mission in question. The assumption, then, is that this portion of the mission will not require "hard work". Thus, a new fresh gas flow rate can be established …

Involvement Of Mesolimbic D2 Receptors And Accumbal Dopamine Levels In The Reinstatement Of Cocaine Place Preferences In Developing Rats, Kimberly A. Badanich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Psychostimulant-induced reinstatement of place preferences have been used to investigate underlying physiological mechanisms mediating drug-seeking behavior in adolescent and adult rodents; however, it is still unclear how psychostimulant exposure during adolescence affects neuronal communication in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway and whether these changes would elicit enhanced drug-seeking behavior later in adulthood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of intra-ventral tegmental area (VTA) or intra-nucleus accumbens septi (NAcc) DA D2 receptor antagonist infusions on cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine place conditioning in high and low responders for cocaine reward. Adolescent rats were exposed to cocaine place …

The Process Of Change Experienced By Pre-Service And In-Service Social Studies Teachers In An Online Content Area Reading Course, Aimee L. Alexander-Shea

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and subsequent high-stakes tests, including the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), literacy has become top priority in the field of education (Florida Department of Education [FDOE], no date a; NCLB, 2002). Though social studies was not mentioned in NCLB, nor is it tested by the FCAT, social studies teachers are expected to teach literacy skills in their classrooms. Social studies teachers' accountability for literacy enhancement is evidenced by the fact that some states, including Florida, now require social studies teachers to complete a course in reading integration to …

Nanomanufacturing Of Silica Nanowires: Synthesis, Characterization And Applications, Praveen Kumar Sekhar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this research, selective and bottom-up manufacturing of silica nanowires on silicon (Si) and its applications has been investigated. Localized synthesis of these nanowires on Si was achieved by metal thin film catalysis and metal ion implantation based seeding approach. The growth mechanism of the nanowires followed a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. Mass manufacturing aspects such as growth rate, re-usability of the substrate and experimental growth model were also investigated. Further, silica nanowires were explored as surface enhanced Raman (SER) substrate and immunoassay templates towards optical and electrochemical detection of cancer biomarkers respectively. Investigating their use in photonic applications, optically active …

Supervision In School Psychology: Assessing The Relationship With Professional Practices, Vicki Dumois Papaemaneul

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between the occurrence of reported supervision and the professional practices of school psychologists. Information provided by more than 1,700 school psychologists in response to the National Association of School Psychologists: Demographic and Professional Practices Survey 1999-2000 School Year - NASP-DPPS 2000 survey were used to create the 1999-2000 national database (Curtis, et al., 2000) and served as the basis for secondary analyses in the current study. The NASPDPPS 2000 collected information regarding the demographic characteristics, employment conditions and professional practices of school psychologists the United States.

Correlational and multiple regression analyses were completed to …

Compliant Prosthetic Knee Extension Aid: A Finite Elements Analysis Investigation Of Proprioceptive Feedback During The Swing Phase Of Ambulation, Adam Daniel Roetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compliant mechanisms offer several design advantages which may be exploited in prosthetic joint research and development: they are light-weight, have low cost, are easy to manufacture, have high-reliability, and have the ability to be designed for displacement loads. Designing a mechanism to perform optimally under displacement rather than force loading allows underlying characteristics of the swing phase of gait, such as the maximum heel rise and terminal swing to be developed into a prosthetic knee joint. The objective of this thesis was to develop a mechanical add-on compliant link to an existing prosthetic knee which would perform to optimal standards …

Investigation And Evaluation Of A Bi-Polar Membrane Based Seawater Concentration Cell And Its Suitability As A Low Power Energy Source For Energy Harvesting/Mems Devices, Clifford Ronald Merz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has long been known from Thermodynamics and written in technical literature that, in principal, instant energy can be made available when dilute and concentrated solutions are mixed. For example, a river flowing into the sea carries with it a physical-chemical potential energy in its low salt content, some of which should be recoverable. As also known, a naturally occurring, diffusion-driven, spontaneous transport of ions occurs throughout a solution matrix, thru barrier interfaces, or thru ion-selective membranes from the side containing the salts of higher concentration to the compartments containing the more dilute solution to effect the equalization of concentration …

Evaluation Of The Public Health Risks Associated With Former Manufactured Gas Plants, Robin Brewer Dehate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Regulatory agencies have recently focused on assessing the potential for soil vapor intrusion (SVI) and risk posed to occupants of residential and commercial properties overlying and surrounding former Manufactured Gas Plants (MGPs). This study evaluated the potential for SVI at 10 commercial buildings and 26 single family and multi-family residential properties overlying and/or adjacent to three former MGPs. The potential for SVI exposure was categorized into three groupings according to thickness of the vadose zones: no vadose zone; 0 - 6 feet thick, and 6 to 25 feet thick. Indoor and outdoor air and soil vapor samples were collected and …

Theoretical Modeling Of Cortisol Sensor, Milorad Gordic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the theoretical modeling of a response of an electrochemical BioMEMS sensor for detecting small amounts of cortisol hormone. The electrochemical sensor utilizes a catalyst enzyme (3a-HSD) to convert cortisone to cortisol and the Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) as a preferred method to measure the forward and reverse current of the system. The parameters and equations necessary to estimate the Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) theoretical response are determined and outlined. The response is modeled and the results are compared to the experimental data. Further, the design of the sensor is analyzed and suggestions are made on how to …

Gender, Sport & Nationalism: The Cases Of Canada And India, Courtney Glass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to explore the gendered nature of nationalisms and the ways that they can be challenged and perhaps transformed through the participation of women in sport at the national level. Nationalism is part of the public sphere, while women have historically been relegated to the private sphere. However, many scholars argue that women do in fact taken part in nation building primarily as biological reproducers of the nation. This has led scholars to conclude that nationalism is indeed gendered. Sport has traditionally been a masculine domain where conceptions of hegemonic masculinity as well as the nation are developed …

The Social Context Of Stress And Social Support Among Immigrant Latinas Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Dinorah Martinez Tyson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social support plays a crucial role in both the physical and mental adjustment to the diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment. However, the mediating effects of social support are embedded within the larger, social and cultural contexts in which support given and received. Due to language, culture and economic issues, immigrants may find themselves without the social support and networks that had previously enabled them to cope with illness and disease. This research grounds our understanding of social support and breast cancer within that larger context that includes the social environment and the experience of health disparities.

Ethnographic methods …

Temperature And Interconnect Aware Unified Physical And High Level Synthesis, Vyas Krishnan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aggressive scaling of nanoscale CMOS integrated circuits has created significant design challenges arising from increasing power densities, thermal concerns, and rising wire delays. The main contribution of this dissertation is the development of unified physical and high-level synthesis techniques for the design of ASICs with optimal chip temperatures and interconnect delays.

Thermal issues are becoming a serious problem in high-performance VLSI circuits, adversely impacting performance, reliability, power consumption, and cooling costs. To address this, we present a temperature-aware behavioral synthesis (TABS) framework that combines power minimization with temperature-aware task scheduling, resource binding, and floorplanning. Compared to conventional low-power synthesis methods, …

Vectors Of Brevetoxins To Marine Mammals, Leanne J. Flewelling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mass mortalities of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been attributed to brevetoxins produced by the Florida red tide dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. The multiple routes through which marine mammals can be exposed to brevetoxins have complicated efforts to understand the mechanisms that lead to mass mortality events. In spring of 2002, 34 endangered Florida manatees died in southwest Florida, and in spring of 2004, 107 bottlenose dolphins died in the Florida Panhandle. These events provided unique opportunities to make clear connections between ingested brevetoxins and marine mammal mortalities without the …

Development Of A Software-Defined Integrated Circuit Test System Using A System Engineering Approach On A Pxi Platform, Alfonso S. Flores

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are various types of test performed on Integrated Circuits, (IC), for detecting and locating defects and faults during failure analysis. Functional, logic, parametric and I_DDQ tests are among the most common. Functional IC tests are designed to verify whether the IC performs its intended function. Logic tests verify the logic operation of gates and registers. AC and DC parametric tests are used to measure time, voltage and current-varying parameters associated with the operational limits of the IC. Test parameters in parametric testing include, among others, propagation delay, operating current and signals rise and fall time.

Currently, almost all …

Seepage Rates In Closed Basins, Volha Martysevich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Seepage is an important component of the water budget in closed basins that do not have surface water drainage features. In the shallow water table environment of Florida, internal drainage of soil controls flooding. With the recent rapid population growth and urban development in the state, a simple, field-based method is needed to estimate seepage rates. In this study five locations in Hillsborough County, Florida, were instrumented with wells with pressure transducers measuring water level fluctuations at 1 minute resolution. For closed basins with lakes, evaporation (E) rates were determined using data from a weather station and Penman-Monteith FAO56 method, …

Modeling And Growth Of The 3c-Sic Heteroepitaxial System Via Chloride Chemistry, Meralys Reyes-Natal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation study describes the development of novel heteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC layers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). It was hypothesized that chloride addition to the "traditional" propane-silane-hydrogen precursors system will enhance the deposition growth rate and improve the material quality via reduced defect density. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were performed to obtain a criterion for which chloride specie to select for experimentation. This included the chlorocarbons, chlorosilanes, and hydrogen chloride (HCl) chloride containing groups. This study revealed no difference in the most dominant species present in the equilibrium composition mixture between the groups considered. Therefore, HCl was the chloride specie …