Arts and Humanities Commons^™

How U.S. Audiences View Korean Films: A Case Study Of Oldboy, Sung Taik Cha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior studies have shown that the information and cultural product flow is dominantly one direction from large/wealthy markets to smaller markets. Extending this position through the underlying research, it is expected that the audiences in the United States, one of the largest cultural product exporters, may have shaped certain perceptions on the scarcity of Korean films in their domestic film market. By studying the users in an internet film discussion community, this research aims to provide useful ideas about how American audiences perceive Korean films. This qualitative case study conducted a content analysis of the actual postings by the participants …

Genetic Algorithm Based Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Floorplanning For Vlsi Asics, Pradeep R. Fernando

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dramatic improvements in circuit integration technologies have resulted in a huge increase in the complexity of circuits that can be fabricated on a single integrated circuit(IC). The significance of the performance and reliability issues of interconnects has increased greatly demanding radically different solutions such a Three-Dimensional ICs are an elegant solution to the interconnect and device density issues in the current and future technology generations as they provide an additional dimension for packing the devices. This results in a direct reduction in the chip package area and the total wiring required to complete all the interconnections. More importantly, the number …

Bel-Imperia: The (Early) Modern Woman In Thomas Kyd’S Spanish Tragedy, Ann Mccauley Basso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the heart of Thomas Kyd's revenge tragedy The Spanish Tragedy lies an arranged marriage around which all of the other action revolves. Bel-Imperia of Spain has been betrothed against her will to Prince Balthazar of Portugal, but she is no ordinary woman, and she has plans of her own. Bel-Imperia's unwillingness to participate in the arranged marriage is indicative of the rise of the companionate marriage; it represents a rejection of the arranged marriage that dominated upper class society in earlier years.

This study seeks to throw light upon early modern attitudes towards marriage, focusing particularly on the arranged …

Intelligent Design And Evolutionary Theory: Legal Battles And Classroom Relevance For School Leadership, Larry R. Plank

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evolutionary theory in the scientific curricula of public education has been scrutinized by religious societies for the better part of a century around the globe. Although Darwin’s explanation of the mechanism of evolution—the process of natural selection—is widely accepted by scientists in the United States and other industrialized nations, the U.S. has lagged behind these other countries in accepting evolutionary theory in public school curricula. The debate of what to include in textbooks and classroom lessons is one of America’s most controversial issues. The creationist worldview of life’s origins has been incorporated into science curriculum as a direct challenge to …

The Effect Of Computer-Delivered Phonological Awareness Training On The Early Literacy Skills Of Students Identified As At-Risk For Reading Failure, Deanne Gale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the effects of two computer-delivered phonological awareness training programs (Earobics Step 1 and Lexia Early Reading) on the early literacy skills of kindergarten and first grade students at risk for reading failure. The study utilized a multi-group pretest-treatment-posttest design. Student participants, who were identified for the study through a school-wide screening, were randomly assigned to one of three groups (i.e., Earobics, Lexia Early Reading, or control), and their progress was monitored throughout a five-week intervention period. Results using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to examine differences in adjusted mean post-test scores indicated that the Earobics program …

Stress, Coping, And Their Prediction Of Mental Health Outcomes In International Baccalaureate High School Students, Robin B. Hardesty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the mental health of high school students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) High School Diploma Program (n =139) in a large, southeastern high school. Mental health was assessed using both positive indicators (life satisfaction, academic achievement, academic self-efficacy) and negative indicators (psychopathology) indicators of adolescent social-emotional and school functioning. Findings from this study include that IB students perceive more stress than their general education peers, yet maintain mental health that is equivalent or superior to that of their general education peers. The role of coping in predicting mental health outcomes in IB students was also investigated. …

Blood Lead Concentrations In The Cat Population Of Tampa, Florida, Liesl M. Wiesen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Where lead pollutes urban soils, both human and animals risk exposure. This exposure gives rise to similar health risks across species. A group of 50 outdoor living cats from inner city Tampa, Florida were tested for blood lead concentration (BLC). Most cats had no measurable lead loads, 14 percent had levels less than or equal to 6 micrograms per decaliter. Soil samples were taken from the home location of each cat. None of these samples, which ranged from 2.6 microgram per gram to 170 micrograms per gram, had hazardous levels of lead. Overall, BLCs were lower than expected. In addition, …

A Modular Onboard Processing System For Small Unmanned Vehicles, Richard D. Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work describes the design and implementation of a generic lightweight onboard processing system for miniature Unmanned Vehicles (UVs) that is computationally powerful and highly adaptable. First, several classical approaches to giant scale and full size UV onboard processing systems are described along with their corresponding limitations. Second, a detailed study is presented that describes the key characteristics of an onboard system along with associated limitations. Next, an implementation of a generic onboard system capable of vision processing and servo based control is presented along with detailed hardware specifications and implementation software. Last, experimental data, both laboratory and field, are …

Altered States Of Reality: The Theme Of Twinning In David Lynch's Lost Highway, Alan Edward Green Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a postmodern director, David Lynch makes films which are innovative, evocative, and uniquely his own. The theme of twinning, in particular, is recapitulated throughout the director's oeuvre; however, it is with Lost Highway that the thematic element he addresses takes center stage. The film's main character Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is unable to cope with the trauma in his life. After killing his wife and finding himself on death row, he has a parallel identity crisis; he manages a metamorphosis into a younger, virile Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty). The method which allows this transformation is the psychogenic fugue: a …

Sub-Centennial Scale Climatic And Hydrologic Variability In The Gulf Of Mexico During The Early Holocene, Jenna Meredith Lodico

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sediment core MD02-2550 from Orca Basin located in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) provides a high-resolution early Holocene record of climatic and hydrologic changes from ~10.5 to 7 thousand calendar years before present (ka). Paired analyses of Mg/Ca and δ18O on the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (white variety, 250-355 µm) sampled at ~ 20 year resolution were used to generate proxy records of sea surface temperature (SST) and the δ18O of seawater in the GOM (δ18OGOM). The Mg/Ca-SST record contains an overall ~1.5 °C warming trend from 10.5 to 7 ka that appears to track the intensity of the …

Path Dependencies And Unintended Consequences: A Case Study Of Britain's Entry Into The European Community, Justin P. Schrefer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to determine how Britain’s governance and sovereignty have changed since 1950, I developed a historical case study tracing Britain’s political and economic integration into the E.U. starting from the early post-World War II governments through the end of the Thatcher administration. This study uses Historical Institutionalism, which seeks to explain how changes in governance and state sovereignty come about outside of state control, as a ‘testing’ theory to determine whether Britain’s governance and sovereignty have changed since 1950. The hypothesis of this case study is: Did the past decisions on E.C. integration, made by Britain’s government officials and …

A New Type Of Insurgency? A Case Study Of The Resistance In Iraq, Stephen D. Curtas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Insurgency is considered to be the principal form of conflict in the world today. Since the end of WWII, large-scale conventional war between states has been minimal. In Iraq, a band of insurgents are attempting to defy the strongest power in the world. This insurgency in Iraq may be the beginning of a new phenomenon of insurgency conflict.

This thesis argues that the Iraqi insurgency has no center of gravity, with no clear apparent leader or leadership. As seen in other examples of insurgency throughout history, no leadership has emerged in response to any of the conditions present in Iraq. …

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 …