Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Influence Of Local Rivers On The Eastern Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, Laura Lorenzoni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two oceanographic cruises were conducted during September 2003 and March 2004 in the eastern half of the Cariaco Basin. Specific objectives were to examine the hydrography of the seasonal upwelling plume characteristic of this region, the spatial distribution of particles in the area, and to help determine the source and relative importance of in situ particle production vs. terrigenous particles delivered laterally from the coast.

During September 2003, average surface salinities within the basin were higher (36.6) relative to Caribbean Sea waters outside the basin (35.6). Salinity patterns indicated that the Orinoco and Amazon River plumes did not enter or …

Two Models Of Consensus, Sudarsan Padmanabhan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation titled Two Models of Consensus is based on five arguments. 1. Consensus is asymmetrical. 2. Consensus is partial or limited unanimity. 3. Consensus and democracy do have a concomitant relation. 4. Consensus is not organic to political systems. 5. Consensus depends upon civil society, subsidiarity, and the dominant cultural paradigm of society.

In the first chapter titled "Historical Specificity of the Western Conception of Civil Society" I argue that concept of civil society evolved under certain conditions in a liberal democratic tradition such as shared social imaginaries. As an example of how diversity could lead to hypostatization of …

Teaching Inclusivity: Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Knowledge, Skills And Attitudes Toward Working With English Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms, Philip C. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of one semester of ESOL education on preservice teachers by examining their perceived knowledge and skill in working with English Language Learner (ELL) students, their attitude toward having ELL students in their mainstream classrooms, and what classroom methods they perceive as effective in their ESOL preservice education courses.

Data for this study were collected from pre- and post-course attitudinal surveys during one semester of course work, from participants at two specific points in their educational experience; participants in the (1) introductory and (2) final TESOL course.

There were 293 participants who took the pre-, and …

Strategies For Incident Management In An Urban Street Network, Vikramaditya Bhide

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this research the problem of incident congestion on surface street networks is addressed. Microscopic simulation is used to simulate incident scenarios on various corridors in the Tampa Bay area. The effect of the three factors, namely, network, speed and signal strategies on the traffic flow is studied. The network performance is based on Highway Capacity Manual specified measures of effectiveness prepared by the Transportation Research Board.

Three inherently different city corridors, high, medium and low volume, are used to test the strategies developed. The strategies investigated include varying speed limits during incidents and using pre-timed and semi-actuated signals that …

A Security Constrained Ac Economic Dispatch Framework For Allocation Of Balanced And Unbalanced Financial Transmission Rights, Balaji Rajan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a deregulated power market financial transmission rights (FTR) serve as a mechanism for protecting market participants from price variation resulting from network congestion. Possession of FTRs allows participants to recover congestion related losses resulting from unequal locational marginal prices that arise from out of merit dispatch. There exists different strategies for allocating FTR which are in use in the deregulated market. Designing a comprehensive framework for market specific FTR allocation that includes factors like unbalanced FTR, FTR for losses and AC-OPF is currently a major research issue in the deregulated power industry.

This thesis develops a method for allocation …

An Automatic Code Generation Tool For Partitioned Software In Distributed Computing, Neeta S. Singh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a large class of distributed embedded systems, most of the code generation models in use today target at object-oriented applications. Distributed computing using procedural language applications is challenging because there are no compatible code generators to test the partitioned programs mapped on to the multi-processor system. In this thesis, we design a code generator to produce procedural language code for a distributed embedded system. Unpartitioned programs along with the partition primitives are converted into independently executable concrete implementations. The process consists of two steps, first translating the primitives of the unpartitioned program into equivalent code clusters, and then scheduling …

Design And Fabrication Of A Re-Configurable Micromirror Array For An Optical Microspectrometer, Vandana Upadhyay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design and fabrication of a re-configurable micromirror array which can be used as a component of an optical microspectrometer. In an optical microspectrometer, an array of mechanically positionable micromirrors can be implemented as a reconfigurable exit slit to selectively focus particular wavelengths of a diffracted spectrum onto the detector stage. The signal to noise ratio and response time of an optical microspectrometer can be vastly improved by this technique.

In the approach presented here, a hybrid bulk- and surface- micromachining process is demonstrated for fabrication of a 1XN array of micromirrors. The reconfigurable micromirrors presented here …

Lysogeny: Practical Applications And New Discoveries., Lauren Mcdaniel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Part 1:

Prophage induction has been demonstrated to be a sensitive indicator for a wide variety of toxic and mutagenic compounds and, as a consequence, has been utilized for biologically based carcinogen screenings. Fourteen marine bacterial isolates were screened for development into the Marine Prophage Induction Assay (MPIA), for marine samples. The selected isolate (P99-4S3) was identified by 16S rDNA sequencing as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This isolate demonstrated a log-linear response to increasing dose of mutagens, and sensitivity to known environmental contaminants. Field-testing of the assay over two years demonstrated the MPIA would be a useful screening tool for environmental …

Usfkad: An Expert System For Partial Differential Equations, Sami M. Kadamani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

USFKAD is an encoded expert system for the eigenfunction expansion of solutions to the wave, diffusion, and Laplace equations: both homogeneous and nonhomogenous; one, two, or three dimensions; Cartesian, cylindrical, or spherical coordinates; Dirichlet, Neumann, Robin, or singular boundary conditions; in time, frequency, or Laplace domain. The user follows a menu to enter his/her choices and the output is a LaTeX file containing the formula for the solution together with the transcendental equation for the eigenvalues (if necessary) and the projection formulas for the coefficients. The file is suitable for insertion into a book or journal article, and as a …

Improving Accuracy In Logarithmic Multiplication Using Operand Decomposition, Mahalingam Venkataraman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The arithmetic operations such as multiplication and division in binary number system are computationally complex in terms of area, delay and power. Logarithmic Number Systems (LNS) offer a viable alternative combining the simplicity of fixed point number systems and the precision of floating point number systems. However, the computations in LNS result in some loss of accuracy and thus, are limited to mostly signal processing applications; where in certain amount of error is tolerable. In LNS, the cost of computations can be tradeoff with the level of accuracy needed. The Mitchell algorithm proposed incite[mitchell], is a simple approach commonly used …

The Effects Of Interracial Interaction On Behavior As A Function Of Prejudice And Race, Jason R. Read

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a series of two experiments, the first involving 121 participants and the second 114, I investigated whether level of racial prejudice is related to performance on a cognitive task and helping behavior in participants who had just interacted with the target of their prejudice. The moderating effect of control was tested and, unlike previous research, the responses of African-American participants were studied too. It was proposed that when people interact with the target of their prejudice, they will experience stress and the aftereffects of stress will lead to a decrement in Stroop task performance and a lower likelihood of …

The Effects Of A School-Based Social Skills Training Program On Children With Adhd: Generalization To The School Setting, Tricia C. Rudolph

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is given when a child exhibits developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. In addition to academic and behavior problems, these children often have significant social problems. Since social problems are associated with a greater risk for developing problems later in life, a number of interventions have been attempted to normalize the social interactions of children with ADHD. These have included stimulant medication, cognitive-behavioral interventions, behavior modification, and social skills training. Additionally, attempts have been made to maximize the benefits of these interventions by combining them. Typically this involves combining stimulant medication with one …

Analysis Of The Impact Of The Location Of A Window Type Air-Conditioner On Thermal Comfort In An Office Room, Hamza Begdouri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study considers airflow simulations to evaluate the impact of different window air-conditioner locations on the thermal comfort in an office room (OR). This thesis compares the air distribution for an office room by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to previously studied rooms. The air distribution was modeled on a typical office room window air conditioning unit, air supply from a high pressure on the top and the low pressure exhaust on the bottom considering the existing manufacturing ratios for surface areas. The discharge angle for the supply grill of the AC unit was varied from 20 to 40 …

The Effects Of Moisture On Thin Film Delamination And Adhesion, Patrick Waters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant drops in adhesion have been measured for copper and diamond like carbon (DLC) films with the introduction of water at the film/substrate interface. A 1 thick tungsten superlayer with high compressive residual stress was deposited on the films of interest to help induce interfacial debonding by indentation. Modifications were made to the superlayer indentation technique to introduce water at the interface while performing indents. Film adhesion dropped by a factor of 10 to 20 for the copper films and 50 to 60 for the DLC films. The reduction in adhesion is believed to be caused by a combination of …

A Phylogenetic Approach For The Study Of Variation And Determination Of Population Affiliation Of Indigent Human Skeletal Remains, Hattie Bea Wetherington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has played a major role in human population studies over the past decade due to its maternal inheritance and negligible recombination (Macaulay, 1999). The mtDNA control region has been the focus of these studies due to the highly polymorphic nature of this non-coding region. Forensic scientists also use mtDNA to help determine the identity of missing individuals when nuclear DNA is not present. However, when skeletal remains are unclaimed, identification becomes near impossible. Therefore, mtDNA can play a valuable role in identification in terms of population affiliation, especially in conjunction with morphological analysis.

The goals of this …

Low Loss Rf/Millimeter-Wave Mems Phase Shifters, Balaji Lakshminarayanan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A true time delay multi-bit MEMS phase shifter topology based on impedance-matched slow-wave CPW sections on a 500µm thick quartz substrate is presented. Design equations based on the approximate model for a distributed line is derived and used in optimization of the unit cell parameters. A semi-lumped model for the unit cell is derived and its equivalent circuit parameters are extracted from measurement and EM simulation data. This unit cell model can be cascaded to accurately predict N-section phase shifter performance. Experimental data for a 4.6mm long 4-bit device shows a maximum phase error of 5.5° and S₁₁ less …

Auction Performance Evaluation In Deregulated Electricity Markets, Vishnuteja Nanduri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a deregulated electricity market, auction serves as a primary pricing tool in various segments of the market including day-ahead, real time, ancillary services markets, and Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs) market. Deregulated power markets around the world use different auction strategies that exist in the literature, since very little comparative guidelines exist as to the relative merits of these strategies. In this thesis, a computational methodology and its solution framework are developed to evaluate the impact of an auction strategy on the equilibrium prices in a constrained network with multiple generators at nodes, and where transactions are settled using the …

Generation Of Carbon Dioxide And Mobilization Of Antimony Trioxide By Fungal Decomposition Of Building Materials, John D. Krause

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fungal contamination of buildings poses numerous challenges to researchers, building owners and occupants. Public health agencies promote prevention and remediation of mold and water damage, but lack sensitive methods to detect hidden mold growth and a complete understanding of the biological mechanisms that make occupying moldy buildings a hazard. The wide spread use of the fire retardant antimony trioxide (Sb₂O₃) on building materials and furnishings makes it inevitable that mold growth on treated materials will occur in some buildings with water damage. Several authors have speculation that microbial growth on materials treated with antimony trioxide could …

Integrated Scheduling And Information Support System For Transit Maintenance Departments, Paula Andrea Lopez Alvarado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The projected increase of population in the United States and particularly in the state of Florida shows a clear need of improvement in mass transportation systems. To provide outstanding service to rides, well maintained fleet that ensures safety for riders and other people on the streets is imperative.

This research presents an information support system that assists maintenance managers to review and analyze data and evaluate alternatives in order to make better decisions that maximize efficiency in operations at transportation organizations. A system that consists of a mathematical scheduling model that interacts with a forecasting model and repair time standards …

Effect Of Chromium Vi On The Production And Behavior Of Lytechinus Variegatus (Echinodermata: Echiniodea), Jennifer Rhora

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small amounts of chromium (VI) are carcinogenic in mammals. Concentrations of Cr in marine algae and seagrasses range from 0.06-7.17 /g DW and 0.1-30.6 g/g DW respectively. To test for an effect of these concentrations, production (change in organic material), righting response, feeding rates, absorption efficiency and fecal production were measured in Lytechinus variegatus from Sarasota fed prepared diets containing 0, 4.1, and 32g Cr/ g DW and individuals from Ft. DeSoto fed diets containing 0, 41 and 82g Cr/ g DW. The urchins were fed for 4-5 weeks, with weekly measurements of their feeding rates, absorption efficiency and fecal …

Seasonal And Spatial Trends Of Karenia Brevis Blooms And Associated Parameters Along The 10-Meter Isobath Of The West Florida Shelf, Elizabeth Singh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Karenia brevis is a toxic marine dinoflagellate species that blooms almost every year in the Gulf of Mexico. These blooms have had devastating effects on local economies, as well as on the fauna of the area. The ECOHAB:Florida project was founded to study the population dynamics and trophic impacts of K. brevis. The project included a series of monthly hydrographic offshore research cruises, as well as monthly surveys of a transect along the 10-meter isobath of the West Florida Shelf. This study focused on data from the alongshore transect over a three-year period (1999-2001). Physical parameters (temperature, salinity, and …

Effect Of Fiber Volume Fraction On Fracture Mechanics In Continuously Reinforced Fiber Composite Materials, Thomas Wasik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The application of advanced composite materials, such as graphite/epoxy, has been on the rise for the last four decades. The mechanical advantages, such as their higher specific stiffness and strength as compared to monolithic materials, make them attractive for aerospace and automotive applications. Despite these advantages, composites with brittle fibers have lower ductility and fracture toughness than monolithic materials.

One way to increase the fracture toughness of composites is to have a weak fiber-matrix interface that would blunt crack tips by crack deflection into the interface and hence enhance fracture toughness. However, this also reduces the transverse properties of the …

Performance Evaluation Of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks In Realistic Mobility And Fading Environments, Preetha Prabhakaran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) are wireless networks, which consist of a collection of mobile nodes with no fixed infrastructure, where each node acts as a router that participates in forwarding data packets. They are a new paradigm of wireless communications for mobile hosts that are resource-constrained with only limited energy, computing power and memory.

Previous studies on MANETs concentrated more on energy conservation in an idealistic environment without taking into consideration, the effects of realistic mobility, interference and fading. The definition of realistic mobility models is one of the most critical and, at the same time, difficult aspects of …

Partial Evaluation Based Triple Modular Redundancy For Single Event Upset Mitigation, Sujana Kakarla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present a design technique, called partial evaluation triple modular redundancy for hardening combinational circuits against Single Event Upsets (SEU). The input environment is given in terms of signal probabilities of the lines. This is useful information to determine the redundant gates of the given circuit. The basic ideas of partial redundancy and temporal triple modular redundancy are used together to harden the circuit against SEUs. The concept of partial redundancy is used to eliminate the gates whose outputs can be determined in advance. This technique fails in cases when the actual inputs to the circuit are not in accordance …

Bottom-Up And Top-Down Effects On Insects Herbivores Along A Natural Salinity Gradient In A Florida Salt Marsh, Maria Teresa Albarracin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I compared the strength of bottom- up and top-down effects on insect herbivores along a natural salinity gradient in salt marsh communities in West - Central, Florida. I used a 2x2 factorial design with plots divided into four different treatments: 1) fertilizer applied to increase plant quality 2) sticky traps added to remove natural enemies (parasitoids) 3) fertilizer applied and sticky traps added and 4) control plots. These plots were placed on 7 different sites containing the salt marsh plant Borrichia frutescens along a natural stress salinity gradient. In each plot I determined the abundance of the sap sucker Pissonotus …

An Investigation Of Tio2-Znfe2O4 Nanocomposites For Visible Light Photocatalysis, Jeremy Wade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental pollution on a global scale is expected to be the greatest problem that chemical scientists will face in the 21st century, and an increasing number of these scientists are looking to new photocatalytic systems for the solution. Existing photocatalytic systems are effective for the decomposition of many unwanted organics through the use of efficient semiconductor photocatalysts activated by ultra-violet (UV) irradiation. The demand for visible light activated photocatalytic systems is increasing rapidly. Currently, however, the efficiency and availability of photocatalysts which can be activated effectively by the solar spectrum and especially indoor lighting is severely limited.

The purpose of …

Novel Rectenna For Collection Of Infrared And Visible Radiation, Mohammad Sarehraz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the rectifying antennas potential for harvesting solar power, along with a novel design for a solar rectenna. The suns general features and the characteristics of solar radiation as an electromagnetic wave are treated in depth in order to determine the deficiencies of traditional rectennas as a solar cell. A closed form equation for a MIM rectifiers efficiency as a function of its input power was developed and verified by a simulated behavioral model and measurements. A unique calculation method was also developed to determine the available solar power at the terminal of a [lambda]/2 dipole antenna as …

Structural And Electrical Properties Of Barium Strontium Titanate Thin Films For Tunable Microwave Applications, Sriraj G. Manavalan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dependence of dielectric permittivity on the applied electric field, high dielectric constant and low cost makes barium strontium titanate (BST) a promising ferroelectric material for applications in tunable microwave devices. High tunability and low dielectric loss is desired for tunable microwave devices. The primary objective of this research was to optimize the tunability and dielectric loss of BST thin films at microwave frequencies with different deposition techniques. Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films were grown on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si, by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and sputtering. Parallel plate capacitor structures were designed using ADS and fabricated. The microstructural and phase …

Cds/Cdte Thin Film Solar Cells With Zinc Stannate Buffer Layer, Srilatha Bapanapalli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

CdS/CdTe solar cell performance and reproducibility can be improved by integrating a ZTO buffer layer, which interdiffuses into the CdS layer during device fabrication. Reducing the thickness of CdS layer improves the QE in the blue spectral region without affecting the device performance. This buffer layer is expected to prevent the formation of localized TCO/CdTe junction during high temperature processing.

The CdS/CdTe Solar Cell was modified by introducing ZTO as a buffer layer between the window layer (CdS) and the absorber layer (CdTe). Studies were performed on different varying ZTO processing parameters like (a) Zn/Sn atomic ratios during sputtering process, …

Study Of Tin Oxide For Hydrogen Gas Sensor Applications, Manoj Anand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tin oxide (SnO₂) has been investigated and used as a gas sensing material for numerous applications from the very start of the sensor industry. Most of these sensors use semiconductors (mostly SnO₂) as the sensing material.

In this work, SnO₂ was prepared using 2 techniques: firstly the MOCVD where we dope the sample with fluorine and secondly sputtering technique where samples are undoped in our case. These samples were tested at different conditions of temperature varying from room temperature to 150 degrees C, in ambient gas atmosphere of 200 CC Nitrogen (N₂).

The …