American Studies Commons^™

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On The Diversity Of Soil-Dwelling Arthropods In The University Of South Florida Ecological Research Area, Tampa, Florida, Celina Bellanceau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leaf litter samples were used to study arthropod diversity in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area. Arthropods were collected from different plots of different prescribed burn frequencies (1year, 2 year, 5 year, 7 year and no burn frequencies). Differential responses of arthropods to burn frequency were studied. It was expected that burn frequency would affect arthropod richness and diversity and that the pattern of diversity and richness would follow the Intermediated Disturbance Hypothesis. It was also expected that richness and diversity would be correlated with the amount of leaf litter present. Preliminary results suggest that there are short-term …

Evaluation Of Taqman Real-Time Pcr For The Detection Of Viable Cryptosporidium Parvum Oocysts In Environmental Water Samples, Melissa A. Cameron

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cryptosporidium parvum is of growing public health concern due to its ability to survive typical water treatment processes. In order to protect the public from infection, the Environmental Protection Agency developed Method 1623 for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in environmental water samples. Execution of this method is time consuming, and the results do not provide an accurate estimation of viability. Therefore, current research is focused on creating a real-time PCR method for the accurate detection of viable Cryptosporidium parvum in environmental water samples.

This thesis presents the development of a real-time PCR method, and the results obtained in its …

Psychopathy, Attitudinal Beliefs, And White Collar Crime, James V. Ray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Psychopathy has become a highly researched personality disorder in order to better understand criminal and violent behavior (Hare, 1993). Measures of psychopathy have proven to be useful tools in predicting outcomes of institutionalized populations by predicting future dangerousness (Hare, 1999). While several experts in the field of psychopathy allude to the idea of the successful psychopath and their presence in the corporate world (Hare, 1993; Babiak & Hare, 2006), very little research has been done in this area. The current study builds upon the small amount of empirical research by testing hypotheses regarding the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and …

Palabra Inédita Género, Raza, E Identidad: Estrategias De La Memoria Cultural En La Poesía De Georgina Herrera, Nancy Morejón, Y Excilia Saldaña, Lissette Corsa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

En esta tesis analizaré en la poesía de Georgina Herrera, Nancy Morejón y Excilia

Saldaña

1 los conceptos de género y raza y cómo han sido apropiados del esquema

patriarcal y redefinidos en la elaboración de identidad y nación a través de lo que Flora

González Mandri y Catherine Davies han llamado la memoria cultural.

Mi propósito es demostrar como dichas poetas han subvertido, a través de la

palabra, un discurso historicamente maniqueísta que ha servido para reafirmar la doble

subyugación de raza y género, como también exploro los resortes de auto-inscripción y el

imaginario mítico-cultural que cada poeta emplea …

Journalism 2.0: How To Survive And Thrive, Mark Briggs

Textbooks Collection

This handbook introduces journalists to the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the digital environment. The content is practical, not conceptual, and readers will be able to perform skills the same day they read about them. The handbook is organized to focus on on discipline at a time, and guides users along the way, breaking down each skill and technology into digestible lessons that will be immediately usable.

Channel, Spectrum, And Waveform Awareness In Ofdm-Based Cognitive Radio Systems, Tevfik Yücek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The radio spectrum is becoming increasingly congested everyday with emerging technologies and with the increasing number of wireless devices. Considering the limited bandwidth availability, accommodating the demand for higher capacity and data rates is a challenging task, requiring innovative technologies that can offer new ways of exploiting the available radio spectrum. Cognitive radio arises to be a tempting solution to the spectral crowding problem by introducing the notion of opportunistic spectrum usage. Because of its attractive features, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been successfully used in numerous wireless standards and technologies. We believe that OFDM will play an important …

Highbrow: A Context Enabled Highlighting Browser, Ronald J. Zucker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the World Wide Web continues to grow, more and more information is retrieved online. A person visiting a Web site has a choice of whether to skip, skim, deep read, bookmark for later revisiting, print a document, or any combination of these options. Recently, several tools have been developed to allow users to digitally annotate Web documents. These tools allow users to highlight, make text notes, and scrape information (a form of copy and paste). This dissertation introduces a new form of annotating, called context highlighting. Context highlighting is the ability to mark the text that surrounds keywords or …

Sulk Localization And Topology Control In Large Scale Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks, Rui Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) continue to evolve as new applications emerge. In the recent past, WSNs were mostly single sink networks with a few number of homogeneous and static sensor nodes. Now, several applications require networks with multiple and moving sinks and targets as well as thousands of heterogeneous devices. However, the same constraints remain: sensor nodes continue to be very limited in resources, posing new challenges in the design of scalable and energy-efficient algorithms and communication protocols to support these new applications. This dissertation first addresses the problem of sink localization in large scale WSNs. A scalable and energy-efficient …

Community Context And Health Disparities Among Older Adults, Helen M. Zayac

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities in the U.S. continue to face conditions of residential and educational segregation, lower socioeconomic status, and higher rates of mortality than whites. Better theory-based research that uses community and individual level factors to explain how health disparities are created and perpetuated is needed. The Community Context and Health Disparities Model, which extends the work of Schulz and Northridge (2004) with elements described by Williams and Collins (2001), is described. This framework identifies the pathways by which characteristics of the physical, built, social, economic, and healthcare environments impact health and are mediated by individual traits. …

Learning From Biometric Distances: Performance And Security Related Issues In Face Recognition Systems, Pranab Mohanty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We present a theory for constructing linear, black box approximations to face recognition algorithms and empirically demonstrate that a surprisingly diverse set of face recognition approaches can be approximated well using a linear model. The construction of the linear model to a face recognition algorithm involves embedding of a training set of face images constrained by the distances between them, as computed by the face recognition algorithm being approximated. We accomplish this embedding by iterative majorization, initialized by classical multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). We empirically demonstrate the adequacy of the linear model using six face recognition algorithms, spanning both template based …

Measurement Equivalence Of The Center For Epidemiological Depression Scale In Racially/Ethnically Diverse Older Adults, Giyeon Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation study was designed to examine measurement equivalence of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale across White, African American, and Mexican American elders. Specific aims were to identify race/ethnicity-, sociodemographic-, and acculturation and instrument language-related measurement bias in the CES-D. Three studies were conducted in this dissertation to accomplish these aims. Two existing national datasets were used: the New Haven Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) for the White and African American samples and the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) for the Mexican-American sample. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses …

Implementation Of Unmanned Vehicle Control On Fpga Based Platform Using System Generator, Shashikala Narasimha Murthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to explore a new and improved software development tool for the implementation of control algorithms on Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). The Simulink plug in, System Generator, complements traditional Hardware Description Language (HDL) by providing a higher level graphical language for the development of FPGA designs. The design is then translated into the lower level required by the Xilinx's ISE program. By utilizing this graphical based higher level of abstraction at the design entry level, the requirement of a detailed knowledge of HDL languages is no longer required. Because of this new environment …

Breaking The Typecast: Revising Roles For Coordinating Mixed Teams, Matthew T. Long

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heterogeneous multi-agent systems are currently used in a wide variety of situations, including search and rescue, military applications, and off-world exploration, however it is difficult to understand the actions of these systems or naturalistically assign these mixed teams to tasks. These agents, which may be human, robot or software, have different capabilities but will need to coordinate effectively with humans in order to operate. The first and largest contributing factor to this challenge is the processing, understanding and representing of elements of the natural world in a manner that can be utilized by artificial agents. A second contributing factor is …

Effect Of Temperature On Copper Chemical Mechanical Planarization, Veera Raghava R Kakireddy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of different process parameters on tribology and surface defects were studied till date, but there has been a very minimal study to understand the effect of slurry temperature during Copper Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP). The surface defects such as dishing, erosion and metal loss amount for more than 50% of the defects that hamper the device yield and mainly the electrical properties during the manufacturing process. In this research, the effect of slurry temperature on tribology, surface defects and electrical properties during copper CMP employing different pad materials and slurries has been explored. Experiments were conducted at different …

Micro Coaxial Transmission Lines For Integrated Microwave Circuits, Saravana Prakash Natarajan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research presented in this doctoral dissertation introduces a developmental path to realize micro coaxial transmission lines for wafer-level microwave and millimeter wave circuits. The micro coax lines conceptualized in this research are three-dimensional, with a uniquely low vertical profile of 20 mu m. They are distinguishable from other transmission line topologies due to frequency limitless, cross-talk free performance in high density circuits resulting from the totally shielded construction. Design and optimization was done using equations and electromagnetic simulations. Extensive process development has been carried out to fabricate these devices on CMOS grade silicon wafers using processes amenable to the …

Measurement And Modeling Of The Anhysteretic Magnetization Of Magnetic Cores For Temperature And Frequency Dependent Effects, Jeremy M. Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inductors and transformers are electrical devices critical to power conversion systems. The current-voltage (I-V) behavior of these devices is very nonlinear as a result of the magnetic cores used in their construction. However, in the design of these power conversion systems the present state of Spice-based models is limited to low frequency and room temperature effects. An addition to the present model found in many Spice type environments, Jiles-Atherton, is the subject of this work. Chapter 1 of this dissertation introduces the source of these nonlinearities as being a result of the relationship between the magnetic flux density, B, and …

Analysis Of Vtol Mav Use During Rescue And Recovery Operations Following Hurricane Katrina, Kevin S. Pratt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There can be little doubt that Hurricane Katrina will always be remembered for the damage and devastation it caused. But it also provided the first opportunity for MAVs to be used and evaluated during Search and Rescue (SAR) as well as recovery operations. Researchers from The Center for Robot-Assisted Search And Rescue (CRASAR) made two separate deployments to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina: one during initial SAR operations and a second deployment during recovery operations 90 days later. Using data and observations from both of these deployments, this work draws four key findings about semi-autonomous Miniature UAV (MAV) operations in …

Ultra-Wideband Electronics, Design Methods, Algorithms, And Systems For Dielectric Spectroscopy Of Isolated B16 Tumor Cells In Liquid Medium, Erick N. Maxwell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying and characterizing isolated tumor cells (ITCs) is of interest in surgical pathology and cytology for its potential to provide data for cancer staging, classification, and treatment. Although the independent prognostic significance of circulating ITCs has not been proven, their presence is gaining clinical relevance as an indicator. However, researchers have not established an optimal method for detecting ITCs. Consequently, this Ph.D. dissertation is concerned with the development and evaluation of dielectric spectroscopy as a low-cost method for cell characterization and quantification. In support of this goal, ultra-wideband (UWB), microwave pulse generator circuits, coaxial transmission line fixtures, permittivity extraction algorithms, …

Design And Evaluation Of New Search Paradigms And Power Management For Peer-To-Peer File Sharing, Graciela Perera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current estimates are that more than nine million PCs in the U.S. are part of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing overlay networks on the Internet. These P2P hosts generate about 20% of the traffic on the Internet and consume about 7.8 TWh/yr equal to $630 million per year. File search in a P2P network is based on a wasteful paradigm of broadcasting query messages. Reducing P2P overhead traffic to reduce bandwidth waste and enabling power management to reduce electricity usage are clearly of great interest. In this dissertation, two new search paradigms with reduced overhead traffic are investigated. The new Targeted …

Scalable Frameworks And Algorithms For Cluster Ensembles And Clustering Data Streams, Prodip Hore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clustering algorithms are an important tool for data mining and data analysis purposes. Clustering algorithms fall under the category of unsupervised learning algorithms, which can group patterns without an external teacher or labels using some kind of similarity metric. Clustering algorithms are generally iterative in nature and computationally intensive. They will have disk accesses in every iteration for data sets larger than memory, making the algorithms unacceptably slow. Data could be processed in chunks, which fit into memory, to provide a scalable framework. Multiple processors may be used to process chunks in parallel. Clustering solutions from each chunk together form …

Error Equivalence Theory For Manufacturing Process Control, Hui Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to uncertainty in manufacturing processes, applied probability and statistics have been widely applied for quality and productivity improvement. In spite of significant achievements made in causality modeling for control of process variations, there exists a lack of understanding on error equivalence phenomenon, which concerns the mechanism that different error sources result in identical variation patterns on part features. This so called error equivalence phenomenon could have dual effects on dimensional control: significantly increasing the complexity of root cause identification, and providing an opportunity to use one error source to counteract or compensate the others. Most of previous research has …

Investigation Of The Rectenna Concept For Millimeter Wave Applications, Henrry La Rosa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the rectifying antenna potential for infrared and millimeter wave energy conversion. Infrared imaging is one of the emerging technologies that have attracted considerable attention in the next generation of military, medical, and commercial applications. Moreover, with the ever-increasing congestion of the electromagnetic spectrum at RF and microwave frequencies and the establishment of firm civilian and military requirements best met by millimeter wave systems, the interest in the technology has grown and is now firmly established. During this work a 2.5GHz slot antenna, a 2.5GHz Schottky diode detector, a CPW-to-Microstrip transition, a fully integrated Rectenna element, and a …

Probabilistic Modeling Of Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata, Saket Srivastava

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As CMOS scaling faces a technological barrier in the near future, novel design paradigms are being proposed to keep up with the ever growing need for computation power and speed. Most of these novel technologies have device sizes comparable to atomic and molecular scales. At these levels the quantum mechanical effects play a dominant role in device performance, thus inducing uncertainty. The wave nature of particle matter and the uncertainty associated with device operation make a case for probabilistic modeling of the device. As the dimensions go down to a molecular scale, functioning of a nano-device will be governed primarily …

Computer Simulation Of Stand-Off Libs And Raman Lidar For Remote Sensing Of Distant Compounds, Dzianis Pliutau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Long range stand-off Raman and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) lidar signal simulations have been carried out using a modified UV-visible atmospheric transmission program and a modified lidar equation. The Hitran-PC atmospheric transmission program which normally operates over the wavelength range of 400 nm to the far-IR was modified to provide UV atmospheric attenuation (200 nm -- 400 nm) using the optical cross section data contained in the HITRAN database. The two-way lidar equation was modified in order to simulate the one-way propagation of the Raman and LIBS spectral, and thus provide calculations of the expected Raman or LIBS signal as …

The Art Of Existentialism: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer And The American Existential Tradition, J'Aimã© L. Sanders

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my research is to examine the philosophic influences on three literary works: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon, and Norman Mailer's An American Dream. Through an investigation of biographical, historical, cultural, and textual evidence, I will argue for the influence of several European philosophers---Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, and Martin Heidegger---on these authors and on the structures and messages of their works. I will discuss how the specific works I have selected not only reveal each author's apt understanding of the existential-philosophical crises facing the individual in the twentieth century, but also …

Pricing Models And Analysis Of Corporate Coupon-Bonds And Credit Default Swaptions, Michiru Shibata

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, pricing models of corporate coupon-bonds and credit default swaptions are derivedand analyzed. Corporate coupon-bonds are priced incorporating both intensity models and structural models, and also jumps introduced by seasonal effects. In deriving the models, we form portfolios to hedge the risk incurred by the instruments, then derive PDE equations using the arbitrage principle and the Ito Lemma for jump processes. The mathematical models are the parabolic-type PDE equations with terminal conditions and boundary conditions. These PDE problems are analyzed and solved by various transformations and incorporation with probabilistic properties. Either a unique solution in the exponential form …

Construct Validity Of Situational Judgment Tests: An Examination Of The Effects Of Agreeableness, Organizational Leadership Culture, And Experience On Sjt Responses, Jonathan Adam Shoemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous factors are likely to influence response patterns to situational judgment tests, including agreeableness, leadership style, impression management, and job and organizational experience. This research presents background information and research on situational judgment tests and several constructs hypothesized to influence situational judgment test responses. A situational judgment test and manipulations to influence response patterns were developed and piloted with a small sample of management professionals and undergraduate students. Larger samples of management professionals and undergraduate students participated in the experimental research. Participants were asked to imagine that they are applying for a job. Each participant was presented with background information …

How Do Proficient Intermediate Grade Writers Percieve Writing In School?, Tammy Weiss Schimmel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine students' perspectives of writing instruction to gain insights into their awareness of the impact of high-stakes writing assessments on instructional practices and teaching strategies. Students in grades four and five who attended the 2004 Suncoast Young Author's Celebration (SYAC) served as the sample for this study. Data were gathered through surveys and interviews with 20 students who attended the SYAC. Survey questions were used to obtain general information about the students' perceptions of writing instruction and assessment. Interviews were conducted to gain a richer understanding of their perceptions of classroom experiences.The participants …

Src Kinase Inhibitors For The Treatment Of Sarcomas: Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Of Action, Audrey Cathryn Shor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sarcomas are rare mesenchymally-derived tumors with limited treatment options. Tyrosine kinases may serve as potential targets for sarcoma therapy because many are mutated or overexpressed in sarcomas and cell lines. One potential molecular target for sarcoma treatment is the Src tyrosine kinase. Three independently synthesized Src kinase inhibitors were evaluated in human sarcoma cell lines. Of the three, dasatinib, provided promising results as a potential sarcoma therapy. Until this study, dasatinib activity had not been characterized in sarcoma cells. Based on our previous findings of Src activation in human sarcomas, we evaluated the effects of dasatinib in twelve sarcoma cell …

"A Woman's Face, Or Worse": Otto Rank And The Modernist Identity, Michael L. Shuman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Otto Rank is a significant but generally overlooked figure in the early history of psychoanalysis, and his work provides an illuminating context for the study of subjectivity and modernist culture. The "modernist identity" of my title is intended to represent, first, the concept of the individual self identified and expressed during this period and, secondly, the unique identity of modernist culture developed by artists through creative acts and emanating as the intellectual ambiance of the era. Through an examination of Rank's later theories and the work of prominent modernist artists, including Lawrence, Yeats, and Eliot, this dissertation will show that …