American Studies Commons^™

Graph-Theoretic Techniques For Web Content Mining, Adam Schenker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation we introduce several novel techniques for performing data mining on web documents which utilize graph representations of document content. Graphs are more robust than typical vector representations as they can model structural information that is usually lost when converting the original web document content to a vector representation. For example, we can capture information such as the location, order and proximity of term occurrence, which is discarded under the standard document vector representation models. Many machine learning methods rely on distance computations, centroid calculations, and other numerical techniques. Thus many of these methods have not been applied …

Characterization And Modeling Of Planar Spiral Inductors And Pad Stack Parasitic Effects, John Capwell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis concentrates on RF/microwave characterization and modeling of planar spiral inductors and pad stack parasitics. The inductors varied in size from 1.9 to 15.3 nH. Several approaches were examined for modeling the planar spiral inductors. The approach developed herein is built around an existing composite model (available in commercial computer-aided design software), with added series and shunt impedances at both the input and output of the existing composite model. Artificial neural network (ANN) software was used to determine the correction impedance values. Another approach investigated was to model the S-parameters of the inductor using a space- mapping model of …

P-X Measurements For 2-Ethoxyethanol And Four Chlorinated Hydrocarbons At 303.15 K, Salil Milan Pathare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Total pressure measurements at 303.15 K are reported for the binary systems of 2-ethoxyethanol with carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane and dichloromethane. Total pressure measurements for the system of hexane and 2-ethoxyethanol were also made to check the validity of the experimental apparatus and procedure. These measurements were taken according to the static method proposed by Van Ness (1975). Data reduction was accomplished using Barker's Method. The modified Margules equation was used as a model for the excess Gibbs free energy (G^E) and parameter values were obtained by regression of the experimental data.

The obtained data were used to …

The Bases Of Opposition To Affirmative Action: An Attitude Change Effort, Meisha-Ann Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of perceptions of fairness, prejudice and collective self-interest on the affirmative action attitudes of 85 White undergraduate students. Participants were classified as non-racists, modern racists or old-fashioned racists based on their scores on the Implicit Association Test and Attitudes Toward Blacks scale. In the first phase of the study, participants read affirmative action information preceded by either high or low attention instructions. In the second phase, fairness, status of position and race of the target of an affirmative action plan were manipulated using vignettes. No significant differences were found in the first phase of …

Exchanges For Complex Commodities: Toward A General-Purpose System For On-Line Trading, John Hershberger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The modern economy includes a variety of markets, and the Internet has opened opportunities for efficient on-line trading. Researchers have developed algorithms for various auctions, which have become a popular means for on-line sales. They have also designed algorithms for exchange-based markets, similar to the traditional stock exchange, which support fast-paced trading of rigidly standardized securities. In contrast, there has been little work on exchanges for complex nonstandard commodities, such as used cars or collectible stamps.

We propose a formal model for trading of complex goods, and present an automated exchange for a limited version of this model. The exchange …

Semiparametric Estimation Of Unimodal Distributions, Jason K. Looper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One often wishes to understand the probability distribution of stochastic data from experiment or computer simulations. However, where no model is given, practitioners must resort to parametric or non-parametric methods in order to gain information about the underlying distribution. Others have used initially a nonparametric estimator in order to understand the underlying shape of a set of data, and then later returned with a parametric method to locate the peaks. However they are interested in estimating spectra, which may have multiple peaks, where in this work we are interested in approximating the peak position of a single-peak probability distribution.

One …

Your Computer Is Watching You: Intelligent Agents And Social Facilitation, Jason R. Read

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 …

A Reinforcement Learning Approach To Obtain Treatment Strategies In Sequential Medical Decision Problems, Radhika Poolla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Medical decision problems are extremely complex owing to their dynamic nature, large number of variable factors, and the associated uncertainty. Decision support technology entered the medical field long after other areas such as the airline industry and the manufacturing industry. Yet, it is rapidly becoming an indispensable tool in medical decision making problems including the class of sequential decision problems. In these problems, physicians decide on a treatment plan that optimizes a benefit measure such as the treatment cost, and the quality of life of the patient. The last decade saw the emergence of many decision support applications in medicine. …

Packet Loss Concealment In Voice Over Internet, Rishikesh S. Gokhale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditional telephony networks with their cumbersome and costly infrastructures are being replaced with voice being transmitted over the Internet. The Internet is a very commonly used technology that was traditionally used to transmit data. With the availability of large bandwidth and high data rates the transmission of data, voice and video over the Internet is gaining popularity. Voice is a real time application and the biggest problem it faces is the loss of packets due to network congestion. The Internet implements protocols to detect and retransmit the lost packets. However, for a real time application it is too late before …

Use Of Silica-Supported Adsorbents, Modified Silica Gel, Modified Montmorillonite Ksf And Magnetite In The Remediation Of Selected Heavy Metals From Aqueous Media, Craig Alcindor Ivan Bowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pollution of the earth's water resources, including freshwater sources such as lakes and rivers, by heavy metals have been a detriment to the environment for as long as the industrial age of man. As these metallic pollutants accumulate in the supply of precious groundwater and drinking water the need for clean-up technologies to combat the increasing threat is becoming of more importance to government and industry alike. Previous work has established the possibility of using known chelating agents, such as LIX-54® supported on silica gel in the removal of selected heavy metal ions such as copper(II), nickel(II) , and cadmium(II) …

Organizational Office Space In The Virtual Age: The Role Of Shared Space In Communication, Sheila Gobes-Ryan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis takes a phenomenological approach to the examination of the organizational need for shared office space. Questions are developed in a reflexive narrative that introduces challenges to the assumption that space is a given in organizations. The narrative also uses the process of questioning this basis assumption to develop a new understanding of the role of space in organizations in supporting the development of common language needed for the creation of organizational knowledge. Key ideas from systems theory, autopoiesis, organizational theory, semiotics, and psychology are utilized as resources developing the ideas.

A Molecular Approach To Assessing Meiofauna Diversity In Marine Sediments, Heather C. Hamilton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Molecular Approach to Assessing Meiofauna Diversity in Marine Sediments Heather C. Hamilton Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if a molecular approach could be applied to calculating the diversity of meiofauna in marine sediments from two sites in Tampa Bay, FL, similar to the approach of McCaig et al, 1999 in calculating the diversity of microbes in pastureland soils. The approach includes extracting total DNA directly from the sediment and amplifying the 18S rRNA gene by PCR. Clone libraries from the 18S gene would be created for each site and 300 sequences from each clone library …

Falun Gong In The United States: An Ethnographic Study, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, has been described in many ways. It has been called qigong, one of many schools of physical exercises that aim at improving health and developing "supernatural abilities". Scholars and mainstream media have referred it to as a "spiritual movement" or religion, although practitioners claim it is not a religion. It has been called a cult, in the pejorative sense rather than in a sociological context, by the Chinese government and by some Western critics. In the writings of Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, it is referred to in different ways, …

Relative Motion History Of The Pacific-Nazca (Farallon) Plates Since 30 Million Years Ago, Douglas T. Wilder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Relative plate motion history since 30 Ma between the Pacific and the southern portion of the Nazca (Farallon) plates is examined. The history is constrained by available seafloor magnetic anomaly data and a two-minute grid of predicted bathymetry derived from satellite altimetry and shipboard sensors. These data are used to create a new plate motion reconstruction based on new magnetic anomaly identifications and finite poles of motion. The new identified magnetic isochrons and tectonic reconstruction provides greater resolution to the tectonic history between chrons 7y (24.73 Ma) and 3 (4.18 Ma) than previous interpretations.

Shipboard magnetics and aeromagnetic data from …

Criteria To Evaluate The Quality Of Pavement Camera Systems In Automated Evaluation Vehicles, Iván Sokolic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of high technology in common daily tasks is boarding all areas of civil engineering; pavement evaluation is not the exception. Accordingly, current pavement imaging systems have been able to collect images at highway speeds and with the use of proper software, this digital information can be translated into pavement distress reports in which all distresses are classified and presented by their type, extent, severity, and location. However, a number of issues regarding the quality of pavement images and the appropriate conditions to acquire them, remain to be addressed. These issues surfaced during the development of a pavement evaluation …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Reflective Thinking In Experiential Learning Debriefings, Lynn D. Grinnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of cognitive and emotional processes during the three reflective stages of the experiential learning cycle of experiential activities using written debriefings. The study examined three written debriefings from five senior-level undergraduate management students enrolled in a business management course. The debriefings consisted of four to five free-response questions modeled after Kolb’s experiential learning cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The study triangulated results using two qualitative methods, a grounded theory analysis and a content analysis. In the grounded theory analysis, two process maps were developed from …

Embedded Cryptography: An Analysis And Evaluation Of Performance And Code Optimization Techniques For Encryption And Decryption In Embedded Systems, Jayavardhan R. Kandi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is clear that Cryptography is computationally intensive. It is also known that embedded systems have slow clock rates and less memory. The idea for this thesis was to study the possibilities for analysis of cryptography on embedded systems. The basic approach was the implementation of cryptographic algorithms on high-end, state-of-the-art, DSP chips in order to study the various parameters that optimize the performance of the chip while keeping the overhead of encryption and decryption to a minimum.

Embedded systems are very resource sensitive. An embedded system is composed of different components, which are implemented in both hardware and software. …

Serial Murder In Institutional Settings, Jennifer D. Grine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the topic of professional caregivers who commit serial murder in institutional settings. In-depth case studies were created for individuals convicted of serial murder in institutional settings in the United States. The purpose of this research was to identify the characteristics of this group of institutional serialists and compare the current data to existing data on serial killers. A technique of secondary data analysis was utilized to gather information on the sample of 17 individuals. Only public information was reviewed. Results of the data comparison between the current sample and existing information on serial killers indicated that institutional …

Herbivore Abundance In Simple And Diverse Habitats: The Direct And Indirect Effects Of Plant Diversity And Habitat Structure, Laura F. Altfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Herbivore abundances are determined by a set of interacting factors that vary among different habitat types. Specifically, herbivore abundances in monocultures and polycultures may be governed by the same set of factors but with varying influences in the different habitats. In addition, monophagous and polyphagous herbivores may respond differently to the same set of influencing factors. I examined several abiotic and biotic factors in manipulated monocultures and polycultures of Borrichia frutescens in a west central Florida salt marsh. The experimental plots differed in both plant diversity and aboveground habitat structure to see how each component of diversity contributed to variability …

Deployment And Strategies For Application Of Intelligent Transportation System Elements For Contra Flow Hurricane Evacuation And Emergency Response, Ingrid Leuchtenmueller Birenbaum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deployment and Strategies for Application of Intelligent Transportation System Elements for Contra Flow Hurricane Evacuation and Emergency Response Ingrid Leuchtenmueller Birenbaum ABSTRACT This thesis is focused upon the deployment and strategies for the application of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) elements for contra flow hurricane evacuation and emergency response. A 99-mile segment of the Mainline of Florida's Turnpike, State Road 91, comprises the research corridor. This segment stands as the potential one way evacuation route for major hurricane evacuations and other types of natural and man-made disasters for the Turnpike System. Plans have been developed and modified over time to address …

The Involvement Of Florida’S Full-Time Community College Faculty In Institutional Governance: Implications For Institutional Decision-Making, Martha Etheredge Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study's purpose was to investigate the level of involvement of Florida's full-time community college faculty in institutional governance, their perceptions of the faculty governance body's role in institutional decision-making, and the characteristics of an ideal governance process. This study also explored the relation between a faculty member's level of involvement in governance activities and his or her perceptions of the desired roles of faculty in institutional governance as well as the relation between a faculty member's level of involvement and his or her gender, race, age, and years of employment. Certain factors that encourage or discourage faculty participation in …

Developing Organizational Development: Alienation And Organizing In The Age Of Information, Robert D. Kreisher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modernism is characterized by alienation from one's self and the processes by which one's self gets constructed. Organizational development (OD) is an activity that attempts to address the experience of work and to transform the historical alienation.

OD practitioners are often optimistic that this transformation is possible and even is happening in the day-to-day work of OD. A group of critics, mostly academics, are skeptical about whether any real transformation is possible, arguing that OD practices are misguided extensions of modernism. In one thread of the OD literature, authors build an argument for the centrality of issues of identity in …

Brand Loyalty In The Automotive Community: A Case Study On The Chevrolet Corvette, Michele Ann Motichka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a qualitative case study conducted to investigate the relationship between consumers who are brand loyal to a certain product and the groups that are formed to bring these enthusiasts together, using the Chevrolet Corvette and its community as a model. Qualitative research lends itself to studying relationships and social situations, in being able to observe and participate in a social context, rather than analyzing it from the outside looking in. By approaching this subject as a case study, an element of flexibility was allowed. This study primarily focuses on one main phenomena, the social groups formed by loyal …

Effectiveness Of Social Story Interventions For Children With Asperger's Syndrome, Frank J. Sansosti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of individualized social story interventions on the social communication skills of three children with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Using a multiple baseline across participants desing, three social stories were implemented and direct observations of the participants' identified target behaviors were collected three times per week during unstructured school activities (e.g, recess). Data revealed an increase in the social communication skills of two of the three participants when the treatment was implemented. In addition, maintenance of treatment effects was observed in two participants. These data support recommendations for using social stories to …

Silhouette Based Gait Recognition: Research Resource And Limits, Laura Helena Malavé

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As is seen from the work on gait recognition, there is a de-facto consensus about the silhouette of a person being the low-level representation of choice. It has been hypothesized that the performance degradation that is observed when one compares sequences taken on different surfaces, hence against different backgrounds, or when one considers outdoor sequences is due to the low silhouette quality and its variation. If only one can get better silhouettes the perfomance of gait recognition would be high. This thesis challenges that hypothesis.

In the context of the HumanID Gait Challenge problem, we constructed a set of ground …

Effect Of Cdcl2 Treatment On Cdte And Cds Solar Cell Characteristics After Exposure To Light For 1000 Hours, Ashok Rangaswamy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The CdTe solar cell is a leading candidate for cost-effective thin-film solar cells having demonstrated small area cell effciencies of 16.4%. A Key issue associated with CdTe thin film photovoltaic modules is the analysis of degradation behavior of the device. The analysis is complicated as changes due to degradation may be reversible. Solar cell measurement techniques were used to understand the changes in device parameters after light soaking for 1000 hours. An automated measurement setup was implemented as part of this thesis work. The main objective of this thesis was to study the effect of CdCl₂ heat treatment on …

Delivering Continuing Education In Health Education Using Self-Directed Computermediated Instruction: Moving From Intention To Action, Jane Ellery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using advanced technologies can help increase the availability of educational offerings; however, the steps taken in this direction must be appropriate for the target population and the specific content taught. As such, understanding factors that lead to health educators' intentions and behavior related to computer-mediated instruction for continuing education is an important step in developing and marketing appropriate computer-mediated instruction programs (Hoffman & Novak, 1994). Using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1988) this study explored the relationships between health educators' perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norms related to computer-mediated continuing education programs and their intentions to use, and …

Software Testing Testbed For Mpeg-4 Video Traffic Over Ieee 802.11b Wireless Lans, Praveen Chiranjeevi Ikkurthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several traffic characterization studies have been performed on wireless LANs with the main objective of realizing good and accurate models of the errors in the wireless channel. These models have been extended to model the effect of errors on higher layer protocols, mainly at the data link layer. However, no prior work has been done to study the application level characteristics of MPEG-4 video traffic over 802.11b wireless networks. In this thesis a traffic characterization study of MPEG-4 video traffic over IEEE 802.11b wireless LANs with the main goal of building a tool for software testing is performed.

Using two …

Dermal Absorption Of A Dilute Aqueous Solution Of Malathion, John E. Scharf Md

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malathion is a commonly used organophosphate pesticide on field crops, fruits, nut trees, vegetables, livestock, agricultural premises, and land. The approved uses also include mosquito and medfly control. These uses can result in human skin contact. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the human skin absorption of malathion for the purpose of assessing the risks associated with aqueous solution exposures following applications. Aerial applications can result in solubilized malathion in swimming pools and other waters that may be contacted. Human volunteers were selected and exposed to aqueous solutions of malathion at various concentrations. Participants submerged their arms and …

An Algorithm For Image Quality Assessment, Goran Ivkovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Image quality measures are used to optimize image processing algorithms and evaluate their performances. The only reliable way to assess image quality is subjective evaluation by human observers, where the mean value of their scores is used as the quality measure. This is known as mean opinion score (MOS). In addition to this measure there are various objective (quantitative) measures. Most widely used quantitative measures are: mean squared error (MSE), peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and signal to noise ratio (SNR). Since these simple measures do not always produce results that are in agreement with subjective evaluation, many other …