American Studies Commons^™

Development Of Research Platform For Unmanned Vehicle Controller Design, Evaluation, And Implementation System: From Matlab To Hardware Based Embedded System, Daniel Ernst

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles, or UAVs and UGVs respectively, currently perform a large variety of missions usually centered around reconnaissance. Because the platforms may vary for a particular type of mission--everything from small unmanned airplanes and remote control vehicles to large vehicles such as the Yamaha R-MAX helicopter and Hummer--flight and navigation controllers must be changed to allow proper control of the selected platform. Currently, controllers are designed and tested in MATLAB/SIMULINK, but then rewritten in C or Assembly for a specific target platform. When designing controllers in a programming language, changes are often tedious, so …

The Leray-Schauder Approach For The Degree Of Perturbed Maximal Monotone, Ibrahimou Boubakari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we demonstrate that the Leray-Schauder topological degree theory can be used for the development of a topological degree theory for maximal monotone perturbations of demicontinuous operators of type (S+) in separable reflexive Banach spaces. This is an extension of Berkovits’ degree development for operators as the perturbations above.

Berkovits has developed a topological degree for demicontinuous mappings of type (S₊), and has shown that the degree mapping is unique under the assumption that it satisfies certain general properties. He proved that if f is a bounded demicontinous mapping of type (S₊), G is …

Thicknesses And Density-Current Velocities Of A Low-Aspect Ratio Ignimbrite At The Pululagua Volcanic Complex, Ecuador, Derived From Ground Penetrating Radar, John A. Petriello Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The thinning trend of a low-aspect ratio ignimbrite (LARI) in a direction of increasing topographic relief at the Pululagua Volcanic Complex, Ecuador, is established by correlating continuous ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and radar reflector behavior with stratigraphic measurements and unit behavior. Minimum density-current and vertical (cross-sectional) velocity analyses of the LARIs parent pyroclastic density-current are performed by analyzing the exchange of kinetic energy for potential energy in an upslope direction. Continuous GPR profiles were acquired in a direction of increasing topographic relief with the intent of identifying the LARI within the GPR record and examining the relationships between the …

Mccombs, Harold Spillman (Mss 165), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscript Collection 165. Poetry volumes, 1918-1973, written by McCombs, a native of Edmonson County who taught in several Kentucky communities. Also includes oral history interview with his daughter, Doris Cloar, concerning her father's work, family history, and the November 5, 2005 tornado in Munfordville, Kentucky. Photographs of tornado damage included.

The Validation Of A Methodology For Assessing The Impact Of Hybrid Simulation Training In The Minimization Of Adverse Outcomes In Surgery, Peter J. Fabri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Institute of Medicine report "To Err is Human," released in late 1999, raised the issue of human error in medicine to a new level of attention. This study examines the frequency, severity, and type (FST) of errors associated with postoperative surgical complications at a tertiary care, university-based medical center, addressing the intersection of three domains: patient safety, graduate medical education, and simulation-based training. The study develops and validates a classification system for medical error that is specific to surgery, affirming reliability internally and externally. Baseline data on the FST of errors is collected over a 12-month period. A hybrid, …

Effects Of A Body Image Manipulation On Smoking Motivation, Elena Nicole Lopez Khoury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Smoking is now the leading cause of preventable death and disease in women. Understanding women's motivations to smoke is important in developing effective cessation and relapse prevention programs. Previous descriptive, correlational, and quasi-experimental research has established that weight concerns and negative body image are associated with tobacco smoking, cessation, and relapse, particularly among young women. This study, building upon a previous experimental study (Lopez, Drobes, Thompson, & Brandon, 2008), examined whether activation of negative body image cognitions would produce greater urges to smoke and would affect actual smoking behavior.

A randomized 2 X 2 crossed factorial, between-subjects design (body image …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2007-06-01, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Low Temperature Hermetically Sealed 3-D Mems Device For Wireless Optical Communication, Rahul Agarwal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Novel processes were developed that resulted in a self-packaged device during the system integration, along with a transparent lid for inspection or optical probing. A new process was developed for improving the verticality in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) structures using Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE). A self-pattered, mask-less photolithography technique was developed to metallize these vertical structures while maintaining a transparent window, for packaging of various MEMS devices. The verticality and metallization coverage were evaluated by incorporating the MEMS structures into an optical Corner Cube Retroreflector (CCR). A low temperature, hermetic sealing technique was also developed using In-Au thermo-compression …

Selected Bibliography Of Work On Canadian Ethnic Minority Writing, Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek, Asma Sayed, Domenic A. Beneventi

CLCWeb Library

No abstract provided.

Florida's College Placement Test Reading Scores As An Essential Indicator For Successful Completion Of The Highest College Preparatory Course In Reading, Laura Dandar Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive validity of several variables to determine if the Florida Computerized Placement Test - Reading (CPT-R) score alone, or other variables, could determine whether or not a student would successfully pass the highest level college preparatory reading course. The study examined fall sessions 1997-2004 (n=276,079) reading scores for all forms of the CPT to determine at what standard deviation below the cutoff score of 83 a student could still successfully complete the highest level college preparatory reading course.

According to the College Board, the 83 scaled score, which exempts a student …

The Effects Of Homophobia, Legislation, And Local Policies On Heterosexual Pupil Services Professionals' Likelihood Of Incorporating Gay Affirming Behaviors In Their Professional Work With Sexual Minority Youths In Public Schools, Lance Santoro Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that non-judgmental, unbiased counseling (that includes an advocacy component) is effective in addressing the psycho-social needs of sexual minority youths--a population of students considered at-risk (Reynolds & Koski, 1994; Savin-Williams, 1994). The ability to provide such services is impeded if the clinician has not first come to terms with his or her own feelings and attitudes about homosexuality (Pederson, 1988). This study examined the attitudes and anticipated professional behaviors relevant to sexual minority youths of 309 pupil services professionals in the fields of school psychology, school social work, school nursing, and school counseling. Participants from two regions of …

Case Studies Of Trainers’ And Selected Teachers’ Perceptions Of An Early Reading Intervention Training Program, Cynthia Dianne Calderone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe and explain the characteristics of an effective professional development model in an early intervention training program. The focus of the study was on particular aspects of literacy instruction that were emphasized during training sessions and trainer and teacher perceptions of the Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL) program. This study examined the elements of training that two teachers chose to transfer to their classrooms, as well as modifications they chose to make, in the year following training in an effort to gain further insight into successful teacher training practices. The following research …

Beauty, Objectification, And Transcendence: Modernist Aesthetics In The Picture Of Dorian Gray And Pale Fire, Deborah S. Mcleod

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares the relation between beauty, objectification, and transcendence in two novels: Oscar Wilde's early-modernist The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and Vladimir Nabokov's late-modernist Pale Fire (1962). Though written over half a century apart, the works feature similar critiques of the aesthete's devotion to beauty. While Wilde's novel offers an insider's view of aristocratic Decadence in late-nineteenth-century London, Nabokov's reflects his early influence from the Russian Symbolists and recalls that tradition in the American suburbs of the mid-twentieth-century. Both novels demonstrate the trust that many modernists held in the ability of beauty to offer transcendence over the limits …

Identification Of The Parameters When The Density Of The Minimum Is Given, John C. Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Let (X₁, X₂, X₃) be a tri-variate normal vector with a non-singular co-variance matrix ∑ , where for i ≠ j, ∑_ij < 0 . It is shown here that it is then possible to determine the three means, the three variances and the three correlation coefficients based only on the knowledge of the probability density function for the minimum variate Y = min{X₁ , X₂ , X₃ }. We will present a method for identifying the nine parameters which consists of careful determination of the asymptotic orders of various bivariate tail probabilities.

Uncovering The Missing Link In Flexible Work Arrangement Utilization: An Individual Difference Perspective, Kristen M. Shockley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the workforce have led to in an increase in work-family conflict for many employed individuals. Fortunately, many organizations have recognized and responded to employees’ work-family issues through the implementation of family-friendly benefits, such as flexible work arrangements (FWA).

While offering family-friendly benefits is an important step in easing work-family conflicts, the mere availability of such initiatives may not be enough, as research shows that availability of benefits and utilization are only moderately correlated. These statistics highlight the presence of intermediating factors in the relationship between availability and utilization of family-friendly benefits. With this in mind, some researchers have …

A Maslovian Approach To The Motivations Of Shakespeare’S Transvestite Heroines In The Two Gentelmen Of Verona, As You Like It, And The Merchant Of Venice, Angela Eward-Mangione

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Motivation" is the force that drives an individual to perform a certain action. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), an American psychologist profoundly influenced by the existential and teleological paradigms, expounded a motivation theory that remains precise and replicable, as well as applicable to other spheres of study, including the humanities. Indeed, psychology experts and non-specialists are by and large familiar with Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs. Moreover, despite the abundance of literary criticism that utilizes Freudian-based theory to analyze the motivations of literary characters, critics have largely neglected the use of other paradigms, including Maslow's. In this thesis, I use Maslow's texts …

The Effects Of Ambiguous Appearance-Related Feedback On Body Image, Mood States, And Intentions To Use Body Changes Strategies In College Women, Sylvia Herbozo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated the influential role of physical appearance-related feedback in the development of body image and eating disturbances. Teasing and negative feedback have been established as strong correlates and predictors of body dissatisfaction, maladaptive eating behaviors, and psychological distress. However, very little is known about ambiguous appearance-related feedback and its impact on others. The current study sought to explore this area with an experimental study to examine the effects of ambiguous appearance-related feedback on body image, mood states, and intentions to use body change strategies. Undergraduate women (N=146) were randomly assigned to an ambiguous appearance-related or ambiguous nonappearance-related …

The Relationship Between Parent Identified Sleep Problems, Internalizing Behaviors, Externalizing Behaviors, And Adaptive Functioning In A Pediatric Population, Kyle Marissa Popkave

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric sleep problems are among the most common pediatric health issues faced by families today. Sleep problems can have a deleterious impact on children's academics, behaviors, social-emotional development, health, and/or safety. Once sleep problems are identified and treated, many of the associated negative impacts can be ameliorated. The purpose of the current study was to examine prevalence rates of symptoms of sleep disorders in young children, and the relationship between these symptoms and various behavior problems. One hundred and four children, ages 2 to 5 years, attending a pediatric health clinic served as the participants in this study. Data on …

Functionalization Of Resorcinarenes And Study Of Antimicrobial Activity, Kirankirti Muppalla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cavitands are very important class of compounds in supramolecular chemistry. These molecules contain rigid enforced cavity,and have attracted considerable attention in supramolecular chemistry as building blocks for the construction of carcerands, hemicarcerands, and other host guests complexes. Nearly 40 years ago, Niederl and Vogel laid foundation for the study of such type of condensation reactions. In our laboratory we are involved in synthesis of resorcinarenes with readily available substrates such as resorcinol and aldehydes to form a cyclic tetramer.

Herein, I present detailed studies about the functionalization of the synthesized tetramers and their antimicrobial activity. Octahydroxy resorcinarenes were synthesized and …

Reconciliation In Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx), Pete Otovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine whether mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) reconcile their conflicts. The data were collected from a captive group of nine mandrills (5 males and 4 females) at the Lowry Park Zoo that ranged in age from 3 to 16 years at the time of study. After a conflict was observed, the behavior of one of the two former opponents was documented for a period of ten minutes using continuous recording methods. On the next possible observation day, at the same time of the previous conflict, the behavior of the same individual was recorded for an additional ten minutes. …

Is All Injustice Created Equal? Exploring The Effects Of Decision Outcome And Procedural Justice On Reactions To Injustice, Gabriel E. Lopez Rivas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational justice scholars have ignored the influence that the nature of a decision outcome has upon reactions to perceived injustice, yet research on loss aversion demonstrates that people react more strongly to situations that result in a loss than those that result in an anticipated gain failing to materialize (non-gain). Furthermore, research on regulatory focus has found that the nature of a decision outcome can itself elicit different emotions. Based on this, a cognitive appraisal model of the relationship between injustice and emotions is proposed that accounts for the effect of decision outcome. This model predicts that emotional reactions to …

Bathymetric Alterations Due To Urbanization And Their Effects On Residual Salinity, Flow Field And Transport Time For Tampa Bay, Florida, Amanda J. Linville

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growth and development over the past one hundred years has resulted in the construction of causeways and navigational channels in Tampa Bay. Urbanization has lead to bathymetric alterations of the bay, and thus has effectively changed the residual salinity, flow fields, and transport time in Tampa Bay. In this study a numerical ocean model of Tampa Bay was first used to simulate the circulation for 2001-2003 using present day bathymetry. Then, an identical simulation was performed using the bathymetry generated from 1879 depth soundings. The residual (30-day time average) circulation fields and salinity, along with transport times was intercompared for …

Family Affairs Newsletter 2007-05-15, Jean Vermette

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Ecological Art: Ruth Wallen And Cultural Activism, Susan Birchler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Twentieth century modernity has provoked multiple problems ranging from environmental degradation to human rights violations. Globally, diverse communities of people have organized to promote, not just reactive reforms, but a fundamental alteration of the foundational worldview underlying these issues. Radical activists committed their work to promoting an alternative ethos based on egalitarian, democratic, and ecologically-wise concepts. An array of methodologies emerged from these endeavors. More radical political groups focused on cultural tools to engage people in the construction of an alternative worldview. Radical activists utilized two forms of cultural politics: prefigurative politics, the physical presentation of an envisioned future and …

The Bioinorganic Chemistry Of Copper-Containing Systems: From Type-3 Systems Pertinent To Alzheimer’S Disease To Mononuclear Hydrolysis Involved In Biological Development, Giordano Faustini Zimmerer Da Silva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although transition metals are essential for life, misregulation of redox-active metal uptake, delivery, storage, and excretion has been linked with a series of neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered an epidemic and is the most widespread of all forms of dementia. Copper ions found in large concentrations localized in amyloid-ß plaques in the brain of AD patients have been linked with the generation of reactive oxygen species which are suspected to be the culprits leading to neuronal cell death. Herein a series of mechanistic and spectroscopic studies elucidate the chemistry about the metal-centered oxidation of biomolecules, including catecholamine neurotransmitters …

The Effects Of Goal Message And Goal Orientation On Learning In A Web-Based Tutorial, John M. Bunch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigates instructional design factors that can be manipulated to enhance learner motivation. A goal-based approach to enhancing motivation is discussed, along with current theory concerning the goal orientation an individual learner brings to an instructional situation. The efficacy of Prospect Theory as a cognitive mechanism underlying the valuation of effort toward a goal is discussed, and an experiment is presented in which goal messaging is manipulated based on the predictions of Prospect Theory as well as Goal Setting Theory. A Web-based tutorial consisting of ten sections of text, each with a recall test, was used. An ability …

The Historical Production Of Elemental Phosphorus In Pinellas County, Florida: An Environmental Assessment, Stephen D. Robinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was completed in order to assess and document the environmental effects that are the result of elemental phosphorus production in Pinellas County Florida. The study utilized a collection of information resources that included: personal interviews, technical references, historical documents, legal documents and field observations. By utilizing five different sources of information a broad understanding of the problem was developed.

Pinellas County and Tarpon Springs officials were interested in creating a more diversified economy in the years following World War-II. The Victor Chemical Works Company responded to the interest in economic diversity by proposing to build an elemental phosphorus …

Interlocking Oppressions Of Sisterhood: (Re) Presenting The Black Woman In Nineteenth Century Blackface Minstrelsy, Catherine Downing

Senior Scholar Papers

Blackface minstrelsy began as a racially derisive form of early nineteenth century white working class stage entertainment that essentialized blackness into an object of social ridicule. Racial burlesque coupled with gender performance stigmatized. popular representations of black womanhood. Repetition of blackface minstrelsy's negative images solidified the black woman's stereotyped mainstream identity as a subordinate group with equally overlapping social forms of oppression. Within the first fifty years of repetitious blackface performance, the objectifying images of black female inferiority constructed a dominant American racist and sexist ideology. The black woman was either the Mammy or the Jezebel. For blacks, the only …

Modeling Three-Dimensional Shape Of Sand Grains Using Discrete Element Method, Nivedita Das

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study of particle morphology plays an important role in understanding the micromechanical behavior of cohesionless soil. Shear strength and liquefaction characteristics of granular soil depend on various morphological characteristics of soil grains such as their particle size, shape and surface texture. Therefore, accurate characterization and quantification of particle shape is necessary to study the effect of grain shape on mechanical behavior of granular assembly. However, the theoretical and practical developments of quantification of particle morphology and its influence on the mechanical response of granular assemblies has been very limited due to the lack of quantitative information about particle geometries, …

Trauma-Based Priming And Attentional Bias To Smoking Cues: A Stroop Task Study, Pattie B. Sherman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Past research has highlighted the importance of better understanding the high rate of smoking among individuals exposed to trauma. However, few studies have investigated the cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to the smoking-trauma relationship. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the associative relationship between smoking and trauma at a cognitive level, by examining the extent to which trauma-relevant pictures primed attentional biases to smoking-related words on a modified Stroop task. Eighty trauma-exposed smokers (classified as having low, medium, or high levels of post trauma symptomatology) ink-named smoking-related and neutral words after being primed with trauma-related, positive, …