American Studies Commons^™

Microbialites From The Freshwater System Of Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico: Genomic, Molecular Organic, And Stable Isotopic Perspectives, Anthony G. Nitti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern microbialites are carbonate-precipitating microbial mats and

represent the closest living analogues to ancient stromatolites. These ancient

carbonate formations are the oldest fossil evidence of life on Earth; however, our

comprehension of their relationship to early earth ecosystems relies heavily on

understanding the formation of modern microbialites. Research regarding these

formation processes has suggested that chemical constraints of CaCO

3

precipitation vary on sub-millimeter spatial scales within the living microbial

community. In an attempt to shed light on the importance of these chemical

microenvironments, this study focused on understanding the spatial distribution

of the organisms and processes involved in the …

A Microwave Radiometer For Close Proximity Core Body Temperature Monitoring: Design, Development, And Experimentation, Quenton Bonds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presented is a radiometric sensor and associated electromagnetic propagation models, developed to facilitate non-invasive core body temperature extraction. The system has been designed as a close-proximity sensor to detect thermal emissions radiated from deep-seated tissue 1 cm – 3 cm inside the human body. The sensor is intended for close proximity health monitoring applications, with potential implications for deployment into the improved astronaut liquid cooling garment (LCG). The sensor is developed for high accuracy and resolution. Therefore, certain design issues that distort the close proximity measurement have been identified and resolved. An integrated cavity-backed slot antenna (CBSA) is designed to …

Hines, Thomas Collier, Jr. (Fa 7), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 7. Interviews conducted by Thomas Hines. Includes intervewis with Sarah Alice (Marcum) Roemer. The interviews include information about Alice Roemer's life, inlcuding her childhood, education, work and family experiences, with special emphasis on Thanksgiving customs.

Ensemble Learning With Imbalanced Data, Larry Shoemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We describe an ensemble approach to learning salient spatial regions from arbitrarily

partitioned simulation data. Ensemble approaches for anomaly detection

are also explored. The partitioning comes from the distributed processing requirements

of large-scale simulations. The volume of the data is such that classifiers

can train only on data local to a given partition. Since the data partition reflects

the needs of the simulation, the class statistics can vary from partition to partition.

Some classes will likely be missing from some or even most partitions. We combine

a fast ensemble learning algorithm with scaled probabilistic majority voting in

order to learn …

Settle-Dewitt Family Papers (Mss 332), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans of Folders 2 and 3 relating to genealogy (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 332. Includes correspondence, genealogical materials; wills, deeds and other legal documents of the Settle and DeWitt families; and the memoir of Marcus Bearden DeWitt, a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a Civil War chaplain (Click on "Additional Files" below). Also of interest is information related to the Settle rifle makers of Barren County, Kentucky.

Thomas, Ann Elizabeth (Fa 6), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 6. Interviews conducted by Ann Thomas with Mary Dee Boemker about Catholicism and her celebration of Easter and other holidays.

The Emotional Guardianship Of Foreign-Born And Native-Born Hispanic Youth And Its Effect On Violent Victimization, Amy Sheena Eggers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to expand the scope of assimilation theory by integrating it with elements of routine activities theory to better understand what influence assimilation has in regard to violent victimization. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to determine whether or not differences in victimization rates between foreign-born and native-born Hispanic youth are related to variations in emotional guardianship. Emotional guardianship refers to the aspect of relationships (i.e., affection and communication) between Hispanic youth and their parents that serve to protect the youth from being victimized. I hypothesize that foreign-born Hispanics have greater emotional guardianship than native-born Hispanics, and …

Kinchlow, Gina Lloyce (Fa 4), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding Aid only for Folklife Archives Project 4. Interviews conducted by Gina Kinchlow for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Includes interviews with Carolyn Alexander and Vivian Glass about their lives as African American women.

Hulsey, Jennifer Lynn (Hensley) (Fa 5), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives at Western Kentucky University; 270-745-6434; [email protected]

To Prevent The Breakup Of The Indian Family: The Development Of The Indian Child Welfare Act Of 1978., Evelyn Lance Blanchard

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation is the story of the destruction of Indian families as told to Congress in hearings held by the Sub-Committee on Indian Affairs in 1974 and the Select Committee on Indian Affairs in 1977 through the testimony of children, parents, Indian leadership, the Association on American Indian Affairs, psychological witnesses, and other advocates who opposed destructive child welfare practices. Their testimony described the illegal removal of Indian children, the exploitation of families through violation of their due process rights, the tragedy of children who were abused and neglected in placement, the psychological damage suffered by the children and their …

Watkins, Dianne (Winkler), 1941-2024 (Fa 3), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 3. Interviews conducted by Dianne Watkins with Earl Hamilton Berkley about Berkley family reunions (1929-1984), and the family farm and service station located on Morgantown Road in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Includes cassette tapes, originals, typescripts and photocopies.

The Restorative Effects Of Smoking Upon Self-Control Resources, Bryan W. Heckman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Based on a model that considers self-control (SC) to be a limited resource, research suggests that diminished SC resources increase the likelihood of smoking. Yet, no study has evaluated how smoking affects SC resources. This study used a randomized, 2 x 2 crossed factorial (SC depletion manipulation X smoking manipulation), between-subjects design to test the hypothesis that smoking restores depleted SC resources. To manipulate SC depletion, half of the 132 dependent smokers were instructed to suppress their emotional reaction to a brief video depicting environmental damage (i.e., Depletion), whereas the other half were instructed to “act natural” (i.e., No Depletion) …

Dowell, John Alan (Fa 2), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 2. Interviews conducted by John Alan Dowell with George M. Carter which provide bigraphical data about Carter and highlight his storytelling talent. Includes interviews with Carter on cassette tapes, transcriptions, tape summaries, glossary, bibliography and photographs.

Growth And Characterization Of Epitaxial Thin Films And Multiferroic Heterostructures Of Ferromagnetic And Ferroelectric Materials, Devajyoti Mukherjee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multiferroic materials exhibit unique properties such as simultaneous existence of

two or more of coupled ferroic order parameters (ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity,

ferroelasticity or their anti-ferroic counterparts) in a single material. Recent years have

seen a huge research interest in multiferroic materials for their potential application as

high density non-volatile memory devices. However, the scarcity of these materials in

single phase and the weak coupling of their ferroic components have directed the

research towards multiferroic heterostructures. These systems operate by coupling the

magnetic and electric properties of two materials, generally a ferromagnetic material and

a ferroelectric material via strain. In this work, …

A Case Study Of The Significant Events And Legal Parameters Surrounding Charter School Movement At The State And Federal Level, Monica L. Ilse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

All states have different perspectives and various statutes within broader constitutional law. Perception of public dissatisfaction with public schools has led to choice schooling options for parents. One of the fastest growing choice options in schooling is charter schools; schools privately run by organizations through public funds. This study analyzes the governance of charter schools and how charters operate under legal guidelines and Florida statutes, with significant legislative events cited. This study answers the following questions as they relate to evolution and legal parameters surrounding the charter movement using exploratory case study method: 1) What is the evolution of the …

Beisswenger, Donald Andre (Fa 1), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1. Project titled "White Gospel Music in Logan County" conducted by Donald Andre Beisswenger for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Includes interviews with Jeff and Gwen McKinney and Chester Whitescarver about singing schools and white gospel music. Transcript of McKinney interview included as well as a tape summary for the Whitescarver interview.

Lg Ms 018 Maine Won’T Discriminate Archives Finding Aid, Karin A. France

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Maine Won't Discriminate (MWD) was an organization created to work toward passing LGBT civil rights legislation in Maine and to advocate against/for citizens referenda that would have overturned/sustained such legislation. The Archives contains organizational records as well as print and audiovisual material created and used by the organization. The majority of the materials relate to MWD’s ultimately successful efforts to oppose referendum Question 1 in 2005, which read: “Do you want to reject the new law that would protect people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit based on their sexual orientation?” The materials include polling …

It's (Not) All Small Stuff: The 2009 Lion And The Unicorn Award For Excellence In North American Poetry, Michael Heyman, Angela Sorby, Joseph T. Thomas Jr.

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Robert E. Gard Reader : To Change The Face Of America, From Writings By Robert E. Gard, Robert E. Gard, Maryo Gard Gard Ewell, Lamoine Maclaughlin

Scholarship Collection

This Reader draws from the works of Robert E. Gard, professor at the University of Wisconsin, Extension. His chief areas of activity were in the theatre arts and in creative writing, with a strong side activity in collecting and publishing the folklore of the state. He established the functional area of arts development under University Extension and remained a specialist in the arts in smaller communities and rural areas.

Architecture And Compiler Support For Leakage Reduction Using Power Gating In Microprocessors, Soumyaroop Roy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Power gating is a technique commonly used for runtime leakage reduction in digital CMOS circuits. In microprocessors, power gating can be implemented by using sleep transistors to selectively deactivate circuit modules when they are idle during program execution. In this dissertation, a framework for power gating arithmetic functional units in embedded microprocessors with architecture and compiler support is proposed. During compile time, program regions are identified where one or more functional units are idle and sleep instructions are inserted into the code so that those units can be put to sleep during program execution. Subsequently, when their need is detected …

Design Of A New Suturing And Knot Tying Device For Laparoscopic Surgery, Sinan Onal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgery has completely changed the focus of surgery becoming an alternative to various types of open surgery. Minimally invasive surgery avoids invasive open surgery as the operation is performed through one or more small incisions in the abdomen and using a small camera called laparoscope. Through these incisions, surgeons insert specialized surgical instruments to perform the operation resulting in less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery. However, the main problems during minimally-invasive surgery are the limited space for operating instruments and the reduced visibility and range of motion inside the patient’s body. During minimally-invasive …

Applications Of Molecular Dynamics Techniques And Spectroscopic Theories To Aqueous Interfaces, Anthony Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of spectroscopy is to obtain molecularly detailed information about the system under study. Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is a nonlinear optical technique that is highly interface specific, and is therefore a powerful tool for understanding interfacial structure and dynamics. SFG is a second order, electronically nonresonant, polarization experiment and is consequently dipole forbidden in isotropic media such as a bulk liquid. Interfaces, however, serve to break the symmetry and produce a signal. Theoretical approximations to vibrational spectra of O-H stretching at aqueous interfaces are constructed using time correlation function (TCF) and instantaneous normal mode (INM) …

An Analysis Of The Travel Patterns And Preferences Of The Elderly, Sujan Sikder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of elderly is increasing; to meet their transportation needs, it is important to clearly understand their travel patterns and preferences. Since travel patterns and preferences depend on socio-demographic and other factors, it is essential to identify these factors first to understand the travel behavior of the elderly. The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze the travel patterns and preferences of the elderly age 65 and above using 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data. This thesis presents a detailed descriptive analysis of 2009 NHTS data to understand the travel patterns of the elderly. Along with a …

A Roof Runoff Strategy And Model For Augmenting Public Water Supply, Robert Carnahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water is the essential resource that is becoming extremely scarce worldwide. The 21st century will further stress all available water resources through the growth and expansion of developing nations. It is not only the quantity of cheap water that is being depleted, but the quality of these waters is being endangered. Florida is an example where rapid development and an exploding population are competing for shrinking groundwater resources. Current water use does not address the use of alternative supplies and reuses in the United States.

The objective of this research was to determine a strategy for augmenting existing water supplies …

Design, Combinatorial Synthesis, And Biological Evaluation Of Novel Α-Helical Mimetics Based On Functionalized Piperazines As Antagonists Of P53/Mdm2 Interactions, Melissa Elizabeth Topper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The p53 protein promotes tumor eradication upon activation, making it an attractive target in cancer therapies. A reported 50% of all human cancers display aberrant activation of the MDM2 oncoprotein, which directly promotes tumorgenesis by inactivating the transcriptional activity of wild type p53, and is commonly associated with drug, chemo, and radio therapy resistance. Previously reported crystallographic analysis of the p53/MDM2 complex infers that the p53 protein forms a 2.5 turn amphipathic alpha helix whose hydrophobic face interacts within a deep hydrophobic cleft in the NH2-terminal domain of the globular MDM2. This suggests that the synthesis of small molecular antagonists …

Enhancement Of Predictive Capability Of Transit Boardings Estimation And Simulation Tool (Tbest) Using Parcel Data: An Exploratory Analysis, Tejsingh Rana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

TBEST is a comprehensive third generation transit demand forecasting model, developed by the FDOT Public Transit Office (PTO) to help transit agencies in completing their Transit Development Plans (TDPs). The on-going project funded by FDOT, related to TBEST, aims at further enhancing the capabilities of the TBEST model based on additional opportunities identified by the research team. The project focuses on enhancing TBEST’s capabilities in following areas: 1) Improving the precision of socio- demographic data by using property appraisal data (parcel data) and, 2) Improving the quality of data regarding trip attraction. Based on the improvement areas, this study aims …

Design And Combinatorial Synthesis Approach Of Non-Peptidic Trimeric Small Molecules Mimicking I, I + 4(3), I + 7 Positions Of Alpha-Helices, Mingzhou Zhou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein-protein interactions are key to several biological processes that facilitate signal transduction and many other processes. These interactions are involved in pathways that are critical to many human diseases. Targeting specific protein-protein interactions is a challenging goal because protein-protein interactions are predominately through hydrophobic interactions. Antagonists of the protein-protein interactions need to be perfectly fit into the binding pockets to ensure the activity. The -helical domain of the proteins behaves as the recognition motifs for numerous protein-protein, and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Research has shown that pathways of many diseases contain protein-protein interactions involving -helical domains, e.g. neurological disorders, bacterial infections, …

Core Promoter Function In Brugia Malayi, Michelle Bailey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have indicated that the promoters of the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi are unusual in that they do not exhibit the CAAT or TATAA sequences usually found in the core domains of promoters of most eukaryotic organisms. Analysis of the promoters of the ribosomal proteins showed that the region flanking the splice leader (SL) addition site plays an important role in transcription and may function as the core promoter domain in B. malayi. To test the hypothesis that the SL addition domain is the most important essential region of the ribosomal protein promoters, the SL addition site of …

An Ethnography Of The Bay Area Renaissance Festival: Performing Community And Reconfiguring Gender, Matthew Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This performance ethnography analyzes the means by which performers at Tampa, Florida‘s Bay Area Renaissance Festival constitute community and gender through performance. Renaissance Festivals are themed weekend events that ostensibly seek to allow visitors to experience life in an English Renaissance village. Beginning with the theoretical assumption that performance is constitutive of culture, community, and identity, and undergirded by David Boje‘s festivalism, Richard Schechner‘s restored behavior, Victor Turner‘s liminoid communitas and Judith Butler‘s performative agency, The Festival is explored as a celebratory community that engages in social change through personal transformation.

Employing reflexive ethnography and narrative as inquiry, Chapter Two …

Discrimination Of Human And Non-Human Sources Of Pollution In Gulf Of Mexico Waters By Microbial Source Tracking Methods And The Investigation Of The Influence Of Environmental Factors On Escherichia Coli Survival, Asja Korajkic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water quality worldwide is assessed by enumeration of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) (fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, and enterococci) intended to act as surrogates for human enteric pathogens. In environmental waters, this predictive relationship is confounded by many possible sources of FIB with varying implications for human health. Many physico-chemical and biological factors influence the fate of enteric pathogens and FIB in aquatic habitats, but are poorly understood, thus limiting our understanding of the usefulness of FIB as fecal pollution indicators.

These studies explored the field application of a “toolbox” approach to microbial source tracking (MST) intended to discriminate between human …