Search results

Title: Active Control of High-Speed Free Jets Using High-Frequency Excitation.
Creator: Upadhyay, Puja, Alvi, Farrukh S., Hussaini, M. Yousuff, Kumar, Rajan, Clark, Jonathan E., Gustavsson, Jonas, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of...
Show moreUpadhyay, Puja, Alvi, Farrukh S., Hussaini, M. Yousuff, Kumar, Rajan, Clark, Jonathan E., Gustavsson, Jonas, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: Control of aerodynamic noise generated by high-performance jet engines continues to remain a serious problem for the aviation community. Intense low frequency noise produced by large-scale coherent structures is known to dominate acoustic radiation in the aft angles. A tremendous amount of research effort has been dedicated towards the investigation of many passive and active flow control strategies to attenuate jet noise, while keeping performance penalties to a minimum. Unsteady excitation,...
Show moreControl of aerodynamic noise generated by high-performance jet engines continues to remain a serious problem for the aviation community. Intense low frequency noise produced by large-scale coherent structures is known to dominate acoustic radiation in the aft angles. A tremendous amount of research effort has been dedicated towards the investigation of many passive and active flow control strategies to attenuate jet noise, while keeping performance penalties to a minimum. Unsteady excitation, an active control technique, seeks to modify acoustic sources in the jet by leveraging the naturally-occurring flow instabilities in the shear layer. While excitation at a lower range of frequencies that scale with the dynamics of large-scale structures, has been attempted by a number of studies, effects at higher excitation frequencies remain severely unexplored. One of the major limitations stems from the lack of appropriate flow control devices that have sufficient dynamic response and/or control authority to be useful in turbulent flows, especially at higher speeds. To this end, the current study seeks to fulfill two main objectives. First, the design and characterization of two high-frequency fluidic actuators ($25$ and $60$ kHz) are undertaken, where the target frequencies are guided by the dynamics of high-speed free jets. Second, the influence of high-frequency forcing on the aeroacoustics of high-speed jets is explored in some detail by implementing the nominally 25 kHz actuator on a Mach 0.9 ($Re_D = 5\times10^5$) free jet flow field. Subsequently, these findings are directly compared to the results of steady microjet injection experiments performed in the same rig and to prior jet noise control studies, where available. Finally, limited acoustic measurements were also performed by implementing the nominally 25 kHz actuators on jets at higher Mach numbers, including shock containing jets, and elevated temperatures. Using lumped element modeling as an initial guide, the current work expands on the previous development of low-frequency (2-8 kHz) Resonance Enhanced Micro-actuators (REM) to design actuators that are capable of producing high amplitude pulses at much higher frequencies. Extensive benchtop characterization, using acoustic measurements as well as optical diagnostics using a high resolution micro-schlieren setup, is employed to characterize the flow properties and dynamic response of these actuators. The actuators produced high-amplitude output a range of frequencies, $20.3-27.8$ kHz and $54.8-78.2$ kHz, respectively. In addition to providing information on the actuator flow physics and performances at various operating conditions, the benchtop study serves to develop relatively easy-to-integrate, high-frequency actuators for active control of high-speed jets for noise reduction. Following actuator characterization studies, the nominally 25 kHz ($St_{DF} \approx 2.2$) actuators are implemented on a Mach 0.9 free jet flow field. Eight actuators are azimuthally distributed at the nozzle exit to excite the initial shear layer at frequencies that are approximately an order of magnitude higher compared to the \textit{jet preferred frequency}, $St_P \approx 0.2-0.3$. The influence of control on the mean and turbulent characteristics of the jet, especially the developing shear layer, is examined in great detail using planar and stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Examination of cross-stream velocity profiles revealed that actuation leads to strong, spatially coherent streamwise vortex pairs which in turn significantly modify the mean flow field, resulting in a prominently undulated shear layer. These vortices grow as they convect downstream, enhancing local entrainment and significantly thickening the initial shear layer. Azimuthal inhomogeneity introduced in the jet shear layer is also evident in the simultaneous redistribution and reduction of peak turbulent fluctuations in the cross-plane near the nozzle exit. Further downstream, control results in a global suppression of turbulence intensities for all axial locations, also evidenced by a longer potential core and overall reduced jet spreading. The resulting impact on the noise signature is estimated via far-field acoustic measurements. Noise reduction was observed at low to moderate frequencies for all observation angles. Direct comparison of these results with that of steady microjet injection revealed some notable differences in the initial development of streamwise vorticity and the redistribution of peak turbulence in the azimuthal direction. However, despite significant differences in the near nozzle aerodynamics, the downstream evolution of the jet appeared to approach near similar conditions with both high-frequency and steady microjet injection. Moreover, the impact on far-field noise was also comparable between the two injection methods as well as with others reported in the literature. Finally, for jets at higher Mach numbers and elevated temperatures, the effect of control was observed to vary with jet conditions. While the impact of the two control mechanisms were fairly comparable on non-shock containing jets, high-frequency forcing was observed to produce significantly larger reductions in screech and broadband shock-associated noise (BBSN) at select under-expanded jet conditions. The observed variations in control effects at different jet conditions call for further investigation.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Upadhyay_fsu_0071E_14154
Format: Thesis

Title: Sojourn to the Sun God: Places of Emergence and Movement in Mixtec Codices.
Creator: Schaeffer, D. Douglas Bryan, Carrasco, Michael, Frank, Andrew, Niell, Paul B., Leitch, Stephanie, Florida State University, College of Fine Arts, Department of Art History
Abstract/Description: Mixtec codices are sacred books folded like accordions and composed of strips of deer hide or fig-tree bark that visually narrate activities of deities, supernatural culture heroes, and the actions and genealogies of historical Mixtec kings and queens who wanted to emulate them. Recorded in a pictographic writing system, Mixtec codices are cultural artifacts that offer the viewer glimpses of the complex and layered representations of a specific people from particular places during the...
Show moreMixtec codices are sacred books folded like accordions and composed of strips of deer hide or fig-tree bark that visually narrate activities of deities, supernatural culture heroes, and the actions and genealogies of historical Mixtec kings and queens who wanted to emulate them. Recorded in a pictographic writing system, Mixtec codices are cultural artifacts that offer the viewer glimpses of the complex and layered representations of a specific people from particular places during the Postclassic epoch of Mesoamerica. A salient part of these visualized narratives is the act of travel. In Mixtec codices, travel typically begins with the physical act of emergence of a substance, being, or historical figure. Emergence is a visual point of departure for various narratives that pulsate with ongoing movement that we are here defining as travel itself, as the itinerant traversing of place, as the formation of visual trails in the landscape and in the narrative display and reading of the pages in Mixtec codices. Travel is repeated as a conceptual, visual, and performative trope throughout Mesoamerica in various media produced by distinct ethnic groups and communities with various levels of power in the wider webs of Mesoamerican praxis. Travel in the Mixtec codices connects to the incipient founding of community, to the contemporary people, place, and cultural rhythms of communal, ritual life. Through the visual narratives recorded in the codices, an understanding of Mixtec identity, memory, and therefore history is linked to specific places through specific actions such as emergence from and travel to points of origin. By examining such visually codified narratives, this dissertation posits that Mixtec ethnogeographies of travel form part of recording a community’s identity and its connection to place.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Schaeffer_fsu_0071E_14163
Format: Thesis

Title: Teaching Stories without Borders inside a Box: How Preservice ELA Teachers Leverage Transmedia Stories to Teach Traditional Literacies.
Creator: Overstreet, Rikki Joelle, Witte, Shelbie, Southerland, Sherry A., Latham, Don, Myers, John P. (John Patrick), Gross, Melissa, Florida State University, College of Education,...
Show moreOverstreet, Rikki Joelle, Witte, Shelbie, Southerland, Sherry A., Latham, Don, Myers, John P. (John Patrick), Gross, Melissa, Florida State University, College of Education, School of Teacher Education
Show less
Abstract/Description: The personal literacy experiences English Language Arts (ELA) teachers have are an important factor in shaping their pedagogical thinking about literacy. More research is needed, however, on the relationship between literacy experiences and pedagogical thinking for preservice teachers implementing new literacies such as transmedia stories. Transmedia stories are an emerging twenty-first century storytelling form in which a narrative is told over multiple texts and media platforms and is often...
Show moreThe personal literacy experiences English Language Arts (ELA) teachers have are an important factor in shaping their pedagogical thinking about literacy. More research is needed, however, on the relationship between literacy experiences and pedagogical thinking for preservice teachers implementing new literacies such as transmedia stories. Transmedia stories are an emerging twenty-first century storytelling form in which a narrative is told over multiple texts and media platforms and is often extended further by reader contributions. Theoretical research has suggested that transmedia stories can be used in the ELA classroom to teach both traditional literacies and 21st century literacies. While researchers, scholars, and educators have begun to theorize about how such stories might benefit literacy and ELA education, little empirical research exists as to how these narratives are perceived by teachers and how this new literacy might actually be implemented in a classroom. Research is needed on how preservice ELA teachers engage with transmedia stories and how this relates to their perceptions of teaching this new literacy. The current study addressed this research need by investigating how preservice ELA teachers perceived, read, and created transmedia stories and how they saw implementing these texts in an ELA classroom. Specifically, this study asked: 1) In what ways does engaging with a transmedia story influence how preservice ELA teachers perceive transmedia stories?; 2) In what ways does reading a transmedia story influence how preservice ELA teachers perceive implementing transmedia stories in the classroom?; and 3) In what ways does creating a transmedia extension text influence how preservice ELA teachers perceive implementing transmedia stories in the classroom? To investigate these questions, the study used Hawley-Turner and Hicks’ (2015) Connected Reading Model as a theoretical framework to conceptualize transmedia stories as a new literacy that encourages different ways of encountering, engaging with, and evaluating texts. An exploratory case study design was used, and data were collected from ten preservice ELA teachers in a purposefully selected course on adolescent literacy and young adult literature through a pre-and post-survey, reading logs, a reflection, a participant-created transmedia extension text, a visual map of reading, an individual interview, and a focus group. The data sources were analyzed through inductive, deductive, and focused coding. From this analysis, the study found that the preservice teachers perceived transmedia stories as enjoyable, immersive, interactive, creative, and social and saw implementing these stories in an ELA classroom to: engage students; develop technological and media literacy; scaffold to canonical literature; and develop comprehension, literary analysis, and writing skills. While the preservice teachers experienced transmedia story engagement as a new literacy and were optimistic about the new possibilities afforded by such engagement, these results suggest that the preservice teachers most often perceived implementing these texts as tools to scaffold to the standards and goals of a traditional ELA curriculum and were less likely to integrate transmedia storytelling as a transformative new literacy defined by the new ethos elements they experienced and identified. These findings reflect research on how teachers often leverage new literacies to teach a traditional curriculum. The findings also suggest that preservice teachers negotiate between experience and ideology when implementing new literacies, sifting through their personal literacy experiences for where these experiences align with their existing education ideologies when thinking about how to implement new literacies. Building on such research, the study aims to contribute to transmedia studies research, teacher education research, and the field of English Education by investigating how the sample of preservice ELA teachers engaged with and perceived teaching transmedia stories and by paving the way for future empirical research on transmedia stories, new literacy implementation, and preservice teacher education.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Overstreet_fsu_0071E_14090
Format: Thesis

Title: Teacher and School Time: Its Use as a Resource to Be Allocated, Teacher and Administrator Perceptions, and Perceptions of How It Has Been Influenced by Test-Based Accountability.
Creator: Neal, Brenda Gale Griffin, Rutledge, Stacy A., Roehrig, Alysia D., Preston, Courtney, Schwartz, Robert A., Florida State University, College of Education, Department of...
Show moreNeal, Brenda Gale Griffin, Rutledge, Stacy A., Roehrig, Alysia D., Preston, Courtney, Schwartz, Robert A., Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Show less
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines the complexity involved in teachers’ perceptions and experience of time on school-related activities. The Intensification Theory explains that test-based accountability has caused a time crunch for teachers, increasing their stress level and burnout rate. Research literature has shown that teachers experiencing high levels of stress and burnout correlated with lower student achievement. Teachers, like all professionals, have a finite amount of time, and as the...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the complexity involved in teachers’ perceptions and experience of time on school-related activities. The Intensification Theory explains that test-based accountability has caused a time crunch for teachers, increasing their stress level and burnout rate. Research literature has shown that teachers experiencing high levels of stress and burnout correlated with lower student achievement. Teachers, like all professionals, have a finite amount of time, and as the workload increases, less time is left for replenishment and personal family time. Time is a critical resource in schools, and how teachers navigate its use can determine the ultimate success or failure of students. In a variety of ways, researchers have shown an understanding of the relationship between time in school and student achievement. I studied three important aspects of time in a charter school in Florida: (1) How do 3rd grade teachers use their school-related time? (2) How do 3rd grade teachers and their principals perceive school time? and (3) How is high stakes accountability perceived to be shaping teacher time? Using observations and interviews, my goal was to give a voice to teachers and administrators regarding how they perceived school time. This was a phenomenological qualitative research study involving five third-grade teachers and two administrators in one K-12 charter school in Florida. It was a high achieving school with exemplary teachers, who fully experienced the time crunch brought on by test-based accountability. Third-grade was chosen because it was the first grade level at which students experienced repercussions due to achievement scores. With each teacher participant, I conducted semi-structured pre- and post-interviews, completed five full days of observations as a nonparticipant observer, and requested seven full days of time-use diaries for after work hours school-related activities. Two administrators were interviewed to obtain their perspectives on teacher time in order to compare teacher and administrator perceptions. After all data was collected, interviews were transcribed, and subsequently coded using NVivo software. During a preliminary exploratory analysis of the data, I developed themes and patterns relating to teacher time. Details of what occurred in the classrooms during a school week were used to cross-analyze the thematic data and to triangulate time perceptions. After the final analysis of the data, member checking was used to substantiate the accuracy of the findings. Findings related to time as a resource indicated that this third-grade team of teachers spent an average of 54 hours per week working on school-related activities, compared to their contracted workweek of 40 hours. Most often during school hours, teachers were engaged in several activities at once, or rapidly moving from one activity to the next, called context switching. Teachers did most of their instructional planning and professional learning outside paid schoolwork hours. Findings on teacher perceptions of time showed that teachers did not believe that theirs were finite, 9-5 type of jobs, as they spent many hours after contracted work hours completing tasks. Teachers felt they had enough time for instruction if they planned carefully, and left out creative activities. They described the three months before testing as “crunch time”, meaning they had to review, re-teach, and squeeze in any standards that were missed, and they shared how stressful this time period was. Administrators perceived that third-grade teachers used time effectively and produced outstanding results, but felt that teachers should have had enough time during paid work hours to complete all their work except grading papers. Responses from administrators on comparing their time with teachers’ time were mixed. One administrator thought that teachers had much more control over their own time than did administrators, and one thought exactly the opposite. In the third set of findings, teachers shared their perspectives on the precise pacing required by testing, and how instructional time was lost to time spent using pre-packaged test preparation materials during crunch time. Administrators noticed that teachers were allowed less leeway for creative activities in their instruction due to the time crunch. I found support in my data for six of the eight assertions of the Intensification Theory, suggesting that teachers’ time has become “intensified” due to test-based accountability. My findings regarding the pace of the school day for teachers and interrupted, fragmented time in the classroom confirmed what researchers have learned in the extant literature. Unlike the findings in the research though, Irvin School teachers in my study, were paid for a longer, contracted day than teachers in most schools in the surrounding areas of Florida, and they reported using that extra time to benefit students through greater teacher collaboration, increasing interest in lessons, and reflecting on student mastery of skills. Implications of this research include the need for further studies on teachers’ context switching during the school day and the contrast between teacher and administrator perceptions of teacher time.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Neal_fsu_0071E_14132
Format: Thesis

Title: Examining Hometown Environments and University Experiences: A Qualitative Study of Gay Latino College Students' Identity Challenges at Two Predominantly White Institutions.
Creator: Peña-Talamantes, Abráham E., Ueno, Koji, Schwartz, Robert A., Schrock, Douglas P., Reynolds, John R., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy,...
Show morePeña-Talamantes, Abráham E., Ueno, Koji, Schwartz, Robert A., Schrock, Douglas P., Reynolds, John R., Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Sociology
Show less
Abstract/Description: Using grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth interviews, participant-taken photographs, and written reflections, this dissertation examines the hometown environments and university experiences of twenty-five gay Latino-identifying college students enrolled at predominantly white institutions in two separate US locations. This study finds that the participants’ hometowns influence their ability to explore, develop, and make meaning of the intersection of their sexual and ethnic...
Show moreUsing grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth interviews, participant-taken photographs, and written reflections, this dissertation examines the hometown environments and university experiences of twenty-five gay Latino-identifying college students enrolled at predominantly white institutions in two separate US locations. This study finds that the participants’ hometowns influence their ability to explore, develop, and make meaning of the intersection of their sexual and ethnic identities prior to their transition to college and inform the motivations and expectations they have of the college experience. Upon arrival at the university, the participants find themselves in an unwelcoming campus climate and encounter situations that serve as barriers to fulfilling their original expectations of the college experience, including (1) the risk of discrimination and marginalization, (2) the limited ability to disclose sexual orientation, and (3) threats toward participants’ self-acceptance and self-worth. In seeking sexuality resource centers and Latino student organizations, the participants realize that the focus of these campus resources lies solely on one aspect of their identities – either sexuality or ethnicity – and that their services and programming do not take into consideration the compounding effects of their identities as gay Latino men. Given that previous work on identity and place has been primarily situated in ecology, environmental psychology, and geography, the findings of this dissertation extend our current understanding of hometown locations as sites of identity development and as social contexts that may be useful in helping us understand what types of challenges gay Latino college students may face in their current environments. Further, the qualitative examination of gay Latino experiences at predominantly white institutions and the benefits of campus resources for marginalized student populations is an important contribution to the literature given the dearth of research that currently exists in these two areas.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_PenaTalamantes_fsu_0071E_14245
Format: Thesis

Title: The Influence of Molecular Transport on the Structure-Property Relationships of Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Membranes.
Creator: Oparaji, Onyekachi Donatus, Hallinan, Daniel T., Oates, William, Telotte, John C., Alamo, Rufina G., Chung, Hoyong, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering,...
Show moreOparaji, Onyekachi Donatus, Hallinan, Daniel T., Oates, William, Telotte, John C., Alamo, Rufina G., Chung, Hoyong, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: Polymers are essential to modern life. Yet there still remains a wealth of knowledge to discover regarding novel polymeric materials, processing techniques, and applications. The synthesis and application of nanostructured amphiphilic block copolymers have attracted significant interests in the last decade. Depending on the structure, composition, and architecture; a wide range of applications have been reported in various fields of research. The need to accurately access the fundamental...
Show morePolymers are essential to modern life. Yet there still remains a wealth of knowledge to discover regarding novel polymeric materials, processing techniques, and applications. The synthesis and application of nanostructured amphiphilic block copolymers have attracted significant interests in the last decade. Depending on the structure, composition, and architecture; a wide range of applications have been reported in various fields of research. The need to accurately access the fundamental structure-property relationships in polymers are of paramount importance to the performance in various applications. Some of these applications include the use of polymer membranes for CO2 capture from flue gas, for water purification and wastewater treatment, as well as polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries. This dissertation therefore, focuses on contributing fundamental knowledge on the structure-property relationships of amphiphilic block copolymer membranes to improve its performance. With the use of poly(styrene–block–ethylene oxide), (SEO) and high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) membranes and polystyrenes of various molecular weight and tacticity, experimental work has been conducted with relevant consideration in the aforementioned application areas. The fundamental study of the effects of molecular transport (e.g. water vapor) in an amphiphilic block copolymer membrane consisting of hydrophilic blocks of poly(ethylene oxide) and hydrophobic blocks of polystyrene (PS-b-PEO) was investigated. The influence of water solubility and diffusivity on the block copolymer morphology were examined at various temperatures and water concentrations. A comprehensive study conducted using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate the effect of water activity on PEO crystallinity, and how the PEO crystallinity in turn affects water sorption and diffusion was investigated. Also, isothermal vapor-sorption equilibria and diffusion coefficients of water in different architectures of block copolymer membranes will be discussed. This fundamental study is important for applications that rely on PEO-containing materials, as PEO crystallite melting dramatically impacts transport and mechanical properties. For lithium battery application, the study of ion association effects and the ion-polymer interactions in high molecular weight poly(styrene–ethylene oxide) block copolymer (SEO) and complexes with lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide salt (LiTFSI) as polymer electrolyte using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy were conducted. The dissolution of the lithium salt in the PEO phase as it influences the structure of the ion conducting phase of the polymer (PEO) was investigated. The infrared bands observed in the polymer–salt complexes as a function of salt concentration and temperature show different solvation and degree of ion association behavior. An understanding of the relationship between ionic conductivity and degree of solvation of lithium salts as a function of ion concentration was explained from the FTIR-ATR results. Also, Structural and stress relaxations have been measured with x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) and rheology, respectively, as a function of salt concentration and temperature. Results from XPCS experiments showed hyperdiffusive motion for various lithium salt concentrations and at varying temperatures, which is indicative of soft glassy materials. This behavior is attributed to cooperative dynamics. The decay time was a weak, non-monotonic function of salt concentration and decreased with increasing temperature, in an Arrhenius fashion. In contrast, the shear modulus decreased with increasing salt concentration and increasing temperature. The entanglement relaxation from rheological measurements followed Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behavior. The structural decay time was slower than the entanglement relaxation time at temperatures above the glass transition temperature, but they were approximately equal at Tg regardless of salt concentration. This may indicate a fundamental connection between cooperative structural motion and polymer chain motion in this material.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Oparaji_fsu_0071E_14137
Format: Thesis

Title: The Role of Evolution in Maintaining Coexistence of Competitors.
Creator: Pastore, Abigail I. (Abigail Ilona), Miller, Thomas E., Bertram, R. (Richard), Inouye, Brian D., Steppan, Scott J., Winn, Alice A., Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show morePastore, Abigail I. (Abigail Ilona), Miller, Thomas E., Bertram, R. (Richard), Inouye, Brian D., Steppan, Scott J., Winn, Alice A., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Science
Show less
Abstract/Description: Species interactions can regulate a population’s density and therefore can act as a selective force on that population. Such evolutionary responses have the potential to feedback and change ecological interactions between species. For species that compete for resources, the interaction between ecological and evolutionary dynamics will regulate the stability of the species interactions, determining whether competing species can coexist. The outcome of competition between species is determined...
Show moreSpecies interactions can regulate a population’s density and therefore can act as a selective force on that population. Such evolutionary responses have the potential to feedback and change ecological interactions between species. For species that compete for resources, the interaction between ecological and evolutionary dynamics will regulate the stability of the species interactions, determining whether competing species can coexist. The outcome of competition between species is determined by two factors: (1) niche overlap, or the similarity in how species use resources and are affected by their environment, and (2) fitness differences, or differences in how efficiently each species uses resources in their environment. Decreasing niche overlap will decrease competitive interactions, thereby stabilizing coexistence. Decreasing fitness differences makes species more equal in their competitive abilities, facilitating coexistence. In the absence of evolutionary constraints, both niche overlap and fitness differences among species are subject to change as a consequence of evolution among competitors, and thus ecological dynamics between two species will also change. In this dissertation, I develop a broader understanding of (1) how niche overlap and fitness differences between species change after evolution in response to competition, (2) how changes in niche overlap and fitness differences are mediated through changes in resource use of protists, and (3) what role evolutionary history plays in shaping ecological and evolutionary dynamics. I address these goals with a suite of approaches including theoretical models, an experimental lab system, and comparative methods. I constructed a quantitative genetic model of trait evolution, where the trait of a species determined its resource use, and found that species are prone to change in their niche overlap as well as their fitness differences as a result of trait evolution. However, the magnitude of changes in niche overlap and fitness differences were determined by the resource availability within the environments. When resources were broadly available, species changed more in their niche overlap, whereas when resources were narrowly available, species changed more in their fitness difference. To test these predictions, I developed a system in the laboratory where protists competed for a bacterial resource. Species were allowed to evolve in either monoculture or a two-species mixture; the effects of evolution on competition, niche overlap and fitness differences were quantified using parameterized models. In general I found that species tended to converge in their niche as a result of evolution, however, changes in fitness differences between species were larger and more influential on coexistence than changes in niche differences. Both increases in niche overlap, and increases in fitness differences decreased coexistence among species pairs. By describing the bacterial communities associated with these protists before and after selection I determined that protists tended to converge or not change in which bacteria they were consuming as a result of selection. Additionally, for eleven protist species, I determined whether traits or relatedness predicted competitive ability by placing species on a molecular phylogeny and conducting pairwise competition experiments for all pairs. I found no correlations, suggesting neither traits, nor evolutionary history was informative for explaining current ecological and evolutionary interactions in this deeply divergent clade. There are two major conclusions from this dissertation: (1) when species evolve in response to competition, changes in fitness differences may often be more important than changes in niche overlap, (2) evolution can, and may be likely to, decrease the ability of species to coexist through increases in niche overlap and increases in fitness differences. This work suggests that one must simultaneously consider the role of evolutionary and ecological processes to understand community processes. Specifically, when researchers are attempting to explain mechanisms of coexistence between species, they must consider how evolutionary dynamics may change the ecological interactions within communities of competitors.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Pastore_fsu_0071E_14135
Format: Thesis

Title: Composition and Stability of Single-Stranded DNA Viral Populations in Wastewater Treatment Plants.
Creator: Pearson, Victoria M., Rokyta, Darin, Beerli, Peter, Dennis, Jonathan Hancock, Hughes, Kimberly A., Tang, Hengli, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show morePearson, Victoria M., Rokyta, Darin, Beerli, Peter, Dennis, Jonathan Hancock, Hughes, Kimberly A., Tang, Hengli, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Science
Show less
Abstract/Description: Regular emergence and re-emergence of viral pathogens emphasizes the importance of understanding viral biogeography and migration. Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses are among the least understood groups of microbial pathogens, yet the group contains known agricultural pathogens, which infect both livestock and crops (Circoviridae and Geminiviridae), and model organisms (Microviridae). Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) receive water from multiple sources, becoming reservoirs for the...
Show moreRegular emergence and re-emergence of viral pathogens emphasizes the importance of understanding viral biogeography and migration. Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses are among the least understood groups of microbial pathogens, yet the group contains known agricultural pathogens, which infect both livestock and crops (Circoviridae and Geminiviridae), and model organisms (Microviridae). Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) receive water from multiple sources, becoming reservoirs for the collection of many viral families that infect a large range of hosts. Investigations utilizing high-throughput sequencing have determined that local viral diversity is extremely high but does not scale to produce an exponentially higher global diversity. It follows that similar genotypes can be found great distances apart, although they may not be permanent constituents of any single population. Transient genotypes have been observed in temporal surveys of closed systems, where genotypes migrate between individual populations. This study focused on the geographic and temporal population stability of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses in open systems. Sampling from WWTPs in three neighboring cities in Northwest Florida, which receive constant inflow and potentially receive the same viruses from the local environment, was conducted across a nine-month time span. A combination of polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and filter concentration was used to isolate whole viral particles from the complex wastewater samples. The ssDNA viruses were isolated from larger viruses using a sucrose gradient for size selection and rolling circle amplification was performed to both bias the sample towards ssDNA and prepare the samples for high-throughput sequencing. Amplified genomes were sequenced using Illumina platforms and de novo assembled. Given the increased potential for migration, we expected the populations would be mostly homogenous with relatively few viruses that are unique to individual WWTPs. Viral genotypes with genetic similarity to Circoviridae, Geminiviridae, and Microviridae were recovered from all three WWTPs, however <25% of recovered genes match genotypes (>80% amino acid identity) recovered from neighboring sample sites. We determined that <10% of the genotypes were present in all three plants and the majority of genotypes were specific to one WWTP. Unexpectedly, the WWTPs that were closest to each other geographically were the least similar, and the plants geographically distant from each other had the most observed genetic overlap. These results highlight the high level of diversity within each population, while the high observed heterogeneity indicates localized genetic success and limited migration opportunities between the WWTPs. Throughout time the communities experienced a large degree of genetic turnover. Only 30% of the genotypes were present in more than one time point, 5% were recovered in three of more samplings and <1% were present in all five time points. This thesis concludes that viral genomes are continually moving through the environment and their presence in any given area may be temporary. Therefore, viruses are a continual selective force on their host species through the sheer volume of genetic potential in an area at any given time.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Pearson_fsu_0071E_14170
Format: Thesis

Title: Threat Processing in the Human Sensory Cortex.
Creator: You, Yuqi, Li, Wen, Kabbaj, Mohamed, Kelley, Colleen M., Wang, Zhi, Wang, Zuoxin, Feng, Jian, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: The need for expedient detection of and response to signals of danger compels the development of sophisticated neural circuits for threat processing. This threat neural circuitry should support not only identification of and response to innately threatening stimuli, but also learning and memory of sensory cues predictive of such threats. While extensive rodent and human research has established an essential role of the amygdala in processing innate and learned threats, increasing evidence...
Show moreThe need for expedient detection of and response to signals of danger compels the development of sophisticated neural circuits for threat processing. This threat neural circuitry should support not only identification of and response to innately threatening stimuli, but also learning and memory of sensory cues predictive of such threats. While extensive rodent and human research has established an essential role of the amygdala in processing innate and learned threats, increasing evidence suggests the existence of extra-amygdala neural circuits that are capable of independent threat processing. The sensory cortex emerges as an important part of the threat circuitry, demonstrating heightened neural response to innately threatening stimuli and persistent neural plasticity as a result of threat learning. In three separate yet conceptually-integrated experiments, employing a combination of electrophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods, this dissertation examines threat processing in the human sensory cortex, and importantly, disentangles its unique contribution from that of the amygdala. Study 1 (Chapter 2) indicated that the ventral visual cortex was capable of fast, refined processing of threat scenes, relatively independent of the amygdala. Studies 2 and 3 (Chapters 3 and 4) further applied threat conditioning to examine possible learning and memory mechanisms by which the sensory cortex contributes to the processing of threat. Study 2 demonstrated immediate and long-term plastic changes in the olfactory cortex to learned threat odors, combining fMRI, olfactory aversive conditioning, and a long-term memory retention test (on Day 9). Lastly, Study 3 revealed visual cortical and amygdala contributions to immediate and lasting plastic changes to learned visual threats, respectively, combining brain electrophysiology, visual aversive conditioning, and a long-term memory retention test (on Day 16). Together, these three experiments demonstrate the critical role the sensory cortex plays in threat encoding and the origin of such sensory cortical threat codes via associative learning.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_You_fsu_0071E_14136
Format: Thesis

Title: Against Reason a Defense of Moderate Normative Skepticism.
Creator: Vadakin, Aron, Mele, Alfred R., Kavka, Martin, Rawling, Piers, Clarke, Randolph K., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Philosophy
Abstract/Description: This dissertation both surveys contemporary work in metanormativity and argues for a position that I call moderate normative skepticism. I begin by evaluating efforts to characterize the normative domain and conclude that while some normative concepts and properties are amenable to naturalistic programs of reduction and analysis, other normative concepts and properties are not. I proceed to clarify accounts of reasons, reasoning, and rationality; this establishes argumentative room to...
Show moreThis dissertation both surveys contemporary work in metanormativity and argues for a position that I call moderate normative skepticism. I begin by evaluating efforts to characterize the normative domain and conclude that while some normative concepts and properties are amenable to naturalistic programs of reduction and analysis, other normative concepts and properties are not. I proceed to clarify accounts of reasons, reasoning, and rationality; this establishes argumentative room to maneuver for my moderate normative skepticism. Next, I evaluate moral error theories, which I count as close cousins of my own thesis, and I note how these error theories have more profound implications than their authors realize. I claim that, understood properly, these error theories extend to the domain of normative reasons in general. I accept and defend the extension of error theory as a viable position. In the final chapter of my dissertation, I defend my position against charges of self-defeat and attempt to anticipate and defuse potential criticisms.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Vadakin_fsu_0071E_14258
Format: Thesis

Title: Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices.
Creator: Tours, Sara Beth, Jones, Ithel, Welsh, Thomas M., Jakubowski, Elizabeth M., Davis, Angela F., Florida State University, College of Education, School of Teacher Education
Abstract/Description: This study examined kindergarten teachers’ developmentally appropriate beliefs, developmentally appropriate practices, and their opinions about the current state of the kindergarten curriculum through the lens of teachers’ beliefs. A sample of 107 kindergarten teachers participated in the study by completing the Teacher Questionnaire on-line. The survey instrument was comprised of three sections; The Teachers Beliefs Questionnaire, The Instructional Activities Questionnaire, and the Opinions...
Show moreThis study examined kindergarten teachers’ developmentally appropriate beliefs, developmentally appropriate practices, and their opinions about the current state of the kindergarten curriculum through the lens of teachers’ beliefs. A sample of 107 kindergarten teachers participated in the study by completing the Teacher Questionnaire on-line. The survey instrument was comprised of three sections; The Teachers Beliefs Questionnaire, The Instructional Activities Questionnaire, and the Opinions Questionnaire. The findings showed that kindergarten teachers had concerns and were frustrated with the current state of the kindergarten curriculum. The respondents who were comfortable with the current state of the kindergarten curriculum had extenuating circumstances such as working in invitation-only school or using a Montessori curriculum. The findings also showed that kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices were not aligned. The kindergarten teachers tended to have developmentally appropriate beliefs, but they did not often engage in developmentally appropriate practices. It was also found that kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices overall were not significantly correlated. In addition, the findings showed that kindergarten teachers in Title I schools engaged in more developmentally inappropriate practices than did the kindergarten teachers who were not at Title I schools. Kindergarten teachers with more than 18 years of teaching experience engaged in more developmentally appropriate practices than kindergarten teachers with 0-5 years of teaching experience and kindergarten teachers with 6-17 years teaching experience.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Tours_fsu_0071E_14004
Format: Thesis

Title: Monte Carlo Scheme for a Singular Control Problem: Investment-Consumption under Proportional Transaction Costs.
Creator: Tsai, Wan-Yu, Fahim, Arash, Atkins, Jennifer, Zhu, Lingjiong, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics
Abstract/Description: Nowadays free boundary problems are considered as one of the most important directions in the mainstream of partial differential equations (PDEs) analysis, with an abundance of applications in various sciences and real world problems. Free boundary problems on finance have been extended in many areas, such as optimal portfolio selection, control credit risks, and different American style products etc. To modelling these financial problems in the real world, the qualitative and quantitative...
Show moreNowadays free boundary problems are considered as one of the most important directions in the mainstream of partial differential equations (PDEs) analysis, with an abundance of applications in various sciences and real world problems. Free boundary problems on finance have been extended in many areas, such as optimal portfolio selection, control credit risks, and different American style products etc. To modelling these financial problems in the real world, the qualitative and quantitative behaviors of the solution to a free boundary problem are still not well understood and also numerical solutions to free boundary problems remain a challenge. Stochastic control problems reduce to free-boundary problems in partial differential equations while there are no bounds on the rate of control. In a free boundary problem, the solution as well as the domain to the PDE need to be determined simultaneously. In this dissertation, we concern the numerical solution of a fully nonlinear parabolic double obstacle problem arising from a finite time portfolio selection problem with proportional transaction costs. We consider optimal allocation of wealth among multiple stocks and a bank account in order to maximize the finite horizon discounted utility of consumption. The problem is mainly governed by a time-dependent Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation with gradient constraints. We propose a numerical method which is composed of Monte Carlo simulation to take advantage of the high-dimensional properties and finite difference method to approximate the gradients of the value function. Numerical results illustrate behaviors of the optimal trading strategies and also satisfy all qualitative properties proved in Dai et al. (2009) and Chen and Dai (2013).
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Tsai_fsu_0071E_14174
Format: Thesis

Title: Evacuating and Sheltering Aging Populations: A GIS- and Optimization-Based Methodology.
Creator: Kocatepe, Ayberk, Ozguven, Eren Erman, Brown, Jeff R., Moses, Ren, Sobanjo, John Olusegun, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Civil and...
Show moreKocatepe, Ayberk, Ozguven, Eren Erman, Brown, Jeff R., Moses, Ren, Sobanjo, John Olusegun, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: Evacuating individuals and allocating space in shelters are complex tasks that depend on disaster characteristics, roadway network characteristics, the demographics and socioeconomic status of people in the affected region, as well as the effectiveness of the emergency plans. This problem becomes even more challenging when special needs (access and functional needs) populations and those with pets are considered since they may require more time in the event of an evacuation along with more...
Show moreEvacuating individuals and allocating space in shelters are complex tasks that depend on disaster characteristics, roadway network characteristics, the demographics and socioeconomic status of people in the affected region, as well as the effectiveness of the emergency plans. This problem becomes even more challenging when special needs (access and functional needs) populations and those with pets are considered since they may require more time in the event of an evacuation along with more space in shelters. Satisfying the needs of aging victims during emergency evacuations is critical and requires extra attention in the presence of highly uncertain disaster conditions. During Irma, it was very hard to manage the evacuation of aging people who had disabilities and mobility restrictions, did have special needs or pets. This study develops a Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based methodology to measure and assess the transportation accessibility of these critical facilities through a diverse set of case study applications in the State of Florida. This research presents a timely evaluation and assessment of aging-focused evacuations towards providing better decision support during emergency transportation operations. This analysis is applied on a case study application set in Florida with a focus on the delays, evacuation travel times and critical bottlenecks, which can be vital for aging victims’ safety and survival. This study also emphasizes the use of GIS-based maps and modeling scenarios in support of emergency evacuation operations, in order to both satisfy the needs of aging people and account for real-world disruptions such as road closures. Additionally, a variety of scenarios are constructed to simulate evacuating 65+ and 85+ populations living in the evacuation zone, providing dynamic congested travel times. Finally, a capacitated p-median optimization model is implemented to maximize the accessibility and capacity of the existing shelters for 85+ populations with special needs (access and functional needs) or pets. Results indicate that the location and allocations of people to shelters are sensitive to demographics and roadway conditions, and the accessibility to shelters can be improved for this group of people based on optimization model results. A contribution of the research will be the evaluation of emergency evacuation performance of the transportation network under multiple disaster scenarios and the detailed modeling of key transportation facilities where special needs would take place. By exploring the use of multi-layered approach for emergency operations, this research will also increase the performance in evacuating aging people who has limitations.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Kocatepe_fsu_0071E_14253
Format: Thesis

Title: Reaction Discovery Using Neopentylene-Tethered Coupling Partners: Methodology and Applications of Dienyne Cycloisomerizations.
Creator: Kramer, Nicholas J. James, Dudley, Gregory B., Frederich, James H., Fadool, James M., Alabugin, Igor V., Shatruk, Mykhailo, Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show moreKramer, Nicholas J. James, Dudley, Gregory B., Frederich, James H., Fadool, James M., Alabugin, Igor V., Shatruk, Mykhailo, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Show less
Abstract/Description: Within the past few decades, metal-catalysis has emerged as a key facet in synthetic organic chemistry, perpetuating a continuous need for the development of methods within this sect of chemistry. In tandem, cycloisomerization reactions of tethered enynes have garnered considerable interest as emphasis on annulation strategies to access polycyclic systems becomes necessary for the generation of important bioactive structures. Driven by both methodological and total synthesis applications,...
Show moreWithin the past few decades, metal-catalysis has emerged as a key facet in synthetic organic chemistry, perpetuating a continuous need for the development of methods within this sect of chemistry. In tandem, cycloisomerization reactions of tethered enynes have garnered considerable interest as emphasis on annulation strategies to access polycyclic systems becomes necessary for the generation of important bioactive structures. Driven by both methodological and total synthesis applications, metal-catalyzed cycloisomerizations remain at the forefront of interest for effective atom-economic reactions. We have identified a strategic gap in the methodology of 1,6-enyne cycloisomerizations bearing heteroatom, methylene, and malonate tethers. Herein will be described a method for the [4 + 2] formal Diels-Alder cycloisomerization of neopentylene-tethered dienynes, closing the gap previously mentioned and highlighting a valuable reactivity profile of this new tether. Also demonstrated is significant progress in the Diels-Alder cyclization of electron-deficient dienynes, for which the literature has shown to be relatively unexplored, presumably due to the apparent poor reactivity of these substrates. Further investigation into isolation of the [4 + 2] Diels-Alder products as well as elaboration on the previously published fragmentation/olefination methodology is included in this manuscript. Using these effective annulation strategies developed in our lab, we have sought to gain access to sesquiterpene natural products of particular interest bearing the gem-dimethylcyclopentane, an extension of the indane core. These methods have been employed in a six-step total synthesis of Alcyopterosin A and in the efforts toward the synthesis of Fomajorin D.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Kramer_fsu_0071E_14204
Format: Thesis

Title: Combining Regression Slopes from Studies with Different Models in Meta-Analysis.
Creator: Jeon, Sanghyun, Becker, Betsy Jane, Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William), Yang, Yanyun, Paek, Insu, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational...
Show moreJeon, Sanghyun, Becker, Betsy Jane, Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William), Yang, Yanyun, Paek, Insu, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Show less
Abstract/Description: Primary studies are using complex models more and more. Slopes from multiple regression analyses are reported in primary studies, but few scholars have dealt with how to combine multiple regression slopes. One of the problems in combining multiple regression slopes is that each study may use a different regression model. The purpose of this research is to propose a method for combining partial regression slopes from studies with different regression models. The method combines comparable...
Show morePrimary studies are using complex models more and more. Slopes from multiple regression analyses are reported in primary studies, but few scholars have dealt with how to combine multiple regression slopes. One of the problems in combining multiple regression slopes is that each study may use a different regression model. The purpose of this research is to propose a method for combining partial regression slopes from studies with different regression models. The method combines comparable covariance matrices to obtain a synthetic partial slope. The proposed method assumes the population is homogeneous, and that the different regression models are nested. Elements in the sample covariance matrix are not independent of each other, so missing elements should be imputed using conditional expectations. The Bartlett decomposition is used to decompose the sample covariance matrix into a parameter component and a sampling error component. The proposed method treats the sample-size weighted average as a parameter matrix and applies Bartlett’s decomposition to the sample covariance matrices to get their respective error matrices. Since missing elements in the error matrix are not correlated, missing elements can be estimated in the error matrices and hence in the parameter matrices. Finally the partial slopes can be computed from the combined matrices. Simulation shows the suggested method gives smaller standard errors than the listwise-deletion method and the pairwise-deletion method. An empirical examination shows the suggested method can be applied to heterogeneous populations.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Jeon_fsu_0071E_14179
Format: Thesis

Title: Examining the Effect of Treatment on the Distribution of Blood Pressure in the Population Using Observational Data.
Creator: Kucukemiroglu, Saryet Alexa, McGee, Daniel, Slate, Elizabeth H., Hurt, Myra M., Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William), Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreKucukemiroglu, Saryet Alexa, McGee, Daniel, Slate, Elizabeth H., Hurt, Myra M., Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William), Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Statistics
Show less
Abstract/Description: Since the introduction of anti-hypertensive medications in the mid-1950s, there has been an increased use of blood pressure medications in the US. The growing use of anti-hypertensive treatment has affected the distribution of blood pressure in the population over time. Now observational data no longer reflect natural blood pressure levels. Our goal is to examine the effect of anti-hypertensive drugs on distributions of blood pressure using several well-known observational studies. The...
Show moreSince the introduction of anti-hypertensive medications in the mid-1950s, there has been an increased use of blood pressure medications in the US. The growing use of anti-hypertensive treatment has affected the distribution of blood pressure in the population over time. Now observational data no longer reflect natural blood pressure levels. Our goal is to examine the effect of anti-hypertensive drugs on distributions of blood pressure using several well-known observational studies. The statistical concept of censoring is used to estimate the distribution of blood pressure in populations if no treatment were available. The treated and estimated untreated distributions are then compared to determine the general effect of these medications in the population. Our analyses show that these drugs have an increasing impact on controlling blood pressure distributions in populations that are heavily treated.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Kucukemiroglu_fsu_0071E_14275
Format: Thesis

Title: Memory Consolidation during Post-encoding Wakeful Rest.
Creator: Komsky, Jane C. (Jane Claire), Bishop, Michael A., Johnson, Frank, Boot, Walter Richard, Nee, Derek Evan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of...
Show moreKomsky, Jane C. (Jane Claire), Bishop, Michael A., Johnson, Frank, Boot, Walter Richard, Nee, Derek Evan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Show less
Abstract/Description: Engaging in post-encoding wakeful rest has been shown to lead to better retention of encoded information versus engaging in a post-encoding task. Brain imaging studies have shown that there is reactivation during post-encoding rest of brain areas that were active during initial encoding, and this process has been attributed to memory consolidation, leading to the improvements in recall. The present set of experiments investigated the impact of conscious thoughts occurring during post-encoding...
Show moreEngaging in post-encoding wakeful rest has been shown to lead to better retention of encoded information versus engaging in a post-encoding task. Brain imaging studies have shown that there is reactivation during post-encoding rest of brain areas that were active during initial encoding, and this process has been attributed to memory consolidation, leading to the improvements in recall. The present set of experiments investigated the impact of conscious thoughts occurring during post-encoding wakeful rest on delayed recall performance for both younger and older adults. Recall was tested across two tests separated by a rest period while verbalizing conscious thoughts or engaging in a visuo-spatial task while verbalizing thoughts. The present set of experiments demonstrated that both younger and older adults engage in post-encoding conscious reply that relates to delayed recall organization. The role of conscious replay in post-encoding processing is discussed.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Komsky_fsu_0071E_14232
Format: Thesis

Title: Like a Rolling Stone: Moving Toward Methodologies for Analysis of Multimodal Musical Performance.
Creator: Burgess, Andrew D. (Andrew David), Fleckenstein, Kristie S., Houck, Davis W., Yancey, Kathleen Blake, Neal, Michael R., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreBurgess, Andrew D. (Andrew David), Fleckenstein, Kristie S., Houck, Davis W., Yancey, Kathleen Blake, Neal, Michael R., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English
Show less
Abstract/Description: As a means for understanding a wide range of multimodal phenomena, multimodal analysis poses methodological challenges for the novice researcher intent on investigating multimodal communication, especially communication that involves multimodal musical performance (MMP), an understudied communicative act. As a response to these challenges, this project examines three approaches to multimodal analysis identified by Carey Jewitt in The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis as central to...
Show moreAs a means for understanding a wide range of multimodal phenomena, multimodal analysis poses methodological challenges for the novice researcher intent on investigating multimodal communication, especially communication that involves multimodal musical performance (MMP), an understudied communicative act. As a response to these challenges, this project examines three approaches to multimodal analysis identified by Carey Jewitt in The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis as central to studying multimodality writ large: social-semiotic multimodal analysis (SSMA), multimodal discourse analysis (MDA), and multimodal interactional analysis (MIA). However, while these approaches each provide a theory and key concepts for analysis, they lack a practicable methodology—necessary for the novice research—and, thus, provide no concrete way to pursue multimodal analysis or to assess the strengths and deficits of a particular approach when applied to the analysis of MMPs. In this project, I conduct a critical analysis that includes a theoretical and pragmatic examination of these approaches to multimodal analysis and assess them for strengths and deficits in terms of a particular MMP because such a performance is an important and under-explored variety of multimodal text. Thus, this project asks three questions of each approach and its methods: 1) What are the strengths of each approach to multimodal analysis of musical performance as multimodal communication? 2) What are the deficits of each approach to multimodal analysis of musical performance as multimodal communication? 3) And, finally, given the strengths and deficits of competing approaches to multimodal analysis of musical performance as multimodal communication, what do we need moving forward in order to fully, robustly, and capaciously analyze and understand musical performance as multimodal communication? I respond to these questions by devising a synthesized, practicable methodology for each approach, one derived from the work in key chapters in The Routledge Handbook identified by Jewitt as employing a specific approach. I apply each of these methodologies to a single musical performance: video footage from Bob Dylan’s July 25, 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival—which is often seen as a pivotal moment in popular music history—collected on the 2011 blu-ray release of Murray Lerner’s concert film The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live At Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965. I assess the results of my application of each methodology and its methods to determine the strengths and deficits of each approach for analyzing MMPs. Finally, I offer two options to bolster strengths and address deficits of these three approaches to the multimodal analysis of MMPs, one crafted from combining approaches, and one crafted from a new perspective—that of sonic imaginations (Sterne)—thus informing methodology with attention to the sonic aspects of MMPs. This dissertation offers three key results important for the novice researcher. First, it provides a practicable methodology for each approach, a necessary step in the process of assessing an approach's strengths and deficits. Second, it offers the novice researcher insight into each methodology’s potential. For instance, analyses indicated that SSMA possesses, among its five strengths, a focus on the sign-maker, while at the same time, it possesses, among its three deficits, no mechanism through which to consider the multiple sign-makers involved in an MMP. Similarly, MDA possesses, among its six strengths, a focus on the multimodal phenomenon, while at the same time, it possesses, among its four deficits, a lack of a systematic means for delineating levels of discourse. And, MDA possesses, among its five strengths, a focus on interaction between social actors involved in an MMP, while at the same time, it possesses, among its five deficits, a requirement for a considerable amount of guesswork on the part of the researcher. Third, while demonstrating that no approach to multimodal analysis offers a “best” methodology for the analysis of MMPs, this dissertation offers two directions for methodological inspiration. It concludes that, through a deliberate courting of emotion by tapping into elements of music criticism and through a deliberate courting of messiness by embracing the union of emotion and analysis, methodologies for analysis can be crafted that align with the demands of MMPs.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Burgess_fsu_0071E_14194
Format: Thesis

Title: Semi-Parametric Generalized Estimating Equations with Kernel Smoother: A Longitudinal Study in Financial Data Analysis.
Creator: Yang, Liu, Niu, Xufeng, Cheng, Yingmei, Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William), Tao, Minjing, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Statistics
Abstract/Description: Longitudinal studies are widely used in various fields, such as public health, clinic trials and financial data analysis. A major challenge for longitudinal studies is repeated measurements from each subject, which cause time dependent correlation within subjects. Generalized Estimating Equations can deal with correlated outcomes for longitudinal data through marginal effect. My model will base on Generalized Estimating Equations with semi-parametric approach, providing a flexible structure...
Show moreLongitudinal studies are widely used in various fields, such as public health, clinic trials and financial data analysis. A major challenge for longitudinal studies is repeated measurements from each subject, which cause time dependent correlation within subjects. Generalized Estimating Equations can deal with correlated outcomes for longitudinal data through marginal effect. My model will base on Generalized Estimating Equations with semi-parametric approach, providing a flexible structure for regression models: coefficients for parametric covariates will be estimated and nuisance covariates will be fitted in kernel smoothers for non-parametric part. Profile kernel estimator and the seemingly unrelated kernel estimator (SUR) will be used to deliver consistent and efficient semi-parametric estimators comparing to parametric models. We provide simulation results for estimating semi-parametric models with one or multiple non-parametric terms. In application part, we would like to focus on financial market: a credit card loan data will be used with the payment information for each customer across 6 months, investigating whether gender, income, age or other factors will influence payment status significantly. Furthermore, we propose model comparisons to evaluate whether our model should be fitted based on different levels of factors, such as male and female or based on different types of estimating methods, such as parametric estimation or semi-parametric estimation.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_YANG_fsu_0071E_14219
Format: Thesis

Title: Transport Properties of Semimetallic Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.
Creator: Zhou, Qiong, Balicas, Luis, Bonesteel, N. E., Andrei, Petru, Xiong, Peng, Wahl, Horst, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics
Abstract/Description: The Weyl semimetal requires the breaking of either the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) or the lattice inversion symmetry. When the TRS and inversion symmetry coexist, a pair of degenerate Weyl points may exist, leading to the related Dirac semimetal phase. In other words, a Dirac semimetallic state can be regarded as two copies of Weyl semimetal states. In this dissertation, we study tellurium based compounds like the Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2 and the Dirac semimetal candidate PtTe2 within...
Show moreThe Weyl semimetal requires the breaking of either the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) or the lattice inversion symmetry. When the TRS and inversion symmetry coexist, a pair of degenerate Weyl points may exist, leading to the related Dirac semimetal phase. In other words, a Dirac semimetallic state can be regarded as two copies of Weyl semimetal states. In this dissertation, we study tellurium based compounds like the Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2 and the Dirac semimetal candidate PtTe2 within the transition metal dichalcogenides family. Firstly, we report a systematic study on the Hall-effect of the semi-metallic state of bulk MoTe2, which was recently claimed to be a candidate for a novel type of Weyl semi-metallic state. The temperature (T) dependence of the carrier densities and of their mobilities, as estimated from a numerical analysis based on the isotropic two-carrier model, indicates that its exceedingly large and non-saturating magnetoresistance may be attributed to a near perfect compensation between the densities of electrons and holes at low temperatures. A sudden increase in hole density, with a concomitant rapid increase in the electron mobility below T ∼ 40 K, leads to comparable densities of electrons and holes at low temperatures suggesting a possible electronic phase-transition around this temperature. Secondly, the electronic structure of semi-metallic transition-metal dichalcogenides, such as WTe2 and orthorhombic γ−MoTe2, are claimed to contain pairs of Weyl points or linearly touching electron and hole pockets associated with a non-trivial Chern number. For this reason, these compounds were recently claimed to conform to a new class, deemed type-II, of Weyl semi-metallic systems. A series of angle resolved photoemission experiments (ARPES) claim a broad agreement with these predictions detecting, for example, topological Fermi arcs at the surface of these crystals. We synthesized single-crystals of semi-metallic MoTe2 through a Te flux method to validate these predictions through measurements of its bulk Fermi surface (FS) via quantum oscillatory phenomena. We find that the superconducting transition temperature of γ−MoTe2 depends on disorder as quantified by the ratio between the room- and low-temperature resistivities, suggesting the possibility of an unconventional superconducting pairing symmetry. Similarly to WTe2, the magnetoresistivity of γ−MoTe2 does not saturate at high magnetic fields and can easily surpass 106 %. Remarkably, the analysis of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) signal superimposed onto the magnetic torque, indicates that the geometry of its FS is markedly distinct from the calculated one. The dHvA signal also reveals that the FS is affected by the Zeeman-effect precluding the extraction of the Berry-phase. A direct comparison between the previous ARPES studies and density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations reveals a disagreement in the position of the valence bands relative to the Fermi level εF . Here, we show that a shift of the DFT valence bands relative to εF , in order to match the ARPES observations, and of the DFT electron bands to explain some of the observed dHvA frequencies, leads to a good agreement between the calculations and the angular dependence of the FS cross-sectional areas observed experimentally. However, this relative displacement between electron- and hole-bands eliminates their crossings and, therefore, the Weyl type-II points predicted for γ−MoTe2. Finally, we investigate the electronic structure and transport properties in single crystals of the semi-metallic platinum ditelluride (PtTe2), recently claimed to be a novel type-II Dirac semimetal, via a methodology similar to that applied to γ−MoTe2, i.e. the temperature and angular dependence of the SdH and dHvA effects. Our high-quality PtTe2 crystal displays a large non-saturating magnetoresistance under magnetic field up to 61 T. The dHvA oscillation and SdH effect reveal several high and low frequencies suggesting a rather complex Fermi surface. We also find evidence for a non-trivial Berry phase. The crystal quality improved considerably under subsequent annealing at high-temperatures leading to the observation of linear in field magnetoresistivity. Combined with effective masses in the order of ∼ 0.1 free electron mass, these results further suggest that PtTe2 displays bulk Dirac-like bands.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Zhou_fsu_0071E_14145
Format: Thesis

Title: NMR Investigation of the Layered Superconductor NbSe2.
Creator: Wilson, Douglas M. (Douglas Mark), Reyes, Arneil P., Chiorescu, Irinel, Barbu, Adrian G., Hellstrom, Eric, Siegrist, Theo, Florida State University, Graduate School, Program in...
Show moreWilson, Douglas M. (Douglas Mark), Reyes, Arneil P., Chiorescu, Irinel, Barbu, Adrian G., Hellstrom, Eric, Siegrist, Theo, Florida State University, Graduate School, Program in Materials Science
Show less
Abstract/Description: This dissertation details the use of 93Nb (γ = 10.405 MHz/T, I = 9/2) and 77Se (γ = 8.13 MHz/T, I = 1/2) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to investigate the phase transitions of the layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) niobium diselenide (2H-NbSe2). 2H-NbSe2 has a trigonal prismatic structure and exhibits a charge density wave (CDW) transition at TCDW = 33.5 K and a superconducting (SC) transition with Tc = 7.2 K. The present experiments were undertaken with the external field (H0)...
Show moreThis dissertation details the use of 93Nb (γ = 10.405 MHz/T, I = 9/2) and 77Se (γ = 8.13 MHz/T, I = 1/2) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to investigate the phase transitions of the layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) niobium diselenide (2H-NbSe2). 2H-NbSe2 has a trigonal prismatic structure and exhibits a charge density wave (CDW) transition at TCDW = 33.5 K and a superconducting (SC) transition with Tc = 7.2 K. The present experiments were undertaken with the external field (H0) first parallel, and then perpendicular to the crystallographic axis (c-axis). Single crystals of 2H-NbSe2 were probed in the temperature range of 0.35 K – 100 K and at frequencies and fields ranging from 19 MHz – 135 MHz and 1.8 T – 17.5 T respectively to investigate the normal, CDW and superconducting states. A value of Tc = 7.04 K was measured in situ by cooling the sample below Tc and measuring detuning. A value of Tc = 6.2 K was measured in a sample grown from the same batch using a SQUID magnetometer. 93Nb NMR spectral line shape and Knight shift were used to detect the CDW phase. The full 93Nb spectrum was field-swept and observed to possess line broadening and asymmetry which gain intensity the further the respective transition is from the central line. Pre-transitional broadening was detected in both orientations, beginning at a temperature of 60 K for the central transition and as high as 80 K for the first lower-frequency satellite transition. The broadening continues below TCDW and ends below 15 K. These results are believed to be evidence of a discommensurate CDW phase. Spin-lattice relaxation rate (T1) measurements are used to directly probe the electronic density of states (DOS) and investigate the SC gap. The T1 data of both nuclei reveal Korringa behavior above Tc, no visible Hebel-Slichter peak just below Tc, and a linear crossover to further Korringa behavior for T << Tc in both orientations. Both orientations were accurately fit to a two-gap function and 1/T1T in the H0⊥c direction displays a two-step transition, suggesting two superconducting gaps are present. A field-dependence of T1 in the SC state was detected in both sample orientations. In both the H0∥c and H0⊥c directions, 〖1/T〗_1∝H due to the Zeeman contribution of the Volovik effect. The Doppler effect contribution from the vortex supercurrents was absent from the relaxation, which suggests 2H-NbSe2 is a two-gap s-wave superconductor.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Wilson_fsu_0071E_14235
Format: Thesis

Title: Developing SRSF Shape Analysis Techniques for Applications in Neuroscience and Genomics.
Creator: Wesolowski, Sergiusz, Wu, Wei, Bertram, R. (Richard), Srivastava, Anuj, Beerli, Peter, Mio, Washington, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of...
Show moreWesolowski, Sergiusz, Wu, Wei, Bertram, R. (Richard), Srivastava, Anuj, Beerli, Peter, Mio, Washington, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics
Show less
Abstract/Description: Dissertation focuses on exploring the capabilities of the SRSF statistical shape analysis framework through various applications. Each application gives rise to a specific mathematical shape analysis model. The theoretical investigation of the models, driven by real data problems, give rise to new tools and theorems necessary to conduct a sound inference in the space of shapes. From theoretical standpoint the robustness results are provided for the model parameters estimation and an ANOVA...
Show moreDissertation focuses on exploring the capabilities of the SRSF statistical shape analysis framework through various applications. Each application gives rise to a specific mathematical shape analysis model. The theoretical investigation of the models, driven by real data problems, give rise to new tools and theorems necessary to conduct a sound inference in the space of shapes. From theoretical standpoint the robustness results are provided for the model parameters estimation and an ANOVA-like statistical testing procedure is discussed. The projects were a result of the collaboration between theoretical and application-focused research groups: the Shape Analysis Group at the Department of Statistics at Florida State University, the Center of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at FSU and the FSU's Department of Neuroscience. As a consequence each of the projects consists of two aspects—the theoretical investigation of the mathematical model and the application driven by a real life problem. The applications components, are similar from the data modeling standpoint. In each case the problem is set in an infinite dimensional space, elements of which are experimental data points that can be viewed as shapes. The three projects are: ``A new framework for Euclidean summary statistics in the neural spike train space''. The project provides a statistical framework for analyzing the spike train data and a new noise removal procedure for neural spike trains. The framework adapts the SRSF elastic metric in the space of point patterns to provides a new notion of the distance. ``SRSF shape analysis for sequencing data reveal new differentiating patterns''. This project uses the shape interpretation of the Next Generation Sequencing data to provide a new point of view of the exon level gene activity. The novel approach reveals a new differential gene behavior, that can't be captured by the state-of-the art techniques. Code is available online on github repository. ``How changes in shape of nucleosomal DNA near TSS influence changes of gene expression''. The result of this work is the novel shape analysis model explaining the relation between the change of the DNA arrangement on nucleosomes and the change in the differential gene expression.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Wesolowski_fsu_0071E_14177
Format: Thesis

Title: Hirschman Transform Applications in Compressive Sensing.
Creator: Xi, Peng, DeBrunner, Victor E., Gallivan, Kyle A., Harvey, Bruce A., DeBrunner, Linda S., Roberts, Rodney G., Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of...
Show moreXi, Peng, DeBrunner, Victor E., Gallivan, Kyle A., Harvey, Bruce A., DeBrunner, Linda S., Roberts, Rodney G., Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: The CS technology has attracted considerable attention because it can surpass the traditional limit of Nyquist sampling theory. Rather than sampling a signal at a high frequency and then compressing it, the CS senses the target signal in a compressed format directly. However, the great sampling improvement results in the increased complexity in decoding. The optimization of sensing structure never stops to simplify the decoding procedure as much as possible. Unlike the Heisenberg-Weyl measure...
Show moreThe CS technology has attracted considerable attention because it can surpass the traditional limit of Nyquist sampling theory. Rather than sampling a signal at a high frequency and then compressing it, the CS senses the target signal in a compressed format directly. However, the great sampling improvement results in the increased complexity in decoding. The optimization of sensing structure never stops to simplify the decoding procedure as much as possible. Unlike the Heisenberg-Weyl measure, the Hirschman notion of joint uncertainty is based on entropy rather than energy. The Discrete Hirschman Transform (DHT) has been proved to be superior in complexity reduction and high resolution to the traditional Discrete Fourier Transform in many aspects such as fast filtering, spectrum estimation, and image identification. In this dissertation, I implement a new deterministic compressive sensing system based on DHT with four contributions: (1) apply Weyl's sum character estimation to the DHT matrices to develop a new deterministic sensing structure (2) theoretically prove that the new sensing structure satisfy the Mutual Incoherence Property (3) discover a Non-tensor Wavelet Transform as the sparse basis for DHT sensing structures as well as for other DFT and DFT-like sensing matrices. (4) design a DHT computational core based on FPGA and related communication suite based on C#.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_XI_fsu_0071E_14193
Format: Thesis

Title: Using Social Network Analysis (SNA) Feedback to Explore Patterns of Participation and Interaction in Online Discussions.
Creator: Chauhan, Amit, Dennen, Vanessa P., Sypher, Ulla, Klein, James D., Darabi, Aubteen, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and...
Show moreChauhan, Amit, Dennen, Vanessa P., Sypher, Ulla, Klein, James D., Darabi, Aubteen, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Show less
Abstract/Description: Motivating learners to participate and interact in online discussions is a challenge faced by many instructors. Despite clear guidelines, learners do not always participate in online discussions and do not meet the expected participation criteria or requirements for the course. Because online interactions are integral to social constructivist learning, little or no learner participation can be a barrier to social dialogue process for knowledge building and learning. While learner...
Show moreMotivating learners to participate and interact in online discussions is a challenge faced by many instructors. Despite clear guidelines, learners do not always participate in online discussions and do not meet the expected participation criteria or requirements for the course. Because online interactions are integral to social constructivist learning, little or no learner participation can be a barrier to social dialogue process for knowledge building and learning. While learner participation in online discussions can be attributed to several contextual factors, formative feedback is important to motivate learner participation and interaction. One reason why students might not be motivated to participate could be little or no awareness of how to effectively interact in a course discussion. In this context, SNA can be used to visualize the structure and patterns of interaction in online discussions. Such information can be used to create self-awareness as well as an awareness of other students’ participation. This study explored if structural indicators e.g., participant location in the discussion and relational information about their interaction with others when provided as SNA-based feedback, can motivate learner participation and interaction in online discussion. For the purposes of providing SNA-based feedback, the study used Ego network and two centrality measures—Degree and Eigenvector. The ego network is the neighborhood of a participant and showed direct connections with others in the discussion network. Degree centrality was a measure of the total number of messages sent or received from different interaction partners. Eigenvector centrality was a measure of interaction with partners who in turn, have more interaction partners. Participants with a high centrality score are those who interact more with other participants as they send messages and receive replies. This study addressed student reactions to the SNA-based feedback. Of particular interest was motivational reactions of students and whether they would use the feedback to optimize their discussion participation and interaction. The two research questions that guided this study are: 1) What are learner perceptions of the SNA-based feedback? 2) How do learners participate and interact in the course discussion before and after receiving SNA-based feedback? The participants in the study were 10 students enrolled in a graduate level online course at a large southern research university. The 10 participants agreed to receive feedback and complete a survey at the end of the study. Of these 10 students, three agreed to participate in a follow-up interview. A modified version of Deci and Ryan’s (2007) Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) for pre- and post-survey was used in the study to measure learner motivation to participate in online discussions. Scores on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction subscales in a modified version of Keller’s (1987) IMMS survey were used to measure motivational reactions of students to SNA-based feedback. Prompted interviews were conducted with the three participants who indicated willingness to participate. The results of the IMI survey indicated that the students were motivated regarding their beliefs about online discussion. Regarding the perceptions of the SNA-based feedback, the results of the modified IMMS survey showed three of the 10 participants with high motivational reactions, two with low motivational reactions, and the remaining five showing medium motivational reactions regarding their perception of the SNA-based feedback. The Contribution Index (CI) showed that four participants each received more messages than the total number of messages sent. The remaining six participants sent more messages than the number of messages each participant received. While the motivational reactions to SNA-based feedback did not encourage the participants to post more messages, a visible change in behavior was noticeable in early discussion postings by the participants. Findings from this study indicate that the participants actively participated and engaged in the discussions throughout the entire discussion week. The participants appreciated the feedback as it provided them an opportunity to reflect on their behavior and also used to guide how they wanted to participate in the discussion. The participants also noticed a greater sense of connectedness with the whole class after receiving SNA-based feedback.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Chauhan_fsu_0071E_14220
Format: Thesis

Title: Belief Systems and Executive Functioning.
Creator: Berry, Cassie Stutts, Kaschak, Michael P., Sunderman, Gretchen L., Boot, Walter Richard, Kelley, Colleen M., Conway, Paul, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences...
Show moreBerry, Cassie Stutts, Kaschak, Michael P., Sunderman, Gretchen L., Boot, Walter Richard, Kelley, Colleen M., Conway, Paul, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Show less
Abstract/Description: Perceiving our world is an active process. We actively explore and investigate the environment rather than passively registering the objects and events we encounter. Our perception and attention reflect our moods, expectations, and beliefs. Recent evidence supporting this approach comes from studies that focus on the impact of individual differences on human perception and attention. Characteristics about the world we live in, like culture or religion, may drive these differences in...
Show morePerceiving our world is an active process. We actively explore and investigate the environment rather than passively registering the objects and events we encounter. Our perception and attention reflect our moods, expectations, and beliefs. Recent evidence supporting this approach comes from studies that focus on the impact of individual differences on human perception and attention. Characteristics about the world we live in, like culture or religion, may drive these differences in perception and attention. One of the ways this has been looked at is by examining executive functioning. Inhibitory control, the ignoring of irrelevant information, is an important component of executive functioning. The Simon, Flanker, and Stroop tasks are all common measures of inhibitory control. They all require to some degree the inhibition of irrelevant information when selecting an appropriate response to stimuli. Several studies have reported a bilingual advantage on these tasks. Previous research has indicated differences in cognitive functioning for those of different political beliefs. Differences are seen in perception of multi-level stimuli in people of different cultures and religions and for people with different political leanings. Previous research has found similar differences in performance on a measure of executive functioning for people of different religions. The expected effects for the Simon and Flanker task were found in this sample. Differences in the size of the Simon and Flanker effect were not found in this sample for those of different religious beliefs or political beliefs
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Berry_fsu_0071E_14233
Format: Thesis

Title: Understanding Magnetic Exchange Behavior in Core@Shell Nanoparticles.
Creator: Carnevale, David J. (David John), Shatruk, Mykhailo, Strouse, Geoffrey F., Xiong, Peng, Schlenoff, Joseph B., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department...
Show moreCarnevale, David J. (David John), Shatruk, Mykhailo, Strouse, Geoffrey F., Xiong, Peng, Schlenoff, Joseph B., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Show less
Abstract/Description: As green technology advances, the need for cheaper, stronger permanent magnets becomes more and more vital everyday. Electric motors, like those used in wind turbines and electric cars, rely heavily on Dy doped Nd2Fe14B in order to achieve the required efficiencies to be successful, however both Nd and Dy are expensive rare-earth elements that the field is trying to move away from relying on. In order to approach this issue, many are trying to combine these powerful permanent magnets with...
Show moreAs green technology advances, the need for cheaper, stronger permanent magnets becomes more and more vital everyday. Electric motors, like those used in wind turbines and electric cars, rely heavily on Dy doped Nd2Fe14B in order to achieve the required efficiencies to be successful, however both Nd and Dy are expensive rare-earth elements that the field is trying to move away from relying on. In order to approach this issue, many are trying to combine these powerful permanent magnets with cheaper and more abundant soft magnetic materials in order to create exchange-spring magnets. While exchange coupling behavior has been studied for several decades now, there are major issues with controlling the uniformity in the generated materials leading to a limited understanding of the properties of these assemblies. In order to address both of these issues at the same time, we devised an approach to create a hard magnetic nanoparticle of fcc-FePt, which was then shelled with the soft magnet Co. In order to gain the desired control of the final core@shell particles, a mix and round bottom and microwave heating was utilized, the synthetic details of which are laid out in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 lays out the results from applying a layer-by-layer shell of Co onto a constant 5 nm FePt particle. From this shelling, the transition from hard-exchange to exchange-spring to decoupling of the core@shell system can be observed. The limit of these regions were found to be very small, with the hard-exchange regime only being in the case of shell sizes smaller than 1.4 nm and decoupling occurring in the materials with >2nm of Co shelled on. This limited range is due to cobalt’s short range coupling, which can not support strong coupling beyond 3-4 layers of Co.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Carnevale_fsu_0071E_14044
Format: Thesis

Title: Quantum Chemical Methods and Algorithms for Ground and Excited Electronic States.
Creator: Nascimento, Daniel R. (Daniel Ricardo), DePrince, A. Eugene (Albert Eugene), Shanbhag, Sachin, Dalal, Naresh S., Steinbock, Oliver, Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show moreNascimento, Daniel R. (Daniel Ricardo), DePrince, A. Eugene (Albert Eugene), Shanbhag, Sachin, Dalal, Naresh S., Steinbock, Oliver, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Show less
Abstract/Description: In this dissertation, we address some of the needs faced in the development of modern ab initio quantum chemical methods to compute high-accuracy ground and excited electronic states. Chapters 1 and 2 should be seen as introductory Chapters, where the mathematical foundations of modern electronic structure theory necessary to understand this work are laid down. Chapters 3 and 4 covers the development of methods and algorithms relevant to ground state computations. We propose a semi-definite...
Show moreIn this dissertation, we address some of the needs faced in the development of modern ab initio quantum chemical methods to compute high-accuracy ground and excited electronic states. Chapters 1 and 2 should be seen as introductory Chapters, where the mathematical foundations of modern electronic structure theory necessary to understand this work are laid down. Chapters 3 and 4 covers the development of methods and algorithms relevant to ground state computations. We propose a semi-definite-based algorithm to compute ground-state Hartree-Fock energies and wave functions, that can be easily extended to Kohn-Sham density functional theory. We also propose a parametrized coupled-pair functional to compute accurate non-covalent molecular interaction energies. Chapters 3 through 7 cover methods relevant to excited state computations. We propose an explicitly time-dependent coupled-cluster framework rooted on the equation-of-motion formalism to compute linear absorption spectra of molecular systems. The method is further expanded by recasting a linear absorption line shape function in terms of Pad ́e approximants. The expanded method is shown to be an efficient tool for the simulation of near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure. Finally, we propose a time-dependent Hartree-Fock method within the framework of cavity quantum-electrodynamics that allows us to simulate the interaction of molecular systems with quantized radiation fields, such as those found on plasmonic nanoparticles and nano cavities.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Nascimento_fsu_0071E_14251
Format: Thesis

Title: The Effects of Cardiovascular Health on Cognitive Function and Driving Performance among Healthy Older Adults.
Creator: Mason, Justin Richard, Tenenbaum, Gershon, Panton, Lynn B., Chow, Graig Michael, Yang, Yanyun, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational...
Show moreMason, Justin Richard, Tenenbaum, Gershon, Panton, Lynn B., Chow, Graig Michael, Yang, Yanyun, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Show less
Abstract/Description: Aging is associated with a decline in cognitive and psychomotor functions, resulting in difficulties with daily activities such as driving. Cognitive function has been found to be associated with arterial stiffening. These age-related decrements can be mitigated through routine aerobic exercise. To determine the effects of life-long aerobic exercise on cognitive function, driving performance, and cardiovascular health (i.e., arterial stiffness and thickness) among older adults (65 – 84 years...
Show moreAging is associated with a decline in cognitive and psychomotor functions, resulting in difficulties with daily activities such as driving. Cognitive function has been found to be associated with arterial stiffening. These age-related decrements can be mitigated through routine aerobic exercise. To determine the effects of life-long aerobic exercise on cognitive function, driving performance, and cardiovascular health (i.e., arterial stiffness and thickness) among older adults (65 – 84 years old). A cross-sectional design was utilized to compare 27 endurance-trained older adults with 35 sedentary counterparts. Driving performance and cognitive function were measured via driving simulator and a cognitive battery, respectively. Cardiovascular health was assessed via a perceptually-regulated exercise test, carotid-intima media thickness (IMT) via Doppler ultrasound, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV). Fitness comparisons were made using an independent sample t-test. Cognitive function and driving performance scores were transformed to Z-scores. VO2max was higher in the endurance-trained group compared to the sedentary group (41±9 vs 25±3 ml/kg/min, p<.01). There were no differences between the groups in cf-PWV (12±2 vs. 12±2 m/s), carotid-IMT (.74±.15 vs .76±.13 mm), nor cognitive function scores (-.01±.57 vs -.09±.97). However, the endurance-trained group performed better on the driving simulator (.18±.58 vs -.28±.92, p<.05). Enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness may mitigate age-related decrements to driving performance.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Mason_fsu_0071E_14223
Format: Thesis

Title: Microfluidic Methods for the Study of Biological Dynamics.
Creator: Mukhitov, Nikita, Bhide, Pradeep, Marshall, Alan G. (Alan George), Bleiholder, Christian, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and...
Show moreMukhitov, Nikita, Bhide, Pradeep, Marshall, Alan G. (Alan George), Bleiholder, Christian, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Show less
Abstract/Description: The work in this dissertation presents microfluidic methods developed for the study of biological dynamics. The requirements for the methods development was to create approaches with the ability to perform dynamic cell stimulation, measurement, and sample preparation. The methods presented herein were initially developed for the study of pancreatic islet biology but are expected to be translatable to other applications. In another study, a method to interface transmission electron microscopy ...
Show moreThe work in this dissertation presents microfluidic methods developed for the study of biological dynamics. The requirements for the methods development was to create approaches with the ability to perform dynamic cell stimulation, measurement, and sample preparation. The methods presented herein were initially developed for the study of pancreatic islet biology but are expected to be translatable to other applications. In another study, a method to interface transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with microfluidics methods was developed. The primary biological topic of interest investigated was the mechanisms of inter-islet synchronization. To test this, a microfluidic device fabricated from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was used to culture and stimulate pancreatic islets. Intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) imaging was performed with a fluorescent indicator, Fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester (Fura-2 AM). Under constant glucose (11 mM), islets demonstrated asynchronous and heterogeneous [Ca2+]i oscillations that drifted in period. However, when exposed to a glucose wave (11+/- 1 mM, 5 min period) islets were entrained to a common and consistent [Ca2+]i oscillation mode. The effect of islet entrainment on cellular function was investigated by measuring gene expression levels with microarray profiling. Calcium-dependent genes were found to be differentially expressed. Furthermore, it was speculated that islet entrained produced a beneficial effect on cell function and upkeep. While [Ca2+]i imaging is an acceptable proxy measurement for insulin, it is not a viable reporter for other islet peptides and direct measurement is desired. Electrophoretic affinity assays can be performed on a microfluidic device in a serial manner to measure peptide release from an on-chip cell culture in near real-time. Successful analysis of electrophoretic affinity assays depends strongly on the preservation of the affinity complex during separations. Elevated separation temperatures due to Joule heating promotes complex dissociation leading to a reduction in sensitivity. To address this limitation, a method to cool a glass microfluidic chip for performing an affinity assay for insulin was achieved by a Peltier cooler localized over the separation channel. The Peltier cooler allowed for rapid stabilization of temperatures, with 21 °C the lowest temperature that was possible to use without producing detrimental thermal gradients throughout the device. Kinetic capillary electrophoresis analysis was utilized as a diagnostic of the affinity assay and indicated that optimal conditions were at the highest attainable separation voltage, 6 kV, and the lowest separation temperature, 21 °C, leading to 3.4% dissociation of the complex peak during the separation. These optimum conditions were used to generate a calibration curve and produced 1 nM limits of detection (LOD), representing a 10-fold improvement over non-thermostated conditions. To date, most approaches for measurement of rapid changes in insulin levels rely on separations, making the assays difficult to translate to non-specialist laboratories. To enable rapid measurements of secretion dynamics from a single islet in a manner that will be more suitable for transfer to non-specialized laboratories, a microfluidic online fluorescence anisotropy immunoassay was developed. A single islet was housed inside a microfluidic chamber and stimulated with varying glucose levels from a gravity-based perfusion system. The total effluent of the islet chamber containing the islet secretions was mixed with gravity-driven solutions of insulin antibody and cyanine-5 (Cy5) labeled insulin. After mixing was complete, a linearly polarized 635 nm laser was used to excite the immunoassay mixture and the emission was split into parallel and perpendicular components for determination of anisotropy. Key factors for reproducible anisotropy measurements, including temperature homogeneity and flow rate stability were optimized, which resulted in a 4 nM LOD for insulin with <1% RSD of anisotropy values. The capability of this system for measuring insulin secretion from single islets was shown by stimulating an islet with varying glucose levels. As the entire analysis is performed optically, this system should be readily transferable to other laboratories. To increase the number of analytes that can be simultaneously monitored by a fluorescence anisotropy immunoassay, frequency encoding was introduced. As a demonstration of the method, simultaneous competitive immunoassays for insulin and glucagon were performed by measuring the ratio of bound and free Cy5-insulin and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-glucagon in the presence of their respective antibodies. A vertically polarized 635 nm laser was pulsed at 73 Hz and used to excite Cy5-insulin, while a vertically polarized 488 nm laser pulsed at 137 Hz excited FITC-glucagon. The total emission was split into parallel and perpendicular polarizations and collected onto separate photomultiplier tubes. The signals from each channel were demodulated using a fast Fourier transform, resolving the contributions from each fluorophore. Anisotropy calculations were carried out using the magnitude of the peaks in the frequency domain. The method produced the expected shape of the calibration curves with LOD of 0.6 and 5 nM for insulin and glucagon, respectively. This methodology could readily be expanded to other biological systems and further multiplexed to monitor increased numbers of analytes. In another study, a microfluidic platform was developed to prepare negatively stained grids for use in TEM. The microfluidic device is composed of glass etched with readily fabricated features that facilitate the extraction of the grid post-staining and maintains the integrity of the sample. Utilization of this device simultaneously reduced environmental contamination on the grids and improved the homogeneity of the heavy metal stain needed to enhance visualization of biological specimens as compared to conventionally prepared TEM grids. This easy-to-use TEM grid preparation device provides the basis for future developments of systems with more integrated features, which will allow for high-throughput and dynamic structural biology studies.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Mukhitov_fsu_0071E_14138
Format: Thesis

Title: Tuning the Emission and Quantum Yield of Gold and Silver Nanoclusters through Ligand Design and Doping.
Creator: Mishra, Dinesh, Mattoussi, Hedi, Xiong, Peng, Alabugin, Igor V., Shatruk, Mykhailo, Strouse, Geoffrey F., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of...
Show moreMishra, Dinesh, Mattoussi, Hedi, Xiong, Peng, Alabugin, Igor V., Shatruk, Mykhailo, Strouse, Geoffrey F., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Show less
Abstract/Description: Nanoparticles have been extensively studied in the past few decades due to the possibilities they offer in applications ranging from medicine to energy generation. A new class of ultra-small noble metal nanoparticles consisting of tens to hundreds of atoms, commonly known as clusters or nanoclusters, have drawn interest of the research community recently due to their unique optical, electronic and structural properties. Over the past few years, advances have been made in the synthesis of...
Show moreNanoparticles have been extensively studied in the past few decades due to the possibilities they offer in applications ranging from medicine to energy generation. A new class of ultra-small noble metal nanoparticles consisting of tens to hundreds of atoms, commonly known as clusters or nanoclusters, have drawn interest of the research community recently due to their unique optical, electronic and structural properties. Over the past few years, advances have been made in the synthesis of atomically precise noble metal clusters (for example, silver and gold) with distinct optical properties. Their ultra-small size distinguishes them from conventional plasmonic nanoparticles and the properties are very sensitive to the slight variation in the compositon of the cluster, i.e. the number of the metal atoms and/or the nature of the ligands. These clusters are interesting because of their potential applications in field such as sensing, imaging, catalysis, clean energy, photonics, etc. as well as they provide fundamental insight into the evolution of the optical and electronic properties of these clusters. In this project, we explored the strategies to synthesize luminescent metallic clusters of gold and silver and to promote their solubility and stability in aqueous and biological medium. We focused particularly on the thiolate protected clusters due to the higher affinity of gold and silver to sulfur. Lipoic acid (Thioctic acid) is a bio-molecule with a cyclic disulfide ring, which also acts as a chelating ligand. Due to the higher binding affinity of the cyclic disulfide ring to nanocrystal surface, lipoic acid and chemically modified lipoic acid molecules have been widely reported for the synthesis and functionalization of inorganic nanocrystals. Here, we describe the use of bidentate lipoic acid ligands in the one phase growth of luminescent gold and silver nanoclusters. In addition, we have synthesized a new set of monothiol ligands containing PEG and zwitterion for the functionalization of fluorescent clusters. Chapter 1 introduces the fundamental properties of metallic clusters and the origin of these properties from electronic and structural point of view. The optical properties of ultra-small nanocrystals (<2 nm) in comparison to the plasmonic particles is described. In addition, the variation of optical and structural properties from one metal to another as well as one ligand to another is also compared. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of ultra-small size gold clusters with different optical emission (ranging from blue to red) using photo-activated LA-PEG ligands. The influence of various factors on the growth of the clusters is also studied. Optical properties of the clusters were studied by UV-visible absorption, PL emission and excitation and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. XPS and DOSY NMR were used to characterize the oxidation states and sizes of these clusters. The photo-chemical transformation of LA-PEG ligands to thiols and the effect of various experimental parameters such as solvent, oxygen, ligand functional group and effect of acid are described in chapter 3. Thiol yield percentage was quantified using ellman assay. Chapter 4 describes the one phase aqueous synthesis of Ag29 clusters capped with bidentate dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA). We also describe the drastic enhancement of the PL intensity upon gold doping of the Ag29 clusters. Optical properties along with the size characterization by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is also described. We further describe the growth of these clusters using DHLA-PEG molecules. Chapter 5 describes the synthesis of highly fluorescent Au25-xAgx clusters stabilized with two types of ligands (triphenylphosphine and thiols). We designed a set of monothiolate ligands appended with PEG and zwitterionic moieties. This approach allows to prepare water soluble and stable metallic clusters with enhanced photoluminescence and well defined optical properties. Chapter 6 is the overall summary of our findings and prospects and outlook.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Mishra_fsu_0071E_14122
Format: Thesis

Title: Reading Comprehension in Grade Three as a Function of Child, Item, and Passage Characteristics.
Creator: McIlraith, Autumn Lorayne, Catts, Hugh W. (Hugh William), Schatschneider, Christopher, Wood, Carla, Compton, Donald L., Florida State University, College of Communication and...
Show moreMcIlraith, Autumn Lorayne, Catts, Hugh W. (Hugh William), Schatschneider, Christopher, Wood, Carla, Compton, Donald L., Florida State University, College of Communication and Information, School of Communication Science and Disorders
Show less
Abstract/Description: Reading comprehension emerges as an important skill set in the early elementary grades. It is supported by component skills including decoding, linguistic knowledge including vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, as well as more complex, higher-level components such as inference making and comprehension monitoring. Theoretical understanding of reading comprehension has historically included reader-focused models, as well as models that include reader-text interaction and text-task interaction....
Show moreReading comprehension emerges as an important skill set in the early elementary grades. It is supported by component skills including decoding, linguistic knowledge including vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, as well as more complex, higher-level components such as inference making and comprehension monitoring. Theoretical understanding of reading comprehension has historically included reader-focused models, as well as models that include reader-text interaction and text-task interaction. Together, the dimensions of reader, text, and task represent the conceptual space in which comprehension can occur. Using a crossed random-effects model, the probability of a correct item response can be modeled as a function of reader, text, and item characteristics. This approach has been used in several studies of reading comprehension, with informative results. However, to date this work has focused on older readers, or has used relatively small samples of readers. In this study, a crossed random-effects modeling approach was used to analyze a large data set consisting of item response data from a sample of 2,723 Grade 3 students. Student-level predictors of vocabulary knowledge, syntactic knowledge, and word recognition, as well as several categorizations of item type, and passage-level predictors of lexile and several indices of passage complexity were found to be significant predictors of reading comprehension. Cross-level interactions were investigated, and significant interactions were found between student and item predictors, and between student and passage predictors. Approximately 50% of variance in reading comprehension across students was explained by the student-level predictors, but only 18-22% of variance across items was explained by the passage-level and item-level predictors. Results from this study suggest that for Grade 3 readers, the strong predictive relations between student predictors of syntactic and vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension may be moderated by some aspects of item and task demands. However, for this large-scale, multiple choice assessment of reading comprehension, variability in items and passages was largely unexplained. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of reading comprehension, from which the item and passage predictors are derived.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_McIlraith_fsu_0071E_14147
Format: Thesis

Title: Anchoring Power through Identity in Online Communication: The Trayvon Martin and Daniela Pelaez Cases.
Creator: Mauney, Heather T., Rohlinger, Deana A., Schmertmann, Carl P., Sanyal, Paromita, Ueno, Koji, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department...
Show moreMauney, Heather T., Rohlinger, Deana A., Schmertmann, Carl P., Sanyal, Paromita, Ueno, Koji, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Department of Sociology
Show less
Abstract/Description: This dissertation research uses the analysis of internet-based comments on two major news stories to study the role of identity in anchoring power during discursive participation. For this purpose, identity includes the categorical group memberships that people may place themselves or others into, such as gender, race, or occupation. Identity, as an anchor, is used as a resource for the purpose of linking one’s wishes to power, with power being the amount of preferential treatment given to...
Show moreThis dissertation research uses the analysis of internet-based comments on two major news stories to study the role of identity in anchoring power during discursive participation. For this purpose, identity includes the categorical group memberships that people may place themselves or others into, such as gender, race, or occupation. Identity, as an anchor, is used as a resource for the purpose of linking one’s wishes to power, with power being the amount of preferential treatment given to any particular identity in determining the course of events or proper direction of discussion. The Daniela Pelaez case and Trayvon Martin case were each selected for making national headlines at approximately the same time, both occurring in the same state, and both being in reference life altering circumstances for minority teenagers, yet representing different outcomes. A content analysis of news comment board posts for the Daniela Pelaez and Trayvon Martin cases has been performed to ascertain the use of identity in comments and prevalence of particular identities, the use of identity to anchor power, the acknowledgement of identities by readers, and the conditions under which identities were used. One article for each case was selected from the same national news source, with an analysis completed for the first 1,000 comments on each article. Identity used as an anchor to power is found to exist, but only has a significant interaction with presentation of an argument for the Martin case. This indicates that the association between anchoring identity and presenting an argument can vary by news story. Identity as an anchor itself varies with race, and is dependent on how race relates to the news story. It is also found that anchoring is more dependent on authors’ expectations of what others will consider important than it is effective on readers’ actual recordable reactions.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Mauney_fsu_0071E_13216
Format: Thesis

Title: Supervision of Applied Sport Psychology in Graduate Programs in the USA.
Creator: Meir, Gily, Chow, Graig Michael, Joiner, Thomas, Tenenbaum, Gershon, Becker, Martin Swanbrow, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational...
Show moreMeir, Gily, Chow, Graig Michael, Joiner, Thomas, Tenenbaum, Gershon, Becker, Martin Swanbrow, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Show less
Abstract/Description: Supervision is a hierarchical and evaluative relationship extending over time between a supervisor and a supervisee that permits quality control of service delivery of neophyte practitioners (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009; Watson, Zizzi, Etzel, & Lubker, 2004). It is a cardinal part of the training and a requirement to become a certified consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (Certified Mental Performance Consultant [CMPC]). This study aimed to: identify the structure of...
Show moreSupervision is a hierarchical and evaluative relationship extending over time between a supervisor and a supervisee that permits quality control of service delivery of neophyte practitioners (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009; Watson, Zizzi, Etzel, & Lubker, 2004). It is a cardinal part of the training and a requirement to become a certified consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (Certified Mental Performance Consultant [CMPC]). This study aimed to: identify the structure of supervision and effective supervision practices used in enhancing the competence of sport psychology trainees, recognize the challenges and mistakes of providing effective supervision, explore the necessary competencies of sport psychology supervisors, and discuss the preparedness of graduates who are CMPC eligible to provide supervision. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 supervisors and directors of supervision (4 female) representing nine doctoral programs in the U.S. Supervisors had 6-35 years of experience providing sport psychology services (Med = 20.3) and 2-26 years of experience providing supervision (Med = 17.3). The programs were diverse in terms of department affiliation (psychology = 4; sport science = 4, other = 1) and institutional affiliation (R1 = 4, R2 = 1, R3 = 1, other = 2). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were analyzed both deductively as guided by research questions, and inductively as themes emerged. A total of 927 meaning units (MU) emerged under the six issues: structure of supervision, supervision practices, challenges to providing supervision, mistakes made regarding supervision, competencies of a supervisor, and preparedness to provide supervision. The structure of supervision in the different programs is unique, dynamic, and represents the resources and constraints within which supervisors operate. Despite substantial variability in supervision across the different programs and the varying resources available, supervisors tended to discuss similar supervision practices utilized in the programs. Time constraints represent the primary challenge to providing effective supervision. The inability to establish a trusting relationship with the supervisee is the most repeated mistake. Competencies necessary to provide supervision exceeded those needed for service provision, and are usually attained only after working as a professional in the field for a few years. Necessary competencies of supervisors are further discussed in the framework of structuring and providing effective sport psychology supervision.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Meir_fsu_0071E_14196
Format: Thesis

Title: Investigating Structures of Reading Comprehension Attributes at Different Proficiency Levels: Applying Cognitive Diagnosis Models and Factor Analyses.
Creator: Yun, Joonmo, Compton, Donald L., Whalon, Kelly J., Schatschneider, Christopher, Steacy, Laura M., Florida State University, College of Education, School of Teacher Education
Abstract/Description: Reading comprehension is an essential skill for success in school and post-school life. However, despite the importance of this skill, a considerable number of students in the U.S. have shown difficulties in reading comprehension. According to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2015), 31% of 4th graders and 24% of 8th graders did not meet the basic level of reading comprehension. This study focuses primarily on...
Show moreReading comprehension is an essential skill for success in school and post-school life. However, despite the importance of this skill, a considerable number of students in the U.S. have shown difficulties in reading comprehension. According to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2015), 31% of 4th graders and 24% of 8th graders did not meet the basic level of reading comprehension. This study focuses primarily on the reading performance of fourth-grade students in that the grade is a crucial point where students begin learning how to read to learn. The purpose of this present study is twofold – (1) to identify patterns of cognitive attributes of reading comprehension (e.g., retrieving, inferencing, integrating, and evaluating) of fourth grade readers at different proficiency levels and (2) to explore how these attributes affect reading comprehension by using PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2011 data of the U.S. According to the framework of PIRLS (Mullis, Martin, Kennedy, Trong, & Sainsbury, 2009), each question assesses one of the attributes associated with different item formats (e.g., multiple choice and constructed responses) and text type (e.g., narrative and expository text), specifically how these item formats and text types affect reading comprehension achievement will be examined. To accomplish the purpose, this study will apply two different approaches, the person-oriented approach and the variable-oriented approach. Specifically, this study will explore the individual students’ patterns of strengths and weaknesses of the attributes at different proficiency levels by employing Cognitive Diagnostic Models (CDMs) (person-oriented approach) and then examine the influence of those attributes to reading achievement by applying factor analyses (variable-oriented approach). Based upon the results, the structure of reading comprehension attributes and implications for interventions of struggling readers will be discussed. Finally, limitations and future research directions will be provided.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Yun_fsu_0071E_14259
Format: Thesis

Title: Global Stability Analysis and Control of Compressible Flows over Rectangular Cavities.
Creator: Sun, Yiyang, Taira, Kunihiko, Yu, Weikuan, Cattafesta, Louis N., Ukeiley, Lawrence S., Lin, Shangchao, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical...
Show moreSun, Yiyang, Taira, Kunihiko, Yu, Weikuan, Cattafesta, Louis N., Ukeiley, Lawrence S., Lin, Shangchao, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: The present numerical investigation aims to uncover the inherent instability in compressible cavity flows and aid designs of effective flow control to alter undesirable flow features. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) global stabilities of compressible open-cavity flows are examined in detail, which provides insights into designs of active flow control to reduce the pressure fluctuations over the cavity. The stability characteristics of compressible spanwise-periodic open-cavity...
Show moreThe present numerical investigation aims to uncover the inherent instability in compressible cavity flows and aid designs of effective flow control to alter undesirable flow features. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) global stabilities of compressible open-cavity flows are examined in detail, which provides insights into designs of active flow control to reduce the pressure fluctuations over the cavity. The stability characteristics of compressible spanwise-periodic open-cavity flows are investigated with direct numerical simulation (DNS) and biglobal stability analysis for rectangular cavities with length-to-depth ratios of $L/D=2$ and 6. This study examines the behavior of instabilities with respect to stable and unstable steady states in the laminar regimes for subsonic as well as transonic conditions where compressibility plays an important role. It is observed that an increase in Mach number destabilizes the flow in the subsonic regime and stabilizes the flow in the transonic regime. Biglobal stability analysis for spanwise-periodic flows over rectangular cavities with large aspect ratio is closely examined in this study due to its importance in aerodynamic applications. Moreover, biglobal stability analysis is conducted to extract 2D and 3D eigenmodes for prescribed spanwise wavelengths $\lambda/D$ about the 2D steady state. The properties of 2D eigenmodes agree well with those observed in the 2D DNS. In the analysis of 3D eigenmodes, it is found that an increase of Mach number stabilizes dominant 3D eigenmodes. For a short cavity with $L/D=2$, the 3D eigenmodes primarily stem from centrifugal instabilities. For a long cavity with $L/D=6$, other types of eigenmodes appear whose structures extend from the aft-region to the mid-region of the cavity, in addition to the centrifugal stability mode located in the rear part of the cavity. A selected number of 3D DNS are performed at $M_\infty=0.6$ for cavities with $L/D=2$ and 6. For $L/D=2$, the properties of 3D structures present in the 3D nonlinear flow correspond closely to those obtained from linear stability analysis. However, for $L/D=6$, the 3D eigenmodes cannot be clearly observed in the 3D DNS, due to the strong nonlinearity that develops over the length of the cavity. In addition, it is noted that three-dimensionality in the flow helps alleviate violent oscillations for the long cavity. The analysis performed in this paper can provide valuable insights for designing effective flow control strategies to suppress undesirable aerodynamic and pressure fluctuations in compressible open-cavity flows. Three-dimensional nonlinear simulations (DNS and LES) are also conducted to examine influence of cavity width, sidewall boundary conditions, free stream Mach numbers, and Reynolds numbers on open-cavity flows. DNS and large eddy simulations (LES) are performed with $L/D=6$, width-to-depth ratios of $W/D$=1 and 2 for Reynolds number of $Re_D = 502$ and $10^4$. To numerically study the effects of cavity width on the flows, we consider (1) 2D cavities with spanwise periodicity and (2) finite-span cavities with no-slip adiabatic walls. Furthermore, the analyses are conducted for subsonic ($M_\infty=0.6$) and supersonic ($M_\infty=1.4$) speeds to reveal compressibility effects. It is found that, at low $Re_D=502$, widening the cavity can decrease the velocity fluctuations of the flow by introducing spanwise variations in the shear layer to reduce the kinetic energy from spanwise vortices associated with Rossiter modes. Both velocity and pressure fluctuations decrease in the finite-span cavity compared to those with spanwise periodic boundary conditions. With the characteristics of base flows revealed, flow control is implemented for turbulent cavity flows where steady blowing is introduced along the leading edge of the cavity for both subsonic ($M_\infty=0.6$) and supersonic ($M_\infty=1.4$) flows. We examine how the actuations interact with the flows and reduce the velocity and pressure fluctuations with and without sidewalls. From the control study, we find that pressure reduction on the cavity surfaces can be achieved in an effective manner by taking advantage of 3D flow physics.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Sun_fsu_0071E_14244
Format: Thesis

Title: Improving the Effectiveness of Performance Analysis for HPC by Using Appropriate Modeling and Simulation Schemes.
Creator: Tong, Zhou, Yuan, Xin, Ke, Fengfeng, Zhang, Zhenghao, Haiduc, Sonia, Pakin, Scott D., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Computer Science
Abstract/Description: Performance modeling and simulation of parallel applications are critical performance analysis techniques in High Performance Computing (HPC). Efficient and accurate performance modeling and simulation can aid the tuning and optimization of current systems as well as the design of future HPC systems. As the HPC applications and systems increase in size, efficient and accurate performance modeling and simulation of parallel applications is becoming increasingly challenging. In general,...
Show morePerformance modeling and simulation of parallel applications are critical performance analysis techniques in High Performance Computing (HPC). Efficient and accurate performance modeling and simulation can aid the tuning and optimization of current systems as well as the design of future HPC systems. As the HPC applications and systems increase in size, efficient and accurate performance modeling and simulation of parallel applications is becoming increasingly challenging. In general, simulation yields higher accuracy at the cost of high simulation time in comparison to modeling. This dissertation aims at developing effective performance analysis techniques for the next generation HPC systems. Since modeling is often orders of magnitude faster than simulation, the idea is to separate HPC applications into two types: 1) the ones that modeling can produce similar performance results as simulation and 2) the ones that simulation can result in more meaningful information about the application performance than modeling. By using modeling for the first type of applications and simulation for the rest of applications, the efficiency of performance analysis can be significantly improved. The contribution of this thesis is three-fold. First, a comprehensive study of the performance and accuracy trade-offs between modeling and simulation on a wide range of HPC applications is performed. The results indicate that for the majority of HPC applications, modeling and simulation yield similar performance results. This lays the foundation for improving performance analysis on HPC systems by selecting between modeling and simulation on each application. Second, a scalable and fast classification techniques (MFACT) are developed based on the Lamport's logical clock that can provide fast diagnosis of MPI application performance bottleneck and assist in the processing of application tuning and optimization on current and future HPC systems. MFACT also classifies HPC applications into bandwidth-bound, latency-bound, communication-bound, and computation-bound. Third, built-upon MFACT, for a given system configuration, statistical methods are introduced to classify HPC applications into the two types: the ones that needs simulation and the ones that modeling is sufficient. The classification techniques and tools enable effective performance analysis for future HPC systems and applications without losing accuracy.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Tong_fsu_0071E_14074
Format: Thesis

Title: Philosophical, Historical, and Empirical Investigations into the Concept of Biological Fitness.
Creator: Takacs, Peter, Ruse, Michael, Travis, Joseph, Bishop, Michael A., Justus, James, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Philosophy
Abstract/Description: While undeniably one of the central explanatory concepts in biology, fitness is deployed in an ambiguous or even inconsistent manner by evolutionary biologists as well as philosophers. This sort of foundational confusion is a plea for conceptual clarity and has, thereby, presented a wonderful opportunity for philosophers of science to ply their trade. After engaging with the topic, however, several influential philosophers of science (e.g., Mohan Matthen, Dennis Walsh, and Andre Ariew) and...
Show moreWhile undeniably one of the central explanatory concepts in biology, fitness is deployed in an ambiguous or even inconsistent manner by evolutionary biologists as well as philosophers. This sort of foundational confusion is a plea for conceptual clarity and has, thereby, presented a wonderful opportunity for philosophers of science to ply their trade. After engaging with the topic, however, several influential philosophers of science (e.g., Mohan Matthen, Dennis Walsh, and Andre Ariew) and biologists (Richard Lewontin and Massimo Pigliucci) have reached the conclusion that biological fitness is not in fact the cause of natural selection but instead a mere statistical artifact or redescription of systematic transgenerational change. It is, as they see matters, a label best reserved for abstract trait types rather than the organisms that bear such traits. This poses a serious challenge to the working intuitions of most biologists and many philosophers of biology. Moreover, it is but one of many challenges to the explanatory and ontological primacy of natural selection in recent memory. For at least three decades, some practitioners in the burgeoning subdiscipline of evolutionary developmental biology have been outspoken in insisting that the tools of population biology are insufficient for describing or explaining observations of adaptive evolutionary change both past and present. In this dissertation, I examine these recent challenges to orthodox conceptions of fitness and natural selection, as well as the rejoinders given in defense. Ultimately, I defend a conception of fitness as a probabilistic dispositional property (i.e., a propensity) of token organisms that causes natural selection.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Takacs_fsu_0071E_14240
Format: Thesis

Title: Modernist Empathy in American Litearture: William Faulkner, Nathanael West, and Richard Wright.
Creator: Tabata, Kentaro, Berry, R. M., Wakamiya, Lisa Ryoko, Epstein, Andrew, Kilgore, John Mac, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English
Abstract/Description: In this dissertation that discusses the American novels by William Faulkner, Nathanael West, and Richard Wright, I delineate the concept of modernist empathy as a radical urge for intersubjective immediacy, while adjusting the concept of empathy as each situation requires instead of squeezing various manifestations of empathy into a single, standardized definition. I observe how those writers struggle to represent modernist empathy by differentiating it from its similar psychological...
Show moreIn this dissertation that discusses the American novels by William Faulkner, Nathanael West, and Richard Wright, I delineate the concept of modernist empathy as a radical urge for intersubjective immediacy, while adjusting the concept of empathy as each situation requires instead of squeezing various manifestations of empathy into a single, standardized definition. I observe how those writers struggle to represent modernist empathy by differentiating it from its similar psychological phenomena, especially sympathy. Instead of establishing empathy’s predominance over sympathy, however, I pay detailed attention to the constantly oscillating dynamic between a modernist urge for empathic immediacy and a realistic compromise of sympathetic distancing, thus revealing empathy’s instability and ambiguity. After briefly overviewing Amy Coplan’s conceptualization of empathy and sketching three categories of narrative empathy in the introduction, I have explained the concept of modernist empathy in the first chapter. In doing so, I first examine the discourse that surrounded the concept of empathy at the time, contrasting modernist empathy with its sisterly concept of sympathy. Then, since empathy and sympathy do not always form a clear dichotomy, I have argued that modernist empathy should be captured in the process of the oscillating dynamic between modernist urge for empathy and sympathetic compromise of distancing. In the second chapter, I have discussed how modernist empathy is manifested in William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury according to the three categories of narrative empathy. First, I have analyzed the novel’s experimental narrative in terms of readerly empathy. Then, I have discussed the novel’s empathic and anti-empathic characters as manifestations of represented empathy. Finally, I have examined Faulkner’s writerly empathy, and I have observed how he embraces the ultimate instability of modernist empathy. In the third chapter, by considering Nathanael West as a late modernist, I have argued that his novels are critiques of modernist empathy. In the analysis of his first novel, The Dream Life of Balso Snell, I have revealed West’s dichotomy between intellectual distancing and emotional involvement. Then, I have attempted to depict how West dramatizes his protagonists’ failures of empathy in Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust. In the process, I critique Martha Nussbaum’s theory of compassion in relation to empathy. I also consider the relationship of empathy to the advent of the anonymous mass in the 1930s and observed West’s critique of empathy at the age of mass culture. The focus of the final chapter is about the writerly design of the strategic use of empathy in Richard Wright’s Native Son. After reviewing the past literary criticism of the novel’s empathy, I have discussed how the novel is strategized to establish an intimate readerly empathy with Bigger Thomas. At the end of the argument, I examine the author’s strategic design of empathy and its relation to racial politics.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Tabata_fsu_0071E_14190
Format: Thesis

Title: Dynamics-Guided Analysis of Tropical Waves.
Creator: Sun, Jie, Wu, Zhaohua, She, Yiyuan, Bourassa, Mark Allan, Cai, Ming, Misra, Vasubandhu, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Earth, Ocean, and...
Show moreSun, Jie, Wu, Zhaohua, She, Yiyuan, Bourassa, Mark Allan, Cai, Ming, Misra, Vasubandhu, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
Show less
Abstract/Description: Tropical waves are important tropical and global weather/climate systems as well as carriers for redistributing global energy. For decades, a multitude of tropical wave theories that attempt to explain the origins and maintenance mechanisms of tropical waves and the interactions between them and other tropical systems have been put forth by scientists. Partly due to the lack of effective analysis tools, observational studies of tropical waves have not been comprehensive enough, leaving many...
Show moreTropical waves are important tropical and global weather/climate systems as well as carriers for redistributing global energy. For decades, a multitude of tropical wave theories that attempt to explain the origins and maintenance mechanisms of tropical waves and the interactions between them and other tropical systems have been put forth by scientists. Partly due to the lack of effective analysis tools, observational studies of tropical waves have not been comprehensive enough, leaving many of the proposed theories unverified. For example, Fourier spectrum analysis based methods can hardly be used to obtain the accurate climatology of tropical waves because of the impacts of locality. This study serves two purposes: (1) To introduce and develop novel dynamics-based effective methods and to tailor them for isolating spatiotemporally local tropical waves of different spatiotemporal scales; and (2) To shed new insights into the climatological features of tropical waves, such as life cycles, their interactions with other tropical phenomena, and their dynamical implications. To accomplish the first goal, we introduce the multi-dimensional ensemble mode decomposition (MEEMD) method to decompose different meteorological variables. This method is combined with our newly developed optimization methods based on tropical wave theory in this study to form a dynamics based tropical wave diagnosis package. The capability of the new package is validated using both synthetic data and observational data. It is demonstrated that our package has high capability of separating tropical waves of different spatiotemporal scales as well as of different types. With the readiness of the above package, we systematically analyzed characteristic of tropical waves of different types, with emphases being placed on the spatiotemporal structures and their life cycle. It is revealed that all types of tropical waves have significantly different climatological characteristics, from wavenumbers and wave frequencies to their propagating properties. It is revealed that that upper and lower tropospheric tropical waves have distinguishable dynamic characteristics, too different for researchers to adopt a first baroclinic mode structure in the vertical to understand the origin and destiny of various tropical waves. We also quantify the modulation characteristics of high frequency tropical waves by intraseasonal oscillations.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Sun_fsu_0071E_14169
Format: Thesis

Title: Vincent Persichetti's Tenth Piano Sonata: An Analysis of Theme, Motive, Melody, and Harmony.
Creator: Spears, Chad Daniel, Gainsford, Read, Callender, Clifton, Kalhous, David, De Cock, Stijn J. W., Florida State University, College of Music
Abstract/Description: This study provides an analysis of the Tenth Piano Sonata, Op. 67 (1955) of the American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) through an analysis of thematic development, motivic development, melody, and harmony. The evolution of themes throughout each section of the Tenth Piano Sonata is illustrated and discussed, as well as motivic development in the first section, in order to help a performer understand the metamorphosis of musical ideas throughout the work. An understanding of this...
Show moreThis study provides an analysis of the Tenth Piano Sonata, Op. 67 (1955) of the American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) through an analysis of thematic development, motivic development, melody, and harmony. The evolution of themes throughout each section of the Tenth Piano Sonata is illustrated and discussed, as well as motivic development in the first section, in order to help a performer understand the metamorphosis of musical ideas throughout the work. An understanding of this will allow a performer to achieve an interpretation with a greater sense of structural clarity, as motivic and thematic development serve as the primary unifying forces for the sonata. Melody and harmony in the first section are analyzed in reference to the specific twentieth-century compositional tools and techniques Persichetti draws upon in order to achieve his eclectic and distinct sound. A primary way in which melody and harmony is explored in this study is through re-composition of select phrases. This process involves re-writing particular phrases within the first section to fit within more conventional tonal and modal frameworks. Doing this helps to illuminate the compositional choices Persichetti ultimately made in the Tenth Piano Sonata as well as elucidate his eclectic melodic and harmonic language. In using re-composition as an analytical tool, phrases are chosen that are tonally ambiguous and draw from more than one collection of pitches. The phrases are then re-written to align with a single tonal center and collection of pitches. This process clarifies the harmonic and melodic vocabulary Persichetti utilizes by drawing attention to the motion of the music from one tonal center or pitch collection to another and the unique sound that results from the combined effect of these compositional choices. This can help a performer to develop an intimate understanding of Persichetti’s musical language and therefore lead to a more informed and convincing interpretation.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Spears_fsu_0071E_14256
Format: Thesis

Title: Developing and Experiencing Visitor-Centered Exhibitions with the Supported Interpretation (SI) Model: A Double Case Study.
Creator: Viera, Alicia, Villeneuve, Pat, Henne, Carolyn, Broome, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lynn), Love, Ann Rowson, Schrader, Linda B., Florida State University, College of Fine Arts,...
Show moreViera, Alicia, Villeneuve, Pat, Henne, Carolyn, Broome, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lynn), Love, Ann Rowson, Schrader, Linda B., Florida State University, College of Fine Arts, Department of Art Education
Show less
Abstract/Description: As museums continue to shift from being object-centered to visitor-centered, they also need to reconsider their exhibition development practices to become more relevant to their communities. In alignment with this premise, this double case study investigates two exhibitions that were curated using the supported interpretation (SI) model for visitor-centered exhibitions. They were the Mixing It Up: Building an Identity exhibition, taking place at the gallery of the Tempe Center for the Arts in...
Show moreAs museums continue to shift from being object-centered to visitor-centered, they also need to reconsider their exhibition development practices to become more relevant to their communities. In alignment with this premise, this double case study investigates two exhibitions that were curated using the supported interpretation (SI) model for visitor-centered exhibitions. They were the Mixing It Up: Building an Identity exhibition, taking place at the gallery of the Tempe Center for the Arts in Arizona, and Contemporary Latino Art: El Corazón de San Antonio, an exhibition that took place at the former Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s Educational & Cultural Arts Center. In this dissertation, I examine how SI was implemented at these two exhibitions and how it can be implemented at future ones in other art centers or similar venues. Supporting questions explore the strategies and processes that were used at Mixing It Up and El Corazón, and insights on how the model worked in these two instances. This study was informed by the constructivist paradigm of inquiry. In it, I used a hermeneutic/dialectic methodology and qualitative methods of data collection. At the Mixing It Up exhibition, I conducted observations and unstructured interviews using a maximum variation sampling strategy, and I also analyzed secondary data gathered through one of the interactive components of the exhibition. At El Corazón, I worked exclusively with secondary data gathered through the visitors’ participatory opportunities embedded in the exhibition interface. Moreover, I used self-reflection and Serrell’s (2006) Framework for Assessing Excellence in Exhibitions from a Visitor-Centered Perspective as a professional development tool to go deeper into an understanding of SI and its implementation at these two exhibitions. The findings of this study reveal that both exhibitions included interpretive elements that encouraged visitor participation and validated a multiplicity of voices. But they also show that those components made the exhibitions more meaningful for visitors allowing them to make personal connections with the art on display by themselves or with others. Additionally, as this study investigates how SI worked at these two exhibitions, it also sheds light into possible ways in which it can be implemented at other institutions in the future, and provides recommendations for future applications of it as well as areas for further research.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Viera_fsu_0071E_14156
Format: Thesis

Title: Leading the Way: How First-Generation Students Navigate Leader Identity Development.
Creator: Piotrowski, Alishia Hendels, Guthrie, Kathy L., Ferris, Gerald R., Jones, Tamara Bertrand, Schwartz, Robert A., Florida State University, College of Education, Department of...
Show morePiotrowski, Alishia Hendels, Guthrie, Kathy L., Ferris, Gerald R., Jones, Tamara Bertrand, Schwartz, Robert A., Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Show less
Abstract/Description: The goal of this study was to provide insight into the experiences of first-generation students by learning how the participating group of first-generation students viewed their leadership identity development and what factors had the biggest influence on that development. This was a qualitative study that used the Leadership Identity Development model (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005) and the Input-Environment-Outcome model (Astin, 1984) to inform its’ conceptual model....
Show moreThe goal of this study was to provide insight into the experiences of first-generation students by learning how the participating group of first-generation students viewed their leadership identity development and what factors had the biggest influence on that development. This was a qualitative study that used the Leadership Identity Development model (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005) and the Input-Environment-Outcome model (Astin, 1984) to inform its’ conceptual model. Fifteen first-generation students, who had taken at least one leadership education course, participated in the study. Findings from the study aligned with current research on first-generation students and leadership identity development. The factors that had the greatest influence on the first-generation student experience were parental involvement, high school expectations, the influence of mentors or diverse peers, and the knowledge of how to get involved in engagement activities. Students also shared feelings about the negative consequences of being a first-generation student, including the fact that their parents often don’t understand their experience, they often experience financial struggles, and feel pressure to succeed. Some students, though, derived motivation from their first-generation student status. In addition to factors that influence a student’s first-generation student experience, the study revealed three factors that exhibited the greatest impact on a student’s leadership identity development. These factors were whether a student initially enrolled in leadership education out of an interest in leadership, the number of leadership classes a participant had taken, and whether or not a student was involved in engagement activities. The study furthermore revealed that both leadership education and participation in engagement activities were influential in participants’ leadership identity development.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Piotrowski_fsu_0071E_14187
Format: Thesis

Title: Experience Changes Neuronal Intrinsic Physiology.
Creator: Ross, Matthew T., Hyson, Richard Lee, Morris, Richard Jack, Johnson, Frank, Bertram, R. (Richard), Kaschak, Michael P., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreRoss, Matthew T., Hyson, Richard Lee, Morris, Richard Jack, Johnson, Frank, Bertram, R. (Richard), Kaschak, Michael P., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
Show less
Abstract/Description: The process of learning well-coordinated motor sequences is an essential aspect of human behavior. Learning to speak, play an instrument, or swing a baseball bat requires the brain to encode a very specific sequence of motor activity. It is understood at the descriptive level of analysis the environmental/experiential factors that contribute to learned motor sequences, but there is limited understanding of the neural modifications underlying such learning. This dissertation explores how...
Show moreThe process of learning well-coordinated motor sequences is an essential aspect of human behavior. Learning to speak, play an instrument, or swing a baseball bat requires the brain to encode a very specific sequence of motor activity. It is understood at the descriptive level of analysis the environmental/experiential factors that contribute to learned motor sequences, but there is limited understanding of the neural modifications underlying such learning. This dissertation explores how auditory experience shapes the intrinsic physiology of premotor neurons during the process of learning vocal patterns. Understanding these neural modifications could help in identifying ways to improve learning and identify processes that may account for learning disabilities. The hypothesis tested in this dissertation is that learning involves plasticity of the intrinsic properties of neurons. This is tested by using in vitro patch clamp electrophysiology to study the intrinsic physiology of the premotor area HVC, a brain area responsible for the vocal timing of song in zebra finches. The first set of experiments test whether the intrinsic physiology of HVC changes over song learning and development. The results show that there are systematic changes in projection neuron physiology as juvenile finches learn to sing. Biophysical models were made to predict the changes in ion channel expression that underlie the change in physiology. Some observations included alterations in the response of HVCX neurons to hyperpolarizing current pulses, including model-predicted changes in the Ih current and the T-type Ca2+ current. Additional changes included a shift in the resting potential of HVCRA neurons. The second set of experiments tests the prediction that auditory experience drives the observed changes in intrinsic physiology. The results show that tutor-deprivation has a direct effect on the intrinsic physiology of HVC projection neurons. The results also show that limited tutor exposure can reverse the change in physiology that resulted from tutor deprivation in a dose dependent fasion. These findings suggest that vocal-motor learning involves not only the alteration of synaptic weighting between neurons, but also changes in the intrinsic physiology of the component neurons in the circuit. Consequently, models of vocal learning should account for these intrinsic changes along with changes in synaptic connectivity. More broadly, models of learning and memory should consider intrinsic plasticity of neurons as a possible contributor to how the nervous system encodes new information or novel behaviors.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Ross_fsu_0071E_14195
Format: Thesis

Title: School Readiness Rates of Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten Faith-Based, Public, and Private Providers.
Creator: Quick, Tammy, Jones, Ithel, Kelley, Colleen M., Davis, Angela F., Dennis, Lindsay Rae, Florida State University, College of Education, School of Teacher Education
Abstract/Description: The state of Florida’s voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) program is delivered through a mixed delivery service program model. The prekindergarten program is offered to all four year olds on a voluntary basis in a mix of public school and non-school settings. VPK program providers can be public schools, community-based childcare centers, private nursery schools, and faith-based preschools. The purpose of the study was to compare the performance of three types of providers, faith-based, public...
Show moreThe state of Florida’s voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) program is delivered through a mixed delivery service program model. The prekindergarten program is offered to all four year olds on a voluntary basis in a mix of public school and non-school settings. VPK program providers can be public schools, community-based childcare centers, private nursery schools, and faith-based preschools. The purpose of the study was to compare the performance of three types of providers, faith-based, public school, and private, in terms children’s readiness for kindergarten. In addition, the study examined the extent to which VPK providers’ readiness rates were impacted by the numbers of English Language Learners, students with exceptionalities, and children from low-socioeconomic families in their programs. Data for the study was obtained from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning. The study utilized data concerning VPK provider’s performance for the 2010-2013 academic years. Participating in the study were 4110 (2011), 4169 (2012) and 4234 (2012) private, public and faith-based VPK providers. Children who had participated in the VPK program were assessed at the beginning of their kindergarten year using the Early Childhood Observation System (ECHOS) and the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) instruments. Children’s readiness for kindergarten was determined based on their performance on these instruments, and those scoring at or above threshold score were considered ready for school. VPK providers’ readiness scores were derived from students’ performance on the instruments and expressed as the proportion of their students scoring at or above the school readiness threshold on the assessment instruments. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a series of analyses of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA compared the mean readiness rates of the three types of VPK providers. Then, using the numbers of English Language Learners, students with exceptionalities, and students from low SES families as covariate measures, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the mean readiness rates of the three provider types. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the covariate measures and mean readiness rates of the provider types. The ANOVA reveled a statistically significant difference in the mean readiness rates across provider types such that faith-based providers had higher readiness rates than did the public and private providers. The ANCOVA findings differed in that the mean readiness rates of the public-school prekindergarten providers were higher than those of the faith-based and private providers. The regression analysis revealed that there was a relationship between the providers’ readiness rates and the numbers of English Language Learners and students from low SES families. It was concluded that there were differences in the overall performance of each type of VPK provider as indicated by measures of children’s school readiness. Data for the 2012-2013 academic year suggested that the public school VPK providers were more successful in terms of preparing their students for kindergarten.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Quick_fsu_0071E_14061
Format: Thesis

Title: The Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Upper Atmospheric Chemistry Using a High-Resolution Chemical Transport Model and Aircraft Observations.
Creator: Preston, Aaron David, Fuelberg, Henry E., Van Winkle, David H., Barth, Mary, Hart, Robert E. (Robert Edward), Sura, Philip, Liu, Guosheng, Florida State University, College of...
Show morePreston, Aaron David, Fuelberg, Henry E., Van Winkle, David H., Barth, Mary, Hart, Robert E. (Robert Edward), Sura, Philip, Liu, Guosheng, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
Show less
Abstract/Description: This research focuses on the transport of chemical species to the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) by tropical cyclones (TCs). Species such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone have been found to exert a greater influence on climate change at these high altitudes than if remaining near the surface. Typhoon Mireille (1991) is examined in the western North Pacific (WNP) Ocean basin using in situ aircraft-derived chemical data from NASA's Pacific Exploratory Mission-West A...
Show moreThis research focuses on the transport of chemical species to the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) by tropical cyclones (TCs). Species such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone have been found to exert a greater influence on climate change at these high altitudes than if remaining near the surface. Typhoon Mireille (1991) is examined in the western North Pacific (WNP) Ocean basin using in situ aircraft-derived chemical data from NASA's Pacific Exploratory Mission-West A field project. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used with chemistry (WRF-Chem) at an innermost grid spacing of 3 km to explicitly resolve the convection being studied. Results show that pollution from distant sources is ingested by Mireille and subsequently lofted by eyewall convection to the UTLS, enhancing concentrations in this region. Flux calculations suggest that a strong TC, such as Mireille, can impact UTLS chemistry as much as a continental middle latitude cyclone. Furthermore, overshooting cells in Mireille produced chemical flux density values at the tropopause level as much as 10-20 times greater than that of the TC as a whole. Thus, although the overshooting tops comprise only a small area of the total TC, they transport large quantities of gaseous species to the UTLS because of their very strong updrafts. Results also suggest that millions of cars and/or several power plants would need to be hypothetically placed in the upper troposphere to have the same impact on chemical concentrations as Mireille. This demonstrates the transport strength of the TC as a whole. Improved understanding of atmospheric chemistry in the WNP basin is important, especially in the context of increasing Asian emissions and a changing climate. Furthermore, since it has been hypothesized that global warming will lead to more intense storms, it is important to understand TCs’ role in chemical transport.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Preston_fsu_0071E_14129
Format: Thesis

Title: Applications of Alkynogenic Fragmentation Products Derived from Vinylogous Acyl Triflates.
Creator: Ramsubhag, Ron Robert, Fajer, Piotr G., Saltiel, Jack, Zhu, Lei, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Abstract/Description: Carbon-carbon bond formation is the foundation to synthesizing complex molecules and has gathered the attention of many synthetic chemists. One must keep in mind that these reactions are dependent on materials for a specific agenda when tackling a structural framework, which may require additional steps to create, and at times, are difficult to prepare. As significant as C-C bond formation reactions are, these minor setbacks may draw caution when synthesizing a complicated molecule whose...
Show moreCarbon-carbon bond formation is the foundation to synthesizing complex molecules and has gathered the attention of many synthetic chemists. One must keep in mind that these reactions are dependent on materials for a specific agenda when tackling a structural framework, which may require additional steps to create, and at times, are difficult to prepare. As significant as C-C bond formation reactions are, these minor setbacks may draw caution when synthesizing a complicated molecule whose structural framework cannot be easily accessed by the unity of two fragments. On the other hand, the less familiar C-C bond cleavage reactions have, over time, demonstrated the potential to generate unique structural building blocks that can be used to overcome certain obstacles that other synthetic methods cannot provide. Here, we will be focusing on concerted anionic five-center fragmentation reactions using vinylogous acyl triflates. The generated alkynogenic fragments will then be used in different applications. We will begin by looking at chemoselective “click” reactions. The strained-promoted alkyne is synthesized by a tandem intramolecular nucleophilic addition / fragmentation. The expanded ring will contain a strained cycloalkyne which will later be tethered to a terminal alkyne. The diyne will be used to provide an example of a “dual-click” coupling via SPAAC or CuAAC in either sequential order. Next, we will expand the tandem fragmentation / olefination methodology developed in this work to include dienynes. The dienyne provides the structural backbone needed to produce neopentylene indanes. This methodology is used to design new ibuprofen derivatives that demonstrate rigidity and increase hydrophobicity to modulate the molecular pharmacology of ibuprofen.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Ramsubhag_fsu_0071E_14133
Format: Thesis

Title: Spatial Optimal Disturbances in Turbulent Boundary Layers.
Creator: Davis, Timothy B. (Timothy Brian), Alvi, Farrukh S., Sussman, Mark, Kumar, Rajan, Taira, Kunihiko, Oates, William, Uzun, Ali, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of...
Show moreDavis, Timothy B. (Timothy Brian), Alvi, Farrukh S., Sussman, Mark, Kumar, Rajan, Taira, Kunihiko, Oates, William, Uzun, Ali, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: In this dissertation, disturbances leading to optimal energy growth in a spatially developing, zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer are examined. The slow development of the turbulent mean flow in the streamwise direction is modeled through a parabolized formulation to enable a spatial marching procedure. In the present framework, the linearized equations subject to a turbulent forcing are solved at particular wavenumber combinations. Conventional spatial optimal disturbance then...
Show moreIn this dissertation, disturbances leading to optimal energy growth in a spatially developing, zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer are examined. The slow development of the turbulent mean flow in the streamwise direction is modeled through a parabolized formulation to enable a spatial marching procedure. In the present framework, the linearized equations subject to a turbulent forcing are solved at particular wavenumber combinations. Conventional spatial optimal disturbance then arise naturally as the homogeneous solution whereas the particular solution captures the response to distributed forcing. A wave-like decomposition for the disturbance is considered to incorporate both conventional stationary modes as well as propagating modes formed by nonzero frequency/streamwise wavenumber and representative of convective structures naturally observed in wall turbulence. The optimal streamwise wavenumber, which varies with the spatial development of the turbulent mean flow, is computed locally via an auxiliary optimization constraint. The present approach can then be considered, in part, as an extension of the resolvent-based analyses for slowly developing flows. Optimization results reveal highly amplified disturbances for both stationary and propagating modes. In all cases, propagating modes surpass their stationary counterpart in both energy amplification and relative contribution to total fluctuation energy. We identify three classes of energetic modes associated with the inner, logarithmic and wake layers of the turbulent mean flow. The inner scaled modes are associated with the ubiquitous near wall streaks residing in the buffer layer. The outer scaled wake modes agree well with the large-scale motions that populate the wake layer. For high Reynolds numbers, however, the log modes increasingly dominate the energy spectra with the predicted streamwise and wall-normal scales in agreement with superstructures observed in turbulent boundary layers. Preliminary experimental measurements are performed to relate the energetic spanwise modes to the reported optimal disturbances.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Davis_fsu_0071E_14249
Format: Thesis

Title: Making Material Simulation Faster: Coarse Graining, Bridging and Bootstrapping.
Creator: Crysup, Benjamin Rosser, Shanbhag, Sachin, Rikvold, Per Arne, Huang, Chen, Mendoza-Cortes, Jose L., Slice, Dennis E., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreCrysup, Benjamin Rosser, Shanbhag, Sachin, Rikvold, Per Arne, Huang, Chen, Mendoza-Cortes, Jose L., Slice, Dennis E., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Scientific Computing
Show less
Abstract/Description: Nanoparticles with a solid, inorganic core surrounded by long chain organic ligands have many useful properties and applications. A feature of these materials is that their properties can be tuned to an application: this makes preliminary simulations appealing (to cut down on the possibility space before going into the lab). However, from a simulation perspective, nanoparticles are big and expensive to simulate at the atomic level. There exist a collection of methods to take gross structural...
Show moreNanoparticles with a solid, inorganic core surrounded by long chain organic ligands have many useful properties and applications. A feature of these materials is that their properties can be tuned to an application: this makes preliminary simulations appealing (to cut down on the possibility space before going into the lab). However, from a simulation perspective, nanoparticles are big and expensive to simulate at the atomic level. There exist a collection of methods to take gross structural information and produce a potential fit for simulations at the molecular level. In this work, five such methods (and a few alterations to those methods) were performed on a series of increasingly large molecules to see how they perform at the most aggressive level of coarse graining. The methods were compared based on how well they reproduced structural information about the molecules, and on how much they sped up the dynamics of those systems. In order to make meaningful comparisons between these results, the uncertainty in the results needs to be known. Since large simulations are involved, running multiple simulations is expensive. However, Shanbhag (Shanbhag, 2013) recently proposed a method to obtain the uncertainty in diffusion coefficients obtained from a molecular dynamics simulation (via bootstrapping the atomic trajectories to generate estimates). This method was originally tested only on a simple system, so its validity on more complicated systems needed to be verified. This work tested the validity of this method by running two hundred Lennard-Jones simulations, performing bootstrapping on each, and finding the percentage of bootstrap results that failed to capture the overall mean. This was repeated under different conditions and potentials to determine exactly when and how poorly this method fails. After running the bootstrapping comparisons, it was found that simulations start out with a certain level of underestimation: the exact amount depends on how strongly the particles are interacting. If using unweighted least squares regression on the mean squared displacement, the amount of underestimation approaches a minimum once the simulation has run long enough for the particles to traverse the simulation box. Other methods that put emphasis on short time data do not recover gracefully from the initial effects of correlation. Armed with the ability to get a measure of the uncertainty, the effects of coarse graining were studied. It was found that Inverse Boltzmann best reproduced structural information, at the cost of added computation. Of the computationally cheap methods, Hypernetted chain tended to perform the best for reproducing structural information, while the potential of mean force and force averaging were typically among the worst. When it comes to transferability, for the pure methods force averaging was fairly transferable, Hypernetted chain less so, with Inverse Boltzmann suffering from overfitting (though this problem is improved by calculating a bridge function). While it was expected that coarse graining would speed up dynamics, it was hoped the speedup would be consistent: it was not.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Crysup_fsu_0071E_14203
Format: Thesis

Title: Improving Undergraduates' Problem-Solving Skills through Video Gameplay.
Creator: Emihovich, Benjamin W., Shute, Valerie J. (Valerie Jean), Boot, Walter Richard, Dennen, Vanessa P., Ke, Fengfeng, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of...
Show moreEmihovich, Benjamin W., Shute, Valerie J. (Valerie Jean), Boot, Walter Richard, Dennen, Vanessa P., Ke, Fengfeng, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
Show less
Abstract/Description: Education researchers are exploring how well-designed video games can be used to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities known as game-based learning (GBL). Current American students are not receiving adequate exposure to authentic ill-structured problem-solving scenarios in their classrooms, and schools need to address the acquisition of problem-solving skills for students in the 21st century (Shute & Wang, 2016). The present study investigated the impact of two distinct types of video...
Show moreEducation researchers are exploring how well-designed video games can be used to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities known as game-based learning (GBL). Current American students are not receiving adequate exposure to authentic ill-structured problem-solving scenarios in their classrooms, and schools need to address the acquisition of problem-solving skills for students in the 21st century (Shute & Wang, 2016). The present study investigated the impact of two distinct types of video gameplay, one roleplaying (Warcraft) and one brain training game (CogniFit) on students’ problem-solving skills over the course of two semesters. Students playing Warcraft significantly improved the rule application component of problem-solving skill on the posttest compared to students playing CogniFit. Implications for future studies on GBL are discussed.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Emihovich_fsu_0071E_14151
Format: Thesis

Title: Biomechanics of Older Drivers in Vehicular Crashes.
Creator: Fung, Kakit, Jung, Sungmoon, Zeng, Changchun (Chad), Sobanjo, John Olusegun, Tawfiq, Kamal Sulaiman, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of...
Show moreFung, Kakit, Jung, Sungmoon, Zeng, Changchun (Chad), Sobanjo, John Olusegun, Tawfiq, Kamal Sulaiman, Florida State University, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Show less
Abstract/Description: The aging population is expected to increase substantially in the future. The fatal crash rates (per mile traveled) involving older drivers (65+) are considerably higher than those of younger drivers. This research involved conducting computational experiments involving dummy models to investigate the biomechanics of older drivers in vehicular crashes. Before conducting these experiments, the concepts of biological changes in older populations needed to be addressed. This allowed us to first...
Show moreThe aging population is expected to increase substantially in the future. The fatal crash rates (per mile traveled) involving older drivers (65+) are considerably higher than those of younger drivers. This research involved conducting computational experiments involving dummy models to investigate the biomechanics of older drivers in vehicular crashes. Before conducting these experiments, the concepts of biological changes in older populations needed to be addressed. This allowed us to first find out what makes the older drivers different from younger drivers. It was found that driving posture is one of the two key differences between the two age groups. The Hybrid III computational dummy model was used to investigate the effect of driving posture. The other key finding shows that older drivers are affected by aging factors such as material properties decrease and thickness decrease of bones. The Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) was used because it can be modified to represent an aged driver to be used in the crash simulations. For the posture investigation, the idea is that driving posture for older drivers tend to be closer to the steering wheel whereas younger drivers are more laid back was incorporated. All computational work was completed in LS-DYNA; a finite element code used for non-linear impact analysis. The Finite Element (FE) simulation was validated by comparing the FE results with physical crash test results. These results were found in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSS) Report 208 for Frontal Crash Test. For subsequent simulations, posture changes based on the idea of aging according to literature review were implemented. For the Head Injury Criteria, the extended shoulders of an older driver yielded percent differences as high as 16%. The arms acted like braces to restrain the torso while the head continued forward. The extended knees also yielded a 16% increase in head injury. As for the chest acceleration, the extended hip and torso joints showed increased values. It was concluded that sitting closer was beneficial for the Head Injury Criteria but the opposite was true for the chest acceleration. The posture changes did not affect the pelvis acceleration. This investigation gave us a better understanding of what occurs in automobile accidents specific to older occupants. This knowledge can be useful in designing engineering approaches to mitigate injuries. Using the aged model, the material properties decrease yielded the highest chest deflection of 13.3%. For the bone thickness decrease, the chest acceleration showed the highest increase of 12.5%. The head acceleration and chest deflection showed noticeable increases. Overall with all three aging factors in place, the head and chest accelerations yielded high increases. Whereas for the deflection, it remains the same. The thoracic rotation increased the head resultant acceleration. The rotation decreased the deflection of the thorax because the ribs were more in line with the force imposed by the crash. It can withstand more force when the ribs are more parallel with the force. As for the chest acceleration, no significant change was present. It can be concluded that the older drivers in rear impacts experienced higher (Neck Injury Criterion) NICmax than younger drivers as much as 6.9% percent for the material property decrease and bone thickness decrease. The thorax rotation yielded a 4.7% decrease in NICmax. It is possible that this aging factor caused the thorax to conform more into the seatback thus reducing the injury. The bone thickness decreased affected the NICmax greatly whereas the material property decreased did show signs of minimal positive influence. The material property decreased yielded 0.8% increase while the thickness decreased yielded a 3.0% increase.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_FALL2017_Fung_fsu_0071E_14227
Format: Thesis

Theses and Dissertations (1252)	+ -
Digitized Theses and Dissertations (1)	+ -

Music (112)	+ -
Study and teaching (77)	+ -
History (57)	+ -
Statistics (56)	+ -
Mathematics (49)	+ -

Psychology (46)	+ -
Chemistry (45)	+ -
Education (42)	+ -
Education, Higher (40)	+ -
Materials science (37)	+ -
Biology (32)	+ -
Educational psychology (31)	+ -
Computer science (29)	+ -
Criminology (29)	+ -
Electrical engineering (29)	+ -
Instruction and study (29)	+ -
Sociology (29)	+ -
Applied mathematics (27)	+ -
Neurosciences (26)	+ -
Physics (26)	+ -
Art (24)	+ -
Clinical psychology (23)	+ -
Condensed matter (23)	+ -
Economics (22)	+ -
Molecular biology (22)	+ -
Educational leadership (21)	+ -
Engineering (21)	+ -
Education and state (20)	+ -
Management (19)	+ -
Biochemistry (18)	+ -

United States (18)	+ -
Europe (7)	+ -
Latin America (5)	+ -
Middle East (3)	+ -
Africa, North (1)	+ -

Caribbean Area (1)	+ -
Russia (1)	+ -
South Asia (1)	+ -

Search In

Pages

Pages

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Collection

Topical Subject

Geographic Subject

Genre

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner