FILENAME: Abbett_fsu_0071E_16843.pdf
TITLE: Diffusion, Doping, and Stability of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers
AUTHOR: Abbett, Rachel L.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Schlenoff, Joseph B.
MEMBER (university representative): Liang, Zhiyong (Richard)
MEMBER (committee member): Roper, Michael Gabriel
MEMBER (committee member): Hu, Yan-yan
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (131 pages)
ABSTRACT: Polyelectrolytes are polymers consisting of charged repeat units resulting in a netcharge for the macromolecules. Mixing oppositely charged polyelectrolytes creates polyelectrolyte complexes (PEC). Different types of complexes can be obtained by modifying the preparation technique. This dissertation focuses primarily on one kind of PEC known as a polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEMU). These systems are formed by depositing alternating "layers" of oppositely charged polymers onto a substrate. PEMUs have been proposed for various applications, from electronic devices to antibacterial coatings and drug delivery. These applications rely on the composition and integrity of these films to withstand dynamic changes in the external environment, such as temperature and environmental composition. They also rely on doping the films with additives called "dopants" to modify the properties of these films. This dissertation focuses on the stability of PEMUs and the motion of various analytes through the films. This first aspect centers initially around the water content. The PEMUs in this work are plasticized by water, becoming brittle when dry. This plasticization led to the theory that the change in modulus close to room temperature for these systems was not a glass transition but instead a dehydration/rehydration event. Fully hydrated films were monitored using ATR-FTIR to assess the water content through the glass transition at various salt concentrations. There was no discernible change in water content that would indicate hydration or dehydration, supporting the theory that this change in modulus results from a glass transition. The commonly used polyelectrolyte pairs in this work are hydrophilic. This affinity for water combined with added salts bringing in additional water and breaking up Pol+Polinteractions causes concern for the stability of the film. PEMUs were built again on the ATR-FTIR and monitored in-situ as a solution of changing salt concentration flowed over the film. The salt concentrations ranged from 0 to 1.0 M NaCl for 1, 2, and 4 hours and then were brought back to 0 M NaCl over the same time period. The rapid change in salt concentration was expected to stress the film, potentially causing it to swell to the point of degradation. All three rates resulted in intact films, with the fastest change in concentration resulting in the water not having sufficient time to equilibrate in the film, 14 shown by a difference in response to increasing and decreasing NaCl concentration. Long-term exposure to NaCl, especially high concentration salt, was also monitored. Films were constructed on quartz slides and placed parallel to the beam in the cuvette. Solutions of NaCl ranging from 0 to 2.5 M were added to the cuvette and monitored for 10 hours. The spectra indicate minimal leaching from the films into the solution at all but the highest salt concentrations. Ferrocyanide and ferricyanide diffusion through PEMUs was tested to determine if their movement through the film would be sufficient to impact the rate of electrons transferring from the redox centers through the film to an electrode. Films were built on silicon wafers and monitored using transmission FTIR by taking spectra of the dried film at specific time points during the exposure to the ferri- or ferrocyanide solutions. The diffusion coefficients were determined, indicating ferricyanide diffuses significantly faster than ferrocyanide. From the diffusion and the IR spectra, the concentration and spacing of the redox centers were determined, indicating that the motion of the redox species is not sufficient to alter the rate of electron motion. Ligated lanthanide complexes are efficient emitters but often have issues with the substrate quenching emission. PEMUs were tested to see if they could be used as scaffolding to prevent this quenching. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic systems were compared based on quantum yield and fluorescence lifetime. Hydrophilic films had faster and higher uptake of the emissive sites, needing only five minutes for full incorporation, but the hydrophobic films outperformed the hydrophilic films in emission under various environmental humidity levels by better maintaining the quantum yield. Diffusion of PSS through films was monitored with varying molecular weight, temperature, and solution salt concentrations. Shorter chains diffused faster at the same temperatures and were not impacted by changes in salt concentration. This could be because the short-chain systems are above the Tg in those salt concentrations. Both long and short-chain films were slower below Tg. Long-chain systems had a dependence on salt concentration and a two-part diffusion regime at room temperature. This is because the polymers closer to the surface of the film were more hydrated, and therefore above the Tg, while the chains at the substrate were below Tg at room temperature. This resulted in a two-part diffusion.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 28, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Diffusion, Polyelectrolyte Multilayers, Polyelectrolytes
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Joseph B. Schlenoff, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard Liang, University Representative; Michael G. Roper, Committee Member; Yan-Yan Hu, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemistry, Analytic
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Agharazidermani_fsu_0071E_16859.pdf
TITLE: The Relationships among Information Consumption, E-Health Literacy, and Information Avoidance in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Structural Equation Modeling Study
AUTHOR: Agharazi Dermani, Maedeh,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Kazmer, Michelle M.
MEMBER (university representative): Shute, Valerie J. (Valerie Jean), 1953-
MEMBER (committee member): Lustria, Mia Liza A.
MEMBER (committee member): He, Zhe
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Communication and Information
CORPORATE NAME: School of Information
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (128 pages)
ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationships among eHealth literacy, information consumption from different sources, information overload, information anxiety, and information avoidance. Drawing on the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking framework (Johnson et al., 1995), a model was proposed to investigate factors influencing information avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.Data were collected from adults in the United States using an online survey and the proposed model was initially tested using SEM (n=1,875). The research questions were answered using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Structural Modeling correlational analyses, reliability analyses, and Generalized Linear Modeling. The results showed the data do not fit the initial model properly. However, by implementing EFA, an alternative best-fit model was identified. In addition, the study shows that information consumption from both credible and noncredible sources had a significant relationship with information overload and eHealth literacy. Also, eHealth literacy, information overload, and information anxiety can be predictors of information avoidance.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 12, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): COVID-19, Information anxiety, Information avoidance, Information behavior, Information consumption, Information overload
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Michelle M. Kazmer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Valerie J. Shute, University Representative; Mia Liza A. Lustria, Committee Member; Zhe He, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Information science
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Akpolat_fsu_0071E_16871.pdf
TITLE: Deep Learning and Probabilistic Approaches for Financial Time Series Analysis
AUTHOR: Akpolat, Oktay,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Niu, Xufeng, 1954-
MEMBER (university representative): Beaumont, Paul M.
MEMBER (committee member): Huffer, Fred W. (Fred William)
MEMBER (committee member): Barbu, Adrian G., 1971-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Statistics
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (91 pages)
ABSTRACT: The forecasting of financial time series has been very important in both finance industry and academia for several years due to the volatile and unstable nature of financial systems. However, researchers believe that financial time series data can be modeled accurately, despite its noisy and unstable nature. Therefore, they have created several applications of time series modeling, which have been very successful when applied to financial markets, the prediction of stock prices being one of the main examples. In order to build better models for predicting stock prices, advanced data analysis techniques such as machine learning, deep learning, time series analysis, and probabilistic pattern recognition have been developed by researchers among from various areas in the past decades.Lately Recently, Deep Learning and Probabilistic Models are have become popular regarding due to developing their success in financial time series forecasting. This study focuses on a Deep Learning Model called Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) and a Probabilistic Model called Hidden Markov Model (HMM) implementation for financial time series forecasting and on building a hybrid model by combining these two models to enhance prediction accuracy. More Specifically, the main objective is to build a novel approach of by combining LSTM with HMM, train the resulting model by using historical data, and predict future behavior of financial time series indicators. The results of our study indicate that the HMM is better than LSTM in predicting the stock closing price. The experimental result of our hybrid model process showed shows that the prediction accuracy of LSTM model increased when model combined with the HMM.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 12, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Xufeng Niu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul Beaumont, University Representative; Fred Huﬀer, Committee Member; Adrian Barbu, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Statistics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: AlAmer_fsu_0071E_16632.pdf
TITLE: Modeling Heterogeneity in Bayesian Meta-Analysis
AUTHOR: Al Amer, Fahad,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Lin, Lifeng
MEMBER (university representative): Liu, Xiuwen, 1966-
MEMBER (committee member): Zhang, Xin
MEMBER (committee member): Bradley, Jonathan R.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Statistics
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (105 pages)
ABSTRACT: Meta-analysis has been frequently used to combine findings from independent studies in many areas. Bayesian methods are an important set of tools for performing meta-analyses. They avoid some potentially unrealistic assumptions that are required by conventional frequentist methods. More importantly, meta-analysts can incorporate prior information from many sources, including experts' opinions and prior meta-analyses. Nevertheless, Bayesian methods are used less frequently than conventional frequentist methods, primarily because of the need for nontrivial statistical coding, while frequentist approaches can be implemented via many user-friendly software packages. This thesis divide into three parts, the first part aims at providing a practical review of implementations for Bayesian meta-analyses with various prior distributions. We present Bayesian methods for meta-analyses with the focus on a univariate meta-analysis of odds ratio for binary outcomes. We summarize various commonly used prior distribution choices for the between-studies heterogeneity variance, a critical parameter in meta-analyses. They include the inverse-gamma, uniform, and half-normal distributions, as well as evidence-based informative log-normal priors. Five real-world examples are presented to illustrate their performance. Under certain circumstances, Bayesian methods can produce markedly different results from those by frequentist methods, including a change in decision on statistical significance. When data information is limited, the choice of priors may have a large impact on meta-analytic results, in which case sensitivity analyses are recommended. Moreover, the algorithm for implementing Bayesian analyses may not converge for extremely sparse data; caution is needed in interpreting respective results. As such, convergence should be routinely examined. When select statistical assumptions made by conventional frequentist methods are violated, Bayesian methods provide a reliable alternative to perform a meta-analysis. A critical issue of meta-analysis is that the combined studies could be heterogeneous because of differences in study populations, design conducts, etc. Thus, heterogeneity is an issue that can affect the validity of meta-analytic results. In the existence of heterogeneity, a random-effects meta-analysis is considered an appropriate model to estimate a summary effect and a between-study variance. For several studies, conventional methods could be used to estimate the random-effects meta-analysis model, but the estimate of between-study heterogeneity could be imprecise in the case of few studies, and this imprecision is not acknowledged. In this situation, a Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis is advantageous in accounting for all sources of uncertainty. The second part of this thesis uses Bayesian methods to examine the impact of meta-analysis characteristics on between-study heterogeneity by analyzing data from a large collection of meta-analyses with binary outcomes. We classify and examine all included meta-analyses by outcome types and intervention comparison types. Then, based on these outcome and intervention classifications, we derive a set of predictive distributions for the extent of between-study variance expected in a future meta-analysis in different effect measures. These findings may help researchers to use them as informative prior distributions in new meta-analyses of binary outcomes. The last part of this thesis quantifies the between-study heterogeneity by using prediction intervals. By reporting the prediction interval, we show how often there is a contradiction in the conclusion compared to the conclusion based on the confidence interval. We also show the benefits of reporting the prediction interval in a meta-analysis, which has a straightforward clinical meaning that may guide researchers to expect the true effects in future settings. In addition, we use a large collection of meta-analyses from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to evaluate the real-world performance of the prediction interval. We assess whether the previous meta-analysis successfully predicts a future study or a study not included in the meta-analysis based on publication years. This assessment is illustrated using a case study. In the existence of heterogeneity, a random-effects meta-analysis is considered an appropriate model to estimate a summary effect and a between-study variance. For many studies, conventional methods could be used to estimate the random-effects meta-analysis model, but the estimate of between-study heterogeneity could be imprecise in the case of few studies as well as this imprecision is not acknowledged. In this situation, a Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis is advantageous in accounting for all sources of uncertainty. The second part of this thesis uses Bayesian methods to examine the impact of meta-analysis characteristics on between-study heterogeneity by analyzing data from a large collection of meta-analyses with binary outcomes. We classify and examine all included meta-analyses by outcome types and intervention comparison types. We derive a set of predictive distributions for the extent of between-study variance expected in a future meta-analysis in various effect measures. These findings may help researchers to use them as informative prior distributions in new meta-analyses of binary outcomes.The last part of this thesis quantifies the between-study heterogeneity by using prediction intervals. By reporting the prediction interval, we show how often there is a contradiction in the conclusion compared to the conclusion based on the confidence interval. We also show the benefits of reporting the prediction interval in a meta-analysis, which has a straightforward clinical meaning that may guide researchers to expect the true effects in future settings. In addition, we assess whether the previous meta-analysis successfully predicts a future study or a study not included in the meta-analysis based on publication years. This assessment is illustrated using a case study.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): July 2, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Lifeng Lin, Professor Directing Dissertation; Xiuwen Liu, University Representative; Xin Zhang, Committee Member; Jonathan Bradley, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Statistics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: AlbertII_fsu_0071E_16834.pdf
TITLE: The Variable Weight View: An Alternative to Peer-Oriented Accounts in the Epistemology of Disagreement
AUTHOR: Albert, Philip Michael, II
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Hinchman, Edward
MEMBER (university representative): Misra, Vasubandhu, 1970-
MEMBER (committee member): Bishop, Michael A.
MEMBER (committee member): Justus, James
MEMBER (committee member): Ruse, Michael
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Philosophy
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (143 pages)
ABSTRACT: The epistemology of disagreement is primarily concerned with determining the rational response to disagreement. Of particular interest in the literature is the question of peer disagreement: how should you revise your beliefs when faced with the disagreement of an epistemic peer (i.e., someone who is just well-equipped as you are to evaluate the topic of disagreement)? The majority of the disagreement literature is directed toward the question of peer disagreement, and a range of different views have been proposed. Some views maintain that the rational response is to withhold judgment when faced with peer disagreement, while other views maintain that it can be rational to remain steadfast in your initial belief, and still other views hold that each of these responses can be reasonable under the right circumstances. In what follows, however, I will argue that the literature's emphasis on peer disagreement is misguided, because it leads to unnecessary confusion, without offering any additional insight about how to rationally resolve disagreements. After a brief introduction in Chapter 1, I go on in Chapter 2 to argue that, although the concept of epistemic peerhood is useful for identifying epistemically interesting disagreements for study, when it comes to determining the rational response to those disagreements, peerhood becomes more of a hindrance than a help. As an alternative to standard peer-centric views of disagreement, I propose a 'sliding-scale' approach to the epistemic evaluation of interlocutors, a view I refer to as the Variable Weight View of disagreement (the VWV). After proposing the VWV in Chapter 2, I expand upon it in Chapter 3, responding to several potential objections, as well as considering how the VWV might be expanded upon in the future. I pay particular attention to the social dimension of disagreement, and the potential role that collective or community-level epistemic norms might play with respect to disagreement – a topic which I suggest deserves more attention than it presently receives in the literature. In Chapter 4, I consider what I take to be a particularly clear example of how peer-centric views of disagreement can go wrong. I consider the Equal Weight View as defended by Elga (2007), and I argue that his view ultimately fails because it relies for its success on a particularly problematic definition of peerhood. In Chapter 5, I conclude by comparing the VWV to the standard peer-oriented views of disagreement in the literature. I argue that, in each case, the most plausible versions of those views would benefit from abandoning their strict focus on peer disagreement, in favor of adopting a sliding-scale approach to epistemic evaluation, such as that proposed by the VWV.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 5, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Disagreement, Epistemic peerhood, Social epistemology
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Edward Hinchman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Vasubandhu Misra, University Representative; Michael Bishop, Committee Member; James Justus, Committee Member; Michael Ruse, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Philosophy
SUBJECT: Knowledge, Theory of
SUBJECT: Science--Philosophy
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Allen_fsu_0071E_16826.pdf
TITLE: Brass B(R)ands in Mobile, Alabama's Mardi Gras
AUTHOR: Allen, Emily Ruth,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Brewer, Charles E. (Charles Everett)
MEMBER (university representative): Atkins, Jennifer
MEMBER (committee member): Broyles, Michael, 1939-
MEMBER (committee member): Gunderson, Frank D.
MEMBER (committee member): López-Dabdoub, Eduardo
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (173 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation discusses brass bands in Mobile, Alabama and their individual "brands"(performance norms) and their relationship to the broader branding aspects of the city's Mardi Gras. I call this brass branding. How do the brass bands showcase their brand verbally and performatively? How do different forms of Mobile Mardi Gras media incorporate brass band aesthetics (visually and/or aurally) to convey Mobile as a Mardi Gras city? I answer these questions through interviews, ethnographic observations, and analyses of media to show how brass band aesthetics are tied to Mardi Gras. I found that the brass brands in the case studies I discuss are multifaceted and function differently from context to context. The brass brands communicate different messages regarding what Mardi Gras means to individuals or communities in Mobile. Collectively, though, the brass brand case studies show that Mobilians take great pride in their Mardi Gras and recognize the integral role of the brass band tradition. Overall, this project offers approaches to studying the relationship between musicians, marketing, and events to understand how ritual participants see and imagine themselves. Examining the branding of Mardi Gras shows how Mobile is portraying itself as a "music" city like New Orleans to live up to the same level of exceptionalism and how the bands each contribute to the festivities through distinctive modes of performance.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 10, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): brass band, carnival, marketing, media, musicology, ritual
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Charles E. Brewer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jennifer Atkins, University Representative; Michael Broyles, Committee Member; Frank Gunderson, Committee Member; Eduardo López-Dabdoub, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Folklore
SUBJECT: Ethnology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Allman_fsu_0071N_16910.pdf
TITLE: A Multi-Proxy Investigation of Marine Redox Conditions in the Late Silurian Oceans during the Lau Extinction Event: A Peri-Gondwanan Perspective
AUTHOR: Allman, Lindsi Jane,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Young, Seth A.
MEMBER (committee member): Owens, Jeremy D.
MEMBER (committee member): Wang, Yang, (Graduate Assistant in Teaching)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (57 pages)
ABSTRACT: The late Silurian was a turbulent era, with widespread environmental, biotic, and oceanographic variability. Major climatic and palaeoceanographic oscillations are often associated with faunal reorganizations and extinction events, and the late Silurian was no exception. The Lau/Kozlowskii extinction (LKE) event, associated with the Lau positive carbon isotope excursion (CIE, ~425 Ma), is recognized as a major marine extinction event in Earth's history. The Lau CIE has been recognized in Sweden, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Australia, and North America with peak carbonate carbon isotope excursion values of +8 to +12‰ in certain localities. The Lau CIE has been previously hypothesized to be the result of increases in organic carbon burial with increased preservation due to an expansion of reducing marine conditions. While previous studies have shown evidence for a global expansion of reducing conditions surrounding the LKE, this previous work has focused on low latitude areas whereas this study focuses on a mid-latitude dataset from a peri-Gondwanan terrane, Perunica. Here I present a multi-proxy geochemical dataset from shale interbeds of the Kosov Quarry section (Czech Republic). Local redox proxies, including pyrite sulfur isotopes (34Spy), Fe speciation, and trace metal concentrations, suggest that marine redox conditions were consistently reducing through the late Silurian (Ludfordian) in this part of peri-Gondwana. Additionally, I have also utilized a novel global redox proxy, thallium isotopes (ε205Tl), to provide a critical constraint on the increase in bottom water anoxia in the global oceans during the Ludfordian Stage with locally highly reducing conditions recording accurate ε205Tl values. ε205Tl show multiple global excursions beginning with a sharp positive trend before the LKE before returning to original levels. ε205Tl values trend positive again starting just before the Lau CIE and begin trending negative after the CIE but do not return to pre-excursion levels within the section. This data highlights two global deoxygenation and reoxygenation events. Geochemical box modeling was used in this thesis to constrain fluxes needed to recreate carbonate carbon and carbonate-associated sulfate sulfur isotopic trends observed in datasets globally. This study lends further evidence for the expansion of marine reducing conditions playing a pivotal role as a kill mechanism for the LKE event and provides new insights on the extent of global ocean anoxia during the late Silurian.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 18, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Seth A. Young, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeremy D. Owens, Committee Member; Yang Wang, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Geology
SUBJECT: Paleoclimatology
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Arnold_fsu_0071N_16923.pdf
TITLE: Leadership Styles through an MT Lens: Importance versus Implementation in Music Therapy
AUTHOR: Arnold, Ayanna-Mone T.,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Gooding, Lori F. (Lori Fogus)
MEMBER (committee member): Standley, Jayne M.
MEMBER (committee member): Gregory, Sarah Dianne
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (75 pages)
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between leadership styles and music therapy by examining perceptions of leadership styles among music therapy student and professional leaders within one of the seven regions of the American Music Therapy Association. This study also explored how leadership styles were viewed and implemented in the music therapy field. Data were analyzed for 13 participants, 12 professional board members and 1 student board member. Mental Health was the most frequently served population by the professional participants (21.21%). Democratic leadership was the personal leadership style chosen by the most participants (40.91%). Democratic leadership also was rated the most implemented every time these leaders have had to lead (23.08%) while affiliative leadership was most usually implemented by these participants (46.15%). In the role of a music therapist, the importance of these leadership styles did not vary much from the indicated general effectiveness of the styles. Democratic leadership was rated "extremely important" by 38.46% of respondents. Coaching leadership was rated "very important" by 38.46% of respondents. Six of the participants (46.15%) strongly agreed with the idea that a successful and effective music therapist should have some sort of leadership training or taken a leadership-specific class. Additionally, six participants (46.15%) agreed that a successful and effective music therapist should be aware of their leadership style and how it plays a role in their practice. From the data gathered, Democratic, coaching, and affiliative leadership were the most important, most implemented and most effective leadership styles in general settings and, specifically, music therapy.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 16, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Leadership, Leadership Styles, Music Therapy
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Lori Gooding, Professor Directing Thesis; Jayne Standley, Committee Member; Sarah Dianne Gregory, Committee Member.
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Asher_fsu_0071N_16917.pdf
TITLE: A Research-Based Guide to Family Music Therapy within the Family Systems Theoretical Framework
AUTHOR: Asher, Trevor Bradley,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Standley, Jayne M.
MEMBER (committee member): Gooding, Lori F. (Lori Fogus)
MEMBER (committee member): VanWeelden, Kimberly D.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (53 pages)
ABSTRACT: Families are the building blocks of society and the first system that children are a part of. Varying in both structure and function, families serve to develop their members and create a collective identity. When the family system struggles, family therapy may be needed. Music therapy has been shown to improve communication skills, facilitate positive interactions, and express emotions. The most efficacious and widely practiced family therapy theory among Marriage and Family Therapists is Family Systems Theory, while research shows that most music therapists working with families practice within a Humanistic Theory. The purpose of this study was to create a research-based guide to educate and prepare music therapists to provide services to families within Family Systems Theory by giving recommendations through the elements of the music therapy standards of clinical practice.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 16, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): families, family systems theory, family therapy, genograms, music therapy, music therapy interventions
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Jayne M. Standley, Professor Directing Thesis; Lori F. Gooding, Committee Member; Kimberly D. Van Weelden, Committee Member.
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Baez_fsu_0071E_16838.pdf
TITLE: Painting the Miracles of Altagracia: Art, Piety, and Memory in Hispaniola (1751-1795)
AUTHOR: Baez, Jennifer A.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Niell, Paul B., 1976-
MEMBER (university representative): Munro, Martin
MEMBER (committee member): Leitch, Stephanie
MEMBER (committee member): Bearor, Karen A. (Karen Anne), 1950-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Fine Arts
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Art History
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (185 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation examines a series of cycles painted between 1760 and 1778 for the sanctuary of San Dionisio in Higüey, Hispaniola, which feature miracles performed by the Virgin of Altagracia, to identify intersections between Marian piety, artistic practice, race, and the development of Creole (island-born) origin stories during the long eighteenth century. Charged with strengthening ties between sanctuary, icon, and devotee in a rural enclave of the Spanish empire in the heart of the Caribbean, the cycles were part of a miracle-making industry that forged communities of faith, sacred landscapes, and geopolitical economies. Adopting an intertextual approach to read the medallions as an integral series, the study unpacks how the framing, context of display, and iconography helped produce collective memory. Thematic chapters engage Black presence and representation in Creole epistemologies, the role of the artist in the miracle-making industry, and placemaking in the New World through the Marian miracle narrative.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 27, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): criollismo, miracles
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Paul B. Niell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Martin Munro, University Representative; Stephanie Leitch, Committee Member; Karen Bearor, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Art--History
SUBJECT: Caribbean Area
SUBJECT: Religion
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Blank_fsu_0071N_16824.pdf
TITLE: Spatial and Temporal Variation in Hardbottom Coral Communities on the Coastal West Florida Shelf
AUTHOR: Blank, Nicole,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Brooke, Sandra
MEMBER (committee member): Huettel, Markus
MEMBER (committee member): Stukel, Michael R.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (43 pages)
ABSTRACT: Hardbottom coral and sponge communities differ along portions of the WFS in species occurrence, diversity or size. However, specific differences and spatial distribution of these communities are not well understood. Community transitions have been proposed in the central portion of the WFS, around Tampa Bay, Cedar Keys and as far south as Charlotte Harbor, but supporting data are sparse. This project surveyed fifteen sites in 3 regions and found significant differences in benthic hardbottom communities north of Tampa Bay. Distinct communities were found between Franklin County, Hudson, FL and Tarpon Springs, FL. Coral and sponge densities were highest off of Tarpon Springs, FL followed by Franklin County on the Florida Panhandle and lowest off of Hudson, FL. Stony corals, Siderastrea radians, Cladocora arbuscula and Phyllangia americana, and gorgonian complexes, Muricea spp. and Plexauridae were the main drivers of differences between the regions. Several species of corals significantly varied in size between the three regions and generally, stony corals in this study were larger when compared to the same region four years ago. The overall communities had healthy corals with no disease and minimal bleaching. This research broadens the understanding of WFS hardbottom communities and their spatial distributions, though detailed surveys. Additional research on the hardbottom communities of the WFS is necessary to attain a comprehensive understanding of the coastal shelf and support long-term monitoring efforts.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 8, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Coral, Ecology, Hardbottom, WFS
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Sandra D. Brooke, Professor Directing Thesis; Markus Huettel, Committee Member; Michael R. Stukel, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Marine biology
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Bommarito_fsu_0071E_16897.pdf
TITLE: Sea Routes: Maritime Pathways and Modern Trade Patterns
AUTHOR: Bommarito, Joseph,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Ehrlich, Sean D.
MEMBER (university representative): Uejio, Christopher K.
MEMBER (committee member): Souva, Mark A.
MEMBER (committee member): Guedes Duque, Marina
MEMBER (committee member): Cunha, Raphael C
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Political Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (113 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation seeks to add substantial knowledge to the field of international political economy by introducing novel theoretical and empirical insights via the study of international sea routes. International sea routes represent the maritime pathways that cargo ships take as they move between different countries. In the modern globalized world, these sea routes represent critical components of the global economy. This dissertation takes an economic geography approach to study how proximity to these sea routes affects international trade and development as a dependent variable. This dissertation's primary goal is to introduce how geospatial models can understand how sea routes generate the patterns and dependencies seen in studies of current trade flows.Recent work in international political economy has used network approaches to address the economic connections between states in ways beyond state-level or dyadic analysis. Literature has concluded that economic connections between countries consist of complicated patterns with many countries all linked together in different ways. Yet not enough work looks at what aspects of the global economy create these linkages. This dissertation asks how sea routes create important economic connections between countries. The economic connections created by sea routes directly impact a state's ability to engage in the global economy. This dissertation expands current knowledge by providing a novel theoretical concept of sea routes as physical and observable connections between states. This dissertation provides the first theoretical and empirical analysis of sea routes in international political economics. In doing so, this dissertation adds to the growing literature on networks of economic linkages, and determinants of trade, to provide novel testable hypotheses. These contributions lead to scientific foundations for studying essential policy considerations in the modern world. In 2021 alone, the importance of maritime policy has jumped to the forefront of policy debates with the jamming of the Suez Canal, the backlog of ships outside of LA port, and global supply chain delays. This dissertation offers the first look at how sea routes can contribute to international trade's scientific and policy discussions.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 10, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Economic Geography, Maritime, Sea Rotues, Trade, Trade Routes
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Sean Ehrlich, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Uejio, University Representative; Mark Souva, Committee Member; Marina Duque, Committee Member; Raphael Cunha, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: International relations
SUBJECT: Economics
SUBJECT: Geography
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Brooks_fsu_0071E_16864.pdf
TITLE: Constellations of Beliefs: Self-Efficacy in an Online Writing Course
AUTHOR: Brooks, Amanda Marie,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Fleckenstein, Kristie S.
MEMBER (university representative): Dennen, Vanessa P., 1970-
MEMBER (committee member): Neal, Michael R.
MEMBER (committee member): Graban, Tarez Samra
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of English
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (313 pages)
ABSTRACT: This dissertation responds to the paucity of research that explicitly accounts for self-efficacy, defined as perceived confidence in one's ability to reach a desired goal or outcome, within the context of online writing instruction. Although self-efficacy has attracted considerable interest in writing studies for more than three decades, this research has almost exclusively centered on traditional, face-to-face composition classes. This restricted focus poses a particular problem given the rising number of online composition courses, especially in the wake of the coronavirus, COVID-19. Therefore, this dissertation asks how students' self-efficacy operates in an online writing course. Specifically, it examines the following questions through a multiple-case study of six students in a single section of an online writing course: 1) What domains, defined as integral to online writing instruction, emerge as focal to students' self-efficacy beliefs in an online writing class? 2) How, when, and where do self-efficacy beliefs manifest within these focal domains? 3) What, if any, circumstances surrounding online writing instruction emerge as tangential to students' self-efficacy beliefs in an online writing class? In what ways? 4) What, if any, constellated relationships emerge from integral domains and external circumstances? This study finds that, first, although each integral domain—writing, technology, instructor communication, and peer interactions—as well as one additional domain, online learning—emerged as focal to the six students' self-efficacy, the degree of influence varied. Writing, by far, held the most influence. Second, some domains tend to lend themselves more readily to certain self-efficacy sources. For instance, instructor communication was most likely to provide opportunities for social persuasion. Third, while circumstances had the potential to impinge upon students' efficacy expectations, the data suggest that they were not particularly salient. Finally, the constellated relationships that formed between and among domains and circumstances indicate that density of connections might correlate to students' ability to stabilize and maintain their positive self-efficacy. Ultimately, the findings of this study inform theoretical understandings of both self-efficacy and online writing instruction, which, in turn, offers several potential implications for online composition pedagogy.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 8, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Vanessa Dennen, University Representative; Michael Neal, Committee Member; Tarez Samra Graban, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: British literature
SUBJECT: Irish literature
SUBJECT: English literature
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Buchwalter_fsu_0071E_16866.pdf
TITLE: Investigation of the Roles of Microtubules, Microtubule-Organizing Centers, and Viral Factors on Zika Virus Viroplasm Development
AUTHOR: Buchwalter, Rebecca A.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Megraw, Timothy L.
MEMBER (university representative): Tang, Hengli
MEMBER (committee member): Gunjan, Akash
MEMBER (committee member): Tomko, Robert J., Jr.
MEMBER (committee member): Wang, Yanchang, (Biomedical Sciences Professor)
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Medicine
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Biomedical Sciences
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (86 pages)
ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV) became a global health concern in 2016 due to its links to congenital microcephaly and other birth defects. ZIKV is part of the genus flavivirus, a class of positive(+)- sense single-stranded RNA viruses. Flavivirus infection results in a reorganization of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to form a viroplasm, a subcellular structure where viral RNA replicates and virus particles are assembled. The overall goal of this research project is to better understand how the ZIKV viroplasm forms and organizes. Microtubules (MTs) and microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) coordinate structural and trafficking functions in the cell, and MTs also support the infection cycles of flaviviruses. In the first part (Chapter 2), we investigated the roles of MTs and the cell's MTOCs on ZIKV viroplasm organization and virus production. We show that a toroidal-shaped viroplasm forms upon ZIKV infection, and MTs are organized at the viroplasm core and surrounding the viroplasm. We show that MTs are necessary for viroplasm organization and impact infectious virus production. In addition, the centrosome and the Golgi MTOC are closely associated with the viroplasm, and the centrosome coordinates the organization of the ZIKV viroplasm toroidal structure. Surprisingly, viroplasm formation and virus production are not significantly impaired when infected cells have no centrosomes and impaired Golgi MTOC, and we show that MTs are anchored to the viroplasm surface in these cells. We propose that the viroplasm is a site of MT organization, and the MTs organized at the viroplasm are sufficient for efficient virus production. Supplementary movies (Appendix A) for Chapter 2 are available through the online version of this dissertation published on ProQuest. Viral proteins interact with host proteins to cause subcellular rearrangements during infection. In the second part (Chapter 3), we investigated how individual viral proteins contribute towards the formation and organization of the ZIKV viroplasm. We found that expression of NS3 alone was sufficient to form a structure that resembles the ZIKV viroplasm. NS3 has protease and helicase domains, and we further found expression of the NS3 helicase alone was sufficient to form a viroplasm-like structure. In addition, we found that the centrosome and the Golgi associate with this structure. Besides localization and formation of the viroplasm-like structure, NS3 associates with the centrosome and forms filamentous structures. We propose that NS3 may be playing a role in viroplasm organization during ZIKV infection.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biomedical Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 12, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): centrosome, microtubule-organizing center, microtubules, Zika virus
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Timothy L. Megraw, Professor Directing Dissertation; Hengli Tang, University Representative; Akash Gunjan, Committee Member; Robert J. Tomko, Jr., Committee Member; Yanchang Wang, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Cytology
SUBJECT: Virology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: CALLEN_fsu_0071E_16855.pdf
TITLE: Photoassisted Synthesis of Complex Molecular Motifs
AUTHOR: Callen, Daniel Patrick,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Frederich, James H.
MEMBER (university representative): Bertram, R. (Richard)
MEMBER (committee member): Zhu, Lei, 1978-
MEMBER (committee member): Yang, Wei
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (290 pages)
ABSTRACT: The use of photochemistry in organic synthesis has enable chemists to build structural complexity into molecules that is either difficult or impossible to achieve using traditional thermal methods. Using light as a reagent is a desirable, cost-effective, and green tactic for constructing molecules, and is an attractive alternative to expensive catalysts or harsh reaction conditions. Over the years, our lab has developed several methods that exploit the synthetic utility of photochemistry in complex molecule synthesis.Chapter 1: The ophiobolins are naturally sesterterpenes that contain a 5-8-5 fused carbocyclic core. Many of these molecules have been shown to possess potent and interesting biological activities, making them attractive targets for synthetic organic chemists. There have been many synthetic efforts and approaches towards these natural products, however, only four total syntheses are reported to date. Ophiobolin A, the first isolated and reported ophiobolin, is especially of interest to both chemists and biochemists due to its potent anti-cancer activity. In recent studies, the primary biological mechanism of action for this sesterterpene was reported and has sparked an interest in the scientific community in synthesizing ophiobolin derivatives to gain better insight into their biological activities and structure-activity relationships. Chapter 2: Our group has developed a method that utilizes a tandem diastereoselective photochemical [2+2] cycloaddition and Cope rearrangement to access complex, functionalized 5-8-5 fused ring systems. Rapid and modular access into this class of molecules can enable future efforts for synthetic endeavors into natural products containing this carbocyclic framework or biological structure-activity relationship studies. We further elaborated our method in efforts towards the synthesis of the ophiobolin pharmacophore. Chapter 3: Indoles are a class of molecules that are commonly found in nature and in a variety of FDA approved drugs. The synthesis and reactivity of indoles has been extensively studied and reported in literature, however some indole scaffold that have been notoriously difficult to efficiently synthesize include 1H-indole-2-acetamides. Our lab has developed an efficient, modular route to access a variety of functionalized 1H-indole-2-acetamide derivatives. This method could prove useful for future biological studies as well as offer new synthetic utility for entry into structurally diverse indole targets.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 9, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): James H. Frederich, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard Bertram, University Representative; Lei Zhu, Committee Member; Wei Yang, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemistry, Organic
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Carbonell_fsu_0071E_16596.pdf
TITLE: Take a Breath: A Population-Oriented Prevention Approach Using Mindfulness Training to Impact College Students' Sense of Coherence, Stress Levels, and Help-Seeking Intentions
AUTHOR: Carbonell, Diana Marie,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Becker, Martin Swanbrow
MEMBER (university representative): Abell, Neil
MEMBER (committee member): Jenkins, Lyndsay Nicole
MEMBER (committee member): Almond, Russell G.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (148 pages)
ABSTRACT: Mental health concerns and resource utilization has greatly increased on college campuses in recent years (ACHA – NCHA, 2017, AUCCCD, 2012, Bourdon et al., 2018). Campus counseling centers are concerned about their ability to meet the sheer volume of students with severe mental health concerns though (AUCCCD, 2012). Drum and colleagues (2009) proposed that college campuses should expand their interventions to address the mental health needs for students across the distress continuum. Sense of coherence (SOC), theorized by Aaron Antonovsky (1987), is a protective factor in which students will be better equiped to handle a variety of life stressors through internal and external coping strategies. Previous research suggests that mindfulness training can increase SOC levels in diverse populations (Karlsson et al., 2000, Volanen et al., 2004). The "Take a Breath" study assessed if the online mindfulness intervention, "Headspace," can impact college students' SOC levels, perceived stress, mindfulness skills, and help-seeking intentions. Results indicate that the mindfulness skills and SOC levels influence perceived stress and help-seeking intentions. However, the "Headspace" intervention did not significantly impact the dependent variables in comparison to the control group. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during data collectino and emphasized the importance of protective factors and mentalh health resource accessibility. Although the results did not indicate "Headspace" to have a significant influence on the variables of interest, college campuses should continue to research accessible mental health resources for students at all levels of distress in light of the recent pandemic.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): June 9, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): College students, help-seeking intentions, mindfulness, sense of coherence
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Martin Swanbrow Becker, Professor Directing Dissertation; Neil Abell, University Representative; Lyndsay Jenkins, Committee Member; Russell Almond, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Counseling psychology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Cheng_fsu_0071E_16842.pdf
TITLE: Modeling Virus Infection and Pathogenesis Using Stem Cell Derived Systems
AUTHOR: Cheng, Yichen,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Tang, Hengli
MEMBER (university representative): Ren, Yi, (Biomedical Sciences Professor)
MEMBER (committee member): Meckes, David G., Jr.
MEMBER (committee member): Zhu, Fanxiu
MEMBER (committee member): Dennis, Jonathan Hancock
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Biological Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (127 pages)
ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus that has been linked to severe neurological disorders such as microcephaly in newborns as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. It is closely related to other flaviviruses such as Dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus and Yellow Fever virus with high similarities in structure and genomic organization. However, the tissue tropism after systematic infection and the clinical outcomes varies significantly between each species. Among its family members, ZIKV is distinct regarding its ability to infiltrate multiple immune-privileged sites, especially the brain, as well as its neurotropic nature to cause neurological defects in the central nervous system (CNS). However, the detailed molecular mechanism(s) by which it gains access to the brain and impairs development and function are not yet fully elucidated.To first understand how ZIKV access the brain, which is typically protected by blood-brain barrier (BBB), we utilized induced human brain microvascular endothelial cells (iBMECs) derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to study virus-BBB interactions. These iBMECs exhibited functional and physiological BBB properties and faithfully recapitulated the in vivo neuroinvasiveness of both alpha- and flavi- viruses. We further developed a BBB model consisting of cocultured iBMECs and astrocytes in transwell setups. This model exhibited high trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) value and selectively blocked non-neurotropic flaviviruses from crossing the barrier. Gene profiling identified that iBMECs constitutively express an interferon-stimulated gene, IFITM1, which contributes to the selective restriction of non-neurotropic flaviviruses. We further investigated the interactions between ZIKV and other physiological barriers including blood-testis barrier (BTB) and blood-retinal barrier (BRB). Barrier cells from BTB and BRB also intrinsically expressed IFITM proteins that contribute to their viral resistance. We discovered that the membrane localization of IFITM1 as well as the structure of DENV prM-E region both contribute to the selective restriction of DENV. Our application of this renewable human iPSC-based model for studying virus-BBB interactions revealed dual mechanism for human physiological barriers to restrict viral infection and highlights the ability of ZIKV to specifically bypass this restriction as a mechanism for it to gain access to these immune-privileged sites. We next focused on understanding ZIKV pathogenesis in brain after breaching the BBB. Astrocytes are the major cell population in the brain and one of the first cell types to be targeted by virus infection. While extensive studies have examined the role of ZIKV infection in human neural progenitor cells, the role of astrocytes has yet to be fully examined. Here, we utilized iPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons to study ZIKV infection in CNS. Both stem cell-derived and primary astrocytes were highly permissive to ZIKV infection and support production of infectious ZIKV virions. Increased caspase-3 activity and decreased ATPase content were observed in ZIKV-infected astrocytes, suggesting ZIKV infection significantly induced cell death in astrocytes. Global transcriptome analysis revealed that ZIKV triggered antiviral response as well as cytokines/chemokines production in infected astrocytes. Specifically, we identified two important cytokines involved in synaptic maintenance and neurogenesis, IL-6 and CXCL10, in supernatants of ZIKV-infected astrocytes. Treating the iPSC-derived neurons with conditioned medium from ZIKV-infected astrocytes drastically decreased the synaptic density of mature neurons, and this reduction was rescued by supplementary treatment of anti-IL6 antibody. These discoveries revealed the non-cell autonomous effect of ZIKV-infected astrocytes on neuronal survival and synaptogenesis that can be a contributive mechanism for ZIKV pathogenesis in CNS. Collectively, by using iPSC-derived iBMECs, astrocytes and neurons, we were able to effectively model virus infection in these physiologically relevant cell types. We identified two mechanisms, applied either by the host cells or the viruses, that donate to ZIKV pathogenesis. Our study highlights ZIKV's ability to bypass the cell-autonomous antiviral immunity conferred by the physiological blood-tissue barriers and disrupt neuronal synaptic formation in a non-cell autonomous manner conferred by infected astrocytes.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 18, 2021.

NOTE (Advisory Committee): Hengli Tang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Yi Ren, University Representative; David Meckes, Committee Member; Fanxiu Zhu, Committee Member; Jonathan Dennis, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Biology
SUBJECT: Cytology
SUBJECT: Virology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Cheung_fsu_0071N_16911.pdf
TITLE: Associations between Essential Amino Acid Intake and Functional Health Outcomes in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
AUTHOR: Cheung, Susan Nguyen,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Berryman, Claire E. (Elizabeth) (Elizabeth)
MEMBER (committee member): Cao, Jianming
MEMBER (committee member): Hennigar, Stephen R.
MEMBER (committee member): Hickner, Robert C., 1962-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Health and Human Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (77 pages)
ABSTRACT: While protein has been extensively studied in older adults, not as much is known about the relationship of amino acids and functional health outcomes in this population. This cross-sectional study characterized usual intakes of total and individual amino acids and determined associations between usual intakes and body composition, muscle strength, and physical function in U.S. adults 65 y and older utilizing the NHANES dataset from 2001-2018. Usual intakes of each essential amino acid (EAA) were above the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for all deciles in both males and females over the age of 65 y. Absolute (g/d) and relative (mg/kg ideal body weight/d) EAA, leucine, lysine, and sulfur-containing amino acid (SAA) intakes were not associated with body composition measures of appendicular lean mass, whole body fat mass, BMI, and waist circumference in males for the fully adjusted model. Absolute lysine intakes were positively associated with BMI (linear trends only; 3.0 ± 0.7, P < 0.0001) and waist circumference (linear trends only, 7.0 ± 1.7, P = 0.0001) in females. Absolute intakes of EAA were also positively associated with waist circumference in females (linear trends only, 2.1 ± 0.6, P = 0.0007). Relative intakes of EAA, leucine, and lysine were positively associated with BMI (linear trends only, 0.1 ± 0.02, P < 0.0001; linear trends only, 0.3 ± 0.1, P = 0.0004; 0.4 ± 0.1 per decile, P < 0.0001, respectively) and waist circumference (linear trends only, 0.2 ± 0.01, P < 0.0001; linear trends only, 0.8 ± 0.2, P < 0.0001; 0.1 ± 0.2 per decile, P < 0.0001, respectively) in females. Relative intakes of lysine were also positively associated with whole body fat mass (linear trends only, 0.2 ± 0.1, P = 0.0006) in females. Absolute and relative EAA, leucine, lysine, and SAA intakes were not associated with muscle strength measures of combined grip strength in both males and females. Self-reported physical function measures (difficulties of walking up 10 steps without resting, walking for a quarter mile, standing up from an armless chair, pulling or pulling large objects and lifting or carrying something as heavy as 10 pounds) were not associated with absolute or relative amino acid intakes in older men or women except for difficulty of pushing or pulling large objects which was negatively associated with absolute EAA, leucine, and SAA intakes in older men (-0.9 ± 0.27, P = 0.0010; -0.2 ± 0.05, P = 0.0007; -0.1 ± 0.02, P = 0.0003, respectively). Overall, individual usual amino acid intakes were above the EAR for U.S. older adults. There does not appear to be a relationship between amino acid intake and body composition in older men. Amino acid intake may be positively associated with BMI and waist circumference in older women. There is no relationship between amino acid intake and muscle strength in older men and women. There is no relationship between amino acid intake and self-reported physical function in older women. The self-reported physical function of pulling or pulling large objects may be negatively associated with amino acid intake in older men.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 8, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Claire Berryman, Professor Directing Thesis; Hongyuan Cao, Committee Member; Stephen Hennigar, Committee Member; Robert Hickner, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Nutrition
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Clarke_fsu_0071E_16819.pdf
TITLE: Impact of Creatine Supplementation on Vascular Endothelial Function, Blood Flow and Functional Capacity in Older Adults
AUTHOR: Clarke, Holly Elizabeth,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Hickner, Robert C., 1962-
MEMBER (university representative): Williams, Diana L.
MEMBER (committee member): Ormsbee, Michael J.
MEMBER (committee member): Gordon, Bradley S.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Health and Human Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (216 pages)
ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in United States (US) [1], and the inevitable process of aging, or one's age, remains the primary unmodifiable risk factor and independent predictor of CVD events across the lifespan [2]. With aging comes a progressive deterioration in vascular health, characterized by arterial stiffening and endothelial dysfunction (ED) [3-5]. Furthermore, oxidative stress, marked by an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increases with age and is a prominent feature of vascular disease [6]. These vascular changes, in addition to other age-related declines in strength and cognition, all contribute to reduced functionality in many older adults. While popular dietary interventions have been applauded for their benefits upon cardiovascular health [7, 8], there is emerging evidence that suggests creatine supplementation may also serve as a therapeutic supplement [9]. Although well known for its metabolic properties, recent research has exposed a much broader application for creatine in clinical populations, acting as an antioxidant, energy shuttle and neuroprotective compound [10-12]. Despite these benefits however, there is scarce information on the application of creatine for vascular health and functional capacity in older adults. PURPOSE: Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 4 weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation, as compared to placebo, on vascular endothelial function, blood flow, oxidative stress, and functional capacity in older adults. Methods: Twelve, healthy older adults (M = 6, W = 6, age: 58 ± 3 years, BMI: 26 ± 6) participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Eligible participants completed 4 official study visits: Pre-Testing 1, Post-Test 1, Pre-Testing 2, Post-Test 2. At every study visit participants were fasted and completed anthropometric assessments (height, weight, BMI), body composition [dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)], and venous blood draw. Participants then completed assessments of vascular function [flow mediated dilation (FMD%), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), pulse wave analysis (PWA), near-infrared microvascular reperfusion (NIRS MOXY)], cognitive function [forward digit span test (FDS), backward digit span test (BDS), trail making test part A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B)], and physical function [6-minute walking test (6MWT), BioDex assessment of isometric muscle strength and endurance]. Once all Pre-Testing assessments were complete, participants were randomized to receive one of two blinded supplements: placebo (maltodextrin) or creatine monohydrate. Participants were asked to consume supplements for the following 4 weeks (4 x 5 g/day for 5 days, followed by 1 x 5g for 23 days). Following supplementation, participants returned for Post-Testing. During this visit, all procedures from the Pre-Testing Visit were repeated. Participants were then asked to return to their normal daily lifestyles for a 4-week "wash-out" period. After the washout, participants returned for their second Pre-Testing visit. Following this, participants were given their remaining supplement. Following the final supplementation, participants returned to the lab to complete their final Post-Test visit. Results: After creatine supplementation there was a significant improvement in FMD% (Pre: 7.68 ± 2.25 %, Post: 8.9 ± 1.99 %; p < .005), absolute change in diameter (Pre: 0.33 ± 0.12 mm, Post: 0.38 ± 0.12 mm; p < .05), normalized FMD% (Pre: 2.57E-04 ± 1.03E-04 %/SSAUC, Post: 3.42E-04 ± 1.69E-04 %/SSAUC; p < .05), and microvascular reperfusion (Pre: 2.29 ± 1.42 %/sec, Post: 3.71 ± 1.44 %/sec; p < .05); however, there were no significant changes in baPWV or PWA compared to placebo. There were no significant interactions found for any of the blood biomarkers; however, there was a significant effect of time for oxLDL (p < .05), and a trending toward significant effect of treatment for MDA (p = 0.055). There were significant improvements seen in both FDS (Pre: 7.08 ± 0.99, Post: 7.83 ± 1.27; p < .05) and BDS (Pre: 4.83 ± 1.64, Post: 5.83 ± 1.27; p < .05) following creatine, but no significant changes in TMT-A or TMT-B following either creatine or placebo. There were also no significant changes in 6MWT distance covered or isometric muscle strength; however, isometric muscle endurance, as indicated by total torque produced per set, improved for Set 1 (Pre: 2046.03 ± 823.78 Nm, Post: 2341.92 ± 896.02 Nm, p < .001), Set 2 (Pre: 1753.3 ± 484.26 Nm, Post: 1892.78 ± 583.18 Nm, p < .05), and Set 3 (Pre: 1642.35 ± 463.76 Nm, Post: 1745.7 ± 522.5 Nm, p < .05) following creatine, but not placebo. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that 4 weeks of creatine supplementation, but not placebo, improves endothelial function and microvascular reactivity in older adults; however, there was no benefit for arterial stiffness. Creatine supplementation, in comparison to placebo, can also improve markers of short-term memory and isokinetic muscle endurance, but neither creatine or placebo improved visuospatial awareness or isokinetic muscle strength. However, findings indicate that these improvements were not mediated by any creatine-dependent antioxidant effects. Further research is warranted to determine the mechanism in which creatine elicits these reported vascular benefits in older adults.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 22, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Creatine, Endothelial Function, Functional Capacity , Older Adults, Vascular Health
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Robert C. Hickner, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana L. Williams, University Representative; Michael J. Ormsbee, Committee Member; Bradley S. Gordon, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Physiology
SUBJECT: Nutrition
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Cole_fsu_0071E_16827.pdf
TITLE: Narratives of Resistance in the Pastorates of Henry Highland Garnet and Christian Führer: A Comparative Religious Inquiry
AUTHOR: Clarke, John E.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Kelsay, John, 1953-
MEMBER (university representative): Stoltzfus, Nathan
MEMBER (committee member): Kalbian, Aline H., 1954-
MEMBER (committee member): Kavka, Martin
MEMBER (committee member): Twiss, Sumner B.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Religion
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (248 pages)
ABSTRACT: ABSTRACTReligious communities find unity in a shared tradition, system of beliefs, and a determination to respond to those beliefs through active ethical engagement in the world. While these shared beliefs, often founded on sacred texts and nurtured through religious leadership and doctrine, have an important role in forming communal identity, lack of coherence between that shared language and how it is manifested in communal action can create instability. At the same time, intentional maintenance and development of such narratives in response to changing events, culture, contexts, or systems of oppression, can strengthen coherence and lead to a greater sense of purpose and understanding in the pursuit of faithful and moral lives. This dissertation examines two such narratives and why they were so effective in not only forming and maintaining communal identity, but also in initiating ethical responses that fostered impactful change. Both are examples of pastoral leadership in the Protestant tradition. Both rely heavily on themes of social engagement emphasized in the Reformed heritage. Yet, in their narratives of resistance, they advocated radically different means for change and operated in historical contexts a century and a continent apart. Henry Highland Garnet was a New York Presbyterian minister and black abolitionist leader, whose message of black empowerment and action in response to slavery encouraged armed resistance. Christian Führer was a Protestant minister in Leipzig, East Germany, who led a nonviolent protest movement that contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This dissertation asserts that analysis of the complex interplay between hegemonic, legal, and resistance narratives helps to explain why one found success in advocating violence, while the other found unity in nonviolence, resulting in impactful change for both. Establishing narrative links between communal identity and ethical response requires taking into account other currents of influence, such as narratives of law and tradition. In so doing, it prescribes a narrative hermeneutic and ethical approach that imagines a living tradition that seeks to be grounded in sacred texts and traditions while also being subject to ceaseless interpretive conversation, attuning itself to the best insights of various theological traditions and the full wealth of nontheological interlocutors. This method, analysis, and the conclusions it offers seeks to add to the field of ethics by incorporating important layers of analysis to narrative comparative religious ethics, including law, race and gender studies, and human rights. Beyond the method itself, it shows how the maintenance of narrative coherence results in communal solidarity and singularity of purpose, it explains why some religious communities have disintegrated or faded into irrelevance at various times in their histories, and it can help us understand contemporary struggles related to the fields of human rights, racial strife, gender bias, and economic oppression. Finally, by illuminating the constant interplay of narrative worlds within structures of power, privilege, and repression, this project will make normative claims about the conditional nature of law and justice, and the necessity of negotiating particularistic concerns without relying exclusively on "rights-based" adjudication.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 22, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): ethics, hermeneutics, law, narrative, resistance, revolution
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): John Kelsay, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nathan Stoltzfus, University Representative; Aline Kalbian, Committee Member; Martin Kavka, Committee Member; Sumner Twiss, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Ethics
SUBJECT: Religion
SUBJECT: Law
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: CondeCuruchet_fsu_0071N_16915.pdf
TITLE: Addressing the Issues in the Winding Number Algorithm Related to the Floating Point Representation
AUTHOR: Conde Curuchet, Juan Pablo,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Wang, An-I Andy
MEMBER (committee member): Liu, Xiuwen, 1966-
MEMBER (committee member): Duan, Zhenhai
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Computer Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (69 pages)
ABSTRACT: The winding number has proven to be a very simple and robust approach for inside-outside segmentation that can be applied both in the 2D and 3D realms for multiple purposes, including mesh cleaning, CAD design, 3D printing, among others. However, the error introduced by the floating point representation can lead to misclassification of points, what can in turn lead to further errors in the computation. The potential scenarios for which the winding number could lead to misclassification are identified in this research both for 2D and 3D, and these faulty scenarios are explored by performing a series of experiments. These scenarios can be very particular or rare, but in which misclassification can lead to the wrong segmentation of a space subdivision. In addition, a solution to address these issues is proposed by implementing a more robust version of the 2D winding number using rational arithmetic and a slightly more robust version of the 3D winding number by using multi-precision representation instead of floating point. This research also introduces a novel approach for inside-outside segmentation based on least squares that not only addresses the floating point misclassification issue in 3D, but also does it at a fast speed and with exceptional results, making it a great choice for mesh reconstruction and for extracting closed watertight meshes.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Computer Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 15, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): computational geometry, computer graphics, mesh cleaning, mesh processing, numerical analysis, winding number
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): An-I Wang, Professor Directing Thesis; Xiuwen Liu, Committee Member; Zhenhai Duan, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Computer science
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Cox_fsu_0071N_16918.pdf
TITLE: The Meaning of a Label: A Content Analysis of Individuals Labeled with Emotional Disturbance in Music Therapy Research
AUTHOR: Cox, Caroline Carder,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Gooding, Lori F. (Lori Fogus)
MEMBER (committee member): Standley, Jayne M.
MEMBER (committee member): Gregory, Sarah Dianne
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
CORPORATE NAME: College of Music
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (39 pages)
ABSTRACT: Emotional and behavioral related disorders are prevalent in both special education and mental health fields. Music therapists have been working with children and adolescents labeled as emotionally disturbed since before the Journal of Music Therapy (JMT) began in 1964. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of how music therapy has been used with children labeled as emotionally disturbed from 1964 through 2020, how it has changed over time, and the prevalence of the label versus other labels or diagnoses dependent on setting. A content analysis was conducted to identify all instances of the emotional disturbance label when applied to children and adolescents 21 and younger as the main subject of articles published in JMT from 1964 to 2020. Other articles matching criteria for emotional disturbance, but not using the label were identified and included separately from the study. 18 articles met inclusion criteria and 10 were excluded due to alternative labeling. 44% of the articles were from the 1970s prior to the distinction of many modern and separate diagnoses in research. Only 33% of articles included diagnoses or descriptors to indicate diagnoses more specific than emotional disturbance. Despite its continued use by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), emotional disturbance is appearing less in the JMT research literature while other labels have become more prominent and used in its place. This is likely due to the prominence of alternative labels for emotional disturbance and the rise in providing specific diagnoses in research. As a field, consistent labeling and specificity is needed in order to track the research being done on individuals with varying disorders and to make transfer of knowledge between the mental health and special education fields more accessible.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 16, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Adolescents, Children, Emotional Behavioral Disorder, Emotional Disturbance, Music Therapy, Special Education
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Lori Gooding, Professor Directing Thesis; Jayne Standley, Committee Member; Dianne Gregory, Committee Member.
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Davidson_fsu_0071E_16837.pdf
TITLE: Reimagining Barthes' Spectacle of Excess: The Consumption and Production of Modern Professional Wrestling on Reddit
AUTHOR: Davidson, Nicholas P.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Giardina, Michael D., 1976-
MEMBER (university representative): Eccles, David W.
MEMBER (committee member): Du, James
MEMBER (committee member): Newman, Joshua I., 1976-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Sport Management
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (167 pages)
ABSTRACT: ABSTRACTProfessional wrestling has been a special interest component of human culture since the early 20th century. A mesh between sport and theatre, it presents a unique combination of production elements to consumers. French theorist Roland Barthes wrote about such in his 1957 text Mythologies when he attended professional wrestling in Paris and coined the elements of professional wrestling in unison as what he called 'the spectacle of excess'. What Barthes (1957) presented were socially constructed components of French bourgeoisie society that Barthes labeled as 'myths', popularized components of their society that prescribed acceptable behaviors and justifications for those behaviors, without necessary criticism of such. In line with the thematic of Mythologies, Barthes (1957) presents professional wrestling as a sensationalistic version of society, with societal themes guiding its production. Barthes observed themes such as the audience cheering the professional wrestler portrayed as the 'good guy' and hoping that the 'bad guy' is brought to justice. Barthes (1957) highlighted that professional wrestling's production in France was not intended to invoke the response that a traditional combat sport like boxing would, but rather to present a theater like experience that evoked the emotion of audiences. The production of the spectacle of excess as seen by Barthes (1957) was one of rigid consistency and role. Wrestlers who portrayed the good would always portray the good, those who portrayed the bad would always portray the bad, such roles were often defined by the physical appearance of the wrestler, and the audience would never delineate their support from the 'good' to the 'bad', for that would demonstrate a deviation from the acceptable. Since its publication, Barthes (1957) chapter has been, and rightfully so, considered a seminal text in scholarly endeavors into professional wrestling. The 'spectacle of excess' has been popularized by scholars, journalists, historians, and in other literary disciplines as a calling card phrase to describe what professional wrestling 'is'. Some have engaged with Barthes' spectacle of excess and applied its components to professional wrestling events they observed, or to professional wrestlers of today (Webley, 1986; Rickard, 1999; Hainey, 2017). Yet, there remains a gap in the literature on reimagining how professional wrestling's contemporary production has evolved or differs from the era of wrestling Barthes (1957) observed, specifically in the United States, a place that Barthes (1957) notes has different thematic elements such as politics than its French counterpart. In an interconnected world, with advents such as the internet, the modern-day professional wrestling consumer knows more about the sport than ever before (Toepfer, 2006; McBride and Bird, 2007; Wrenn, 2007; Koh, 2009). No longer is the professional wrestling consumer only concerned with what is immediately presented to them at the wrestling show as Barthes (1957) alludes, but rather is invested in understanding not just what is happening in the wrestling ring, but behind the curtains, and why (McBride and Bird, 2007). Professional wrestling consumers of today engage in conversation about the sport and offer immediate feedback, criticism, and opinions on virtually all aspects of the professional wrestling industry on the internet through social media outlets, message boards, and blogs within what is known as the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC). The IWC has emerged as a conversation line between professional wrestling consumers and professional wrestling producers such as companies and wrestlers themselves. Within IWC spaces, these parties engage in a two-way communication channel about professional wrestling producing narratives that could not have been envisioned during the time of Barthes (1957). In this study I utilized narrative analysis to observe and examine digital narratives of the production of contemporary professional wrestling through the digital social media and message board platform Reddit. Through doing so I demonstrate a reimagined version of Barthes' (1957) spectacle of excess by analyzing the two-way communication between producer and consumers and how this communication has potentially altered the thematic elements and production of professional wrestling. The two-way communication on the production of professional wrestling was inserted into du Gay, Hall, Janes, Mackay, and Negus' (1997) circuit of culture as means for visualizing its process. The potential implications and contributions of this study are insights into a unique sporting platform whose predetermined and produced nature offers potential for consumer influence on the production unlike any other domain of sport.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 26, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Circuit of Culture, Professional Wrestling, Spectacle of Excess
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Michael D. Giardina, Professor Directing Dissertation; David W. Eccles, University Representative; James Du, Committee Member; Joshua I. Newman, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Sports administration
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Dessureault_fsu_0071E_16120.pdf
TITLE: Mechanical Behavior and Carbon Nanotube/Matrix Interactions of Continuous Carbon Nanotube Yarns for Composite Applications
AUTHOR: Dessureault, Yourri-Samuel,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Liang, Zhiyong (Richard)
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Okoli, Okenwa O. I.
MEMBER (university representative): Oates, William
MEMBER (committee member): Dickens, Tarik
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (107 pages)
ABSTRACT: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have shown very attractive mechanical properties, compared to current high-performance carbon fiber reinforcements. Recently, continuous CNT yarns (CNTy) have become commercially available and are becoming a promising choice as a reinforcement for composite applications. However, a fiber or yarn is only one piece of a puzzle that must work together in composite materials which is comprised of three key components – reinforcement, matrix, and the interface the reinforcement and matrix share. As such, CNTy materials must be proven to be effective not only as an individual constituent but its relationships with the matrix must be well characterized and understood. In this study, commercially available continuous CNTy and two modified versions with different their morphologies and mechanical performance were characterized. Results indicate that the neat CNTy variants could achieve specific strength of ~ 0.9 N tex-1. When the mechanical results were fit to statistical distributions, 2-parameter Weibull distribution can fit with a nearly 99% goodness-of-it. This indicates that a noticeable brittle failure mechanism to blame the large defects or voids existed in the CNTy materials. With the efforts to improve CNT packing and reduce large voids through high pressure compaction, we observed the specific tensile strength degradation from 0.838 to 0.337 N tex-1 suggesting that degree of alignment was the governing factor for mechanical integrity. Upon addressing the reinforcement properties, the interface was investigated. The commercially available continuous CNTy was modified using heat treatments and acid functionalization. The two treated CNTy and untreated CNTy were analyzed using dynamic contact angle tensiometry and Raman spectroscopy analysis. Two aerospace-grade resin systems were tested alongside to determine their surface tension polar and dispersive components. Together this information provides guidance for how to select CNTy/resin compatibility to maximize composite strength. Lastly, unlike carbon fiber, CNTy do not have a monolithic microstructure, so introducing resin between the CNTy bundles within the yarns aims maximize in-situ interaction subsequently improving mechanical performance. To investigate this effect, CNTy yarn microcomposites were fabricated, and a mechanical study like that of the neat CNTy was conducted. The results show that the combination of SCY/977-3 resin achieve the best mechanical properties over all tested combinations. These results conjointly agree with both the initial neat CNTy mechanical results and the CNTy/resin interface work. Jointly, this work provides a fundamental study of the CNTy materials and reveals great promise that CNTy potentially for reinforcement applications.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 4, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Carbon Nanotube Yarns, Carbon Nanotubes, Composites, Failure Mechanics, Microstructure-Property Relations, Surface Chemistry
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Richard (Zhiyong) Liang, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Okenwa Okoli, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; William Oates, University Representative; Tarik Dickens, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Materials science
SUBJECT: Nanotechnology
SUBJECT: Textile research
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Doll_fsu_0071E_16884.pdf
TITLE: Moral Rhetoric, Affective Polarization, and Direct Democracy: Three Essays on Campaigns and State Policymaking
AUTHOR: Doll, Kelley Elizabeth,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Pietryka, Matthew T.
MEMBER (university representative): Rohlinger, Deana A.
MEMBER (committee member): Ahler, Douglas J.
MEMBER (committee member): Atkeson, Lonna Rae, 1965-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Political Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (154 pages)
ABSTRACT: My dissertation "Moral Rhetoric, Affective Polarization, and Direct Democracy" contributes to an emergent literature on the effects of affective polarization on political behavior by highlighting the role that moral rhetoric plays in political communication. Within my focus on affective polarization, I address two primary questions: why do political elites decide to use moral rhetoric and how do average citizens respond to moral rhetoric? First, drawing from the morality politics literature on emotional activation and the party identification literature on partisanship as a social identity, I argue that at the elite-level, moral rhetoric is used as a strategic means of voter mobilization. Secondly, drawing from the affective polarization work on the role of values and perceptions, I argue that at the individual-level, exposure to moral rhetoric increases feelings of affective polarization in average citizens. I evaluate my first argument using campaign advertisement data from the 2004 and 2008 gubernatorial and U.S. federal congressional elections. In contrast to my theoretical expectations, I present evidence that there is not an apparent relationship in my data between electoral competitiveness and the use of moral language in candidates' campaign advertisements. Consistent with my expectations, however, I also present evidence that Republican House candidates, particularly those in Southern states, are more likely to use moral rhetoric in their communications to voters. I evaluate my second argument using an original survey experiment. I present evidence that exposure to moral rhetoric increases respondents reported absolute difference in feeling thermometer ratings for the two parties, indicating greater affective polarization. I additionally present evidence that the effect of exposure to moral rhetoric on feeling thermometer ratings is conditional on individuals' strength of partisanship: for respondents with the strongest levels of partisan attachment, assignment to a moral language condition increased their absolute difference in feeling thermometer ratings by 15-points on a 100-point scale. In addition to my work on moral rhetoric and affective polarization, I am also interested in state politics. My dissertation additionally contributes to the robust direct democracy literature by highlighting the role that federal factors play in influencing the actions of state policy advocates. The third question that I address asks how partisan control of state and national governments is related to patterns of direct democracy use within the states. My main argument is that policy advocates respond to partisan control of the various levels of government, such that liberal proposals are more likely to appear on the ballot under periods of Republican control, and conservative proposals more likely under periods of Democratic control. I evaluate my third argument empirically using state-level data on direct democracy proposals that qualified for ballots between 2010-2020. I present evidence that partisan control of state government is associated with the introduction of both liberal and conservative ballot proposals. I additionally present evidence that, consistent with my expectations, there is a positive relationship between national Democratic control and the introduction of conservative proposals on state ballots. The results of my dissertation have produced important insights into the broader implications and consequences of the use of moral rhetoric in political communication and campaigns. My research can move the field of state politics toward resolution of unsettled theoretical debates concerning the impacts of direct democracy on citizen representation by describing when direct democracy may be expected to lead the introduction of liberal and conservative policies. Finally, from a prescriptive standpoint, my work reinforces the need to include federal level variables in future analyses of state policymaking.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 8, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Political behavior, State politics
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Matthew Pietryka, Professor Directing Dissertation; Deana Rohlinger, University Representative; Douglas Ahler, Committee Member; Lonna Atkeson, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: United States--Study and teaching
SUBJECT: Political science
SUBJECT: Public policy
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Donohue_fsu_0071E_16896.pdf
TITLE: Applications of Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Measuring Hormones Secreted from Islets of Langerhans
AUTHOR: Donohue, Matthew Joseph,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Roper, Michael Gabriel
MEMBER (university representative): Fadool, James M.
MEMBER (committee member): Schlenoff, Joseph B.
MEMBER (committee member): Hu, Yan-yan
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (92 pages)
ABSTRACT: In this dissertation, liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction – mass spectrometry (LC and SPE-MS) techniques are applied for rapid quantitation of four glucose-regulating hormones secreted from human islets of Langerhans. The four species monitored throughout are the peptide hormones of somatostatin, C-peptide, insulin, and glucagon. All four hormones have well-documented roles in islet biology which make them optimal targets for analysis. LC and SPE-MS offers a powerful quantitative methodology capable of simultaneous, multiplexed measurements of islet-secreted species in response to glucose stimulation. LC and SPE steps are necessary for clean-up of raw biological samples prior to MS analysis but are time-consuming. This limitation reduces LC and SPE-MS applicability for experiments monitoring the dynamic changes in biological systems. Integration of rapid LC or SPE steps using higher flow rates, gradient separations, or short columns enable faster measurement times. Detection sensitivity is often affected by the decreased analysis time but triple quadrupole MS instrumentation operating in multiple reaction monitoring mode has been shown to match immunoassay sensitivity at higher flow rates. Rapid separation steps and MRM MS were therefore employed in our attempts to develop a fully automated, online LC or SPE-MS assay capable of multiplexed detection of glucose-regulating hormones secreted from islets of Langerhans. The second chapter of the dissertation describes the development of an LC-MS method capable of quantitation of somatostatin, C – peptide, insulin, and glucagon secretion from human islet populations. For rapid analysis, a 5 min separation was achieved with a 2.1 × 30 mm (i.d. x length) C18 column with 2.7 μm diameter core shell particles. A sacrificial protein hydrolysate was used with the sample. The hydrolysate was found to improve signal magnitude, repeatability, and to reduce carryover between runs. At optimized gradient conditions, the gradient run time was 4.55 min which produced an average peak width of 0.3 min, a minimum resolution of 1.2, and a peak capacity of 20. As a proof of concept, the method was used to measure secretions from static incubations of human islets. Insulin and C-peptide were quantified and matched well with literature values, but somatostatin and glucagon responses were not quantifiable, as they were secreted in lower amounts and fell below the calibrated range. The third chapter of the dissertation features the integration of a microfluidic device as well as the switch from LC-MS to SPE-MS. Microfluidic devices enable improved analysis of glucose-regulating hormones due to improved recovery and minimal analyte dilution. SPE was chosen to further increase the speed of analysis. Analysis was performed with a 1 x 8 mm (I.D. x length) SPE cartridge that contained C8 stationary phase particles with a 5 µL bed for analyte extraction. Method development with SPE was performed by means of response surface methodology (RSM) to identify a set of optimal load and elution conditions capable of enhanced responses for each of the analytes and internal standards in solution. Analysis of SPE-MS sensitivity did not match limits of the LC-MS method for all peptides (0.5 nM for LC, 0.5 nM for C-peptide and somatostatin on SPE, 2 nM for insulin and glucagon) but was still expected to encompass the concentration of peptides in secreted fractions. Dynamic glucose incubation of 30-35 islets was done with the microfluidic device and fractions were collected for SPE-MS analysis. Insulin was matched well with literature reported values for 1 of the batches analyzed. C-peptide and glucagon responded to the glucose stimulants outside of the quantifiable range. The fourth chapter describes the integration and automation of the SPE-MS assay into an online microfluidic system. The system uses a 10-port HPLC valve to house multiple sample loops which will decrease sample loss to waste during fraction collection. Experiments performed with standards to evaluate the reproducibility of subsequent injections using the system as well as an evaluation of system dynamics are shown in this chapter. These experiments confirmed system capabilities to produce precise responses and respond to a stimulus change faster than was shown when the device was used offline.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 10, 2021.
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Michael G. Roper, Professor Directing Dissertation; James M. Fadool, University Representative; Joseph B. Schlenoff, Committee Member; Yan-Yan Hu, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemistry, Analytic
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Eaton_fsu_0071E_16903.pdf
TITLE: Monitoring Peptide Secretion Dynamics from Human Pancreatic Cells Using a Sandwich Assay and Microfluidics
AUTHOR: Eaton, Wesley James,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Roper, Michael Gabriel
MEMBER (university representative): Lenhert, Steven John
MEMBER (committee member): Strouse, Geoffrey F.
MEMBER (committee member): Stagg, Scott
MEMBER (committee member): Lazenby, Robert A.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (77 pages)
ABSTRACT: Type II diabetes is a leading cause of death in the United States due to its high prevalence in adults with high blood pressure, obesity, other health problems. It affects ~10.5% of the U.S population, and this number continues to increase every year (projected to reach over 30% by 2025). Diabetes affects blood sugar regulation due to dysfunction in release patterns for insulin and glucagon. Currently, medication exists to help manage insulin concentrations in the body; however, no "cure" exists and much remains unknown regarding how processes go awry in a diabetic state. Specifically, a healthy human body releases insulin and glucagon in an oscillatory patten into the bloodstream in response to meals and periods of fasting to control blood glucose levels. However, in people with diabetes, the release of these hormones is disrupted, which can lead to a variety of symptoms and risk factors including seizers and death. The first steps in developing better therapeutics for people with diabetes is understanding the complex hormone release pattens in healthy human bodies as well as characterizing the disrupted release pattens in people with diabetes. Microfluidic devices have been introduced to characterize small concentrations of analytes (e.g., hormones) in liquid due to their ability to employ low-volume flow rates in highly controlled environments. Additionally, microfluidics can be coupled with highly sensitive immunoassay-based optical measurement systems to detect low concentrations of diabetes-related hormones such as insulin and glucagon. Microfluidics presents an unparalleled strength for understanding cellular function and communication because it allows determination of concentration changes for insulin and glucagon over very short time periods (e.g., 2-5 minutes), which gives insight into real-time hormone release within the body. The work described herein employs microfluidics coupled to various other analytical techniques to study glucagon and insulin release from healthy human pancreatic cells and provide increased understanding regarding their release pattens. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the physiology and function of pancreatic cells in the human body and explains how immunoassay techniques are employed for characterization of pancreatic hormones. Chapter 2 introduces a novel microfluidic system to study glucagon secretion from human pancreatic cells using a Forster-resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based assay, which provides temporal resolution for glucagon release traces from ~30 islets. Finally, Chapter 3 builds upon the previous chapter and provides a method to simultaneously detect insulin and glucagon released from pancreatic cells in real time to characterize the release relationship of the two hormones.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 15, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Diabetes
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Michael G. Roper, Professor Directing Dissertation; Steven Lenhert, University Representative; Geoffrey F. Strouse, Committee Member; Scott M. Stagg, Committee Member; Robert A. Lazenby, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemistry, Analytic
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Farfan_fsu_0071E_16846.pdf
TITLE: Teacher Preparation and the Development of Mathematics Instruction Beliefs in Prospective Teachers
AUTHOR: Farfan, Guillermo,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Roehrig, Alysia D., 1975-
MEMBER (university representative): Larson, Christine (Christine J.)
MEMBER (committee member): Turner, Jeannine E.
MEMBER (committee member): Becker, Betsy Jane, 1956-
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Education
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (194 pages)
ABSTRACT: Despite years of attempted mathematics education reform, there is little evidence that prospective teachers entering the profession are significantly better positioned than their in-service peers to implement reform-based mathematics instruction. This study investigated the experiences and beliefs of prospective elementary and secondary teachers regarding mathematics, mathematics instruction, and future teaching practice to identify how their experiences and beliefs informed their overall instructional approaches and their readiness to implement current standards for reform-based mathematics instruction. Using a mixed-methods approach consisting of online survey responses and personal interviews (QUANT -> Qual), I sought to answer the following research questions (RQ):(RQ1) How familiar are prospective elementary and secondary teachers with current reform-based mathematics standards—the Mathematics Florida Standards (MAFS) and the Standards for Mathematical Practice? (RQ2) What type of mathematics instruction and mathematical epistemic beliefs do prospective teachers have, and what relationships do these beliefs have with each other across the different majors? (RQ3) What role do prior experiences, their teacher preparation, and beliefs play in prospective teachers' understandings of reform-based mathematics standards and in their overall instructional approach? Participants were 244 undergraduate students who indicated their plans to become school teachers after graduation and who were enrolled at a top public research university in Florida as either an elementary education major or a secondary double-major in mathematics and secondary education. As part of the study, a subset of students (n = 14) and their instructors (n = 5) were also interviewed. Findings showed that most prospective teachers did not have a thorough knowledge of reform-based mathematics standards in Florida. Additionally, there were no clear relationships between mathematics instruction and mathematical epistemic beliefs in elementary majors, whereas some moderate relationships between these beliefs were found in secondary double-majors. Follow-up interviews revealed that most prospective teachers came from a more traditional mathematics instruction background. In addition, although most prospective elementary and secondary teachers seemed to favor reform-based mathematics instruction beliefs and dynamic mathematical epistemic beliefs, variations of beliefs within each major were not uncommon. Finally, prospective teachers' instructional approaches also varied, with some seemingly more prepared to teach reform-based mathematics standards in a manner congruous with the goals of reform-based mathematics instruction than others. Implications for future research on mathematics teacher education and the implementation of reform-based instructional policies are also discussed. Keywords: mathematical beliefs, mathematics instruction, mathematics teacher education.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 15, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): mathematical beliefs, mathematics instruction, mathematics teacher education
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Alysia Roehrig, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christine Andrews-Larson, University Representative; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member; Betsy Becker, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Educational psychology
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Fontaine_fsu_0071N_16908.pdf
TITLE: Patterns of Avian Species Richness in the Interior and Edge of Mesic Flatwoods, Florida's Most Abundant Plant Community Type
AUTHOR: Fontaine, Natasza,
MEMBER (professor co-directing thesis): Mast, Austin R.
MEMBER (professor co-directing thesis): DuVal, Emily H.
MEMBER (committee member): Underwood, Nora C.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Arts and Sciences
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Biological Science
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (52 pages)
ABSTRACT: Understanding how avian species richness relates to habitat structure, plant species richness, and seasonality is essential to improving management and conservation goals for declining bird species. During their annual cycle, birds migrate, breed, and overwinter in different habitats across different geographic locations. Therefore, identifying patterns of seasonal habitat associations at a local scale is essential to improving our current understanding of the annual avian cycle and migratory connectivity. This study investigates how avian habitat associations vary during the annual cycle by addressing two questions: (1) How does avian species richness vary between the edges and interiors of mesic flatwoods during fall, winter, and spring? (2) How does avian species richness relate to plant species richness on the edge and interior of mesic flatwoods during fall, winter, and spring? To assess these relationships, I surveyed 28 stands that included both mesic flatwood edges and forest interiors in the Apalachicola National Forest of North Florida. Vegetation surveys detected 17 plant species from 8 families of woody understory plants. Between October 2020 and May 2021, birds were surveyed once per season for three seasons. Surveys at these same stands detected 938 individuals, 567 detected in the edge habitat, and 371 detected in the interior habitat. Detections included individuals of 45 species from 17 avian families. Poisson distributed generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) revealed that avian species richness was lower in the interior forests of mesic flatwoods, especially during winter. Furthermore, the relationship between avian species richness and plant species richness differed across seasons. During the fall, avian species richness correlated positively with plant species richness. During the fall, avian species richness correlated positively with plant species richness, but this was not the case during winter and spring. These results suggest that both habitat structure and plant species richness play a role in avian species richness; however, seasonal influences may be more influential in habitat selection since the needs of birds are specific to the periods of their annual cycle and these varying needs may determine how, when, and where birds settle.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 15, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): Birds, Habitat, Mesic Flatwoods, Richness, Seasons
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Austin Mast, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Emily DuVal, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Nora Underwood, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Ecology
SUBJECT: Botany
SUBJECT: Zoology
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Freeland_fsu_0071E_16790.pdf
TITLE: Public Finance of Florida Municipalities: A Study of How Property Value, Revenue, and Expenditure Are Related to Taxes, Land Use Counts, and Parcel Density
AUTHOR: Freeland, James E.,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Holcombe, Randall G.
MEMBER (university representative): Sirmans, G. Stacy
MEMBER (committee member): Semykina, Anastasia
MEMBER (committee member): Rodgers, Luke P.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (166 pages)
ABSTRACT: Chapter one provides an introduction. Chapter two seeks to answer the question of how the property tax affects the tax base. Cities are divided into four types as defined by the census. Principal, central, suburban, and rural cities. The reason for dividing the cities into these categories is to see how the impact of changing the millage rate differs between these different city types. Another question this research seeks to answer is how the millage rate affects different property types differently. To address, the sec- ond question, properties are divided into residential, commercial, and office buildings. Increasing the millage rate decreases property values when controlling for provision of public goods. Increasing the millage rate by one percent decreases tax revenue collected in 28 out of 40 Florida regions. The loss in tax revenue from the lower property values outweights the gain in tax revenue from the increased millage rate in these regions. This finding can help provide a local government playbook in times of financial stress.Chapter three seeks to determine the link between municipal surplus and the number of various land use types. The fiscal impact of alternative land uses are partially determined by existing residents. These residents are guided by self-interest to influence what is built within their community. The makeup of a community in terms of renters versus homeowners influences whether a new project will be built. Another determinant of the project approval condition is a community's fiscal stress. Marginal impact for revenue, expenditure, and surplus are calculated for each land use type. The fiscal impact differs between central and suburban cities and in response to the housing market crash. Using a unique panel of Florida cities, systems of revenue and expenditure equations for each xi type of city are estimated before and after the crash. Results show fiscal tightening differs between central and suburban cities after the great financial crisis. This fiscal tightening can be perceived by comparing surplus effects in the pre- and post-crash time periods. Chapter four seeks to answer the question of how city revenue and expenditure are sep- arately related to the spatial density of various property types. Theory suggests that forces work against one another to either raise or lower public services costs as build- ings spatially concentrate within a city. Concentration lowers costs through economies of density but raises costs due to harshness of the environment as found by Bradford et al. (1969), Ladd (1992), Ladd (1993), and Ladd (1994). There is little empirical evi- dence on how these opposing forces play out to affect the budgets of local governments. In this part of the project, empirical estimation addresses questions regarding the rela- tionship between the geography of land uses within cities and public services' costs. Property types that, when becoming more concentrated from their mean level, increase revenues are single-family, offices, retail, other commercial, industrial, and institutional. Property types that, when becoming more concentrated from their mean level, increase expenditure are single-family, multi-family, condominiums, retail, other commercial, industrial, and institutional. In general, development has become more spatially dis- persed within cities over time. Three dimensions of this dispersal are to be considered. As the developed area of a city expands, how are municipal revenues and public ser- vices' costs influenced? Second, as the spatial concentration of buildings within the developed area decreases, what is the impact on municipal revenue and public services' costs? Lastly, how are municipal revenue and public services' costs affected by the spa- tial de-concentration of alternative land uses (for example, single-family homes versus office buildings) within the developed area of a city?
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Economics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 29, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): expenditure, Fiscal, GINI, millage, municipal, revenue
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Randall Holcombe, Professor Directing Dissertation; G. Stacy Sirmans, University Representative; Anastasia Semykina, Committee Member; Luke Rodgers, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Economics
SUBJECT: Finance
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: Fuste_fsu_0071E_16798.pdf
TITLE: Does Economic Uncertainty about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Affect Investors' Information Asymmetry?
AUTHOR: Fuste, Eduardo,
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Billings, Bruce K.
MEMBER (professor co-directing dissertation): Zhang, Tianming
MEMBER (university representative): Cheng, Yingmei
MEMBER (committee member): Ehinger, Anne C.
MEMBER (committee member): Romney, Miles A.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: College of Business
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Accounting
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (65 pages)
ABSTRACT: This paper evaluates whether economic uncertainty about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is associated with an increase in information asymmetry. I use key legislative events preceding the enactment of the TCJA as an exogenous shock to firms' information environments to capture economic uncertainty. Overall, I find that economic uncertainty around the TCJA's legislative events leads to greater information asymmetry between investors. From cross-sectional analyses of pre-passage TCJA event dates, I find that information asymmetry increases more for firms with higher exposure to TCJA policy change related to interest expense, while the increase in information asymmetry is less pronounced for firms with higher exposure to policy changes related to capital investments and tax rates. These results suggest that investors view the financial statement effects of policy changes resulting in increases to bonus depreciation and reductions to corporate tax rates as more transparent than those limiting interest expense deductions. Overall, this study identifies a significant cost (i.e., increased information asymmetry) to some investors that occurred during the development stages of the TCJA bill.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Accounting in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
NOTE (Date of Defense): October 6, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): information asymmetry, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, tax policy, TCJA, uncertainty
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Bruce K. Billings, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Tianming Zhang, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Yingmei Cheng, University Representative; Anne C. Ehinger, Committee Member; Miles A. Romney, Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Accounting
SUBJECT: Finance
SUBJECT: Economics
DEGREE: Doctoral
FILENAME: GermosenPolanco_fsu_0071N_16919.pdf
TITLE: Properties of Crystalline Polyethylene-like Materials under Industrially Relevant Processing Conditions
AUTHOR: Germosen Polanco, Carlos,
MEMBER (professor directing thesis): Alamo, Rufina G.
MEMBER (committee member): Locke, Bruce R.
MEMBER (committee member): Hallinan, Daniel T., Jr.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (119 pages)
ABSTRACT: Polyethylene-like materials with in-chain acetal units (-O-CH2-O-) precisely spaced by long methylene runs (between 12 and 26 CH2) crystallize from the melt in four different crystallographic forms (polymorphs) depending on the depth of undercooling. Using a Fast Scanning Calorimeter (FSC) we determined the critical cooling rates needed to develop the lowest temperature polymorphs from the melt, the mesomorphic-like disordered and hexagonal structures. The crystallization kinetics of high-temperature polymorphs, Forms I and II were obtained by classical DSC, and the crystallization kinetics of the low-temperature polymorphs, disordered, and hexagonal have been studied in this work by FSC. Isothermal crystallization studies in a wide range of temperatures revealed minima in the temperature gradient of the overall crystallization rates at all transition temperatures between polymorphs. The minima in the crystallization rates and heat of fusion are attributed to differences in nucleation barrier between polymorphs, and effects of self-poisoning. There is a step increase of melting temperature with increasing structural stability and a continuous increase in melting during annealing at a fixed crystallization temperature. The disordered structure and hexagonal crystals are metastable and upon annealing transform to the next stable phase as shown by a change in WAXD patterns. These kinetics studies serve to identify processing rates and properties of sustainable polyethylene-like materials crystallized at industrially relevant conditions.
NOTE (Submitted Note): A Thesis submitted to the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
NOTE (Date of Defense): November 9, 2021.
NOTE (Keywords): crystallization, kinetics, melting, polyacetal, polyethylene, polymer
NOTE (Bibliography Note): Includes bibliographical references.
NOTE (Advisory Committee): Rufina G. Alamo, Professor Directing Thesis; Bruce R. Locke, Committee Member; Daniel Hallinan, Jr., Committee Member.
SUBJECT: Chemical engineering
DEGREE: Masters
FILENAME: Ghorbanzadeh_fsu_0071E_16822.pdf
TITLE: Accessibility-Based Assessment and Modeling of Evacuations and Sheltering for Hurricanes and Pandemics
AUTHOR: Ghorbanzadeh, Mahyar,
MEMBER (professor directing dissertation): Ozguven, Eren Erman
MEMBER (university representative): Horner, Mark W.
MEMBER (committee member): Moses, Ren
MEMBER (committee member): Sobanjo, John Olusegun, 1958-
MEMBER (committee member): Dulebenets, Maxim A.
CORPORATE NAME: Florida State University
CORPORATE NAME: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
CORPORATE NAME: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PUBLICATION: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University, 2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 online resource (139 pages)