From politics to sports to business, people are quick to categorize those at a competitive disadvantage as underdogs. Moreover, there is ample anecdotal support that most people do not hesitate to align themselves with underdogs, a phenomenon called the underdog effect. A series of studies were conducted to examine the scope and limitations of the underdog effect. The first study explored the extent of the underdog effect and determined that resources play a crucial role in forming alliances with those whom we perceive to have the lower chance to succeed. A second series of experiments assessed whether participants, who demonstrated the underdog effect, did truly support those at a competitive disadvantage or merely rooted against the favorite. The first experiment in this series framed questions in terms of either losing or winning, thus forcing the responders to pick the more salient of their perceptions of a novel competition scenario. Support for the underdog was found to be more extreme than rooting against the top-dog. The next experiment in this series explored the human perception under spoiler condition, when the underdog does not have much to gain from winning the competition, but the stakes are high for the top dog due to possible adverse repercussions above and beyond of the present competition. Spoilers were not supported more than non-spoilers. Finally, the last series of studies used memory as an indirect measure of focus of attention. Some evidence for rooting against top dogs was found.

Altars.

Digital image based automated pavement crack detection and classification technology has seen vast improvements in the recent years. In spite of these developments, although pavement crack lengths and widths can be evaluated using state-of-the-art software with a reasonable accuracy, no reported evidence is found in extending this technology to evaluate crack depths. Hence a preliminary study was carried out to model the digital image formation of cracked concrete pavements based on the Bidirectional Reflection Distribution Function. It was revealed that a definitive theoretical relationship exists among the crack widths and depths and the maximum pixel intensity contrasts in the images of cracks. The above relationships fortified by appropriate calibration were verified using actual crack data not used in the calibration that can be useful in predicting crack depths. Secondly, a number of innovative techniques in computer vision such as image characterization using quantification of optical texture properties of images and a number of widely used optical texture related techniques for characterization of digital images which have not been exploited adequately in pavement evaluation, were introduced highlighting their useful applications in pavement evaluation. One such application, the automated and accurate detection of correspondences in progressive images of the same pavement captured during different times, would be essential for close monitoring of cracks or wear at the project-level. Two reliable methods for determining correspondences among pavement images illustrated in this work are; (1) texture masking and minimum texture distance method applicable to locations with no significant distress, and (2) homogeneous coordinates based geometrical matching and the maximum texture distance to detect the locations of distress and be applied to detect exact locations of crack propagation and excessive pavement wear. Thirdly, the BRDF based pavement image formation model revealed that quantifiable changes in the brightness of images occurs due to pavement wear-related changes in texture depth and spacing (wavelength). The traffic induced pavement wearing process was simulated by gradual smoothening of the modeled surfaces and then images corresponding to each wearing stage were generated. The theoretically predicted variation of the image brightness due to wear was experimentally verified using images from a gradually worn out concrete specimen. Finally it was illustrated how the brightness evaluation of wheel path images has the potential to be a screening tool to monitor the degradation of macrotexture and hence the skid-resistance of pavements at the network level.

Abstract Across the country and world, cities are building urban greenways to achieve environmental, economic, and social objectives. Greenways are recreational trails that provide functions beyond recreation, such as stormwater management, economic development, community development, and aesthetic improvements. A plan to build an urban greenway in downtown Tampa is underway. The greenway is proposed to be built underneath and adjacent to the Selmon Expressway, in conjunction with a widening and redecking project. A feasibility study was performed and approved by the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization; now the biggest hurdle standing in the way of the Selmon Greenway is finding funding. This thesis uses qualitative research methods to build a case for the Selmon Greenway by demonstrating the importance and usefulness of greenways and examples of other urban greenways to provide ideas for possible funding and implementation strategies. Three case studies of greenways in New York City, Minneapolis, and Miami provide real-world examples of greenways, the benefits these cities have seen, and the funding sources and implementation strategies used to develop these greenways. Additionally, an in-depth case study of Tampa and the Selmon Greenway details the planning process and status of the greenway, the potential benefits the greenway could bring to downtown Tampa, and possible sources of funding.

In order for foster parents to be prepared to manage problem behavior and develop a positive relationship with a child in their home, local foster care agencies require these parents to attend parent training classes. Unfortunately, even foster care agencies that offer empirically validated parent training courses are unable to prevent the parents' performance from decreasing over time (Cowart, Iwata, & Poynter, 1984; Forehand & King, 1977; Mueller et al., 2003). However, researchers have created booster training sessions to counteract this issue. Booster training sessions allow participants to attend a brief refresher course on skills they have previously learned. Another intervention that has been successful with skill acquisition is video modeling. Video modeling requires less response effort and is not as time consuming compared to other training methods like didactic teaching. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of booster training sessions using video modeling for foster parents who completed a parent training class that was based on basic behavior analysis principles. Results showed an increase in the participants' skills after they received booster training sessions using video modeling.

Formation of large fibers and plaques by amyloid proteins is recognized as the molecular hallmark of an increasing number of human disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and even type II diabetes. The broader objective of my research is to unravel the basic mechanisms that initiate and regulate fibril formation by amyloidogenic proteins. This objective is significant because even basic aspects of how fibril formation proceeds from a soluble, monomeric protein to an insoluble amyloid fibril remain much debated. Furthermore, there is increasingly strong evidence suggesting that intermediates of the aggregation process, with properties distinct from those of mature fibrils, are the aggregate species most toxic to human tissues. Combining non-intrusive optical techniques (dynamic light scattering) to characterize the nucleation and growth kinetics of aggregation intermediates with high-resolution imaging (atomic force microscopy) to characterize aggregate morphologies and their physical dimensions, we have investigated the self-assembly process of two distinctly different amyloidogenic proteins - hen egg white lysozyme and human recombinant tau. Initially, we used hen egg white lysozyme to characterize the kinetics and morphology of various intermediates emerging along a fixed assembly pathway. We further investigated whether and how the fibril assembly process for lysozyme changed as function of salt concentration. These experiments revealed that lysozyme displays three distinct types of aggregation behavior at different ionic strengths: monomeric fibril assembly, oligomeric fibril assembly, and amorphous precipitation. We followed these observations by exploring whether and how net intermolecular interactions among lysozyme monomers and the intramolecular conformation of lysozyme affect these transitions in the assembly process. We found that the prevailing intermolecular interactions played dominant roles in regulating fibril assembly pathways, suggesting that protein interactions hold critical clues on how to control amyloid fibril assembly. Using the same experimental approaches, we investigated the role of heat shock proteins as regulators of tau fibril assembly. The native function of human tau is to stabilize the microtubules in the axonal processes of neurons. The accumulation of aberrant tau into neurofibrillar tangles is diagnostic of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Pick's disease. A significant body of research indicates that phosphorylation, oxidation, and ubiquitination of human tau can impair its affinity for microtubules and trigger self-assembly of hyperphosphorylated tau into these neurofibrillar tangles. Cells possess a large network of regulatory proteins called chaperones which are responsible for the proper folding and "disposal" of proteins, such as misfolded tau. We therefore investigated the role of different chaperones on in vitro fibril assembly of tau. We show that the small chaperone Hsp27, regardless of phosphorylation, is capable of inhibiting tau fibril growth in vitro. In contrast, dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of Hsp27 in vivo are necessary mechanisms for tau clearance and inhibition. By defining these differences in tau aggregation under in vitro vs. in vivo conditions, we hope to gain better understanding on how the chaperone network interacts with tau and how to target various chaperones for therapeutic interventions.

Nicodemus, Kansas is one of the few remaining settlements founded by African American former slaves in the post-Civil War period of American history. Designated by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site in 1996, Nicodemus has secured its role as a place deemed important to the history of America. For this project, I worked as an intern for the Nicodemus Historical Society, under the direction of Angela Bates. This local heritage preservation agency manages archival and genealogical records important to Nicodemus descendants, and exhibits several of the community's cultural and material artifacts for the public. I was specifically involved in the collection of archival research for this agency and the facilitation of an oral history project. In addition to these duties, I used the ethnographic techniques of participant observation and semi-structured interviewing to explore how Nicodemus descendant identity is constructed, and how this identity maintains its continuity into the present day. Using Annette Weiner's arguments concerning women's roles in identity formation and cultural reproduction in Inalienable Possessions, I worked to discover the ways that women have historically worked to preserve Nicodemus cultural heritage and reproduce Nicodemus descendant identity for future generations.

The way in which humans engage in conversation and social interactions is largely due to their ability to form relationships between a wide variety of stimuli. Two people are able to communicate fluently and effectively because each has the capacity to derive meaning during social interactions. Forming relationships is an effortless process that humans engage in daily, however for those individuals with developmental disabilities, the ability to form relationships between various stimuli based on arbitrary properties does not appear to happen in the natural course of development. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of children to derive relationships between a set of stimuli following training on Same and Opposite for a subset of the possible relations. Four children participated: 2 typically developing children and 2 age matched children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Two goals of this study were to identify differences in ability to derive across multiple nodal distances, and, if there was consistency in failures at larger nodal distances. Results indicated typically developing children were able to derive relationships at a greater distance and with a quicker rate of acquisition than those diagnosed with AS.

Social scientists have extensively examined ways of reducing negative feelings toward minority groups. However, no research has examined the ability for passive ostracism, the implicit exclusion of an individual by one's peers, to reduce such negative feelings despite evidence that such exclusion can yield similar positive benefits. The present study sought to address this deficit in the literature by exploring whether or not implicit ostracism by one's peers can cause a kind gesture by a stigmatized minority group member (gay men) to improve general perceptions of the associated group. A sample of 211 undergraduate students from the University of South Florida played a modified version of the online game Cyberball in which they were randomly assigned to be either included or excluded by ostensible partners. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to play a second game in which they either cooperated with a gay male partner, cooperated with a straight male partner, or had no partner. Results indicated that, contrary to hypotheses, feelings toward gay men did not vary as a function of the Inclusion x Partner interaction. Exploratory results, however, suggest that ostracism may operate differently according to other individual difference variables. Suggestions for future research and limitations are discussed in light of these exploratory findings.

Antibiotic resistance is a particularly critical health concern and has increased dramatically over the past two decades. For over a decade the Turos laboratory has been designing small molecules to target pathogenic microbes such as Staphylococcus aureus and the resistant variants like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Previously, N-thiolated Β-lactams, N-thiolated 2-oxazolidinones and aromatic disulfides that were synthesized in Dr. Turos' lab have shown strong activity against these bacteria. The present work describes the synthesis and antimicrobial activities of a related structural class called S,S'-heterosubstituted disulfides. For ages, sulfur (elemental) has been used as an antibacterial for controlling infestation and bacterial diseases. This is the starting point of this thesis. Chapter 1 discusses the various sulfur-containing antibiotic compounds and the importance of sulfur compounds to exhibit inhibitory activity against disease-causing pathogens. Also in this introductory chapter, the different sulfur functionalities and their respective modes of action were presented. The synthesis and the antimicrobial activities of the title compounds are described in chapter 2. S,S'-heterosubstituted disulfides were found to possess inhibitory activities against Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Francisella tulerensis and the fungi Candida albicans. From the bacterial viability assay and the trypan staining assay, these compounds were found to be bacteriostatic and fungistatic, and these structurally-simple disulfides may serve as new leads to the development of effective antibacterials for drug-resistant staph infections.