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Culture And Subcultures In The Domestic Auto Industry;An Emic, Ethnographic And Critical Theory Application, George M. Amolsch Jan 2008

Culture And Subcultures In The Domestic Auto Industry;An Emic, Ethnographic And Critical Theory Application, George M. Amolsch

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The domestic auto industry in the United States is struggling for survival. A steady loss of market share to foreign competitors resulted in the industry reevaluating their business and labor practices that have proven so successful over the years. The problem is that little research has been conducted regarding the impact that the interrelationship between separate management, union, and work force subcultures are having on the reorganization of the domestic auto industry. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact the past and present business and labor practices have had on the domestic automobile industry from the perspective …


Factor Va Directs Catalysis By Factor Xa During Prothrombin Activation, Michael Anthony Bukys Jan 2008

Factor Va Directs Catalysis By Factor Xa During Prothrombin Activation, Michael Anthony Bukys

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Hemostasis occurs through the controlled activation and inactivation of clotting factors resulting in the arrest of bleeding without blockage to the vasculature, while thrombosis is the undesired formation of vascular blood clots, which adversely affects millions of people annually. Clotting factors circulate in blood as inactive zymogens, which are proteolytically activated in response to vascular injury, assembled into enzymatic complexes and in turn activate additional coagulation factors culminating in the production of thrombin from the enzymatic complex prothrombinase. The prothrombinase complex is composed of the activated enzymatic component factor Xa (fXa) complexed to the activated cofactor portion factor Va (fVa) …


Phylogeography Of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) And Comparative Myology Of The Black Bass (Micropterus, Centrarchidae), William Calvin Borden Jan 2008

Phylogeography Of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) And Comparative Myology Of The Black Bass (Micropterus, Centrarchidae), William Calvin Borden

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Biogeographic patterns were investigated within a single species and among its congenerics. Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) were characterized by portions of the cytochrome b gene and the control region although bass in Lake Erie were also evaluated using eight nDNA microsatellites. Overall, little population structure was observed among sites in Lake Erie which was surprising given that most male smallmouth bass exhibit nest site fidelity. But, these lake bass were divergent from bass residing in nearby tributaries indicating that lacustrine bass are reproductively isolated from riverine bass even though both groups may spawn in the same rivers. Adjacent riverine populations …


Effects Of Standardized Testing On Teachers' Emotions, Pedagogy And Professional Interactions With Others, Amelia Louise Brady Jan 2008

Effects Of Standardized Testing On Teachers' Emotions, Pedagogy And Professional Interactions With Others, Amelia Louise Brady

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No abstract provided.


Quadrupole Magnetic Field-Flow Fractionation;A Novel Technique For The Characterization Of Magnetic Particles, Francesca Carpino Jan 2008

Quadrupole Magnetic Field-Flow Fractionation;A Novel Technique For The Characterization Of Magnetic Particles, Francesca Carpino

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In the last few decades, the development and use of nanotechnology has become of increasing importance. Magnetic nanoparticles, because of their unique properties, have been employed in many different areas of application. They are generally made of a core of magnetic material coated with some other material to stabilize them and to help disperse them in suspension. The unique feature of magnetic nanoparticles is their response to a magnetic field. They are generally superparamagnetic, in which case they become magnetized only in a magnetic field and lose their magnetization when the field is removed. It is this feature that makes …


A Case In Kinase 2 Inhibitor Is A Potent Anti-Cancer Drug Candidate, Alieta Ciocea Jan 2008

A Case In Kinase 2 Inhibitor Is A Potent Anti-Cancer Drug Candidate, Alieta Ciocea

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Cancer is so widespread and lethal that it can be considered the biggest health problem of our century. Cancer drug development is a real challenge. Efforts outlined in this work were directed towards showing solid evidence that casein kinase 2 inhibitors can be used as a starting point for the development of potential cancer therapy. We first studied the effect of a specific CK2 inhibitor, DMAT, in a malignant megakaryoblastic leukemia cell line (MEG-01). Treated cells grew at a significantly lower rate than non-treated cells. Apoptosis was induced by DMAT in MEG-01 cells, dose and time dependent. When stimulated with …


Culturally Sensitive In-Home Psychotherapy For Urban Low-Income African American Adolescents, Aaron Thomas Ellington Jan 2008

Culturally Sensitive In-Home Psychotherapy For Urban Low-Income African American Adolescents, Aaron Thomas Ellington

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There is a lack of outcome research in regards to the treatment of adolescents, and even less for urban low-income African American adolescents. In the past, the fields of counseling, psychology, and social work have focused on individual counseling approaches and in-patient treatment facilities as methods for dealing with adolescents with drug, alcohol, and mental health issues (as well as other delinquent behaviors). The purpose of this study is to use archival data to answer research hypotheses to gain a better understanding of what variables (more specifically treatment modality) aid in the treatment of urban low-income African American adolescents. The …


Leadership Experiences Of Male African-American Secondary Urban Principals: The Impact Of Beliefs, Values And Experiences On School Leadership Practices, Gregory D. Henderson Jan 2008

Leadership Experiences Of Male African-American Secondary Urban Principals: The Impact Of Beliefs, Values And Experiences On School Leadership Practices, Gregory D. Henderson

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Uneasiness about leading ethnically diverse urban schools implies that principals of color may have an important role in accomplishing their schools' goals. Findings from this study revealed that in areas of image administration and relationship development African-American principals and European American principals in urban schools perceive their principals' leadership in a different way. Results revealed that (a) African-American male principals were critical in creating an inclusive school among groups of ethnically diverse groups of students (b) due to their racial affiliation, African-American principals played an important role in mentoring and providing an atmosphere of love and support and (c) African-American …


The Impact Of Local Historical Designation On Residential Property Value;An Analysis Of Three Slow-Growth And Three Fast-Growth Central Cities In The United States, Akram M. Ijla Jan 2008

The Impact Of Local Historical Designation On Residential Property Value;An Analysis Of Three Slow-Growth And Three Fast-Growth Central Cities In The United States, Akram M. Ijla

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Historic designation is thought to have a role in neighborhood economic and community development. Local designation of historic districts is increasingly used as a tool to revitalize deteriorated neighborhoods and to protect endangered historical districts. A number of limitations in several previous studies have made policy development as well as a complete assessment of the impact of designation difficult. Some past studies focused only on historic neighborhoods in one city or one state other studies have tested the impact of historic designation in general without distinguishing between local, state, or federal designation. Lastly, several earlier studies have also relied on …


An Examination Of Vegan's Beliefs And Experiences Using Critical Theory And Autoethnography, Christopher A. Hirschler Jan 2008

An Examination Of Vegan's Beliefs And Experiences Using Critical Theory And Autoethnography, Christopher A. Hirschler

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This qualitative study uses critical theory, autoethnography, and in-depth interviews with vegans to explore and analyze the initial impetus to become vegan, the sustaining motivation to persist, the impact the diet and associated practices have had on the participant, and vegan's assessment of omnivore's eating practices. In-depth interviews with three vegans in each of the following professions were conducted: medical doctor, registered dietitian, farmer, professional animal activist, and philosophy professor. Participants were asked to reflect on "narratives of experience" (Caelli, 2001), the story created from their interview. Interviews were analyzed using critical theory to critique the Western approach to diet …


Inhibition Of The Nf-Kb Signaling Pathway And Its Effects On Apoptosis And Cancer, Joseph A. Lupica Jan 2008

Inhibition Of The Nf-Kb Signaling Pathway And Its Effects On Apoptosis And Cancer, Joseph A. Lupica

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The Rel/NF-kB family of inducible transcription factors are evolutionarily conserved structurally and functionally, from insects to humans. They are ubiquitously expressed in a number of mature cell types, playing a pivotal role regulating cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Under normal circumstances, the proliferation of new cells is tightly regulated, as is the programmed lifespan of most cells, occasionally however cells loose their responsiveness to growth control mechanisms, resulting in a tumor or neoplasm. Sustained or chronic inflammation has been linked to a number of pathological conditions that destroy tissue and facilitate neoplastic growth. NF-kB in part mediates the opposing signals …


Public Sector Reforms And Managing Change In Botswana;The Case Of Performance Management System (Pms), Bashi Mothusi Jan 2008

Public Sector Reforms And Managing Change In Botswana;The Case Of Performance Management System (Pms), Bashi Mothusi

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Although public sector reforms have been embraced voluntarily in Botswana, no attempt has been made by scholars and practioners to assess the effect of such interventions and their relationship with the culture that shapes and influences people's behaviour within public organizations. The evaluation of programs and policies formulated and implemented since the attainment of political independence in September 1966 rarely makes reference to the manner in which organizational culture affects the attainment of goals and objectives specified under such interventions. Hence, this study sought to understand the relationship between public sector reforms undertaken in Botswana, particularly Performance Management System (PMS) …


Greenometer-7: A Tool To Assess The Sustainability Of A Building's Life Cylce At The Conceptual Design Phase, Muhammad Musa Mer'eb Jan 2008

Greenometer-7: A Tool To Assess The Sustainability Of A Building's Life Cylce At The Conceptual Design Phase, Muhammad Musa Mer'eb

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This study presents a tool that has been developed to measure and subsequently improve the sustainability performance of a building over its entire life-cycle while still at the conceptual design stage. This forecasting tool is called GREENOMETER-7. GREENOMETER-7 is a LCA tool and it evaluates the projected building at two levels: micro- and macro-assessment. The micro-assessment level provides in-depth analysis of the building products, components, and operations however, the macro-assessment level measures the sustainability performance of the building as a whole and covers areas that are not applicable at the product or component level. Both levels consist of categories and …


Symbiotic Networks In Sme Internationalization; A U.S.- China- Russia Study, Andrei G. Mikhailitchenko Jan 2008

Symbiotic Networks In Sme Internationalization; A U.S.- China- Russia Study, Andrei G. Mikhailitchenko

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The purpose of this research is to extend the literature addressing the relationships between a SME's networking activities and its internationalization. In addition, the research contributes to the field by empirically investigating and putting into a unified framework attitudinal, managerial, cultural, and environmental factors that influence a SME's networking, and internationalization. The value of a networking approach to SME internationalization is conditioned by its ability to explain non-economic motives underlying the decision making process of small business owners/managers. It is especially valuable in cases of small and medium enterprises since SMEs in order to survive in competition with large firms …


Modeling The Human Prothrombinase Complex Components, Tivadar Orban Jan 2008

Modeling The Human Prothrombinase Complex Components, Tivadar Orban

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Thrombin generation is the culminating stage of the blood coagulation process. Thrombin is obtained from prothrombin (the substrate) in a reaction catalyzed by the prothrombinase complex (the enzyme). The prothrombinase complex is composed of factor Xa (the enzyme), factor Va (the cofactor) associated in the presence of calcium ions on a negatively charged cell membrane. Factor Xa, alone, can activate prothrombin to thrombin however, the rate of conversion is not physiologically relevant for survival. Incorporation of factor Va into prothrombinase accelerates the rate of prothrombinase activity by 300,000-fold, and provides the physiological pathway of thrombin generation. The long-term goal of …


Tenuous Legitimacy;The Administrative State, The Antigovernment Movement, And The Stability Of The United States Constitutional Democracy, Shelly L. Peffer Jan 2008

Tenuous Legitimacy;The Administrative State, The Antigovernment Movement, And The Stability Of The United States Constitutional Democracy, Shelly L. Peffer

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The public administration literature is inundated with books and articles despairing about the legitimacy crisis in the field. There have been numerous bases proposed for legitimizing the administrative state, including expertise, virtue or public service, and leadership and vision. Yet the issue remains contested, and the lack of agreement has wide reaching implications. One under-examined implication is the role that this tenuous legitimacy has in weakening the administrative state's ability to temper anti-government sentiment. This dissertation explores the connections and patterns in the ideologies, actions, and philosophical foundations of strongly held views that the administrative state is an illegitimate democratic …


A Two-Level Hierarchical Linear Model Analysis Of The Relationship Between Sustained, Targeted Professional Development For Teachers And Student Achievement In Mathematics, Anna Maria Tabernik Jan 2008

A Two-Level Hierarchical Linear Model Analysis Of The Relationship Between Sustained, Targeted Professional Development For Teachers And Student Achievement In Mathematics, Anna Maria Tabernik

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The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 put in place sweeping educational reforms targeted to raise school accountability for student achievement. Research has confirmed there is a distinct relationship between quality instruction and student learning, so one by-product of this reform movement is to provide every student with a high quality teacher, every year, in every classroom. This presents a challenge to school districts where teachers may not have the training and content knowledge necessary to raise the bar for students. Professional development has long been a routine service provided by school districts. In Ohio, however, with school …


A Novel Cardiac Pacing Paradigm For Atrial Fibrillation And Heart Failure Patients, George Emanuel Yanulis Jan 2008

A Novel Cardiac Pacing Paradigm For Atrial Fibrillation And Heart Failure Patients, George Emanuel Yanulis

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It has been estimated that 4.6 million persons have heart failure, and 400,000 to 700,000 new cases develop each year and the U.S. Hospital discharges for HF rose from 399,000 in 1979 to 1,099,000 in 2004 according to the National Hospital Discharge Survey. Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in the United States. Recent studies have demonstrated that ventricular rate control is a viable treatment strategy for patients in atrial fibrillation. In a number of cases, despite the electrical resynchronization of the ventricles using biventricular pacing (cardiac resynchronization therapy), heart failure patients in sinus rhythm do not …


Bio-Signal Analysis In Fatigue And Cancer Related Fatigue;Weakening Of Corticomuscular Functional Coupling, Qi Yang Jan 2008

Bio-Signal Analysis In Fatigue And Cancer Related Fatigue;Weakening Of Corticomuscular Functional Coupling, Qi Yang

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Fatigue is a common experience that reduces productivity and increases chance of injury, and has been reported as one of most common symptoms with greatest impact on quality-of-life parameters in cancer patients. Neural mechanisms behind fatigue and cancer related fatigue (CRF) are not well known. Recent research has shown dissociation between changes in brain and muscle signals during voluntary muscle fatigue, which may suggest weakening of functional corticomuscular coupling (fCMC). However, this weakening of brain-muscle coupling has never been directly evaluated. More important information could be gained if fCMC is directly detected during fatigue because a voluntary muscle contraction depends …


Principals' Transformational Leadership Skills And Their Teachers' Job Satisfaction In Nigeria, Francis O. Ejimofor Jan 2007

Principals' Transformational Leadership Skills And Their Teachers' Job Satisfaction In Nigeria, Francis O. Ejimofor

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This study investigated the relationship between teachers' perceptions of principals' transformational leadership skills and teachers' job satisfaction. It also revealed the relationship between principals' demographic characteristics and their perceptions of their ability to be transformational in their leadership styles. Participants were 518 secondary school teachers and 48 principals from two large Local Government Areas in Southeastern Nigeria. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze data. It was found that principals' transformational leadership skills significantly impacted teachers' job satisfaction. Some demographic variables of teachers were also studied to determine their relationship with job satisfaction. The results revealed that principals who spent …


Academic Optimism In High Schools, Margaret Duffy-Friedman Jan 2007

Academic Optimism In High Schools, Margaret Duffy-Friedman

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This study contributes to the research foundation of academic optimism (Hoy, Tarter & Woolfolk Hoy, 2006) through incorporating the following three aims: to determine the relationship between academic emphasis, collective efficacy, faculty trust in students and parents, and academic optimism to explore the relationship of academic optimism with state student achievement and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards and to identify the practices in schools that demonstrate academic emphasis, faculty trust in students and parents, and collective efficacy that comprise academic optimism. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to collect quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data on academic emphasis, collective …


Role Of Cd36 In Platelet Function, Arunima Ghosh Jan 2007

Role Of Cd36 In Platelet Function, Arunima Ghosh

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CD36 is a scavenger receptor expressed on a wide variety of cells including platelets. It recognizes multiple ligands, yet its function on platelets is incompletely characterized. Endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMP) have been identified in diseases where platelet activation plays a pivotal role. Because EMP express phosphatidylserine (PS) on their surfaces, a CD36 ligand, we hypothesized that MP may bind to platelets via a PS-CD36 interaction. Human platelets were shown to bind EMP by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Binding was significantly inhibited by anti-CD36 antibody or using platelets from CD36 null donors. We observed a significant increase in the rate …


An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Dermal Stresses And Foot Ground Stresses In Diabetic Patients, Zaid M. Hasasneh Jan 2007

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Dermal Stresses And Foot Ground Stresses In Diabetic Patients, Zaid M. Hasasneh

ETD Archive

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. has been showing a large increase. It has more than doubled during the period of 1980 to 2002. Approximately 18 million Americans have diabetes today with more than 5.2 million undiagnosed cases. While diabetes is categorized as an endocrine system disorder, some of its known complications are associated to the science of biomechanics. Foot ulcers are caused by vascular deterioration due to diabetes, but also directly related to the natural mechanical forces and loads applied to the feet. Therefore, studying these forces, their locations, distribution and their stresses may be …


A Case Study Of Disproportionality In Special Education: Inquiry In An Urban School District, Charlotte D. Ivey Jan 2007

A Case Study Of Disproportionality In Special Education: Inquiry In An Urban School District, Charlotte D. Ivey

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This case study examines the problem of disproportionality in special education in an urban school district in Northeast Ohio. Disproportionality occurs when the risk for being identified in a particular disability category is not proportional to the population being considered. The problem of disproportionate representation of racial groups in certain categories of special education is significant because it is only seen in the "judgemental" categories. That is, categories such as ED and SLD, where the determination for eligibility is subjective and based on professional judgement and inference, as opposed to non-judgemental categories such as OHI, blindness, deaf, orthapaedic and TBI, …


Firm Performance As A Function Of Entrepreneurial Orientation And Strategic Planning Practices, James W. Kroeger Jan 2007

Firm Performance As A Function Of Entrepreneurial Orientation And Strategic Planning Practices, James W. Kroeger

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New business creation is essential for our nation's economy and accounts for all net new job creation. However, 56 of small businesses fail within four years of startup. One way to address this issue is to employ an approach combining an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) with key strategic management planning practices for firms seeking to gain a competitive advantage and improve firm performance. Entrepreneurial orientation is the propensity of firms to be innovative, proactive, and be willing to take risks. This research project empirically investigated the relationship among a firm's scanning intensity, locus of planning, planning flexibility and entrepreneurial orientation and …


The Influence Of Scientific Claims On An Emerging Environmental Issue, Beth Ann Schaberg Jan 2007

The Influence Of Scientific Claims On An Emerging Environmental Issue, Beth Ann Schaberg

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The environmental movement relies on scientific claims to justify its calls for protectionist policies. These claims can be followed in the scientific literature using bibliometric methods such as citation analysis. Citation analysis was used to deconstruct the literature of endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) sciences as it emerged and developed time from 1980 through 2004. This study explored how the attributes of scientific papers such as topic, journal, experimental model, document type, and support or negation of hypotheses impacted their influence (quantified as times cited) within the field over time. To accomplish this, unique bibliographic data were acquired for each attribute …


An Analysis Of National Educational Assessment Policy In The People's Republic Of China And The United States, Guofang Yuan Jan 2007

An Analysis Of National Educational Assessment Policy In The People's Republic Of China And The United States, Guofang Yuan

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Ongoing changes in educational assessment policies within China and the U.S. are complicated. On the one hand, educational assessment policies seem to be diverging, with the U.S. moving towards more standardized testing and China moving away from it. On the other hand, the policies and the reforms seem to converge, with both nations utilizing standardized testing for educational improvement. In China, after the reinstallation of college/university entrance examination in 1977, a series of testing policy reforms and measures were implemented. The goal was to achieve a quality education to best serve China's economic development in a global market. Since 1983, …


Robust And Decentralized Control Of Web Winding Systems, Wankun Zhou Jan 2007

Robust And Decentralized Control Of Web Winding Systems, Wankun Zhou

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This research addresses the velocity and tension regulation problems in web handling, including those found in the single element of an accumulator and those in the large-scale system settings. A continuous web winding system is a complex large-scale interconnected dynamics system with numerous tension zones to transport the web while processing it. A major challenge in controlling such systems is the unexpected disturbances that propagate through the system and affect both tension and velocity loops along the way. To solve this problem, a unique active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategy is proposed. Simulation results show remarkable disturbance rejection capability of …