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Intercultural Accommodation Of Ethnic Minority Consumers: An Empirical Examination Of The Moderating Effects In Service Encounters, Sarah Mady

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The current study proposed a model of intercultural accommodation and nine emergent hypotheses grounded in three theories: Accommodation Theory, Distinctiveness Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The study expected that the offering of a service in the minority consumer's language and by an ethnically-similar service provider will lead to favorable service quality perceptions, in the absence of any intervening variables. Ethnic minority consumers were also expected to differ in their perceptions of service quality when intercultural accommodation efforts were or were not offered given a number of intervening variables. The proposed model and the nine hypotheses were assessed via a …

Circulation Of The Western Antarctic Peninsula: Implications For Biological Production, Maria Andrea Piñones Valenzuela

OES Theses and Dissertations

The western Antarctic Peninsula (wAP) continental shelf is characterized by large persistent populations of Antarctic krill ( Enphausia superba) and by regions of enhanced concentrations of marine mammals and other predators (hot spots). This study focused on understanding the role of ocean circulation in providing retention/connectivity of wAP Antarctic krill populations and in maintaining biological hot spot regions. Numerical Lagrangian particle tracking simulations obtained from the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) configured for the wAP region provided quantitative estimates of retention, immigration and emigration from the wAP continental shelf. Additional simulations with a one-dimensional temperature-dependent growth model for krill …

The Ecology Of The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) In Southeastern Virginia, Scott M. Goetz

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Few studies have examined the relationship between forest canopy structure and the ecology of the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). I used radiotelemetry to compare the movements, activity range sizes and behaviors of timber rattlesnakes before and after a large-scale natural disturbance that opened a previously closed canopy. The disturbance was Hurricane Isabel which made landfall in northeast North Carolina and southeastern Virginia in 2003. Isabel created gaps in the canopy through tree blowdown, resulting in a 16.6% opening in the forest canopy at my study site, in southeastern Virginia. I compared six years of female tracking data from …

Wrongful Convictions And Punitiveness: Measuring Student's Attitudes On Erroneous Felony Convictions, Shayna Lancaster

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand the attitudes towards wrongful convictions and levels of punitiveness among college students who may work in the criminal justice field in the future. It attempts to replicate Robert Ramsey and James Frank's 2007 study "Wrongful Conviction - Perceptions of Criminal Justice Professionals Regarding the Frequency of Wrongful Conviction and the Extent of System Errors." Instead of surveying criminal justice professionals, this study's sample is on-campus undergraduate classes in criminal justice and political science for the spring 2010 semester at Old Dominion University using a survey that operationalizes punitiveness with a series …

Community College Student Persistence: A Focus On Occupational And Academic Clubs, Catherine Jean Songer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges have increased demands for data to substantiate their institutional effectiveness in financially challenging times to stakeholders and accrediting agencies. Tied to performance funding, North Carolina community colleges are focusing attention on policies and programs that encourage student persistence. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement indicated a strong relationship between student engagement and student success. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate student persistence as measured by student intent to persist as it related to participation in community college-sponsored occupational and academic clubs, to investigate the student-perceived level of participation as it related to student intent …

Exploring The Impact Of Classified Staff Interactions On The Student Experience: A Multiple Case Study Approach, Mary Ann Schmitt

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative multiple case study explored front-line classified staff interactions with students as a possible strategy for increasing student success. The study was based on the premise that too few students stay at a community college long enough to achieve their academic goals. Therefore, college leaders must identify new strategies to increase student retention and success. A literature review revealed positive student experiences increase the likelihood of student persistence. Since classified staff members interact with students throughout the college, the author examined their interactions as one potential strategy to increase the likelihood of student success.

The study explored classified staff …

Effects Of Low Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Plasma On Tooth Whitening, Denise Michelle Claiborne

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Low temperature atmospheric pressure plasma (LT APP) is a novel science being studied as an alternative light source to enhance tooth whitening. The safety and effectiveness of LTAPP has not been established therefore; the purpose of this study was to determine if LTAPP along with H₂O₂ gel would safely and effectively accelerate the tooth whitening process, in terms of lightness and temperature. Two treatment groups were utilized: 36% H₂O₂ gel only and 36% H₂O₂ gel plus LT APP. Control group received no treatment. Experimental teeth were exposed to LT APP at …

A Google Earth-Based Framework For Visualization Of The Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System, Gary Lawson

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

For the persons who live near and travel the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the data provided by the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) is invaluable. The information provided includes measurements and forecasts of surface wind velocity, water current velocity, salinity levels, water level, and temperature. Currently, this information is freely available on the CBQ_FS website hosted by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is offered as Nowcast, measured data, and Forecast data and is visualized using 2D images which describe a subset of the data in an easy to read chart. However, if the data were …

Predicting Student Success In Passing The Exit Exam For Writing Proficiency, Cheryl Ann Latko

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the Exit Exam of Writing Proficiency (EEWP) and the variables that may impact the probability of a student passing the EEWP. The EEWP is one of the graduation requirements for all undergraduate students at a mid-sized four-year university in the mid-Atlantic region. The purpose of the EEWP is to ensure that undergraduates demonstrate clear, concise, and professional writing skills.

The literature discusses general issues with student writing skills specific to the field of human services, as they relate to teacher educators, developmental education, and the field of human services. Student demographics, such …

Nawal Al Saadawi And Hanan Al Shaykh's Authorship: Between Arab And Western Reception, Diana M. Obeid

Institute for the Humanities Theses

When Lebanese author Layla Baalbaki wrote her novel A Space Ship of Tenderness to the Moon in 1964 about a woman's defiance to her husband's wishes and his way of maintaining societal customs and traditions, an avalanche of criticism was directed against her. She was accused of obscenity and was put on trial before a Lebanese Prosecutor. Baalbaki's experiences are symbolic of the paradoxical and contradictory reception many Arab female authors have received in the East and the West. In this thesis, I discuss this discrepancy of reception in the works of Nawal Al Saadawi and Hanan Al Shaykh, two …

Effect Of Reworking And Bioturbation On Sedimentary Reactive Iron Within A Microtidal Estuary, Amy Kathleen Pitts

OES Theses and Dissertations

Mixed redox conditions in sediments due to physical reworking may allow for enhanced remineralization of refractory organic matter due to Fe(III) redox cycling. In part this may occur because easily reducible iron oxides can be used by heterotrophic bacteria to remineralize the organic carbon. This phenomena has been observed in bioturbated sediments and in areas where physical factors (such as strong bottom currents) constantly rework the sediments. To specifically determine the effects of physical reworking and bioturbation on concentrations of easily reducible iron oxides, reactive iron concentrations were measured in surface sediments taken from two contrasting sites in the York …

Community College Student Learning In Phlebotomy Preceptor-Led Clinical Internship, Susan E. Phelan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe how allied health preceptor-led clinical internship improves or expands community college student learning. There is a significant gap of information in the literature related to the importance of this clinical internship experience for the learning, socialization, and professional development of allied health students in general and community college students in particular. The absence of relevant data for these internships as a situated learning experience is evident in the literature review. The majority of the allied health work force is prepared by community colleges. Therefore, community college leaders need data to make data-driven …

Using Modeling And Simulation To Improve Oral Health Services Delivery In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Mohammad J. Alzahrani

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the system performance in delivering oral health services in a public health district based on the Conceptual Framework to Measure Performance of the Public Health System (PHS). Using modeling and simulation, a predictive model based on the conceptual framework dimensions: mission, structural capacity, processes, and outcomes was developed to predict the performance of public health district in delivering oral health services.

This is a retrospective longitudinal study. The main objective of this study is to use a modeling and simulation approach to predict the performance of public health district dental clinic in …

The Absent Empire: The United States And The South American Regional Subsystem, Carlos Gustavo Poggio Teixerira

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The United States often acted in Latin America as an empire. Nevertheless, there has been an obvious dissimilarity between US actions in South America and US actions in the rest of Latin America, which is illustrated by the fact that the United States never sent troops to invade a South American country. While geographic distance and strategic considerations may have played a role, they provide at best incomplete explanations for US relative absence south of Panama. The fact that the United States has had a distinct pattern of interactions with South America is thus not captured by the typical concept …

Social Trust In Contemporary Rural China: Its Sources And Impacts On Public Goods Provision, Narisong Huhe

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Social trust, as an essential element of political culture, is assumed to strongly affect the effectiveness of political institution. However, such studies in non-democratic settings are scarce, and even scarcer in the Chinese context. This dissertation, using data drawn from an original survey in rural China, examines the extent, sociopolitical origins, and political consequences of social trust in China. The results suggest that China has a unique pattern of social trust owing to its dual Confucian and Communist heritages. While trusts in relatives, neighbors, kinsman, and other villagers (i.e., particularized trust) are extensive, trust in strangers (generalized trust) is scarce. …

Richmond Iron: Tredegar's Role In Southern Industry During The Civil War And Reconstruction, Lisa Hilleary

History Theses & Dissertations

The American South contained few iron industries in the decades before the Civil War. Not until the Civil War did southern states produce significant quantities of vital industrial products, such as iron. Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was a rare exception. Under the ownership of Joseph R. Anderson, the company established a national reputation for quality products. Prior to the war, Tredegar did business with northerners and with the Federal government. During the war, Tredegar became one of the main weapons suppliers to the Confederate military. Since this iron company physically and economically survived the war, Anderson regained many …

Early Diagnosis Of Pulmonary Embolism: Review And Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Efstathios Polychronopoulos

Health Services Research Dissertations

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a serious, life-threatening thrombotic disease, which results in considerable health and economic consequences each year for the United States. These consequences include a toll of 83,000 deaths and an economic impact between 1,5 and 5 billion. Approaches to strategy selection by physicians and other health-care specialists are based mainly upon cost, technology availability, and cultural tolerance regarding radiation exposure. The purpose of this study was to determine the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy with patients suspected of PE among several strategies currently used by examining their detection failure rates. This objective was met by (a) assessing parameter …

Meaning Of Hijab According To Urban Egyptian And Yemeni Muslim Women, Kenneth E. Jackson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Meanings of hijab held by urban Egyptian and Yemeni Muslim women were the focus of this study. In addition to the meanings held of hijab, the study also explored the relationships between demographic variables and perceptions of hijab. Three null hypotheses led the analyses pertaining to the differences between Egyptian and Yemeni respondents in their perceptions of hijab, demographic differences between those that wore a hijab and those that wore a niqab, and the demographic differences between those that wore a hijab and those that did not wear a hijab. Data analysis was based on the …

Automatic High-Fidelity 3d Road Network Modeling, Jie Wang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Many computer applications such as racing games and driving simulations frequently make use of 3D high-fidelity road network models for a variety of purposes. However, there are very few existing methods for automatic generation of 3D realistic road networks, especially for those in the real world. On the other hand, vast road network GIS data have been collected in the past and used by a wide range of applications, such as navigation and evaluation. A method that can automatically produce 3D high-fidelity road network models from 2D real road GIS data will significantly reduce both the labor and time needed …

A Variable Acceleration Calibration System, Thomas H. Johnson

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A variable acceleration calibration system that applies loads using gravitational and centripetal acceleration serves as an alternative, efficient and cost effective method for calibrating internal wind tunnel force balances. Two proof-of-concept variable acceleration calibration systems are designed, fabricated and tested. The NASA UT-36 force balance served as the test balance for the calibration experiments. The variable acceleration calibration systems are shown to be capable of performing three component calibration experiments with an approximate applied load error on the order of 1% of the full scale calibration loads. Sources of error are indentified using experimental design methods and a propagation of …

A Wind Tunnel Technique For The Identification Of Ship Airwake/Rotor Downwash Coupling, Stargel R. Doane

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A wind tunnel study is performed to analyze the interaction between ship airwakes and helicopter rotor downwash. This interaction is of interest to naval aviators and researchers as this phenomenon is thought to limit helicopter flight envelopes and increase the overall difficulty of maritime rotorcraft operations. In this study, a 1/50th scale simplified naval frigate model and appropriately scaled rotor model are used for all experimental work. A rotor thrust survey was conducted in the immediate vicinity of the landing deck. Two dimensional and stereo particle image velocimetry surveys and rotor thrust measurements with various rotor and ship configurations were …

Relationships Between Religious Orientation And Academic Attitudes, Lauren Everitt

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine whether there is an underlying consistency between college students' approaches to religion and their approaches to higher education. A sample of 234 undergraduate students completed the Religious Life Inventory (Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993), which assesses orientation to religion, and the Academic Attitude Scale (Wong, 1998), which identifies factors that motivate students to pursue higher education. The three dimensions (Means, End, and Quest) extracted from the Religious Life Inventory were compared to the six subscales (Intrinsic, Instrumental, Personal Development, External Pressure, Social Interest, No Better Option) of the Academic Attitude Scale to …

The Effects Of Rumination, Hostility, And Distraction On Cardiovascular Reactivity And Recovery From Anger Recall In Healthy Women, Meghan K. Mclain

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Cardiovascular reactivity and recovery following an emotional stressor may play a crucial role in mediating the relation between psychosocial factors (e.g. hostility and anger) and cardiovascular disease. Hostility has been associated with trait rumination. Trait rumination, a tendency to focus attention on negative thoughts and emotions and be prone to feelings of revenge, is not adequately captured in current measures of hostility. The current study examined whether trait rumination, indexed by the Dissipation-Rumination Scale, has an independent effect of increasing cardiovascular reactivity and prolonging cardiovascular recovery from angry events above and beyond hostility as measured by the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale. …

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Induction Of Programmed Cell Death Is Cell Type Dependent: An In Vitro Study, Wei Ren

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) present a novel and effective method for cancer ablation by eradicating the ubiquitous cancer hallmark of apoptosis evasion and enforcing cancer programmed cell death. To develop nsPEFs as an anticancer method, a comprehensive understanding of cell death mechanisms is required. The overall objective of this dissertation is to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying effects of nsPEFs on E4 murine squamous cell carcinoma and human T-cell Jurkat clones that are wildtype, deficient in FADD (ΔFADD) and deficient in caspase-8 (ACas-8). The overall hypothesis is that nsPEFs eliminate cancer cells through activating caspase-dependent and caspase-independent programmed cell death …

Steel Angle Section Members Under Combined Axial Load And Unsymmetric Bending, Maheshchandra Rajasekharan Phanibhushan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the outcome of an investigation into the experimental and theoretical behavior of steel angle section members under combined axial load and unsymmetric bending. Tests are conducted on a series of six angle section members provided with biaxial pinned-end boundaries about the cross-sectional non-principal axes. The end bending moments and axial load are applied in a quasi-static manner until the member load-carrying capacity is reached. The experimental load-deflection and load-strain curves are recorded. The theoretical analysis is based on a system of both elastic as well as materially nonlinear differential equations. The equations were solved using an iterative …

The Tracking Performance Of Distributed Recoverable Flight Control Systems Subject To High Intensity Radiated Fields, Rui Wang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

It is known that high intensity radiated fields (HIRF) can produce upsets in digital electronics, and thereby degrade the performance of digital flight control systems. Such upsets, either from natural or man-made sources, can change data values on digital buses and memory and affect CPU instruction execution. HIRF environments are also known to trigger common-mode faults, affecting nearly-simultaneously multiple fault containment regions, and hence reducing the benefits of n-modular redundancy and other fault-tolerant computing techniques. Thus, it is important to develop models which describe the integration of the embedded digital system, where the control law is implemented, as well …

The Effect Of Improvisations And Observations On Standardized Patient Encounters, Subjective Workload And Stress, Elizabeth T. Newlin-Canzone

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Standardized patients (SPs) are people trained to present a medical case for teaching and assessing medical students and they simultaneously perform several demanding tasks including portraying the patient, assessing the learner, and providing feedback. This study investigated the effect of improvisations and multiple task performance on the ability to observe another's nonverbal (NV) behaviors and rate their communication skills. Subjective reports of mental workload and stress were also obtained. The first study involved undergraduates interviewing for a job. Type of interview (rote and improvisational) and type of observation (passive and active) were manipulated within groups. Based on theories of attention …

Cross-Listing Premium Or Market Timing, Moustafa M. Abu El Fadl

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Previous research documented that soon after companies cross-list; they achieve significant negative post-listing abnormal returns (the post-listing anomaly). The evidence presented in this study shows that companies cross-list based on either a market-timing consideration or a genuine performance consideration. The host market condition is significant in explaining both the sign and the significance of post-listing abnormal returns. On the one hand, the evidence reveals, companies that cross-list in a host market while that host market is "positive" and achieve a significant negative post-listing abnormal returns, those companies time the market, and the post-listing anomaly is explained in the context of …

Age-Related Hamster Mitochondrial Changes And Oocyte Changes Following Autologous Platelet Mitochondrial Microinjection, Fang Li

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

This study's objective was to verify age-related mitochondrial changes in oocytes from old hamsters compared with those from young hamsters. We used autologous platelet mitochondrial microinjection to improve the mitochondrial quality and quantity of aged oocytes to improve their pregnancy potential. Metaphase II oocytes were collected from super-ovulated female hamsters and prepared for biochemical and morphological analysis. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) number, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were determined in individual oocytes from young and old hamsters. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allowed evaluation of oocyte ultra-structure. In oocytes from old hamsters, ATP …

Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Study Of The Dynamics Of Antimony Thin Films And Nanoparticles, Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The ultrafast fast phenomena that take place following the application of a 120 fs laser pulse on 20 nm antimony thin films and 40 nm nanoparticles were studied using time-resolved electron diffraction. Samples are prepared by thermal evaporation, at small thickness (< 10 nm) antimony nanoparticles form while at larger thicknesses we get continuous thin films.

The samples are annealed and studied by static heating to determine their Debye temperatures, which were considerably less than the standard value. The thermal expansion under static heating also yielded the expansion coefficient of the sample material. Nanoparticle samples gave a very accurate thermal expansion coefficient (11 × 10^-6 K^-1).

Ultrafast time resolved electron diffraction …