Digital Commons Network^™

Dating Violence And Psychosocial Problems: Exploratory Findings From A Sample Of Adolescents Facing Unwanted Pregnancy, Gretchen E. Ely

Doctoral Dissertations

Empirical studies of adolescent dating violence have mainly focused on changing attitudes and knowledge levels. These studies are mostly conducted in mixed gender classroom settings. Results from these studies do not provide knowledge of which psychological/social (psychosocial) problems co-occur with dating violence in at-risk adolescent populations. The current study provides exploratory information related to dating violence in adolescent pregnancy termination patients, a subset of the population virtually ignored by the adolescent literature. In this study, 120 adolescent pregnancy termination patients ages 14 through 21 completed the Conflict in Adolescent Relationships Inventory (CADRI) and the Multi-dimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale (MAAS). Linear …

“Design Of Molecular Mechanics Modeling Techniques For Exploring Molecular Recognition Using Cyclodextrins., Shannon Bradley Fox

Doctoral Dissertations

Molecular mechanics modeling techniques have been developed to study the behavior of cyclodextrins (CDs) in capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations. Using the commercial computational package, Sybyl, the mechanisms of molecular recognition between organic analytes and CDs are investigated.

Cyclodextrin-modified capillary electrochromatography (CDCE) experiments were conducted to separate neutral derivitized naphthalene solutes using carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CM-b-CD). Grid conformation-searching programs were developed to explore the interaction space between CD and solute and to calculate their interaction energies using molecular mechanics. The interaction energies correlated remarkably well with the separation behavior. It was found that extensive minimization (more than 3000 iterations) was required at each …

Effects Of Urbanization On A Small Perennial Stream: Second Creek In Knoxville, Tennessee, Judith Laing Grable

Doctoral Dissertations

Little is known about the coarse load carried by streams in urban areas or the length of time needed for stream channel adjustments to urban conditions. In this study, I examine the history of urbanization in the basin of Second Creek, the status of the channel, and the sediment load of the creek in recent years.

Second Creek is a small perennial stream whose 18.6 km² drainage basin is almost entirely contained within the City of Knoxville, Tennessee. Almost all of the drainage basin was developed more than 40 years ago, and is now urban and suburban in character. …

Integrated Field Emission Electron Guns With Single Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofiber Cathodes, Michael Alberto Guillorn

Doctoral Dissertations

Nanostructured carbon-based materials hold great promise as field emission (FE) cathodes for integrated FE devices. These materials display remarkable FE properties as a consequence of their unique chemical and physical properties. Among this class of materials, the vertically aligned carbon nanofiber (VACNF) is exceptional in that its synthesis can be deterministically controlled. This has enabled the characterization of the FE properties of individual VACNF grown on Si substrates. The results of these studies indicate that the VACNF is an excellent candidate for integrated FE electron sources where the generation of a focused electron beam from a microscale structure is required. …

Socio-Cultural Interactions And Esl Graduate Student Enculturation: A Cross Sectional Analysis, Ethan W. Krase

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation reports findings from a five-month qualitative study of a group of five ESL students pursuing graduate degrees in disciplines in the humanities. Focusing on disciplinary enculturation processes, the study sets out to answer two primary research questions: 1) What roles do literacy activities play in disciplinary enculturation? 2) What sorts of subject positions do ESL learners occupy as they enculturate into academic discourse communities? Answers to these questions are important because they can lend definition to the obstacles that confront ESL learners as they attempt to move towards professional participation in target discourse communities.

Anchored in the language-related …

Interfirm Demand Integration: The Role Of Marketing In Bridging The Gap Between Demand And Supply Chain Management, Teresa M. Mccarthy

Doctoral Dissertations

As firms increasingly outsource functions to focus on core competencies, access to resources from trading partners to accomplish goals becomes more important. As such, supply chain management is recognized as critical to creating and sustaining competitive advantage by integrating activities across trading partners that can produce a unique and valuable offering. This dissertation suggests the role of marketing is well positioned to oversee and manage integration of supply and demand activities that have traditionally been practiced separately both within and across firms in a supply chain. The research fills a gap in the literature by presenting a comprehensive model of …

Transgenic Approaches To Study Nodulation In The Model Legume, Lotus Japonicus, Crystal Bickley Mcalvin

Doctoral Dissertations

The soybean apyrase, GS52, characterized as an early nodulin, was further investigated for its possible role in nodulation. GS52 is expressed in roots and localized to the plasma membrane. In addition, it is rapidly induced upon rhizobial inoculation. Treatment of soybean roots with anti-GS52 antibodies blocked nodulation by Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Transgenic Lotus japonicus plants were generated expressing gs52 and showed enhanced nodulation and infection thread formation upon inoculation with Mesorhizobium loti that correlated with expression of the transgene. Surprisingly, expression of GS52 allowed L. japonicus plants to be infected but not nodulated by B. japonicum, the natural symbiont of soybean. …

A High Shear-Rate Optical Rheometer For Complex Fluids, Khaled S. Mriziq

Doctoral Dissertations

A parallel-plate optical rheometer in a magnetic-disc drive configuration has been designed and constructed of optically transparent materials and operating with a very small gap to obtain rheological and structural measurements at very high shear rates.

The friction force at the disk-slider interface has been measured as a function of sliding speed while the film thickness was monitored in situ using a capacitance technique. The shear rate is calculated from the film thickness and the sliding speed. A thin film can be applied on the disk, which allows very high-shear-rate measurements at low sliding speeds with negligible viscous heating.

Both …

Production In Au-Au Collisions, Robert Jason Newby

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis presents the first J/ Ψ production analysis of Au+Au reactions at forward rapidity at p √sNN = 200 GeV. In the second year of RHIC running, design energy was achieved in the collisions of both Au+Au ions and proton+proton reactions. The production of the J/Ψ is measured by the PHENIX experiment in Au+Au collisions as well as in proton-proton collisions. The scientific goal is to investigate the nature of hot, dense nuclear matter capitalizing on the unique properties of the J/ Ψ as a probe of this matter. Recent experimental results by the NA50 collaboration at CERN …

Critical Thinking As A Predictor Of Test Performance And As An Outcome Measure In A Large Undergraduate Human Development Course, Carrie Sara Booher

Doctoral Dissertations

Either generic or subject-specific measures (a total of three measures) of critical thinking were given to students in nine sections of an undergraduate educational psychology course. Generic measures were the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) developed by Facione and Facione (1994) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Forms (WGCTA) by Watson and Glaser (1994). The subject-specific measure was the Psychological Critical Thinking instrument developed by Lawson (1999). The critical thinking measures were used to address questions relating to the predictive potential of critical thinking and to assess changes in critical thinking during the course. Specific questions included the following: …

The Role Of Marital Quality And Social Support In Pregnancy Adaptation In An Internet Sample Of Pregnant Women, Alicia R. Baird-Fassardi

Doctoral Dissertations

There is growing evidence that women who experience depression, anxiety, and obstetric complications during pregnancy have significantly higher rates of adverse birth outcomes and postpartum depression. The present study examined hypotheses about the possible roles of marital quality and social support in measures of pregnancy adaptation. Marital quality was measured using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and social support using the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Pregnancy adaptation was measured in terms of self-reported levels of depressive symptomatolgy, state anxiety, pregnancy-specific anxiety and number of pregnancy complications. The participants were 808 pregnant women in the third trimester …

Caregivers' Perceptions About Their Children Identified As Having Atypical Behavior, Catherine Swanson Cain

Doctoral Dissertations

Past research on atypical behavior in young children has primarily forused on the caregiver and/or child, isolating characteristics such as the caregiver's parenting or the child's temperament (Deater-Deckard & O'Connor, 2000; Thomas & Clark, 1998). Current research has moved toward trying to build a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of caregiver-child relationships (Bugental, 2000). One way of trying to understand caregiver-child relationships is to look at perceptions the caregiver has of the relationship (Stem & Smith, 1999). Caregiver perceptions include conscious reflections, what the caregiver knows and thinks about, and what the caregiver chooses to talk about (Bugental, 2000). Differences …

Domesticity And The Modernist Aesthetic : F.T. Marinetti, Djuna Barnes, And Gertrude Stein, Allison Elise Carey

Doctoral Dissertations

Literary modernism has been presented, in scholarship and critical histories, as a masculinized movement: a literature largely by men and concerned with issues of literary form rather than with everyday life. This critical tunnel vision has inevitably prevented a full accounting of many key aspects of modernist literature. One issue of modernism that has been persistently overlooked by scholars is the central role of domesticity in many modernist texts and the importance to modernists of reclaiming the domestic as a subject of high art. As this study demonstrates, modernist texts often focused on everyday life, and these modernist treatments of …

The Impact Of U.S. News & World Report Rankings On Mba Programs At Eight Public Institutions, Nissa Dahlin-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

U.S. News & World Report has published a ranking of the top 50 MBA programs since 1990. Today, the rankings are so popular and powerful, that prospective students, alumni, legislators, college presidents, deans, and admissions officers wait with bated breath to see where their school will be ranked. The purpose of this qualitative study was to look behind the numbers of the rankings to discover the impact of the U.S. News & World Report rankings on eight differentially ranked, public MBA schools, as perceived by 45 faculty and administrators. Three schools from the top 25, three from the bottom 25, …

Relative Biodiversity Trends Of The Cenozoic Caribbean Region : Investigations Of Possible Causes And Issues Of Scale Using A Biostratigraphic Database Of Corals, Echinoids, Bivalves, And Gastropods, William Gray Dean

Doctoral Dissertations

The fossil record remains the primary tool to understand macro-evolutionary processes over time. Unfortunately, much debate has centered upon sampling biases that pervade the rock and fossil record. A relative metric is presented that reduces the effect of uneven distribution of fossils across time and space. The Diversity Index of Growth (DIG) metric measures relative change of biodiversity because it examines the four key parameters of biodiversity: New, Extinct, Stable and Total, as obtained from biostratigraphic data. In this study, DIG was utilized to examine biodiversity trends of a Cenozoic Caribbean database consisting of genus-level biostratigraphic occurrences of corals, echinoids, …

The Career Satisfaction, Future Plans, And Personal Characteristics Of Tennessee Public School Science And Mathematics Teachers In 2001, Delisa K. Dismukes

Doctoral Dissertations

The effect of state mandates on the supply and demand of science and mathematics teachers in Tennessee is dependent upon the composition of the population of science and mathematics teachers. The purpose of this study was to replicate a study conducted in 1985 by Smith which determined the demographic profile of the general population of secondary school science and mathematics teachers in Tennessee; their general level of job satisfaction; their future plans; and their perceptions of the extent to which they possess job-related skills and abilities, the extent to which they value job-related variables, and the extent to which they …

Collaborative Learning Among Farmers As An Approach To Alternative Agriculture Education, Robin Antony Fazio

Doctoral Dissertations

I undertook this action research to study my facilitation of a new approach to helping farmers learn about alternative agricultural practices. This approach involved farmers engaging in three types of teaching and learning (Peters and Armstrong, 1998) with an emphasis on collaborative learning. I served as facilitator and participant in workshops held once per month over a period of eleven months. I used individual interviews, field notes and reflective journaling to obtain descriptions of farmers' learning experiences and of my role as facilitator/participant. I then analyzed the data using domain analysis and coding methods. The results were expressed in terms …

Micro And Macro-Level Communication Competence In Relation To Ethics : Does It Really Matter What Leaders And Organizations Say, As Long As They Say It Well?, David M. Gesler

Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Camps For Children With Autism, Jayne O'Neal Griffin

Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fire And Forest In The Highlands Of The Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic : Modern Dynamics And Long-Term History, Lisa Marie Kennedy

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates past and present environments of the highlands of the Dominican Republic using paleoecological and modem ecological techniques. The relatively unstudied highlands (>2000 m) of the Cordillera Central are blanketed by a mosaic of pine forests, open pine woodlands, and grasslands, with broadleaf trees joining the canopy in sheltered locations. My research on modem vegetation and fire ecology, and on long-t� fire and vegetation history, helps fill gaps in the knowledge of Caribbean environments, and may assist land managers in conservation efforts in the Dominican highlands. A study of the relationship between modem pollen rain and vegetation …

The Meaning Of Sport-Related Events In The Process Of Becoming And Being A Fan : A Grounded Theory Study Of Highly Committed Sport Fans, Melinda Jo Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

Newspapers across the country and around the world are filled with reports of events that have occurred within the sporting world. These events range from summaries of wins/losses and statistics of the players in the game to reports of more significant even�s ( e.g., a player's retirement, a team relocation, a league folding, or a player's legal battles). The initial purpose of this dissertation was to explore and describe sports fans' perceptions of and reactions to sport-related critical incidents. However, the research focus was modified to examine (1) what it means to be a sport fan, (2) the factors and …

Determinant Attributes Used By The Elderly For Making Grocery Store Choices, Angela Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinant attributes used by the rapidly increasing elderly (aged 65 and older) consumer segment when choosing among the various retailers for grocery purchases. This study also sought to examine the importance of these determinant attributes and how these determinant attributes affect grocery store patronage decisions. Finally, this study explored the impact that primary store choice, age, self-reported healthiness, activity and mobility have on the importance placed on grocery store attributes. Data were gathered via a mail questionnaire. A determinant attribute . model based on the basic multi-attribute model formed the theoretical …

Leadership Behavior Of East Tennessee Directors Of Public Schools And The Job Satisfaction Of Principals, Gerald Garrison Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the school district directors' leadership behavior and the principals' job satisfaction. In particular, the problem addressed by this study was which, if any, of the five leadership practices of school directors that were measured by the "Leadership Practices Inventory" (LPI) by Kouzesand Posner ( 1997), had a relationship to the job satisfaction of principals, as measured by the "Job Satisfaction Survey" (JSS) by Spector (I 985). The population included 526 eligible, K-12, East Tennessee public schools principals. The entire population was surveyed with 329 (63%) principals responding period. The questionnaire consisted of …

A Critique Of The Disease Model Of Addiction, Annette Mary Mendola

Doctoral Dissertations

While there is widespread disagreement as to just what addiction is, the two most popular models are the moral model (i.e., addiction is a moral failing) and the disease model (i.e., addiction is a kind of disease). Both of these models have serious problems, for theory and for practice. Furthermore, since competing models for addiction have different implications for treatment, law, social norms, and so on, it is important to find a single model for addiction that works in every arena. We need an account of addiction that avoids the problems of the disease models and the moral models. That …

Integration Of Course Management System Communication Tools In Instruction, Jamie T. Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations

A major thrust of education is integration of technology in to teaching. In the face-to-face classroom, computer mediated communication tools such as electronic mail, discussion forums and chat are currently being integrated into instruction at a rapid pace. This is especially true in courses that use course management systems to deliver content. Are the current integration practices leading students to higher levels of cognitive engagement? Faculty members that choose to use technology in their teaching practice need to use a sound pedagogical framework to structure course tasks that use the technologies. The purpose of the study was to identify which …

A Qualitative Study Of Classroom Teacher Practices With English As A Second Language Students, Rachel Patten

Doctoral Dissertations

While there are multiple studies relating to the ESL specialist, the area of classroom teachers' practices in teaching ESL students is largely unexplored. It was the intention of this research to examine the adaptations, and accommodations made by classroom teachers when they have an ESL student in their classroom. The intent of the researcher was to uncover, through interview and observation, what actually occurs in these mainstream classes to facilitate learning for ESL students. The analysis of the interviews revealed rich information about the classroom teacher's uses of those methods, which are effective with first language students, with the ESL …

Reading The Colonial Christian Mission : Postcolonialism And Liberation Theology In Novels By Mongo Beti And RenʹE Philombe, Tracy Parkinson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines three Cameroonian novels written in French in the midtwentieth century, Le Pauvre Christ de Bomba and Le Roi miracule by Mongo Beti and Un Sorcier Blanc a Zangali by Rene Philombe. Each of the three novels deals with the presence of European Christian missions in Cameroon during the colonial era and each one portrays a missionary priest as a principal character. Making use of insight from both Postcolonial literary and cultural theory and Liberation Theology, this work explores the representation of these priests, their relation to the colonial endeavor, and their relations with those whom they encounter. …

Nontraditional Female Students Enrolled In Developmental English Courses At Roane State Community College, Belita Diane Raines

Doctoral Dissertations

The first purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and needs of nontraditional female students enrolled in Developmental English courses at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The second purpose of this study was to learn from current students how to help future students overcome the barriers they will face and thus enable them to be more successful in their college coursework. In order to collect data regarding nontraditional female students enrolled in Developmental English courses at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, two different types of data collection were used. First, surveys were …

Stem-Loops Iii And Iv In The 5' Untranslated Region Are Cis-Acting Elements In Bovine Coronavirus Di Rna Replication, Sharmila Raman

Doctoral Dissertations

Higher-order structures in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of plus-strand RNA viruses are known in many cases to function as cis-acting elements in RNA translation, replication, and transcription. The bovine coronavirus (BCo V) 210 nucleotide (nt) 5' UTR is predicted to contain four higher-order structures identified as stem-loops I to IV. In this study, evidence supporting the structure and a cis-acting function in BCoV defective interfering (DI) RNA replication of two of these structures, stem-loops III and IV is presented. Both stem-loops show phylogenetic conservation among group 2 coronaviruses and appear to have homologs or analogs in coronavirus groups 1 …

Design And Development Of A Process For Acid Hydrolysis Of Excess Sludge, Larry Willis Perkins

Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigates a process called nitrolysis for treatment of excess sludge produced during wastewater treatment. Nitrolysis involves the treatment of excess sludge with nitric acid at elevated temperatures ( 180°C) and pressures (200 psi). This research has shown up to nearly 100% conversion of the biomass ( corrected to be free of inert materials) to products. The products include acetic acid, formic acid, and carbon dioxide. The advantage of the process is the reduction in excess sludge for disposal (reduction in cost and liability) and the production of reclaimable products. This research shows a large reduction in mass and …