Digital Commons Network^™

Promoting Square Feet With Character: The Influence Of Fantasy On Meetings And Conventions At Walt Disney World, Christopher W. Tremblay

Honors Theses

The Walt Disney World Resort is a unique setting for meetings and conventions because it offers the Disney theme parks, but more importantly, it offers the opportunity to incorporate fantasy components into convention activities. Since Walt Disney World opened, Disney has capitalized on its use of characters by designing theme park attractions based on those characters. The opportunity exists to incorporate Disney fantasy and characters into meetings and conventions, which impacts decisions by businesses and meeting planners to use Walt Disney World as a convention site. The purpose of this study is to look at the influence of the fantasy …

The Effects Of Non-Uniform Blade Geometries On Cascade And Turbine Stage Performance, Hiroyuki Maeda

Masters Theses

It is known that in-service turbomachinery blades do not have uniform shapes. There are small differences due to blade erosion, manufacturing tolerances, or faulty installation. These differences can be in the size, shape, or relative angles of the blade. In an effort to predict losses resulting from changes in blade thickness and/or blade angles, a two-part investigation has been conducted. A two-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes flow analysis has been used to perform numerical experiments.

First, simulations were performed for an isolated cascade. One of the two stators was scaled and/or rotated. Results of the numerical simulations show that increasing the blade …

A Heuristic Procedure For Designing A Cellular Manufacturing System While Minimizing Makespan, Panduranga Badam

Masters Theses

This study is the first of its kind in Group Technology (GT) literature and successfully demonstrates the application of the simulation technique to analyze different alternatives for machine and part grouping problem.

This study considers several aspects such as processing time, sequence of operations, alternative routing, setup time and dynamic shop condition for machine-part grouping. The heuristic developed aims to reduce intercellular moves, setup time and makespan time of parts. It also enables the decision markers to evaluate performance measures and to choose the best alternative at every step of the machine grouping process. Two examples have been used to …

The Effects Of Part-Training On Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Skill Acquisition And Retention, David William Hagedorn

Masters Theses

Many thousands of lives could be saved annually in America with the prompt and correct execution of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The bystander is a vital resource in the basic treatment of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, studies have demonstrated that not only is retention of these lifesaving CPR skills poor, but initial acquisition of the CPR skills during training may be inadequate. This paper reviews methods and tools for CPR training, discloses areas of retention loss, and proposes solutions to be explored with further empirical research. With critical skills like CPR, the urgency to better train lay people and medical …

Physical And Optical Properties Of Steam Exploded Laser Printed Paper, Arvind Kumar Sharma

Masters Theses

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of steam explosion on the optical properties of recycled fibers, i.e., brightness, opacity, scattering and absorption coefficients, and to find out whether explosive discharge caused fiber damage and affected fiber bonding ability.

Laser printed paper was pulped by the steam explosion process. Addition of two different chemicals, residence time, pressure, and dispersant level were varied during the steam explosion experiments. All factors were kept at two levels.

Full factorial design and regression analysis were applied to determine the effect of different factors on steam explosion pulp. The data indicate …

An Evaluation Of Five Perfluorinated Hydrocarbons As Tracers In Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids, Jennifer K. Bergin

Masters Theses

Tracers are used in many facets of hydrogeological investigations. At this time, only tracers for aqueous phase liquids are known. The object of this investigation is to assess the viability of a suite of hydrocarbons as tracers m underground spills of non-aqueous phase liquids.

Laboratory experiments were performed to determine if the potential tracers were soluble in common petroleum hydrocarbons, non-volatile, differentiable and quantifiable by GC/MS, and conservative.

The first compound tested, perfluorokerosene, was detected but could not effectively be determined quantitatively with the GC/MS. Its use should be restricted to investigations in which only its presence, and not its …

Zambian Nurses And The Aids Crisis: Towards A Socio-Cultural Analysis Of Hiv/Aids, Alicia Worley

Masters Theses

This study addresses the need for AIDS research that goes beyond quantitative in formation to deal with the complexities of local context. Sociocultural analyses have been frequently lost in a sea of research that is rooted in a biomedical/quantitative paradigm. As a result of this, issues of political economy, culture, and human agency are often handled at best, tangentially-this to the detriment of prevention and control programs. This study underscores the factors involved in the spread of HIV that lie outside the realm of physiology and medical "fact." The perception and responses of Zambian nurses at a governmental training hospital …

Interim Outcomes And Change Processes: A Case Study Of School Restructuring, Meg V. Blinkiewicz

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was two-fold: (1) to describe interim outcomes that occurred within a restructuring school district and the change processes related to each outcome; and (2) to confirm or expand what is known about educational restructuring. Individual interviews were conducted with fifty-five (55) persons including central office administrators, principals, teachers, support staff, parents, and School Board members. Approximately 120 hours were spent in the field observing meetings, classroom activities, and other events. Existing documentation (meeting minutes, policies, and procedures) also was reviewed.

This study produced detailed descriptions o f six categories of interim outcomes that …

A Bootstrap Method To Analyze An Intervention Model With Autoregressive Error Terms, Scott D. Mcknight

Dissertations

The analysis of a particular time-series intervention model involving lag one autoregressive (AR(1)) error terms is the focus of this dissertation. The method of ordinary least squares, and several two stage procedures that are commonly used to analyze this intervention model are examined. The two stage Cochrane-Orcutte, Durbin, and generalized least squares procedures each requires estimation of the AR(1) parameter in stage one before hypothesis testing about the intervention parameters can be performed in stage two. Using Monte Carlo experiments we show that the AR(1) estimates commonly used in these procedures are poor and consequently the stage two hypothesis tests …

The Writing Response In Studies Of Topography-Based And Selection-Based Verbal Behavior, Osborn Cresson

Dissertations

The position taken in this paper is that the observable world is the only one needed in our analysis, that behavior is a reaction to the environments in which it occurs, and that language is more behavior that can be studied effectively as a dependent variable that varies as a function of independent variables manipulated by the experimenter.

Our goal was to study topography-based and selection-based verbal behavior with emphasis on the writing response and then to produce a report that would serve as a guide for other students of behavior and environment.

Sixteen undergraduate college students participated in 115 …

An Exploration Of Students’ And Business Persons’ Ratings Of The Importance Of Writing Skills For Business Success, Miriam P. Coleman

Dissertations

The central question explored in this research was whether the perceptions of undergraduate students and business employers about the importance of writing skills for success in business differ from one another. Related questions were posed about the relationship of certain individual characteristics such as sex, student classification, and student institutional affiliation and their interactions to these perceptions.

Subjects were selected from both public and private institutions of higher education and 11 medium-sized businesses in western Michigan. Data collection was accomplished using two 30-item Likert-type Importance of Business Writing (IBW) questionnaires developed for obtaining information on the perceptions of subjects relative …

The Theory And Applications Of Stratified Graphs, Reza Rashidi

Dissertations

Physical design is one of several stages in the design of a VLSI chip. In this stage, the specifications of an electrical circuit are converted into a geometrical model. Problems concerning the physical design stage can often be studied by means of graphs. The problems encountered here are routing problems and concern placement of vertices, which represent wires, into layers. All this gives rise to a class of graphs whose vertices are partitioned into classes. Such graphs are called stratified graphs. In this dissertation, we formally define stratified graphs, study their properties, and investigate various algorithmic problems related to these …

Gender Differences In Higher Education: A Comparison Of Males And Females Applying To Graduate School, Lynda Bennett

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine in what ways male and female applicants to graduate school are similar or different. Secondary analysis was conducted on survey data which described attitudes and behavior of students admitted to graduate programs at Western Michigan University. The purpose was to assess the relationship between gender and curricula selected, likelihood of applying for and receiving financial aid, and the influence of marital status. Gender did have a statistically significant relationship with curricula selection and influence of marital status. Furthermore, it appeared that women graduate students find marriage to be a more limiting factor …

Trauma In Adult Incest Survivors, Jane Kay Hedberg

Masters Theses

This study explored the traumatic effect of childhood incestuous abuse on the adult survivor. Eleven subjects were interviewed for this study. Hindman's (1989) trauma scale was revised, exploring issues of relationships, mental health, and living skills dysfunctions. In addition to the global score, the scale was disaggregated. Relationships between trauma and age at onset, physical and emotional violence, frequency, identification of self as victim, current relationship with offender, and response to disclosure were explored.

Several dimensions of feeling responsible were reported by victims, including feeling that there was something about them that made others victimize them, feeling responsible for protecting …

Consanguinitas Et Ius Sanguinis: Kinship Calculation And Medieval Marriage, Sandra Masters

Masters Theses

Consanguinity, or blood-relatedness, was one of the most important criteria which determined the formation of marriage in the medieval era. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive study in English which describes the development of consanguinity prohibitions and which explains fully the types of kinship calculation used as a part of the restrictions which developed. In order to fill this void, my goal in this thesis has been to offer a well-researched, comprehensive study of this topic.

I have examined the studies completed by other researchers and combined any pertinent information from those sources with my own research on medieval attitudes and …

Geological And Hydrogeological Characterization Of The Schoolcraft Aquifer, Schoolcraft, Michigan, William K. Steinmann

Masters Theses

Newly installed monitoring wells, county well logs, gamma-ray logs, head measurements, flow nets, slug tests, and full aquifer pumping tests were utilized to characterize the geologic and hydrogeologic conditions of the area. Evaluation of the geologic conditions indicate that the study area is best described as a glacially generated, humid type, alluvial fan. A hydrogeologic facies model concept aided in the initial evaluation of the hydrogeologic conditions and was utilized for the placement of several vertically nested monitoring wells. Further evaluation indicates an unconfined aquifer comprised of two separate flow systems: a shallow, local flow system interacting with flow-through surface …

The Photonic Band Structure Of Dielectric Systems With A Frequency Dependent Dielectric Function, Jiezhou Liu

Masters Theses

The concepts of band theory for electrons can be employed to describe the behavior of electromagnetic waves propagaiting in periodic dielectric structures with a frequency independent dielectric function. These periodic structures can produce photonic band gaps in which the propagation of electromagnetic waves is strictly prohibited. The introduction of a frequency dependent dielectric function in such systems gives rise to strong changes of the photonic bands in the neighborhood of the frequency resonance of the dielectric function.

In my thesis, the photonic band structure of a dielectric system with a frequency dependent dielectric function which undergoes a dielectric resonance will …

Assertive Communication: Its Effect On Conflict, Trust, Hostility, And Productivity In The Organization, Jacqueline J. Brayman

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between assertive communication training and conflict over values, goals, and demands, as well as trust, hostility, and productivity in the organization. The investigation took place at a manufacturing firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which produces wood chair frames and components for distribution worldwide. The research involved both the day and night shift employees of four "work cells" or units, each numbering three to four workers. Two work cells were randomly assigned to be trained in assertive communication. The other tw o work cells, the comparison group, were trained in preventive …

The Relationship Between Codependency And Kohlberg's Stages Of Moral Development, David L. Arkesteyn

Dissertations

The phenomenon of codependency is currently under considerable scrutiny as to its actual meaning and whether the concept is biased against women, ignores normal psychological development, and is subject to the "Bamum effect". Codependent relationships are widely considered dysfunctional, yet normal psychological development may play a role in these relationships which is not dysfunctional. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between codependency and Kohlberg's stages of moral development It was proposed that codependency would be highly correlated with Kohlberg's interpersonal concordance orientation stage. The sample consisted of sixty adult subjects who were assessed as codependent Thirty-one …

A Comparison Of Teacher Attitudes Based Upon Their Involvement In Various Levels Of Staff Development, James Lehto

Dissertations

This study sought to measure the relationship between teacher attitude and involvement in staff development. It was conducted as a follow-up to a recent implementation and audit of educational standards in the state of Wisconsin and focused upon the results of Standard B for Staff Development. The study compared the attitudes of teachers based upon their involvement in various levels of staff development, which were determined through the audit process.

Previous literature described in the report focused upon the background of state educational standards as well as previous studies which attempted to assess employee attitudes and staff development. In both …

Women In Public School Administration: Factors That Facilitate Attainment, Betty Newlin Lapointe

Dissertations

The educational system in the United States, although staffed by an equal proportion of men and women in teaching roles, is administered predominantly by men. Women are represented in fewer than 5% of our nation’s schools in the role of superintendent, and only 10% of the high schools are administered by women principals.

The purpose of this study was to expand the research on the factors that facilitate the attainment of key leadership positions for women within the public school, and to determine differences in access between the positions of secondary principal and superintendent.

A total of 78 female administrators, …

Hiv Prevention And Heterosexual College Students: The Impact Of Video Instruction On The "Safer" Sexual Behaviors Of Sexually Active Men, Cheryl L. Knight

Dissertations

Despite increasing evidence of the heterosexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among young adults, research with college students has been primarily restricted to descriptions of the levels of risky behavior and the correlates of that behavior. To date, few experimentally validated HIV prevention programs have been reported. Furthermore, the existing experimental investigations have seldom based an intervention on a thorough analysis of the barriers to the practice of safer sex.

Experiment One surveyed 195 heterosexual college students to assess HIV risk factors, including sexual behavior, risk perception, knowledge and 10 barriers to the consistent practice of "safer" sex. …

Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Cardiovascular Indices, Attention, Task Performance, And Memory Retention In Children, Suzanne L. Keller

Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the western world today. Average intake of caffeine in the United States has been estimated at greater than 200 mg daily per person. Although plagued by inconsistencies, and methodological problems, research suggests that this level of caffeine ingestion may have significant effects on cardiovascular functioning, and behavioral processes such as attention, cognitive processing, memory, and task performance.

Although children consume significant quantities of caffeine, very little research has been done on the effects of caffeine in children. The limited findings suggest that caffeine consumption may affect the cognitive and behavioral …

Academic Self-Esteem Of Michigan High School Students, Dolores J. Howe

Dissertations

In this study, relationships among academic self-esteem, teacher/student relationships, school climate, students' level of involvement in school activities, and size of school were analyzed.

Sixteen lower Michigan high schools were randomly selected, 12 with a population of 200-500 and 4 with a population of 1,500-2,000. One class each of 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, representing a wide range of ability levels, were chosen from each school, for a total of 64 classrooms containing 1,319 students. Brookover’s (1962) Self-Concept of Ability Scale, the author's Academic Self-Esteem Inventory, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals School Climate Survey (Kelley et …

An Experimental Analysis Of Instructional Technologies Applied To The Three Contingency Model Of Performance Management, Judith S . Devoe

Dissertations

This research had four goals: (1) to refine the theory of performance management based on rule-governed behavior and refine the three-contingency model of performance. management, (2) to develop a university-level programmed instruction unit to teach the three-contingency model of performance management, (3) to test for functional independence between response classes—using concept-discrimination and concept-exemplification, and (4) to test a common assumption of programmed instruction— the necessity for active responding (this assumption was tested with both concept-discrimination training and concept-exemplification training).

Participants included fifty-nine undergraduates enrolled in a behavior analysis course. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) the …

High Breakdown Rank-Based Estimates For Linear Models, William H. Chang

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Leadership Style Behaviors Of Principals To The Existence Of Effective Schools, Lanny John Tibaldo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the leadership style behaviors of principals were related to the existence of effective schools. Leadership style behaviors of principals of Wisconsin public schools recognized as effective by the Blue Ribbon Schools Program were compared to a random sample of principals of Wisconsin public schools not identified as effective to determine if principals of effective schools demonstrated more democratic, participative leadership style behaviors. The relationship of elementary and secondary principals' leadership style behaviors to the existence of effective schools was also studied.

A Personal Data Sheet for demographic data and the Self-Scoring …

Critical Study Of John Rawls’ Theory Of Justice, Jae-Wan Chung

Masters Theses

In discussing John Rawls' theory of justice , my main concern is to examine his theory, especially in difference principle, and to criticize the principle. The difference principle is that without improving the conditions of those who are worst off, the advantages of all those better off should not be permitted. The principle has some problems.

First, the principle is against our common judgment. There is no reason that we choose the principle under "original position," and the principle brings about a result to disregard others' important advantages for the least favored's profits. Secondly, according to Robert Nozick's entitlement theory, …

Revisiting The Issue Of Terrorism: An Institutional Analysis Of U.S. Sponsored Terrorism Directed Toward Cuba, Rick A. Matthews

Masters Theses

Consistent with Herman's (1982) call to more critically examine state-sponsored terrorism, this study assesses the sociopolitical and economic context in which the U.S. has terrorized the nation-state of Cuba. While the definitional framework in which the U.S. has traditionally examined acts of terrorism excludes from it the possibility of self incrimination, this research uses a single standard and nondiscriminatory definition which examines the behavior in question and harms done, as opposed to a definition based on power considerations alone. The method in which this research is conducted is qualitative, consistent with the principles of a sociohistorical case study, using an …

Subsurface Glacial Geology Of The Area Between The Tekonsha And Kalamazoo Moraines, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kim Finkbeiner

Masters Theses

Cross sections profiling the stratigraphy of the glacial sediments were created using the geological logs recorded on water well records. Glacial sediments in the study area comprise a large outwash complex between two moraines. The surficial landforms are the result of the last Wisconsinan advance and retreat through the area.

Cross sections contructed for this project reveal at least three major till units. An additional till unit contains a weathered soil sequence. Therefore, it is possible that this paleosol represents the Sangamon Interglacial period between the Wisconsinan and Illinoian stages. No obvious evidence of movement of the Saginaw Lobe remains …