Digital Commons Network^™

Making A Place For Poetry: Response In An Adult Writing Group, Andrea Luna

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how writers respond to other writer's work in the context of a community poetry group. A qualitative study of the poetry group, including participant-observation and tape recording of group meetings, analysis of conversation during meetings, collection of documents, and open-ended interviewing of participants, was undertaken over a period of ten months. Through narrative analysis of the data, one of the primary units of which is the single poem plus the group's response to that poem, the author attempted to create a credible interpretation of the activities and conversations of the group which addresses the question of what …

Part I Synthesis And Study Of Cyclic Sulfamates Part Ii Investigation Of Endocyclic Nucleophilic Substitution At Tetracoordinate Sulfur(Vi), Martin George Kociolek

Doctoral Dissertations

Part I. 5-Nitro-N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2,3-benzoxathiazole-2,2-dioxide was synthesized and reacted with various nucleophiles. Nitrogen nucleophiles attacked the exocyclic sulfur atom resulting in cleavage of the tosyl group. This is due in part to the acidity of the parent benzoxathiazole ring. A series of substituted N-H-1,2,3-benzoxathiazole-2,2-dioxides were synthesized and their pK$\sb{\rm a}$ values were determined. An ab initio study was also undertaken on a simple sulfamate model in order to determine the origin of the increased acidity of the cyclic sulfamates, compared to their acyclic analogues. It was determined that the increased acidity was directly affected by the conformation of the neighboring heteroatoms. This …

Information Technology, Employee Participation And The De-Skilling Thesis, Jay Charles Lacke

Doctoral Dissertations

While the de-skilling of work may involve many facets, including task simplification and the degradation of manual skills, this dissertation focuses specifically on the loss of control by workers over the organization and direction ("conception") of their own work. This focus is consistent with Harry Braverman's (1974) seminal argument that the "pivot" of capitalist management, and the core of the de-skilling thesis, is the separation of the conception of work from its execution.

Employee participation strategies whereby workers exercise discretion over the organization and conduct of work are contrary to the de-skilling thesis. But their existence is compatible with post-Braverman …

Radiatively Active Trace Gas Emissions From Waste Management Systems, Peter Matthew Czepiel

Doctoral Dissertations

Current waste management practices present significant potential for emissions of radiatively active trace gases to the atmosphere. This dissertation describes the quantitative assessment of nitrous oxide (N$\sb2$O) emissions from liquid waste and residuals treatment, emissions of methane (CH$\sb4$) from landfills, and the effects of microbial oxidation on landfill CH$\sb4$ emissions.

N$\sb2$O emissions were measured from liquid treatment process at a wastewater treatment plant where the highest emissions occurred during secondary aeration. Emission factors derived from the measurements included 3.2 g N$\sb2$O person$\sp{-1}$ year$\sp{-1}$ and $1.6\times10\sp{-6}$ g N$\sb2$O (liter wastewater$\sp{-1}$). The potential for N$\sb2$O emissions from the composting of the residual …

Bodies Of Life: Shaker Literacies And Literature, Etta Maureen Madden

Doctoral Dissertations

I examine the roles of literacy and literature among the Shakers from the opening of "Mother" Ann Lee's testimony in 1780 through the early twentieth century to propose that the sect persistently resisted and revised "the world's" literacies. I assert that multiple kinds of reading and writing acts reinforce the beliefs of individuals and the church as a whole, and I argue that the increase in literary acts which appear to contribute to individualism and fragmentation of the institution actually allows Believers to revise their theology so that they see their sect as continuing to grow rather than declining.

In …

The Discourse Of Gratitude In The Novels Of Jane Austen, William Gosnell Sayres

Doctoral Dissertations

Jane Austen is preeminently the novelist of gratitude, and no substantive noun of similar moral content recurs in these texts with the frequency of "gratitude." Gratitude has enormous power in her novels. It is a necessary precursor of love in the formation of bonds between men and women, and no "good" mutual love is possible unless it evolves through the process of gratitude. For successful marriages, gratitude is even more necessary than love. Among the scholars who focus on significant terms in Austen novels, few give more than passing attention to gratitude or to the massive volume of eighteenth-century moralist …

Population Dynamics And Recruitment Ecology Of Some Caribbean Reef Corals, David B. Carlon

Doctoral Dissertations

Processes that limit the distribution arid abundance of marine species may affect larvae, juveniles, or adults. I focus on larval and early benthic phases of reef corals as determinants of spatial pattern. In CHAPTER I examine larval behavior during dispersal and settlement as a mechanism for aggregated spatial pattern in two corals. A short swimming period and non-selective settlement behavior explains the highly aggregated spatial pattern in Favia fragum. Spatial pattern in Agaricia agaricites probably reflects larval behavior at settlement and post-settlement mortality. These larvae had a longer planktonic period and were selective in settlement surfaces.

In CHAPTER II, I …

A System Model For Multipath Interference On Terrestrial Line-Of-Sight Qam Digital Radio, Charles Henry Bianchi

Doctoral Dissertations

A comprehensive system model for characterizing the effects of multipath propagation on digital radio systems in the 4 to 6 GHz band is shown in this thesis. The effects of terrain-induced multipath propagation in the presence of atmospheric anomalies are studied using data from experimental microwave links in the field and in the laboratory. This technique, which treats multipath propagation as digital signal distortions caused by interference from ground reflections, has not been shown previously. A forward multipath propagation model is used to identify the critical propagation parameters for a QAM signal. A normalized two ray channel model is developed …

Chilling Photoinhibition In Zea Mays L And Zea Diploperennis Iltis, Doebely And Guzman: The Role Of Oxygen And Antioxidants, Kajal Bose Ghoshroy

Doctoral Dissertations

Light absorbed by photosynthetic pigments must be distributed either for chemical work, reemitted as fluorescence or safely dissipated as heat. Adverse environmental conditions reduce the dissipation capacity of plants and the excess energy leads to damage to the photosynthetic mechanism, termed photoinhibition. Low, non-freezing temperatures cause such photoinhibition, especially in tropical plants grown in the temperate zone. This damage occurs in the photosystem II and is triggered by highly reactive radicals or reactive forms of dioxygen. Numerous studies point to the involvement of oxygen and antioxidant enzymes and substrates in amelioration of these damages. In C$\sb3$ plants, dioxygen is thought …

A Proposed Acrosomal System For Identifying Stages Of The Cycle Of The Seminiferous Epithelium And A Model For The Kinetics Of Spermatogenesis In The Rabbit, Antonio Carlos S Castro

Doctoral Dissertations

Most quantitative investigations of spermatogenesis requites identification of stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. The current "tubular morphology" system of staging for the rabbit permits identification of only eight stages and is not applicable to all experimental conditions. A more advantageous staging system, based on changes in the acrosome and morphology of the developing spermatids, had not been developed for the rabbit. Knowledge of spermatogonial kinetics, including the identity of spermatogonial subtypes and the number and timing of spermatogonial divisions, is also important, but had not been fully elucidated in this species. This investigation was undertaken to develop …

Chiral Separations Using Bile Salts In Capillary Electrophoresis, James George Clothier

Doctoral Dissertations

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) using surfactant solutions containing bile salts, polyoxyethylene ethers and methanol was used to produce chiral separations. A capillary electrophoresis instrument was assembled in the laboratory. Initial testing and optimization of the instrument involved the separation of organic acids using capillaries zone electrophoresis techniques. Polymer coated capillaries were prepared and tested in the instrument. Bile salt solutions were characterized by viscosity and nuclear magnetic resonance. The effects of various solution conditions, such as pH, ionic strength and concentration of bile salt solutions on chiral resolution were investigated by MECC. Enhancement in chiral resolution was obtained using …

Distributed Cell Scheduling And Quality Of Service In Atm Networks, Paul Niel Goransson

Doctoral Dissertations

This work investigates the improvement of network jitter and quality of service (QoS) in ATM networks through the use of more complex scheduling algorithms than have been heretofore presented. In particular we discuss the measure of QoS Performance as distinct from traditional measures of network performance. Results of the study demonstrate that with the judicious introduction of delay at strategic places in an ATM network, specifically at the network periphery and lesser amounts elsewhere, we can generate and distribute accurate predictions of cell arrivals to all queues within the entire network. With the existence of such predictions, we are able …

Emerging From The Chrysalis: Isolation And Publication In Nineteenth-Century Literacy Narratives, Lisa Ann Sisco

Doctoral Dissertations

"Emerging From the Chrysalis" begins with the words of Frederick Douglass, who explains in his 1845 slave narrative that learning to read was a conflicted experience, simultaneously enabling and painful. Douglass writes, "I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing." These powerful words reveal a paradoxical "double-consciousness" inherent in nineteenth-century narratives about literacy: literacy's capacity to simultaneously imprison and empower. Douglass's relationship to literacy, both as a character within his narrative and as an author in a historical context, exemplifies the focus of this dissertation.

I borrow my central metaphor from …

Characterization Of The Adherence Mechanisms Of Listeria Monocytogenes To Host Cells And Their Role In The Pathogenesis Of Listeriosis, Marcia M. Pierce

Doctoral Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes is the facultative intracellular pathogen responsible for causing the foodborne illness known as listeriosis. Disease occurs following invasion of cells of the intestinal tract by the organism following consumption of contaminated foods. In this study, a mechanism of opsonin-independent attachment of L. monocytogenes to host cells was identified. A clinical isolate of L. monocytogenes, together with murine-derived primary peritoneal macrophages were used to study this adherence phenomenon.

Transmission and scanning electron microscopy were used to visualize the attachment and uptake of L. monocytogenes by murine macrophages, while organism enumeration by viable bacterial cell colony counts was used as …

Part I Synthesis, Functionalization And Metal Complexation Of Polyamine Macrocycles Part Ii Synthesis And Dynamic Nmr Studies Of Bicyclic Ureas, Daniel Cope Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

Part I. The syntheses and characterizations of novel bicyclic tetraamines (shown below) have been accomplished. The complexation of bicyclic tetraamines (R = CH$\sb3)$ with Li$\sp+$ and Na$\sp+$ have been studied by NMR spectroscopy. These tetraamines are strong bases and selective Li$\sp+$ binders. The parent "cross-bridged cyclam" (R = H; X = Y = CH$\sb2)$ was functionalized with a variety of ligating groups containing heteroatoms. Several of the ligands were investigated as possible radiopharmaceutical ($\rm\sp{99m}Tc$) imaging agent precursors.

Syntheses of non-adjacent selectively functionalized tetraazacycloalkanes have also been developed.

Part II. Synthesis and dynamic NMR studies of intramolecular transamidation of bicyclic urea …

Education, Class And Gender In George Eliot And Thomas Hardy, Keith Ronald Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between education, class and gender in The Mill on the Floss (1860) and Daniel Deronda (1876) by George Eliot; and in The Woodlanders (1887) and Jude the Obscure (1896) by Thomas Hardy. The Introduction discusses how, in nineteenth-century Britain, education was intended to "improve" individuals and society. The Introduction establishes the Marxist and feminist critical background of the study, and briefly surveys the nineteenth-century debates on "The Education Question," and on education for women.

The novels examined show education failing to 'improve.' Maggie Tulliver, in The Mill on the Floss, and Jude Fawley in Jude …

Isolation And Characterization Of The Ccr4 Associated Factors, Haiyan Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

In yeast, Sacchoromyces cerevisiae, transcription of $\underline{ADH2}$ gene (encodes alcohol dehydrogenase II) under glucose derepression conditions requires not only the gene-specific activator, Adr1p, but also the general transcriptional factors like Ccr4p. Ccr4p belongs to the LRR-containing protein superfamily, members of which have often been found to associate with other proteins to form a functional protein complex. This dissertation reports three major conclusions from my research.

1. The CCR4 protein is associated with at least three other proteins by immunoprecipitation using the CCR4 antibody, and more importantly, the LRR in the CCR4 protein is not only essential, but also sufficient to …

A Search For Radiative Neutrino Decay And Its Potential Contribution To The Cosmic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Flux, Richard Scott Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

We have performed a sensitive search for a massive neutrino species. The premise of the search is the existence of an unstable massive neutrino that decays radiatively. Because of its electromagnetic daughter product, a radiative decay may be the only mode that can be observed directly. Using core collapse supernovae--known to be copious producers of neutrinos--as a cosmic neutrino laboratory, a detailed model has been developed to predict the decay-produced photon energy spectrum as a function of neutrino mass $m\sb{\nu}$ and lifetime $\tau\sb{\nu}$. Using the COMPTEL instrument aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, observations of two recent nearby type-II supernovae (SN1987A, …

Characterization Of Supported Molybdenum Sulfide Catalyst Ex Ammonium Tetrathiomolybdate, Fan Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Active sulfide catalysts are conventionally prepared by converting the respective oxides to sulfides. Reductive sulfiding of the oxides is usually difficult and does not proceed in a regular manner. In this dissertation, a supported molybdenum sulfide catalyst prepared by the decomposition of ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (ATTM) in hydrogen and helium was studied. The catalyst is unique in two respects, namely, the lower valence state of the supported molybdenum sulfide catalyst, and the presence of few oxygen atoms in the catalyst. The thiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and propylene hydrogenation (HYD) activities of a catalyst prepared by this technique (and subjected to different pretreatments) …

An Investigation Into Students' Conceptual Understandings Of The Graphical Representation Of Polynomial Functions, Judith Ellen Curran

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematics educators are realizing the impact that technology is having on the way mathematical functions can be represented and manipulated. The increased use of graphing technology in the classroom is paralleled by an increased emphasis on the role of the graphical representation of a function to solve problems. These changes together with a recognition of the significance and complexity of developing a rich understanding of the graphical representations of polynomial functions are the motivation behind this research.

The study was designed to explore students' conceptual understandings of the graphs of polynomial functions. Guided by a constructivist approach to conceptual change, …

Molar And Local Effects Of The Fixed-Ratio Changeover Requirement On Choice, Changeovers, And Visits: A Parametric Examination Of The Fixed-Ratio Changeover Requirement, Michael B. Ehlert

Doctoral Dissertations

The distribution of behavior by organisms in choice situations is of long-standing interest to psychologists. The generalized matching relation accurately predicts choice between concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. Researchers have assumed, on weak grounds, that the effect of the changeover requirement on sensitivity to reinforcement--the exponent in the generalized matching equation--was consistent. This experiment considered the effects of the changeover requirement by parametrically manipulating the fixed-ratio schedule required to switch alternatives. Pigeons pecked either of two side-response keys in a standard three-key operant chamber for food, delivered according to independent variable-interval schedules. No changeover delay was used, instead completion of …

Temporal Context And Choice, Randolph Carey Grace

Doctoral Dissertations

An extension of the generalized matching law is proposed as a model for choice in concurrent chains. The contextual choice model (CCM) assumes that effects of temporal context on choice are determined by the relative times spent in the terminal and initial links (Tt/Ti), and that terminal-link value is independent of temporal context. CCM gives an excellent description of a wide range of archival data, and because it simplifies to the generalized matching law when terminal-link duration is zero, provides a quantitative integration of concurrent chains and concurrent schedules. A series of experiments with pigeons as subjects is described to …

I Synthesis And Dynamic Studies Of Bifunctional Compounds Having Potential Intramolecular Interactions Ii Controlled Release Antifouling Coatings: Approaches To Controlled Release Of Gamma-Decanolactone And 2-Hexanoylfuran Into Seawater, Craig Anthony West

Doctoral Dissertations

I. Potentially reactive, bifunctional compounds 1 and 127 have been studied, and both compounds have been found to undergo rapid base-catalyzed degenerate topomerization. The topomerization processes, which in the case of 1 represents a degenerate transamidation and in the case of 127 a degenerate transesterification, have been studied in acetonitrile-d$\sb3$ and D$\sb2$O under a variety of conditions by the DNMR method. In both cases, the presence of a stable tetrahedral anion intermediate can be inferred from analysis of NMR and IR spectra. In the case of 1, the unusually high rate of topomerization can be attributed to the presence of …

Experiments On Transient Natural Convection In Inclined Enclosures Using Calibrated Multichannel Electronic Interferometry And Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, Timothy David Upton

Doctoral Dissertations

Simultaneous quantitative measurements are made of both the temperature and velocity fields for two-dimensional transient natural convection in an inclined rectangular enclosure. The fluid in the enclosure is initially stationary and isothermal. The transient boundary conditions are initiated by instantaneously heating and cooling two opposing walls. All other walls are insulated and nonconducting. The evolution of the flow to steady state is determined for a Prandtl number of 6.38, a Rayleigh number of 1.5 $\times$ 10$\sp5$, and an aspect ratio of 1.0, at angles of inclination of $\pi$/4, $\pi$/2, and 3$\pi$/4. The temperature is measured using calibrated multichannel electronic interferometry, …

Reflected Light Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, Electron Spectroscopy, And X-Ray Diffraction Mineralogical Characterization Of Electric Arc Furnace (Eaf) Dusts, Ann M. Hagni

Doctoral Dissertations

"The secondary steel industry in the United States generates 600,000 tons of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust each year. Over 5,000,000 tons of EAF dust are generated annually world wide. The dust, which is removed from off-gasses from the high temperature furnaces, is considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be hazardous waste due to its leachable lead, cadmium, and chromium. In addition to hazardous components, EAF dust contains valuable zinc, averaging 19%. This study was initiated to determine the mineralogy and characterization of the dust to aid in the processing of the dust for metals recovery and rendering the …