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Qualitative Mapping For Understanding The Collective Judgment Building Process : A Study Of The Federal Open Market Committee, Hyunjung Kim Jan 2009

Qualitative Mapping For Understanding The Collective Judgment Building Process : A Study Of The Federal Open Market Committee, Hyunjung Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study develops a mapping method for studying a collective judgment building process in a decision-making group. Environmental uncertainties and a lack of information require a decision maker to make judgments about various issues relevant to the decision task. In a group setting, the members together weave their structural model of the system with available information to build a collective judgment for the decision task.


The Effects Of Organizational Culture And Climate On Employee's Turnover In Public Child Welfare Agencies, Miseung Shim Jan 2009

The Effects Of Organizational Culture And Climate On Employee's Turnover In Public Child Welfare Agencies, Miseung Shim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background & Purpose: Employee's turnover in child welfare agencies negatively influences remaining employees, clients, and organization itself as well as losing skilled or trained employees. For example, employee's high turnover tends to be cyclical, in that high turnover gives additional workload burden to remaining employees and causes lack of continuity of services for vulnerable children and families. Moreover, child welfare agencies have to bear financial costs, including hiring and training. Although current literature increasingly emphasizes the importance of organizational factors in employee's turnover issues, more empirical research is needed to be conducted to understand organizational effects on employee's turnover. This …


Modeling Peer Influence And Peer Selection As Processes, Bob Edward Vasquez Jan 2009

Modeling Peer Influence And Peer Selection As Processes, Bob Edward Vasquez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Behavioral scientists are aware of the strong and persistent correlation between peer and individual behavior. Evidence suggests selection and socialization effects explain the correlation, but the processes, or the details of the ways in which these effects operate in an empirical model, remain relatively unexamined.


A Case Study Of Intended And Implemented Tanf Policies In The New York State Bridge Program, Yi-Jung Wu Jan 2009

A Case Study Of Intended And Implemented Tanf Policies In The New York State Bridge Program, Yi-Jung Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act changed public policy. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), affecting both educational policy and social welfare policy. Simultaneously, policy implementation responsibilities devolved to states.


Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopic Study Of Gas-Phase Photolysis Of Unsaturated Dicarbonyls And Aromatic Aldehydes, And Surface Photolysis Of Acetaldehyde, Bin Xiang Jan 2009

Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopic Study Of Gas-Phase Photolysis Of Unsaturated Dicarbonyls And Aromatic Aldehydes, And Surface Photolysis Of Acetaldehyde, Bin Xiang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Photochemical smog is a phenomenon associated with pollution in urban atmospheres arising from the photochemical oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of nitrogen oxides. The oxidation process can lead to ozone and secondary air pollutants including particle formation which reduce visibility. The term "photochemical smog" is used to describe this pollutant mixture. The further degradation of secondary air pollutants could also have an impact on the atmospheric oxidation capacity. However, the atmospheric degradation mechanisms of the secondary pollutants are still not fully understood. In this dissertation, cavity ring-down spectroscopy combined with laser photolysis and Fourier transform infrared …


The Representation Of Multiple Translations In Bilingual Memory : An Examination Of Lexical Organization For Concrete, Abstract, And Emotion Words In Spanish-English Bilinguals, Dana M. Basnight-Brown Jan 2009

The Representation Of Multiple Translations In Bilingual Memory : An Examination Of Lexical Organization For Concrete, Abstract, And Emotion Words In Spanish-English Bilinguals, Dana M. Basnight-Brown

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Tokowicz and Kroll (2007) originally reported that the number of translations a word has across languages influences the speed with which bilinguals translate concrete and abstract words from one language to another. The current work examines how the number of translations that characterize a word influences bilingual lexical organization and the processing of concrete, abstract and emotional stimuli. Experiment 1 examined whether the number-of-translations effect reported previously could be obtained in a different task (i.e., lexical decision task) using the same materials presented by Tokowicz and Kroll. Decision latencies revealed no significant differences between concrete and abstract words, which suggested …


The Status Of Special Programming For Minority Youth And Children With Special Needs : A Report On The Perceptions Of Children's Museum Education Directors, Deborah A. Chapin Jan 2009

The Status Of Special Programming For Minority Youth And Children With Special Needs : A Report On The Perceptions Of Children's Museum Education Directors, Deborah A. Chapin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Dissertation Title: The Status of Special Programming for Minority Youth and Children with Special Needs: A Report on the Perceptions of Children's Museum Education Directors


Biomonitoring Of Perfluorochemicals In Human Blood, Breast Milk, Saliva, And Urine, Lin Tao Jan 2009

Biomonitoring Of Perfluorochemicals In Human Blood, Breast Milk, Saliva, And Urine, Lin Tao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) have been used as surfactants and surface protectors in a large number of consumer products. PFCs have been reported to elicit adverse health effects in laboratory animals and humans, and have been detected in foodstuffs and in human bodies. In this dissertation, analytical methods were developed for the determination of trace levels of PFCs in human blood, dried blood spot, breast milk, saliva, and urine. An assessment of human exposure to PFCs was performed by analyzing human specimens collected from the United States and several Asian countries. Blood, breast milk, and dried blood spots were found to be …


Progress Towards Critical Dimension Low Vacuum Scanning Electron Microscopy, Vasiliki Tileli Jan 2009

Progress Towards Critical Dimension Low Vacuum Scanning Electron Microscopy, Vasiliki Tileli

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Low vacuum scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM) is proposed and evaluated for next generation Critical Dimension (CD) metrology. Its ability to control charging artifacts and hydrocarbon contamination in order to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio, high resolution image data from insulating materials make the technology an excellent match for the increased use of high-k dielectrics and shrinking feature size in the semiconductor industry. The presence of a gas in the LVSEM chamber means that the probe characteristics and secondary electron amplification, detection, and signal-to-noise ratio differ significantly from conventional high vacuum tools. In order for low vacuum CD approaches to be viable, …


Genetically Engineered Repetitive Polypeptides : Design, Synthesis, Characterization, And Applications, Natalya I. Topilina Jan 2009

Genetically Engineered Repetitive Polypeptides : Design, Synthesis, Characterization, And Applications, Natalya I. Topilina

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This work is dedicated to the investigation of protein folding with the emphasis on the aggregation and amyloid fibrils formation. The focus of the research is to elucidate the relationship between polypeptide chain sequence and folding/aggregation properties. For this purpose, i) libraries of the de novo macromolecular repetitive β-sheet forming polypeptides were designed, and ii) the strategy for their rapid creation was developed. The strategy enables retention of a basic polypeptide core, yet allowing variations in the repetitive sequence, degree of polymerization and distribution of specific amino acids. The polypeptides were expressed in E. coli, purified, and characterized by various …


Almost Everywhere Convergence Of Weighted Ergodic Averages, Christopher Michael Wedrychowicz Jan 2009

Almost Everywhere Convergence Of Weighted Ergodic Averages, Christopher Michael Wedrychowicz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Let $(X,\mathcal{B},\lambda,T)$ be a dynamical system and $\mbox{Log}_{(n)}x$


Raman Spectroscopy Of Body Fluids : A Nondestructive Identification Technique For Forensic Applications, Kelly Virkler Jan 2009

Raman Spectroscopy Of Body Fluids : A Nondestructive Identification Technique For Forensic Applications, Kelly Virkler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The analysis of body fluid evidence during forensic investigations is a complicated process, yet it is a critical step in determining the key facts of a crime. There is no doubt that DNA analysis is an extremely useful tool that can identify a suspect or victim, but crime scene investigators must first locate and identify potential body fluid stains that can be collected for DNA analysis. Current screening tests are destructive to the sample and can give false positive results, so a nondestructive technique such as Raman spectroscopy, that can possibly confirm the presence of a particular fluid, could lend …


The Effects, Brain Targets, And Mechanisms Of Estradiol For Affective Behavior, Alicia Ann Walf Jan 2009

The Effects, Brain Targets, And Mechanisms Of Estradiol For Affective Behavior, Alicia Ann Walf

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although estradiol (E2) has numerous effects in the central nervous system, this review will focus on addressing the effects of E2 on behaviors related to mood in women and animal models and include recent findings from our laboratory related to this topic. E2's anti-anxiety and anti-depressant-like effects may depend upon many factors (e.g. age, reproductive history/status, time in E2 deficient state before initiation of E2 therapy, regimen and dosing of E2, neuropsychiatric/stress history). First, evidence of how factors may alter responses to E2 in people and in animal models will be discussed. Second, interactions of E2 with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis/stress …


Genetic And Non-Genetic Factors That Cause Inter-Individual Variations In Cyp2a13 Gene Expression, Hong Wu Jan 2009

Genetic And Non-Genetic Factors That Cause Inter-Individual Variations In Cyp2a13 Gene Expression, Hong Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The overall goal of this dissertation is to investigate the mechanisms underlying the large interindividual variations in susceptibility to lung carcinogenesis. We focused on CYP2A13, a respiratory tract-specifically expressed enzyme, which is the most efficient P450 towards bioactivation of a tobacco-related carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). The expression level of CYP2A13 varies substantially among human lung samples. Our central hypothesis is that CYP2A13 expression level is affected by both genetic regulators and non-genetic factors. The specific aims are 1) to identify the mechanisms underlying the decreased allelic expression of a CYP2A13 allele (7520C>G); 2) to identify frequent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), associated …


A Multidimensional Analysis Of The Relationship Between Leader-Member Exchange And Organizational Citizenship Behavior With An Alternative Measure Of Leader-Member Exchange, Yann-Jang Wu Jan 2009

A Multidimensional Analysis Of The Relationship Between Leader-Member Exchange And Organizational Citizenship Behavior With An Alternative Measure Of Leader-Member Exchange, Yann-Jang Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory proposed that a leader will develop a unique exchange pattern with each subordinate (Liden, Wayne, & Stilwell, 1993). Empirically, LMX has shown significant associations with many work outcomes (Gerstner & Day, 1997). One of these valued outcomes is organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), which is defined as action enacted beyond one's assigned duties on the job (Farh, Podsakoff, & Organ, 1990). Positive correlations between LMX and OCB have been demonstrated in previous research (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). Both LMX and OCB were proposed to comprise several sub-factors; nevertheless, correlations between LMX and OCB have always …


The Effects Of Intercollegiate Athletic Participation On Student Academic Achievement And Leadership Performance In A Selective Institution, Craig A. Yunker Jan 2009

The Effects Of Intercollegiate Athletic Participation On Student Academic Achievement And Leadership Performance In A Selective Institution, Craig A. Yunker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of various intensity levels of athletic participation on academic and leadership performance in a selective institution. For the purpose of this study a retrospective analysis of existing admissions and student performance data was conducted. The continuous dependent variables were academic and leadership performance scores. The categorical independent variables were the three intensity levels of athletic participation (high commitment athletes, moderate commitment athletes, general population students), gender and race. The subjects for this study included 4977 of the 4998 students that graduated from a selective institution from 1992 through 1996. Results …


Role Of Cyp2a5 In Drug Metabolism, Chemical Toxicity, And Maintenance Of Steroid Hormone Homeostasis : Insights From Studies On A Novel Cyp2a5-Null Mouse Model, Xin Zhou Jan 2009

Role Of Cyp2a5 In Drug Metabolism, Chemical Toxicity, And Maintenance Of Steroid Hormone Homeostasis : Insights From Studies On A Novel Cyp2a5-Null Mouse Model, Xin Zhou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The central hypothesis is that CYP2A5 plays an important role in the metabolism of xenobiotic substrates, and in the toxicity induced by over-exposure to drugs, as well as in the metabolism of endogenous compounds and regulation of steroid hormone homeostasis. The specific aims are: 1) to generate and characterize a Cyp2a5-null mouse; 2) to determine the role of CYP2A5 in the systemic clearance of nicotine and cotinine; and 3) to explore the mechanisms underlying the resistance of the lateral nasal gland (LNG) of male Cyp2g1-null/Cyp2a5-low mouse and Cyp2a5-null mouse to acetaminophen (AP) toxicity.


Biotechnology For Immune Cell Detection And Evaluation : Devices Specifically Designed To Capture, Detect Or To Evaluate Alterations In Leukocyte Structure And Function, Thomas Joseph Zieziulewicz Jan 2009

Biotechnology For Immune Cell Detection And Evaluation : Devices Specifically Designed To Capture, Detect Or To Evaluate Alterations In Leukocyte Structure And Function, Thomas Joseph Zieziulewicz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The advent of Nano-biotechnology has opened a whole new area of biological study that has allowed us to pattern, manipulate, separate, evaluate and detect biological structures and functions that were previously not possible. This dissertation will describe different types of micro-fabricated devices that were designed to quantify and/or evaluate the functional activities of cells of the immune system. The micro-fabricated devices were developed in collaboration with our colleagues at Princeton University as part of our Cellular Micro-dynamics Program of the Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC) at Cornell University.


Leadership Behaviors In Cross-Boundary Information Sharing And Integration : Comparing The Us And China, Lei Zheng Jan 2009

Leadership Behaviors In Cross-Boundary Information Sharing And Integration : Comparing The Us And China, Lei Zheng

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study comprises a comparative analysis between the US and China regarding public sector leadership behaviors in the context of cross-boundary information sharing and integration. Based on the literature on leadership, public sector information sharing, and cross-cultural analysis, the research begins with an original case study in China set in the product safety and food safety policy domain. The case explores leadership behaviors of middle-level information leaders in the technological, organizational, and legal context of cross-boundary information sharing in this domain. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth interviews and government documents. The data were analyzed with an inductive approach to …


Impulsivity, Offending, And The Neighborhood : Investigating The Person-Context Nexus, Gregory M. Zimmerman Jan 2009

Impulsivity, Offending, And The Neighborhood : Investigating The Person-Context Nexus, Gregory M. Zimmerman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A key assumption of the traditional trait-based approach to the study of crime is that personality traits cause people to act similarly across a wide array of contexts. This approach has been challenged for its failure to acknowledge differences in the social environments to which individuals are exposed. Similarly, community-level explanations of crime have been criticized for failing to acknowledge that there are important individual differences between criminals and non-criminals. Ultimately, a full understanding of crime requires the consideration of both individual and environmental differences, perhaps most importantly because they may interact to produce offending behavior. In particular, the influence …


Molecular Evolution Of Genes Underlying Phenotypic Differences Between Humans And Chimpanzees, Santhoshi Bandla Jan 2009

Molecular Evolution Of Genes Underlying Phenotypic Differences Between Humans And Chimpanzees, Santhoshi Bandla

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (P. paniscus) are often used as models to study the genetic and morphological changes on the lineage leading to the modern humans (Homo sapiens). Results of this dissertation suggest that, in comparison to other hominoids, chimpanzees and bonobos are more derived in their relative testes sizes and promiscuous mating systems. Phylogenetic analysis of genes that might underlie increased testes size revealed that, in addition to being a sex-determining gene, SRY displays Pan-specific amino acid replacements that make it a compelling candidate as a testes-size determining gene. Strikingly, SRY and another candidate gene, DMRT3, display patterns …


Competitiveness And Addictive Behaviors : Exploring The Role Of Competitiveness And Gender In Exercise Dependence, Disordered Eating, And Alcohol Use, Holly Felicia Serrao Jan 2009

Competitiveness And Addictive Behaviors : Exploring The Role Of Competitiveness And Gender In Exercise Dependence, Disordered Eating, And Alcohol Use, Holly Felicia Serrao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The current study explored whether or not trait competitiveness existed as an underlying factor contributing to the higher rates of exercise dependence, disordered eating, and alcohol use among athletes. Additionally, the study examined whether certain gender differences occurred, such that the relationship between competitiveness and disordered eating would be stronger for female athletes, the relationship between competitiveness and alcohol use would be stronger for male athletes, and the relationship between competitiveness and exercise dependence would be gender neutral.


Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Spp. In Environmental Settings, Stephen Shost Jan 2009

Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Spp. In Environmental Settings, Stephen Shost

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ninety staphylococci carrying the mecA gene, including 17 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), were isolated from environmental settings within New York State. Waterborne staphylococci harboring mecA were isolated from multiple sources: the Hudson River near a combined sewage overflow; urban streams; freshwater and marine beaches; a swimming pool; swimming pool decks; combined sewage; as well as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) primary sewage influent, mixed liquor, aeration water, and final (unchlorinated) effluent. Environmental MRSA strains were isolated from beach water (n=3); swimming pool deck water (n=1); Hudson River water (n=2); combined sewage (n=3); as well as wastewater treatment plant mixed …


Interoceptive Fear Conditioning And Panic Disorder Ii : Clarifying The Role Of Cs-Us Discrimination, Dean Thomas Acheson Jan 2009

Interoceptive Fear Conditioning And Panic Disorder Ii : Clarifying The Role Of Cs-Us Discrimination, Dean Thomas Acheson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite the role afforded interoceptive fear conditioning in learning theory accounts of panic disorder, there exists little research demonstrating such learning in humans. A recent study by Acheson and colleagues (2007) was the first to successfully demonstrate interoceptive fear conditioning in humans. The authors employed a single-cue fear learning paradigm with 20% carbon dioxide-enriched air as interoceptive conditioned (CS) and unconditioned (US) stimuli. The current study had two aims: 1) to replicate the results of Acheson et al. (2007) while improving upon the methodology, and 2) to clarify the role of CS - US discrimination in fear learning and extinction. …


Socio-Technical Processes In Interorganizational Emergency Response And Recovery Process At The World Trade Center, Bahadir Akcam Jan 2009

Socio-Technical Processes In Interorganizational Emergency Response And Recovery Process At The World Trade Center, Bahadir Akcam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research explores the socio-technical processes in interorganizational collaboration by extending and elaborating a generic dynamic theory. The existing generic dynamic theory offers dynamic hypotheses about causal relationships between social processes and social accumulations based on a study of interagency information integration initiatives. The current study expands this theory and elaborates upon it using interview dataset from interagency collaboration during the response and recovery process following the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on September 11, 2001. Researchers at the Center for Technology in Government interviewed 29 responders in 2002 and 2003 to explore interagency collaboration in the context of information, …


The Effects Of Professional Development On Early Reading Skills : A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Word Solving, Kimberly L. Anderson Jan 2009

The Effects Of Professional Development On Early Reading Skills : A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Word Solving, Kimberly L. Anderson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract


Geochemical Fingerprinting Of Volcanic Airfall Deposits : A Tool In Stratigraphic Correlation, Soumava Adhya Jan 2009

Geochemical Fingerprinting Of Volcanic Airfall Deposits : A Tool In Stratigraphic Correlation, Soumava Adhya

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Chemical fingerprints of volcanic airfall deposits obtained from high-precision electron microprobe analysis of glass and phenocrysts phases provide geochemical correlations with temporal precision unattainable by other methods. In this research electron microprobe analysis (EMA) techniques, to fingerprint chemically and correlate fresh and altered volcanic airfall deposits, have been utilized to test the value of this tool for future research on stratigraphic correlation. The following samples were chosen from within a variety of sedimentary rocks widely separated spatially and temporally:


Ghanaian Immigrant Children In The Bronx : A Case Study In Acculturation, James Baffour Asare Jan 2009

Ghanaian Immigrant Children In The Bronx : A Case Study In Acculturation, James Baffour Asare

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The aim of the current study was to examine the cultural adaptation process of the children of Ghanaian immigrants living in the Bronx, New York City. To this end, twenty-five Ghanaian immigrant children were interviewed. In an attempt to ascertain the extent to which these children have become acculturated to the host society and integrated into mainstream American culture, the focus of the interviews was on the impact of American culture on language, food, discipline, dress, religion, mate selection, and education. Interview participants were selected via snowball sampling. Employing a qualitative approach, I conducted face-to-face interviews consisting of open-ended questions …


Mexican Technological Universities : Pursuing Reform And New Public-Private Funding Mixes In A Non University Sector, Jorge Gamaliel Arenas-Basurto Jan 2009

Mexican Technological Universities : Pursuing Reform And New Public-Private Funding Mixes In A Non University Sector, Jorge Gamaliel Arenas-Basurto

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although unstable funding of Mexico's public universities is a critical problem faced each year by these institutions that struggle to negotiate increments in their fiscal revenues, most public universities have still not been able to increase sizably their share of self generating revenues to mitigate, to some degree, the impact of public shortages. Different paths to financial reforms have been encouraged by Mexican authorities in order to modify the pervasive statist tradition in the funding of public universities. In the last decades, authorities have promoted funding tools aimed at modifying the incremental budgeting of most universities, encouraging them to diversify …


Opportunism And Diversity In The Lifestyle Of A Group Ii Intron, Arthur R. Beauregard Jan 2009

Opportunism And Diversity In The Lifestyle Of A Group Ii Intron, Arthur R. Beauregard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Group II introns are mobile retroelements. They invade the cognate intron-minus gene in an efficient process known as retrohoming. They can also retrotranspose to ectopic sites at low frequency. Retrohoming occurs by the intron RNA reverse-splicing into double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) through an endonuclease-dependent pathway. However, in retrotransposition in Lactoccocus lactis, the intron inserts predominantly into single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), in an endonuclease-independent manner. Unlike in L. lactis, in Escherichia coli the Ll.LtrB intron retrotransposes frequently into dsDNA, and the process is dependent on the endonuclease activity of the intron-encoded protein. Further, the endonuclease-dependent integrations preferentially occurred around the origin and terminus …