Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Effective Clinical Teachers, Patricia Frontczak

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify ADN faculty and ADN student perceptions of the most effective clinical teaching characteristics (ECTC). An exploratory, descriptive design was implemented. ADN faculty and ADN students were surveyed using the Clinical Teacher Characteristics Instrument (CTCI). The CTCI consists of 20 characteristics of clinical teachers that are ranked on a five point Likert-type scale according to importance. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Significant differences in perceptions of the most ECTC between the two groups were identified by a Mann Whitney U procedure. A t-test was performed to identify differences of perceptions …

Independent Readers Increase Library Use, Joanne Patricia Harrell

Masters Theses

This study focuses on the use of the Accelerated Reader^R program at Ellis Elementary School in Belding, Michigan. The students were introduced to the program in January, 1999. The students were encouraged to use the program through the end of the school year, June, 1999.

The Accelerated Reader (AR) program is a reading program which uses the computer to test students on literature-based books from the library they have read independently. Students earn points for the tests that they pass based on the number right and the difficulty of the book. The computer keeps track, for the students and …

Effect Of Calendaring On Flexographic Print Ability Of Linerboard, William P. Woods

Masters Theses

Today's corrugated board end user demands a higher quality than ever. Retailing techniques are moving toward so-called ''value-added packaging," which consists of high quality printed packaging that works to sell the product from the shelf. To preserve'its dominance in the corrugated market, the flexographic printing industry must find new ways to cost effectively satisfy the new demands.

One possibility is the use of an additional calendering step to give the linerboard better printability. This study evaluated two different types of calenders: the shoe (extended nip) calender and the hot/soft nip calender (Appendix A). The test material was commercially produced linerboard, …

Calibration, Installation Techniques, And Initial Measurements For Vertical Resistivity Probes Used In Hydrogeologic Investigations, Jeffrey Mark Groncki

Masters Theses

Vertical Resistivity Probes (VRPs) are being increasingly used in a variety of applications where detailed vertical resistivity information in both the vadose and saturated zones is needed. All the different possible array types and spacings must be calibrated for the effect of the 2" (outer diameter) insulating PVC cylinder on which the electrodes are mounted. Apparent resistivities must be corrected by calibration factors. Varying the installation parameters greatly influences the measured apparent resistivity because of the disturbed annulus and the composition of the backfill materials. Bentonite slurry is necessary for the installations to keep the electrodes in good contact with …

Quantifying A Key Injection Molding Attribute Defect, Kristopher Bryan Horton

Masters Theses

A mounting demand for high quality, low cost plastic injection molded products brings with it goals such as low or even zero defects. In order to achieve these types of "world class" expectations, resources are used to monitor and control variable data such as cycle time, part weight or dimensions. Despite this emphasis on variable data, parts are often rejected based on attribute molding defects such as sink marks or splay that are measured by subjective criteria and therefore difficult to control. Appearance of a part once considered acceptable may no longer be, due to changing expectations or subjective interpretation …

Fundamental Study Of The Coating And Basesheet Influences On Gloss In Relationship To Coated Inkjet Papers, Raja Ramakrishnan

Masters Theses

The use of fumed metallic oxides for glossy ink jet media offers alternatives to expensive cast coated and extruded film methods. Fumed metallic oxide pigments provide a high internal porosity and packing porosity that enable the rapid diffusion of liquid inks into the coating layer. Their small particle size (0.1-0.3μm), enable the development of gloss. However, calendering is needed to develop gloss values in the range of cast coated and extruded film grades.

Calendering of coated sheet reduces production speed, adds additional handling and rewinding cost (if performed off-line) and reduces the bulk and porosity of the coating layer, consequently …

The Design-Build Project Delivery System, Melinda Dawn Carlisle

Masters Theses

The design-build project delivery system possesses fundamental advantages over other project delivery methods practiced in the United States. Design-build is a project delivery system wherein a single entity provides comprehensive design and construction services to an owner, under one contract. When properly applied and administered, design-build has the potential to improve quality, lower costs, lessen delivery time, reduce adversity, and foster innovation in the design and construction industry.

The purpose of this research study was to analyze cost and schedule performance of the design-build delivery system for highway and building construction projects. The research also identified important aspects of design-build …

A Historical Geography Of Tuberculosis Sanatoria In Western North Carolina And Eastern Tennessee, Susan Alana Carney

Masters Theses

Tuberculosis was a leading cause of death in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sanatoria were an effort to isolate the sick and provide treatment. Asheville, North Carolina was the center of tuberculosis treatment in the Southeast. It attracted many sufferers of the disease due to its climate. The pine-scented air of surrounding mountains was deemed beneficial to the cure of tuberculosis. In this study, I examine the distribution of tuberculosis sanatoria from the late 1800s to the demise of sanatorium treatment in the 1970s in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, encompassing the Blue Ridge …

Design Of A Micro-Power Control System For The Rsvp Program, Jeffrey Edward Eagen

Masters Theses

A micro-power control system has been developed for the RSVP program. RSVP is an acronym for Removal of Ship's personnel by Virtual Presence Program that involves replacing personnel by data-acquisition modules. Consisting of two ASICs and a re-configurable test board, the control system provides a regulated 3.3-volt supply as well as provides an optional 9-volt supply. It is capable of monitoring three input sources of scavenged power, then converting that power via a Buck converter into a useful regulator supply. In the case when no scavenge-able power is available, an on-board battery provides the regulator supply. In this first generation …

Examination Of Selling Styles And The Need For Specialized Sales Training, Angela Leigh Hester Everett

Masters Theses

The present study was conducted to determine whether sales training material should be specialized for specific selling fields. Three focus groups of 20 healthcare personnel were formed at the University of Tennessee Medical Center to obtain personal experiences encountered with healthcare sales representatives. The questions and information gathered allowed the investigator to analyze whether or not sales representatives were being provided with accurate, detailed sales training within their field. Results indicate that 12 areas regarding healthcare policies and procedures should be incorporated into healthcare sales training material; (a) use of discount selling, (b) back-orders and pricing issues, (c) rapport-building, (d) …

Synthesis Of Novel Bifunctional Polymers For Selective Metal Ion Complexation, Minjeong Hong

Masters Theses

Polymer supported reagents were synthesized by functionalization of polymer supports for the purpose of selective metal ion separation. Three categories of polymer supports with different microenvironments were prepared. Vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) crosslinked with 2% divinylbenzene was copolymerized with either methyl methacrylate (MMA) to give a polar environment or styrene (STY) to give a hydrophobic environment. Different oligo ethyleneimines and phosphonic acid were used as ligands in the synthesis of monofunctional resins. Bifunctional aminophosphonic acid resins were prepared by phosphorylation of ethyleneimine ligands. The characterization of the resins shows that as the length of the ethyleneimine ligand increases, more crosslinking takes …

Combinatorial Interpretations And Q-Analogues Of The Catalan Numbers, Ronald D. Hagan

Masters Theses

The Catalan numbers form one of the more frequently encountered counting sequences in combinatorics. In this thesis, the Catalan numbers are developed in the context of their roots in two historical problems; the problem of determining the number of ways in which an n-gon can be divided into triangular regions by means of non-intersecting diagonals, and the problem of determining the number of ways in which parentheses can be inserted into a product of n factors. Several structures which are counted by the Catalan sequence are then discussed, including sub-diagonal lattice paths and trivalent trees. Finally, two q-analogues of the …

Ectocranial Suture Closure : A Revisitation Of Meindl And Lovejoy, Chauntelle Suzanne Hardin

Masters Theses

In 1985, Meindl and Lovejoy presented a revised methodology for aging crania using ectocranial sutures. They stated that race and sex are do not affect the accuracy of their method and, several other researchers, as well point out that race and sex do affect other aging methods. I used visual and statistical means to resolve the issue of whether or not race and sex affected the accuracy of Meindl and Lovejoy's methodology in aging crania. This study examined 310 crania: 18 from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection housed in the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee- …

The Design And Analysis Of A Corporate Data Network Supporting A Real-Time Clinical Data Application, Craig M. Longo

Masters Theses

In this study a design is proposed for a corporate, data network supporting real-time data applications. The proposed network incorporates both Local Area Network and Wide Area Network technologies to form a system capable of supporting a variety of applications. Multimedia software, like desktop video conferencing, IP telephony, and video streaming are becoming more pervasive. Since multimedia applications depend on active human involvement and perception, they are commonly referred to as real-time. The content of real-time applications relies on the timely and consistent delivery of information. If real-time applications experience any variation in information delivery, usually referred to as jitter, …

A Systematic Implementation Of Image Processing Algorithms On Configurable Computing Hardware, Benjamin Alexander Levine

Masters Theses

Configurable computing hardware has many advantages over both general-purpose processors and application specific hardware. However, the difficulty of using this type of hardware has limited its use. An automated system for implementing image Processing applications in configurable hardware, called CHAMPION, is under development at the University of Tennessee. CHAMPION will map applications in the Khoros Cantata graphical programming environment to hardware. A relatively complex automatic target recognition (ATR) application was manually mapped from Cantata to a commercially available configurable computing platform. This manual implementation was done to assist in the development of function libraries and hardware for use in the …

George Campbell And The Ethics Of Pulpit Oratory, Jennifer Elise Merriman

Masters Theses

George Campbell, eighteenth-century Scottish minister and rhetorician, uses a consistent model of religious and secular epistemology, which relies on experience and rational conviction. He finds that this model creates problems when applied to preaching, a field where the goal is typically practical conviction, or "faith," rather than the probabilistic rational conviction. The problems arise from an inherent clash between the dedication of the rational-empiricist theologian or secular scientist to his experiential means of discovery, as contrasted with the rhetorician's emphasis on the persuasive ends of his art.

Campbell illustrates this problem by showing the "excesses" or inappropriate modes of persuasion …

The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: The Policy's Impact On Southeastern Jurisdictions That Had Lawsuits Overturn Public Hearing Decisions, Todd Kenneth Morgan

Masters Theses

This study examines fourteen southeastern Telecommunication Act of 1996 lawsuits, which occurred between February 1996 and September 1998. In order for the lawsuit to be analyzed it had to involve a situation where a telecommunication company had been denied a permit to erect a new tower. The applicable cases analyzed situations where a local-level government had been denied a tower permit through an administrative decision, variance, special use permit hearing, conditional use permit hearing, or moratorium.

Additional research was conducted on the seven local-level jurisdictions that had a Telecommunication Act of 1996 lawsuit overturn one of their decisions. The purpose …

Father Conmee's Dublin : The Urban Pastoral Of Wandering Rocks, Holly S. Middleton

Masters Theses

This paper has two theses: the first is that Jonathan Swift's "A Description of the Morning" is a source for the Wandering Rocks chapter in Ulysses; the second is that the pastoral convention used in the poem manifests itself in Wandering Rocks through Father Conmee and reveals his inability to comprehend the problems of working-class Dublin. The introduction defines terms and methodologies used to construct the argument; two central concepts are what has historically constituted the "pastoral" and Louis Althusser's definitions of ideology and interpellation in his essay, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses." The introduction also establishes a foundation …

The Mmpi-2 And Poor Psychotherapeutic Progress, Dennis Plant

Masters Theses

In many counseling center settings, the MMPI-2 is given largely to a population perceived to be progressing slowly in therapy. The testing in large part is largely used to elucidate aspects of the individual’s personality, assumedly hidden from the therapist.that is impeding treatment progress. Unfortunately, extensive research on the profiles of these individuals does not exist. The present study sought to explore a number of suchMMPI-2’s from an on-campus university counseling center in search of consistency among scales and profiles. The study discovered five significantly distinct groups ofMMPI-2 profiles. Interpretations on each group’s mean profile were made with respect to …

Characterization Of A Mixed-Signal Asic Communicatons Signal Processor For Cordless Telephones, Carlyle L. Reynolds

Masters Theses

This thesis describes the measurement procedures employed to effectively characterize the Lucent Technologies Communications Signal Processor (CSP1009). The Results of these measurements are presented and discussed. This study was conducted on the first prototype to be manufactured. The CSP1009 is the analog baseband integrated circuit chip in a three-chip system designed for use in 900 MHz cordless telephones. Itwas fabricated using a 0.3µ CMOS process. The CSP1009 contains several amplifiers including a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), a telephone line driver amplifier and speaker driver amplifier. In addition, it contains a charge pump for use in a phase lock loop circuit, …

Military Airfield Conversions: A Survey Of Issues That Influence The Planning Process, Steven Robert Ryan

Masters Theses

This research is centered on military bases with airfields which were closed as a result of the downsizing of the US military. An interview survey was conducted to determine the type of issues involved in planning the conversion of those military airfields to civilian airports and whether those issues were common among airfield or isolated at a few bases with similar characteristics.Financial issues, particularly conversion costs and long-term operating expenses,were cited as the most critical issues in the airfield conversion planning process. Few Cases were conversions at the time when a new airport was needed in the region. Manymore, however, …

Ferrite Measurement In Austenitic And Duplex Stainless Steel Castings, William J. Ruprecht

Masters Theses

Practical and accurate non-destructive means for the measurement of the ferrite content of duplex stainless steel castings is a necessity from the specification and service performance consideration standpoints. The ability to determine ferrite rapidly,accurately and directly on a finished casting, in the solution annealed condition, can enhance the acceptance, save on manufacturing costs and ultimately improve service performance of duplex stainless steel cast products. If the suitability of a non-destructive ferrite determination methodology can be demonstrated for standard industrial measurement instruments, the production of cast secondary standards for calibration of these instruments is a necessity. With these concepts in mind, …

Characterization And Evaluation Of The Microcantilever Radiation Detector, Andrew Curtis Stephan

Masters Theses

In this study, a microcantilever charged-particle detector was characterized and evaluated. The method employed involved sensing an electric field emanating from a small collector plate on which charge built up to charged-particle flux.Sensitivity to alpha particles was determined using frequency and damping rate parameter shifts. Alpha particle detection experiments were compared to experiments using a charged plate of fixed voltage in order to characterize response more fully and to identify differences between expected charge accumulation and actual accumulation. Changes in cantilever behavior resulting from changes in ambient environmental conditions were also studied in order to determine to what extent they …

Deformation History Of A Foreland Thrust Belt In A Recess : An Example From The Roanoke Recess, Appalachians, Usa, Steven Alan Spraggins

Masters Theses

The purposes of this thesis are to investigate the kinematic evolution of the Appalachian foreland thrust belt around the Roanoke recess; to compare the kinematic evolution of a recess to an adjacent salient to see if they deformed in a manner that mirrors their geometry; and to investigate the role of blind thrust through the deformation of the recess. The key results are: (1) deformation around the recess was continuous as opposed to 'two-step', initiated to the southwest and migrated northeastward while shortening directions rotated counterclockwise from N-S to almost E-W; (2) the recess did not deform as a simple …

The Relationship Between Tennessee Beef Producers' Adoption Of Selected Best Management Practices And Their Involvement In Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Educational Programming, Robert Allen Moncier

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Tennessee Beef Producers' level of management practice adoption and contact with the Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. In addition, it is to describe the relationship between Tennessee Beef Producers' level of management practice adoption and their demographic characteristics.

The population was made up of 653 beef producers across the state of Tennessee. A convienence sampling technique was used to collect the data. The survey's were distributed through the University of Tennessee's Agriculture Extension Service's county offices and at meetings conducted in Tennessee by the Extension Service's Beef Specialists. The Extension …

Development Of An Evaluation Methodology For Forestry, Wildlife, And Fisheries Field Days: Results And Implications, Belinda Deanna Esham

Masters Theses

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land is a significant resource in the Southeastern United States. Private, nonindustrial sources own approximately 77% of the forested land in the Southern Appalachian Region. A high percentage of these ownerships are 400 acres or less in size (Barrett 1995). Because of the increase in small land ownerships and issues like high-grading, regulation of land-use, and pressure from special interest groups, there is a pressing need for good stewardship of private lands.

Extension education and outreach programs are one way to facilitate a working relationship between forestry and wildlife professionals and the private sector. However, without …

Compatibility Of The Entomopathogenic Nematode, Steinernema Carpocapsae, With Bacillus Spp. Used In The Biological Control Of Plant Pathogens, Katrina C. Burns

Masters Theses

Entomopathogenic nematodes in the order Rhabditida are bacteria-carrying nematodes that possess the ability to infect a variety of insects. They have generated interest due to their potential use as biological control agents of insects. Biological control of plant pathogens has also received increasing attention in recent years. Several Bacillus spp. can improve plant growth by suppressing major and minor pathogens and possibly by direct stimulation of plant growth.

The compatibility of entomopathogenic nematodes and Bacilli with biological control activity against plant pathogens, are examined in this research project. The objective of the first experiment was to determine whether bacterial isolates …

Structural And Stratigraphic Relationships Of Ortho- And Paragneisses Southwest Of Marion, North Carolina, Brendan Richardson Bream

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the stratigraphic and structural relationships in the western Inner Piedmont of several orthogneisses and a paragneiss sequence. Detailed mapping was completed for an area slightly larger than one 7.5-minute quadrangle and is located southwest of Marion, North Carolina, at the northeast outcrop termination of the main Henderson Gneiss unit. From bottom to top, the stratigraphy of the study area consists of the Tallulah Falls Formation, Poor Mountain Amphibolite, and Poor Mountain Quartzite. Amphibolites and amphibole gneisses of the Tallulah Falls Formation, Poor Mountain Formation, and Dysartsville gneiss are interpreted as tholeiitic basalts related to rifting along the …

The Estimation Of Rape Prevalence: A Reflexive Account Of The Construction And Pretesting Of A New Questionnaire, Edith Marie Fisher

Masters Theses

A review of the rape literature and current assessment suggests that research done in this highly sensitive area is especially vulnerable to response effects. Comparisons between studies is problematic due to vast differences in the conceptualizations of rape, the wording and context of the questions used to solicit data as well as the method of data collection. I created a new rape prevalence questionnaire with the intent of decreasing response effects. I conducted 15 semi-structured pretest interviews with female Western Michigan University students and three pilot tests, in which 30 telephone interviews were completed, 30 personal interviews were completed, and …

The Biphobia Scale: Development And Validation, Patrick S. Mulick

Masters Theses

Sexual orientation is generally assessed as a dichotomous variable, rather than a continuous variable. According to this classification the concept of bisexuality does not exist and there is a dearth of research for the construct. Some theorists believe that this lack of knowledge has led to fear and discrimination of bisexual individuals (Ochs, 1996; Rust, 1993). Biphobia, defined as negative attitudes about bisexuality and bisexual individuals, is a psychological construct that is not well understood. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in bisexuality and biphobia but there are currently limited empirical investigations examining the constructs. And, no scale …