Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of The Strength Of Harmony, Melodic Line, Rhythmic Variation, And Expressive Elements In Influencing Emotional Judgment In Music, Marilyn M. Moore

Masters Theses

Studies in the literature have been conducted that seem to establish that humans make consistent and similar emotional judgments when they are asked to describe an emotion that is being expressed musically. The present study targets four musical elements; harmony, melodic line, rhythmic variation, and expressive elements, to investigate which of these musical elements are most effective for influencing a listener to be able to recognize the composer's intended emotion of the music. There are eight original songs composed by the researcher, each song is assigned a specific intended emotional term. The eight songs are presented in five distinct conditions, …

Firmware And Software For An Integrated Electrophysiology Data Acquisition And Stimulation System, Kyle D. Batzer

Masters Theses

This thesis describes the firmware and software design for a prototype electrophysiology experimentation system. The overall system, built on the work of previous students and developed with fellow graduate student Mr. Donovan Squires, provides eight channels of acquisition and four channel of arbitrary waveform generation for stimulation of biological systems. In order to show the performance of the system, a common electrophysiology experiment was performed on the giant axon of an earthworm and the results were compared to previously validated systems. The developed system is intended to support future work at the Neurobiology Engineering Laboratory at Western Michigan University.

The …

Still Siblings: The Perceived Importance Of Sibling Relationships For Foster Children, Jessica A. Church

Masters Theses

This research was conducted to answer the question “Do children who are perceived to have strong relationships with siblings and more access to their siblings have fewer problems adjusting to their foster care placement as observed by child welfare professionals?” This qualitative research project was completed through semi-structured interviews with professionals who work with children in foster care in a variety of ways (and may have worked with children in more than one way during their career in child welfare), such as foster care workers, counselors, and sibling visitation supervisors. The snowball sampling method was used in this research. These …

Use Of Polymer Rapid Tools As Functional Injection Mold Tooling, Sean Derrick

Masters Theses

Conventional tool making for injection molded plastics is expensive, time consuming, and generates a great deal of waste. Presently, industry is waiting for what is commonly referred to as Rapid Tooling (RT). The greatest opportunity for RT implementation would be the use of Additively Manufacturing (AM) technology. Specifically, AM techniques which use a high strength polymer resin substrate.

The following research is an initial feasibility study to determine if Polymer Rapid Tools (PRTs) could be used as functional injection mold tooling. The objective of the research was to determine if a PRT could mold a variety of features to a …

Standardized Longitudinal Connection Detail For Decked Precast Prestressed Concrete Girders, Ramzi Muftah Ali Abduallah

Masters Theses

The use of decked precast prestressed concrete girders (DPPCG) is becoming popular in accelerated bridge construction. DPPCGs are assembled and connected on site using grout or concrete longitudinal connections. The durability performance of these connections is a concern. The objective of this research is to document the longitudinal connection behavior with respect to its design parameters, and establish a process for developing a standardized connection detail considering the demands due to live load and temperature gradient (TG) load. In order to demonstrate this process, decked bulb-tee and decked box-beam girders were considered. Finite element models, under various types and levels …

An Assessment Of Public Outreach With Children And Educators Conducted By The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, Erica A. D’Elia

Masters Theses

Archaeological public outreach to children can be enhanced through collaboration with school educators. While archaeologists have begun to collaborate with local and descendant communities, they have been slow to engage in work with educators in the same manner. The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project provides the context for me to explore some of the current issues in public archaeology and the politics of education. My study was conducted to better understand the needs of both children and teachers. In my work with the archaeological summer camp for middle school students I seek to conceptualize how the camp enhances their educational …

Single-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem For Home Delivery Of Pharmaceutical Products, Kimberly Starr Harms

Masters Theses

Some retail pharmacies offer home delivery services to establish a competitive advantage in the growing healthcare market. The handling of orders for home delivery includes several internal and external processing and transportation activities. In this work, models were developed for use in a pharmacy delivery system to assist personnel in their daily activities. This work includes standard operating procedures for picking, packing and loading of delivery orders and the assignment and routing of vehicles to deliver customer orders. Results from simulated delivery areas identified interesting tradeoffs when comparing densely populated areas to sparsely populated areas. In addition, recommendations for order …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of A Rat Agreement Based Reinforcement Procedure, Katherine B. Lalonde

Masters Theses

Since 2007, giant African pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) have been used successfullyfor detecting Tuberculosis (TB) positive patients.The rats are trained to detect TB-positive sputum samples through the use of operant conditioning techniques, in which an indicator response is rewarded with food. If the rats are to be used for first line screening of patients reinforcement could not be provided because the true status of the sample would be unknown. The present study evaluated the effects of a reinforcement-for-agreement procedure that could be used to reinforce indication responses when the true status of the sample is unknown. Four rats evaluated 100 …

Silence, Declaration, And Circumstance: Rethinking Women’S Roles In Saudi Arabia, Ashleigh Elizabeth Dunham

Masters Theses

The canon of academic research on Saudi Arabian women still fails to address the stereotypical images that represent them. While Anglo-American models of feminism may benefit American women, they cannot and should not be a lens through which Americans view Saudi women, as American and Saudi cultures are fundamentally different. Because of this issue, Anglo-American feminism along with the obvious problems of racism and Islamophobia contribute to the American assumption that Saudi Arabian women lack agency and control of their lives. The resulting ideologies continue to influence American ideas about Saudi Arabian women’s access to the opportunities that non-Saudi women …

Origin Of High Levels Of Ammonium In Groundwater, Ottawa County, Michigan, Derrick Lingle

Masters Theses

Groundwater from wells located in and around Hemlock Crossing Park in Ottawa County, Michigan has elevated levels of ammonium. High ammonium concentrations in potable water wells are a common indicator of anthropogenic impact, such as landfill leachate or agricultural activity. Ammonium can also occur in groundwater through the decay of natural organic material. Along with the retrieval of a complete glacial sediment core via rotasonic drilling, numerous chemical and isotopic parameters were used to determine the source of ammonium in the impacted aquifer.

Buried organic material, deposited during the Athens subepisode interglacial period, is in contact with groundwater containing elevated …

“Common Sense” Versus “Good Sense”: Marginalization In Agriculture, Mark W. Hoock

Masters Theses

Scholars have engaged in discussions of when and where capitalism emerged in agrarian America. These discussions have led to categorizations that placed some farms outside the discussion of capitalist interrelationships. This separation homogenized many 19^th and early 20^th century farms on the Hector Backbone in Schuyler County New York into a “non-capitalist” category. This thesis aims to illuminate the real lived conditions of a sample of these farmers through a Marxist dialectical perspective. Archeological analysis of production strategies, through a Marxist framework allows for a better understanding of the differences between individual marginalized farms. Since analysis of a …

Analytical Solutions For A Large-Scale Long-Lived Rotating Layer Of Fluid Heated Underneath, Pouya Jalilian

Masters Theses

In this work, the system of equations for a large- scale long lived rotating layer of fluid with the deformable upper free surface and non-deformable lower free surface heated underneath has been reviewed and derived. The quasi-geostrophic approximation, the beta effect and the method of multi-scale expansions have been employed to and as a result, an equation governing the evolution of large-scale perturbations, has been derived. The effect of each term present in the upper surface deformation equation has been analyzed and the analytical solutions have been obtained by virtue of employing auxiliary Riccati equation method. The soliton solutions obtained …

Recovering The Saumurois: Lay Patronage To Saint-Florent Of Saumur, Ca. 950-1150, Adam C. Matthews

Masters Theses

In the mid-tenth century, the lay powers of the Loire valley established the abbey of Saint-Florent at Saumur with the local aristocracy welcoming the monks and forming spiritual and economic relationships through acts of patronage. The brothers remembered gifts of property, grants of rights, and exemptions in charters which were ultimately collected into the abbey's first cartulary, the Livre Noir. Despite this wealth of sources, historians have paid only cursory attention to Saint-Florent in recent scholarship. The present study incorporates the abbey's charter sources into broader debates concerning society in eleventh-century France. The use of case studies provides insight …

Stratigraphic Controls On Diagenetic Pathways In The St. Peter Sandstone, Michigan Basin, Stephen A. Zdan

Masters Theses

The Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone in the Michigan Basin is a target for hydrocarbon exploration/production, and carbon sequestration and geologic storage. The St. Peter is predominantly a marine sandstone with four dominant lithofacies. The uppermost facies contains zones of porosity and good reservoir quality. Because of the mostly uniform detrital composition, diagenesis must play a leading role in reservoir quality development. This study tests stratigraphic controls on diagenesis and reservoir quality development. The distribution of diagenetic regimes is believed to result from depositional setting and related geologic processes, including variations in sediment accumulation rate. Early carbonate cements preserve pre-compaction …

Formulation And Evaluation Of Resistive Inks For Applications In Printed Electronics, Sughosh Satish Bhore

Masters Theses

In the 21^st century, it has been shown that printing methodologies can be used to print electrically functional devices on a variety of substrates. In comparison to conventional electronic manufacturing methods, printing is a more cost effective and less complex process. The requirements for manufacturing Printed Electronics (PE) components are much more demanding than graphic printing applications due to the additional requirement of easy electron flow. This additional requirement increases the need for print uniformity and layer-to-layer registration to a much higher degree. In this work, hybrid UV-curable, water-based, electrical resistive inks were formulated. Inkjet inks were prepared by …

The Hearts Of Ovid's Heroines In Trojumanna Saga, Luke J. Chambers

Masters Theses

In western civilization no story has been retold more times than the Trojan War. Homer's works were known only by repute in western Europe after the fall of Rome. As such, the Middle Ages saw the blossoming of a new Troy tradition based on Dares Phrygius's De Excidio Troiae Historia (The History of the Destruction of Troy). Most countries of medieval Europe used this laconic work to retell the Troy story in each country's particular idiom.

The settlers of Iceland developed a sophisticated literary culture in the thirteenth century. No other people wrote narrative prose works on such a …

Labeling Research Deviant: A Comparative Analysis Of Federal Ad Hoc Commissions On Human Subject Research, Brian W. Rossana

Masters Theses

A review of the literature suggests there is still reason for concern due to the nature of deviant research in the past and the continued existence of ambiguous guidelines in particular organizational contexts. Federal ad hoc commissions have been a prominent environment where the absorption of the social reaction to deviant events and discussions regarding bioethics has transpired. The goal then was to ask what conditions of commissions lead to the presence of a research deviant? A convenience sample of nine U.S. federal ad hoc commissions was performed utilizing a method known as crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA). The results …

Utilizing Persistent Scatterer Interferometry To Investigate The Nature And Factors Controlling Nile Delta Subsidence, El Hachemi Yousef Bouali

Masters Theses

The Nile Delta in Egypt is being threatened by two continuous and relatively slow hazards: encroachment from the Mediterranean Sea as sea levels rise and land subsidence of the delta itself. The magnitude of sea level rise has been actively monitored, while the subsidence of the Nile Delta has not been adequately quantified spatially and temporally. Instead, all previous studies have either focused on measuring average Holocene subsidence rates or modern subsidence rates on local scales (point- or city-scale).

The overall study objective is three-fold: (1) to measure and map the spatial variations in subsidence rates across the entire Nile …

Fuctional Properties Of Phthalocyanine Dye Based Inks, Yumeizhi Jia

Masters Theses

Currently, inkjet printing techniques are getting more attention. They have the features of non-contact and additive patterning feasibility, compatibility with different substrates (the materials on which the ink is printed), low temperature processing, and low cost (1) (2). They can be used for patterning solution processable polymers or nanoparticle inks on various substrates including conductive materials, paper and glass (3). The need for proper functional inks is increasing every year. The goal of my work was to formulate a phthalocyanine water based ink, which can work as a dielectric ink. In my research, all the materials which were used to …

Refugee Reflections: A Focus On The Lived Experiences Of African Refugees Resettling In Michigan, Diane Roushangar

Masters Theses

Refugee resettlement is often observed by focusing on external indicators of integration such as employment and English proficiency. What is often ignored is the multi-faceted process refugees experience in regard to the emotions that occur during these transitions of resettlement. Emotional stressors include financial concerns, work-related issues, a lack of adequate counseling services and ESL support that can all lead to increased anxiety. This paper examines the process of resettlement that northeast African and sub-Saharan African refugees have experienced including issues of unsafe working conditions, changing gender roles, and a lack of adequate time for adjusting to the culture.

Instrumentation Electronics For An Integrated Electrophysiology Data Acquisition And Stimulation System, Donovan Squires

Masters Theses

The Neurobiology Engineering Laboratory at Western Michigan University has need of an electrophysiology instrumentation system combining generation of multiple arbitrary stimulation waveforms and recording of action potentials on multiple channels. Electronics for an instrumentation system with the capability of generating four unique stimulation waveforms and recording action potentials on eight channels were developed and implemented on a printed circuit board. Collaboration with fellow graduate student, Mr. Kyle Batzer, who developed firmware and software for the instrumentation system as described in his thesis, was essential for successful realization of the instrumentation system. Knowledge gained and reported by previous students working in …

La Oficina De La Mujer (Omm): A Conduit For Social Empowerment Among Women In A Small Guatemalan Lake Community, Rachel Volk

Masters Theses

La Oficina de Municipal de la Mujer, the Municipal Office of Women, is a recent creation of the Guatemalan central government meant to help address the inequalities that women experience each day. Like so many towns in Guatemala, La Laguna (pseudonym) contains high levels of poverty and unemployment. Here, women encounter difficulties finding employment, whether as a result of the poor economy or the bigotry arising from structural sexism and racism. My investigation of the OMM uses qualitative anthropological techniques to understand the purpose and effects that this organization has towards women‟s marginalized position in the town. The application of …

Roatan Honduras And Perceptions Of Divers’ Location Choices In The Caribbean, Juli Dawn Tripicchio

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the hierarchy of location choices that divers make for destinations in the Caribbean; to identify where Roatan, Honduras fits into this hierarchy; and to determine strategies to increase the volume of dive tourists to Roatan. This research may provide resorts on Roatan, along with other Caribbean dive destinations, with data to incorporate into their own planning and marketing processes so they can better accommodate dive customers and their families. In order to get a better understanding of dive customers, a survey was given to customers of a survey was conducted at a …

Implementation And Analysis Of A 1.4l Turbo Liquid Cooled Cac And Ac Condenser System, Mitchell Zajac

Masters Theses

This project report serves as a continuation and finalization of an overall experience with the design process including working on the development of system components, working with automotive industry leaders, suppliers and dealing with the aspects of business and production feasibility. The development of a dual level cooling concept to apply Centro Richerche Fiat established components on a Chrysler Group vehicle application was the foundation of the design project completed in December 2012 by Matt Cutler and Mitch Zajac. The development of this system aimed to decrease overall vehicle power consumption, minimize overall system packaging space, and to increase vehicle …

The Effects Of The Temporal Placement Of Feedback On Performance And Skill Acquisition Of A Medical Data Entry Task, Nathan Bechtel

Masters Theses

This study was conducted in a laboratory, and compared the effects of the temporal placement of feedback on task performance and skill acquisition. Temporal placement offeedback refers to the timing offeedback delivery relative to performance. Two temporal placements were examined: feedback immediately after performance and feedback immediately prior toperformance. The experimental design utilized was a form of Latin square design that included a combination of one between-group and two within subjects factors. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, which differed only in the phase order utilized. Participants performed a data entry task intended to replicate thejob of …

Improved Deinkability Of Lep (Liquid Electrophotography) Digital Prints, Zheng Wei

Masters Theses

Digital printing plays a very important role in the life of modern society. With the development of digital printing technologies, and the increasing market share of digital printing, the amount of digital prints in waste paper is rapidly increasing. Under “green” manufacturing and environmental sustainability, deinking of digital print inks is an urgent problem that needs to be solved. Indigo is a typical series of HP (Hewlett-Packard) digital presses that use a liquid ink named ElectroInk (Liquid Electrophotography or LEP). The particle size of HP ElectroInk is very small, 1-2 microns, which is smaller than dry toners. But, during flotation, …

Response To Intervention: A District’S And School’S Implementation, Michelle L. Carter

Masters Theses

This paper demonstrates how the Response to Intervention (RTI) system was implemented in one district and school, and may serve as a model for others to follow. The RTI framework has the capacity to push participating schools to examine the quality of instruction and, more importantly, to use ongoing student assessments to determine the instruction each student needs to be academically successful. The leadership and policy literature as well as legislative and other reforms such as RTI, systematic assessment, instructional strategies, is reviewed. The results of the RTI implementation at the district and building level are shared. For example, in …

Elementary Art And Writing, Mary A. Beningo

Masters Theses

The problem that I researched in today’s art education world is how to correlate elementary art curricula with writing curricula. To investigate this issue I field tested a curriculum module that reflects the contemporary issues of writing in art education. The curriculum module under investigation has been designed to correlate my 5^th grade fine arts curriculum with the homeroom teacher’s 5^th grade language arts curriculum.

During this study I worked with 56 fifth grade students and incorporated four writing projects into their fine arts curriculum: a Character Exploration project, a Black-out poetry project, a surrealistic textured paper collage …

Using Normative Messages And Incentives To Improve Organizational Performance, Anna L. Conard

Masters Theses

While social norms have been a popular area of study among social psychologists, they have yet to receive much consideration from an Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) standpoint. Much of OBM research has focused on consequences and the utilization of incentives to improve organizational performance. Such research has shown incentive systems to have sustaining, long-term effects on behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of normative messages and lottery incentives on organizational performance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: a) Standard Message with Lottery Incentive, b) Standard Message without Lottery Incentive, c) …

An Implementation Of Controller Area Network Bus Analyzer Using Microblaze And Petalinux, Tung-Hsun Tsou

Masters Theses

This paper presents a controller area network (CAN) monitor system created in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board, which is Xilinx SP605. The goals of this research are to let the system demonstrate a reliable CAN bus monitor system, and to show the Xilinx MicroBlaze and PetaLinux design flow. This system can be used to observe the CAN bus messages by means of C program and embedded Linux environment.

A Xilinx MicroBlaze soft processor is used to read CAN information from the external CAN bus controller, Microchip MCP2515. Two implementations, a stand-alone system and a Linux system, are built to …