Digital Commons Network^™

A Simulation-Based Heuristic For Fleet Assignment, Sonia Rosario Anorga

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integer programming, simulation, and rules of thumb have been integrated to develop a simulation-based heuristic for short-term assignment of fleet in the car rental industry. It generates a plan for car movements, and a set of booking limits to produce high revenue for a given planning horizon.

Three different scenarios were used to validate the heuristic. The heuristic's mean revenue was significant higher than the historical ones, in all three scenarios. Time to run the heuristic for each experiment was within the time limits of three hours set for the decision making process even though it is not fully automated. …

In Vitro Effect Of Shark Cartilage On Human Leukocyte Function, Aline Cornelissen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous in vitro studies have shown that shark cartilage extracts stimulate human leukocytes to release significant levels of TNFα, a cytokine typical of a Th1 immune response. The purpose of this study was to investigate further the effects of shark cartilage on cellular immune function, particularly cell proliferation, apoptosis, and IL-4 and INFγ production. The viability and proliferation of cell cultures grown in the presence of shark cartilage extract was not significantly different from unstimulated control cultures or those stimulated with mitogens (Con A, PMA, LPS), respectively. The effect of shark cartilage on apoptosis was determined by microscopic analysis of …

Exploring The Role Of Therapy Process And Outcome In Interventions That Target Adolescent Identity And Intimacy, Janene R. Bussell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the feasibility of using a session impact measure with a sample of 24 at risk high school students participating in an intervention targeting identity and intimacy. Three therapists led 3 intervention groups with the same format. The study investigated the impact of therapy process, including Group, Facilitator, Skills, and Exploration impacts as measured by the Session Evaluation Form (SEF). The study also investigated the differential impact of session process on intervention outcome as measured by the CPSS, EPSI, RAVS, EIPQ and Youth Report Form. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, frequencies, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and …

Digital Signal Processing Implementation For Near Real-Time Wavelet Transformation System For Binary Images, Ovidio Alfonso

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Communication has become an essential function in our civilization. With the increasing demand for communication channels, it is now necessary to find ways to optimize the use of their bandwidth. One way to achieve this is by transforming the information before it is transmitted. This transformation can be performed by several techniques. One of the newest of these techniques is the use of wavelets. Wavelet transformation refers to the act of breaking down a signal into components called details and trends by using small waveforms that have a zero average in the time domain. After this transformation the data can …

Parental Behaviors In Child Anxiety: An Observational Study, Delight Hicks Carmichael

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing awareness of the prevalence, impairment, and long-term consequences of childhood anxiety disorders have led investigators to explore psychosocial factors in the etiology of these disorders. Recent investigations have begun to focus on family-level processes in the etiology and/or maintenance of childhood anxiety disorders, specifically patterns of parent-child interaction. The present study compared parent-child interactions across three problem-solving tasks of clinically anxious children and their mothers versus non-referred children and their mothers in terms of: 1) direct observation measures, 2) children's, mothers', and independent observer's subjective ratings, 3) and children's evaluations using videotape-aided thought reconstruction.

Results suggested that the …

The Dissociative Recombination Of The Helium Molecular Ion The Observed Final Products, Luminita Coman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dissociative recombination reaction has been studied theoretically and experimentally for about four decades. Because of the complexity of this process there is not yet a definite agreement between theory and experiment. In this work, dissociative recombination (DR) of helium molecular ion in thermal plasma was studied using Time of Flight (TOF) spectroscopy. This method allowed the identification of the final atom states products of DR. We found the following final products of the DR of the molecular ion: He(³S; 1s3s), He(¹S; 1s3s), He(³P; 1s3p), He(³D; 1s3d), He(¹D; 1s3d), He(^{1 …}

The Hall A Aerogel Čerenkov Detector, Marius Coman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The efficiency of the Aerogel Čerenkov detector for detecting particles having velocities greater than the speed of light in the aerogel media and the yield for rejecting particles having subthreshold velocities - smaller than the speed of light in the interaction media - was studied and is presented. The efficiency/inefficiency determination of the Aerogel Čerenkov detector consists of calculating the probabilities that a particle having a velocity above/below threshold generates a photoelectron in the aerogel block. The efficiency is determined using the normalised pulse height distribution of the photoelectrons. The Aerogel Čerenkov detector will play a key role in particle …

Predicting Employee Compliance With Safety Regulations, Factoring Risk Perception, Yenny Farinas Diaz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a methodology that would evaluate employees’ personality traits, demographic characteristics, and workplace parameters to predict safety compliance along with the moderating effect of risk perception.

One hundred and twenty five employees of a manufacturing facility were given questionnaires to gather their demographic and perception information. Surveys were also used to measure their personality characteristics, and periodic observations were recorded to document employee’s safety compliance. A significant correlation was found between compliance and the worker's perception of management's commitment to safety (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), as well as with gender (r = -0.19, p < 0.05). Females showed a significantly higher average compliance (78%), than males (69%). These findings demonstrated the value of developing a model to predict safety behavior that would assist companies In maintaining a safe work environment, preventing accidents, ensuring compliance, and reducing associated costs.

A Test Of A Tripartite Framework Of Team Strategy Development, Kevin William Brown

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study provided further insight into the process (or processes) of team strategy development and its relationship with team performance. Building upon the taxonomies introduced by Marks, Mathieu, & Zaccaro (in press) and Wood and Locke (1990), this thesis attempted to test a tripartite framework of team strategy development. Specifically, this model posits that strategy development consists of three unique, though interrelated, processes: deliberate planning, contingency planning, and reactive adaptation. It was hypothesized that 1) task complexity would moderate the relationship between the three types of strategy development and team performance, and 2) that the three types of strategy formation …

Efficient Storage And Retrieval Of Georeferenced Objects In A Semantic Database For Web-Based Applications, Debra Lee Davis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use and dissemination of remotely-sensed data is an important resource that can be used for environmental, commercial and educational purposes. Because of this, the use and availability of remotely-sensed data has increased dramatically in recent years. This usefulness, however, is often overshadowed by the difficulty encountered with trying to deal with this type of data. The amount of data available is immense. Storing, searching and retrieving the data of interest is often difficult, time consuming and inefficient. This is particularly true when these types of data need to be rapidly and continually accessed via the Internet, or combined with …

The Effects Of Phosphorus And Carbon Additions On Anaerobic Microbial Activity In Peat Soils Of The Florida Everglades, Gisele Louise Colbert

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human activities have altered the natural biogeochemical cycles of many elements to the extent that they are now treated as pollutants in many ecosystems. The Everglades of South Florida have been negatively impacted by two such elements, phosphorus and mercury. This study tested the hypothesis that increased phosphorus concentration contributes to conditions that lead to increased anaerobic microbial activity and microbial populations that might be linked to mercury methylation in Everglades peat soils. Soil was collected from a pristine Eleocharis marsh in the Shark River Slough area of Everglades National Park. Changes in microbial communities from aerobically-dominated to anaerobically-dominated processes …

Karl Kraus And The Jewish Question: Assimilation, Language, And Persecution In Vienna, 1874-1936, Chad Russell Fulwider

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the Viennese satirist Karl Kraus and his responses to the "Jewish Question" and anti- Semitism. Through a comprehensive analysis of his major works, this project reveals Kraus's underlying views on Jewish identity and his ideas for resolving the "Jewish Question." Kraus attacked acculturated German-speaking Jews for "failing" to assimilate into society. In his mind, the bourgeois Jewish intellectuals had retreated into a "transparent ghetto" of aesthetic values, literary expression, and capitalist-materialism, represented by the "Jewish" press. For Kraus, anti-Semitism persisted because the Jews maintained their status as "Jews," and therefore could not assimilate into Viennese society. His …

Health Care Utilization Behavior Of Elders In A Multicultural Urban Environment, Katherine Marie Condon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to determine the influences of social, environmental, behavioral, and economic forces on the health care service utilization of four racial/ethnic groups of non-institutionalized elders in a multicultural urban environment. To address these issues this dissertation examines three intertwined themes of culture, aging, and health, using a sample of elders residing in Miami-Dade County, FL in four racial/ethnic groups: white non-Hispanic; black non-Hispanic English speakers; Cuban; and non-Cuban Hispanic.

The research questions were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative data. Data for the quantitative component uses telephone survey data from the Dade County Needs Assessment. …

World Coffee Markets And National Coffee Parastatals Since 1989: A Comparative Study Of Colombia And Cote D'Ivoire, Laura Elizabeth Boudon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The International Coffee Agreements (ICA) involved the majority of nations producing and consuming coffee and provided relative economic stability to the coffee sectors of the exporting Third World countries. This study focuses on the serious impact of the 1989 collapse of the ICA on the domestic coffee sectors of Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire. In particular, the dissertation examines the role of the Colombian and Ivoirian coffee parastatals, the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia and the Caisse de Stabilisation et Soutien des Prix des Produits Agricoles, during the crisis and their transformation by it.

The theoretical framework employed in …

Dynamic Data Retrieval On The World Wide Web, Dmitriy Beryoza

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Methods for accessing data on the Web have been the focus of active research over the past few years. In this thesis we propose a method for representing Web sites as data sources. We designed a Data Extractor data retrieval solution that allows us to define queries to Web sites and process resulting data sets. Data Extractor is being integrated into the MSemODB heterogeneous database management system. With its help database queries can be distributed over both local and Web data sources within MSemODB framework.

Data Extractor treats Web sites as data sources, controlling query execution and data retrieval. It …

Further Evidence For The Relationship Between Eating Frequency, Body Mass Index, And Physical Activity, Mona Jahjah Ashchi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the frequency of eating, physical activity and Body Mass Index (BMI) was investigated. Seventy five women, aged 24 to 55, were recruited from Florida International University. Via interview, subjects provided information regarding demographics and habitual eating frequency over 24-hours, and completed both the Baecke Questionnaire of Habitual Physical Activity and the Health Insurance Plan of New York Questionnaire on Physical Activity. Pearson correlations and partial correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between eating frequency, physical activity, age, and BMI. Results revealed significant positive correlations between eating frequency and total physical activity scores, and leisure time …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Ability, The Big Five, Task And Contextual Performance: A Meta-Analysis, Alexander Alonso

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For years, researchers and human resources specialists have been searching for predictors of performance as well as for relevant performance dimensions (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Borman & Motowidlo, 1993; Campbell, 1990; Viswesvaran et al., 1996). In 1993, Borman and Motowidlo provided a framework by which traditional predictors such as cognitive ability and the Big Five personality factors predicted two different facets of performance: 1) task performance and 2) contextual performance. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the validity of this model as well as that of other modified models. The relationships between predictors such as cognitive ability and personality variables …

A Computer Simulation Model For Single-Lane Roundabouts, Hesham Roshdy Elbadrawi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the past three decades, the use of roundabouts has increased throughout the world due to their greater benefits in comparison with intersections controlled by traditional means. Roundabouts are often chosen because they are widely associated with low accident rates, lower construction and operating costs, and reasonable capacities and delay.

In the planning and design of roundabouts, special attention should be given to the movement of pedestrians and bicycles. As a result, there are several guidelines for the design of pedestrian and bicycle treatments at roundabouts that increase the safety of both pedestrians and bicyclists at existing and proposed roundabout …

Social Networks Of Immigrant Preadolescents : Network Structure,Sources Of Support, And Psychological Well-Being, Gastón Luis Bustos

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored social network characteristics and sources of support for immigrant and nonimmigrant preadolescents. The relation between social support and psychological well-being for these children was also addressed. Participants were 782 preadolescents, including 172 immigrants, of diverse income and backgrounds. Students completed the social convoy mapping procedure, answered social support questions, and completed the short form version of the Children's Depression Inventory, the Loneliness Scale, and Self Perception Profile. Immigrant children perceived significantly less total support and close family support than did nonimmigrants. Immigrant children's levels of well-being were significantly lower. Close Family Support was an individual predictor of …

A Case Study Of The Performing Arts Production Program As A Means Of Inclusive Community Building Within The Performing Arts Management Domain, Kawachi Ahmon Clemons

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem examined in this study involved the lack of inclusiveness within upper level positions in the performing arts production arena. Traditionally, the production domain has centered on a Eurocentric Model where homogeneity is favored.

The study was conducted with three major phases in mind. The first was to bring the reader to an awareness of what it means to build an inclusive community. The second included historical data to confirm the industry's bias practices of exclusion of minorities and women. The third and final phase shows the development and implementation of programming which lends itself to diversifying the performing …

A Phenomenological Perspective Of The Lived Experiences Of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Seeking Health Care In The United States Today, Marsha Berger

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seven Jewish Holocaust survivors were interviewed using a phenomenological method to determine the essence of the Jewish Holocaust survivor's experience with health care in the United States today. The transcriptions were analyzed using Colaizzi's approach to phenomenological research. This approach includes extraction of significant statements, from the transcriptions, that described the participant's health care behaviors and needs. Formulated meanings of the significant statements were then organized into six themes: Hiding and Avoidance, Self care, Fear/Trust Dichotomy, Security, Luck, and Need for Understanding. These six themes were forms of protection for the participants, which ultimately led to continued survival, the essence …

Relationship Between Personality Hardiness And Critical Care Nurses' Perception Of Stress And Coping In The Critical Care Environment, Catherina Ivette Chang

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between critical care nurses' perception of stress, their ability to cope with stress, and the hardiness personality they possess while working in the critical care environment. A non-experimental, descriptive, correlational survey design was applied to a convenience sample of 50 registered nurses employed in the critical care units of a South Florida health care facility. The data collection methods included a demographic survey, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Health-Related Hardiness Scale, and the COPE inventory. The results of this study demonstrated that critical care nurses are able to cope effectively …

The Role Of Death Qualification In Venirepersons' Evaluations Of Aggravating And Mitigating Circumstances In Capital Trials, Brooke M. Butler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Death qualification is a part of voir dire that is unique to capital trials. Unlike all other litigation, capital jurors must affirm their willingness to impose both legal standards (either life in prison or the death penalty). Jurors who assert they are able to do so are deemed "death-qualified" and are eligible for capital jury service; jurors who assert that they are unable to do so are deemed "excludable" or "scrupled" and are barred from hearing a death penalty case. During the penalty phase in capital trials, death-qualified jurors weigh the aggravators (i.e., arguments for death) against the mitigators (i.e., …

Aspects Of The Transplantation, Storage And Maintenance Of Corals (Montastraea Faveolata, Acropora Cervicornis And A. Palmata), Lillian C. Becker

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore aspects of coral transplantation for restoration. Montastraea faveolata cores of 2.54 and 5.0 cm were stored in aquaria, on an array and on the substrate. Survival on the array and substrate were 100% for 12 and 11 months respectively. Branches of Acropora cervicornis had 75.0 % survival on the substrate and 91.7% on the array. Disease caused mortality for the A. cervicornis and the 2.54 cm cores in the aquaria but not for the 5.0 cm cores. Growth was significantly higher for A. cervicornis and A. palmata branches stored on an array …

Engineering Access Control For Distributed Enterprise Applications, Konstantin Beznosov

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access control (AC) is a necessary defense against a large variety of security attacks on the resources of distributed enterprise applications. However, to be effective, AC in some application domains has to be fine-grain, support the use of application-specific factors in authorization decisions, as well as consistently and reliably enforce organization-wide authorization policies across enterprise applications. Because the existing middleware technologies do not provide a complete solution, application developers resort to embedding AC functionality in application systems. This coupling of AC functionality with application logic causes significant problems including tremendously difficult, costly and error prone development, integration, and overall ownership …

Facing A Paradigm Shift In Professional Credentialing: Preparedness Of Registered Dietitians For Professional Development 2001, Nancy Collins

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the year 2001, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will begin a new process of recertifying Registered Dietitians (RD) using a self-directed lifelong learning portfolio model. The model, entitled Professional Development 2001 (PD 2001), is designed to increase competency through targeted learning. This portfolio consists of five steps: reflection, learning needs assessment, formulation of a learning plan, maintenance of a learning log, and evaluation of the learning plan. By targeting learning, PD 2001 is predicted to foster more up-to-date practitioners than the current method that requires only a quantity of continuing education hours. This is the first major change …

Ammonite Biostratigraphy, Lithofacies Variations, And Paleoceanographic Implications For Barremian-Aptian Sequences Of Northeastern Mexico, Ricardo Barragan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two Barremian-Aptian sequences studied in Durango and Nuevo Leon States, northeastern Mexico include three lithic units which have been described as the Cupido Formation of Barremian-early Early Aptian age, its lateral equivalent, the Lower Tamaulipas Formation, and the La Pena Formation extending through the early Albian.

The present work improves the existing ammonite Aptian biozonation by considering constraints associated with a discontinuous spatial and temporal record of the different taxa within the La Pena Formation.

Four ammonite biozones are established: 1) The Dufrenoyia justinae Zone for the late Early Aptian, 2) The Burckhardtites nazasensis/Rhytidoplites robertsi Zone for the middle Aptian, …

Elementary Music And Classroom Teachers' Time-Use: A Comparison By Grade Level, Time Of Day, And Day Of The Week, Marilyn Jane Anderson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated time-use of elementary music teachers and elementary classroom teachers to determine: (1) whether there was a relationship between grade level, time of day, and day of the week and teachers' time-use in teaching, monitoring, and non-curricular, and (2) whether ethnicity, training, and years of experience affect teacher time-use. Sixty-nine music teachers and 55 classroom teachers participated.

A MANOVA was used to examine the hypothesized relationship. ANOVA results were significant for time spent teaching, monitoring, and non-curricular. An independent t test revealed a significance difference (t (302) = 5.20, p

Analyses of the activities subsumed under the major …

Horizontal Genetic Transfer In Asexual Fungi, Blanca R. Cortes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Four aspects of horizontal genetic transfer during heterokaryon formation were examined in the asexual pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foe): 1) variability based on method of heterokaryon formation 2) differences in nuclear and mitochondrial inheritance 3) the occurrence of recombination without nuclear fusion 4) the occurrence of horizontal genetic transfer between distantly related isolates. The use of non- pathogenic strains of Fusarium oxysporum as biocontrol agents warrants a closer examination at the reproductive life cycle of this fungus, particularly if drag resistance or pathogenicity genes can be transmitted horizontally. Experiments were divided into three phases. Phase I looked at heterokaryon …

Schools And The Formation Of Black Identity During The Civil Rights Movement: Change And Resistance In Holly Springs, Mississippi, 1964-1974, David Marcos Callejo-Perez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Desegregation of social and public spaces was the most visible result of the Civil Rights Movement. After 1960, the integration of schools in Mississippi became a source of conflict. The social change of Civil Rights attacked the social order of White Resistance that supported the state superstructure. The public schools were a place for the discovery of identity for Blacks. The integration of the schools caused many Whites to leave rather than be integrated with Blacks. Desegregation of schools was also a slow process because the local and state government could not enforce the decisions of the US Courts, leading …