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Georgia State University

Theses/Dissertations

2009

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Mitigating And Preparing For Disasters: A Survey Of Memphis Organizations, Abdul-Akeem Ademola Sadiq Dec 2009

Mitigating And Preparing For Disasters: A Survey Of Memphis Organizations, Abdul-Akeem Ademola Sadiq

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Disaster researchers have established the determinants of preparedness and mitigation at the household level of analysis. However, at the organizational level, there is limited research and no theory to guide research on the determinants of preparedness and mitigation. The main goal of this study is to answer the question "what are the determinants of mitigation and preparedness at the organizational level?" The data come from a survey of 227 organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. This study uses Tobit regression technique to identify the determinants. This study finds that organizational size and concern over disaster impact are strong positive determinants of mitigation …


Uses And Nonuses Of Patented Inventions, Taehyun Jung Dec 2009

Uses And Nonuses Of Patented Inventions, Taehyun Jung

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Innovation comprises the processes of invention and commercialization. While the importance of innovation, especially commercialization, has been widely recognized, existing studies have largely overlooked the commercialization process. By examining the determinants of uses and nonuses of patented inventions from firms at the levels of technology, organization, and project/invention, this study attempts to help fill a critical gap in the literature. In doing so, it enriches theoretical understandings of innovation and, in particular, builds on the evolutionary explanation of technology development, the Teecian framework on profiting from innovation, Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), and open innovation and innovation …


Design And Synthesis Of Boronic Acid-Modified Nucleotides For Fluorescent Sensing And Cell Imaging, Xiaochuan Yang Dec 2009

Design And Synthesis Of Boronic Acid-Modified Nucleotides For Fluorescent Sensing And Cell Imaging, Xiaochuan Yang

Chemistry Dissertations

With the rapidly increasing interest in the field of glycomics, which is the comprehensive study of the roles carbohydrates play in a living system, urgent need for developing quick and highly selective carbohydrate sensors is growing. The boronic acid group, with its electron-deficient structure (6 valence electrons with an open shell), acts as a Lewis acid with high intrinsic affinity towards Lewis bases such as fluoride, cyanide and hydroxyl groups. Specifically, formation of a 5- or 6- membered ring between the boronic acid moiety and a1,2- or 1,3-diol in aqueous solution has been fully explored as a strategy of carbohydrate …


Family Separation And Changes In Peer Relationships Among Early Adolescent Latino Youth: Examining The Mediating Role Of Family Relationships, Lawrence Duane House Dec 2009

Family Separation And Changes In Peer Relationships Among Early Adolescent Latino Youth: Examining The Mediating Role Of Family Relationships, Lawrence Duane House

Psychology Dissertations

This longitudinal study examines whether family processes (family cohesion and family conflict) mediate the relationship between family separation experiences and the development of peer relationships (quality and conflict). The study includes a sample of 199 early adolescent Latinos from immigrant families. Family conflict mediated the relationship between separation experiences from fathers and peer conflict at year 1 but not year 2 such that more separation from father was associated with higher family conflict and higher peer conflict at year 1. Family cohesion did not mediate associations between mother or father separation and peer relationship outcomes. Family cohesion predicted more positive …


Lucy Diggs Slowe, Howard University Dean Of Women, 1922-1937: Educator, Administrator, Activist, Lisa R. Rasheed Dec 2009

Lucy Diggs Slowe, Howard University Dean Of Women, 1922-1937: Educator, Administrator, Activist, Lisa R. Rasheed

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT LUCY DIGGS SLOWE, HOWARD UNIVERSITY DEAN OF WOMEN, 1922-1937: EDUCATOR, ADMINISTRATOR, ACTIVIST by Lisa R. Rasheed Within the last twenty years, some educational researchers initiated an emphasis to study the accomplishments and contributions of African-American women in higher education. Although they were marginally recognized, some African-American women forged into uncharted territories by providing examples of administrative leadership in post-secondary settings. Their triumphs and failures have gone unnoticed, leaving a vacant space in the chronicles of history in higher education. Little is know about one African-American woman, as an administrator at a co-educational institution in terms of her vision about …


The Reduction Of Anti-Gay Bias Through Interpersonal Contact: The Moderating Roles Of Hiv Stigma And Motivation To Respond Without Prejudice., Lisa Ann Elliott Dec 2009

The Reduction Of Anti-Gay Bias Through Interpersonal Contact: The Moderating Roles Of Hiv Stigma And Motivation To Respond Without Prejudice., Lisa Ann Elliott

Psychology Theses

The intergroup contact effect is well-documented in the research literature (for a meta-analysis see Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Although researchers have identified a few moderators of the contact effect, the constraints under which the contact effect is optimally effective are not well understood. The current research explored two individual difference measures related to anti-gay attitudes, AIDS stigma and motivation to respond without prejudice (internal and external motivation), as potential moderators of the contact effect on heterosexual men’s attitudes towards gay men. Results indicated that increased external motivation and AIDS stigma hinder the benefits of contact for anti-gay attitudes. Implications of …


New Public Management And Governance Collide: Federal-Level Performance Measurement In Networked Public Management Networks, Amy S. Degroff Dec 2009

New Public Management And Governance Collide: Federal-Level Performance Measurement In Networked Public Management Networks, Amy S. Degroff

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the implications of networked public management on the design, implementation, and utilization of federal performance measurement systems. A multiple, instrumental case study of four public health programs funded by CDC and implemented nationally through vertical and horizontal network structures was conducted. Cross-case findings suggest that the networked implementation structures for the four federal-level, public health programs have important implications for the design of the performance measurement systems. Specifically, the performance measurement systems were affected by four consequences of the implementation networks: the political influence of collaborative stakeholders; network variability; dependencies on voluntary, …


Does Increasing Flow To A High Flow Nasal Cannula Affect Mean Airway Pressure In An In Vitro Model?, Robert Brent Murray Dec 2009

Does Increasing Flow To A High Flow Nasal Cannula Affect Mean Airway Pressure In An In Vitro Model?, Robert Brent Murray

Respiratory Therapy Theses

DOES INCREASING FLOW TO A HIGH FLOW NASAL CANNULA AFFECT MEAN AIRWAY PRESSURE IN AN IN VITRO MODEL? Introduction: High-flow nasal cannulas (HFNC) have become popular with many institutions for administration of oxygen (O2). HFNCs are also being used in pediatric and neonatal populations for administration of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as a treatment for respiratory distress. Adult patients are being treated with HFNCs in a effort to provide a high percentage of O2 and correct hypoxemia and other related conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of increasing flow via a HFNC to an …


Dichotomous Musical Worlds: Interactions Between The Musical Lives Of Adolescents And School Music-Learning Culture, Todd Edwin Snead Dec 2009

Dichotomous Musical Worlds: Interactions Between The Musical Lives Of Adolescents And School Music-Learning Culture, Todd Edwin Snead

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

This ethnographic study investigated the interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture in a suburban high school. Participants included two music teachers and seven adolescents. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective (Blumer, 1969), data were collected via methods consistent with qualitative inquiry, including an innovative data collection technique utilizing music elicitation interviews with adolescents. Findings emerged from the data via thematic analysis (Grbich, 2007). Findings indicate limited interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture because participants portrayed and experienced a dichotomy between the musical assumptions and practices inside and outside of school. …


Khwaam Jam : Memory, Keith Lee Crane Dec 2009

Khwaam Jam : Memory, Keith Lee Crane

Art and Design Theses

Khwaam Jam is an introspective installation of works that explore the perceptions of identity based on memory. Created through the exploration of my past and present, the works of Khwaam Jam utilize the principles and techniques of textile design and production while involving mixed media and new materials in a site-specific installation. This installation is intended to represent my memory on a large scale. The hanging pieces are the focal point of the exhibition and are the physical manifestation of my perception of the categorization and storage of my memories. Memories are the vessels through which we create our identity. …


Nanoscopic Investigation Of Surface Morphology Of Neural Growth Cones And Indium Containing Group-Iii Nitrides, Göksel Durkaya Dec 2009

Nanoscopic Investigation Of Surface Morphology Of Neural Growth Cones And Indium Containing Group-Iii Nitrides, Göksel Durkaya

Physics and Astronomy Dissertations

This research focuses on the nanoscopic investigation of the three-dimensional surface morphology of the neural growth cones from the snail Helisoma trivolvis, and InN and InGaN semiconductor material systems using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). In the analysis of the growth cones, the results obtained from AFM experiments have been used to construct a 3D architecture model for filopodia. The filopodia from B5 and B19 neurons have exhibited different tapering mechanisms. The volumetric analysis has been used to estimate free Ca2+ concentration in the filopodium. The Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) images of the growth cones have been corrected to thickness provided …


Integrating Information Theory Measures And A Novel Rule-Set-Reduction Tech-Nique To Improve Fuzzy Decision Tree Induction Algorithms, Nael Mohammed Abu-Halaweh Dec 2009

Integrating Information Theory Measures And A Novel Rule-Set-Reduction Tech-Nique To Improve Fuzzy Decision Tree Induction Algorithms, Nael Mohammed Abu-Halaweh

Computer Science Dissertations

Machine learning approaches have been successfully applied to many classification and prediction problems. One of the most popular machine learning approaches is decision trees. A main advantage of decision trees is the clarity of the decision model they produce. The ID3 algorithm proposed by Quinlan forms the basis for many of the decision trees’ application. Trees produced by ID3 are sensitive to small perturbations in training data. To overcome this problem and to handle data uncertainties and spurious precision in data, fuzzy ID3 integrated fuzzy set theory and ideas from fuzzy logic with ID3. Several fuzzy decision trees algorithms and …


Analysis Of The Total Food Folate Intake Data From The National Health And Nutrition Exa-Amination Survey (Nhanes) Using Generalized Linear Model, Kyung Ah Lee Dec 2009

Analysis Of The Total Food Folate Intake Data From The National Health And Nutrition Exa-Amination Survey (Nhanes) Using Generalized Linear Model, Kyung Ah Lee

Mathematics Theses

The National health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) is a respected nation-wide program in charge of assessing the health and nutritional status of adults and children in United States. Recent cal research found that folic acid play an important role in preventing baby birth defects. In this paper, we use the generalized estimating equation (GEE) method to study the generalized linear model (GLM) with compound symmetric correlation matrix for the NHANES data and investigate significant factors to ence the intake of food folic acid.


Some Contributions In Statistical Discrimination Of Different Pathogens Using Observations Through Ftir, Dongmei Wang Dec 2009

Some Contributions In Statistical Discrimination Of Different Pathogens Using Observations Through Ftir, Dongmei Wang

Mathematics Theses

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) has been use to discriminate different pathogens by signals from cells infected with these versus normal cells as references. To do the statistical analysis, Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) was utilized to distinguish any two kinds of virus‐infected cells and normal cells. Validation using Bootstrap method and Cross‐validations were employed to calculate the shrinkages of Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) and specificities corresponding to 80%, 90%, and 95% sensitivities. The result shows that our procedure can significantly discriminate these pathogens when we compare infected cells with the normal cells. On the height of this success, …


Theoretical And Numerical Study Of Tikhonov's Regularization And Morozov's Discrepancy Principle, Marygeorge L. Whitney Dec 2009

Theoretical And Numerical Study Of Tikhonov's Regularization And Morozov's Discrepancy Principle, Marygeorge L. Whitney

Mathematics Theses

A concept of a well-posed problem was initially introduced by J. Hadamard in 1923, who expressed the idea that every mathematical model should have a unique solution, stable with respect to noise in the input data. If at least one of those properties is violated, the problem is ill-posed (and unstable). There are numerous examples of ill- posed problems in computational mathematics and applications. Classical numerical algorithms, when used for an ill-posed model, turn out to be divergent. Hence one has to develop special regularization techniques, which take advantage of an a priori information (normally available), in order to solve …


Analyzing Gene Expression Data In Terms Of Gene Sets: Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, Wei Li Dec 2009

Analyzing Gene Expression Data In Terms Of Gene Sets: Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, Wei Li

Mathematics Theses

The DNA microarray biotechnology simultaneously monitors the expression of thousands of genes and aims to identify genes that are differently expressed under different conditions. From the statistical point of view, it can be restated as identify genes strongly associated with the response or covariant of interest. The Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) method is one method which focuses the analysis at the functional related gene sets level instead of single genes. It helps biologists to interpret the DNA microarray data by their previous biological knowledge of the genes in a gene set. GSEA has been shown to efficiently identify gene …


Comparative Studies Between Robotic Laparoscopic Myomectomy And Abdominal Myomectomy With Factors Affecting Short-Term Surgical Outcomes, Amy N. Fomo Dec 2009

Comparative Studies Between Robotic Laparoscopic Myomectomy And Abdominal Myomectomy With Factors Affecting Short-Term Surgical Outcomes, Amy N. Fomo

Mathematics Theses

The purpose of this study is to compare short-term surgical outcomes of robotic and abdominal myomectomy and to analyze the factors affecting the total operative time, estimated blood loss and length of hospital stay from a retrospective study of a consecutive case series of 122 pa-tients with symptomatic leiomyomata. Wilcoxon, t tests, multiple linear and logistic regressions analyses were performed. Patients in abdominal group had larger number of leiomyomata, larger tumor size and BMI. The operative time was longer in robotic group and was affected by the size and number of tumors, parity and interaction between parity and BMI. Estimated …


Fifty Years Of Challenges To The Colorline Montgomery, Alabama, Alison L. Murphy Dec 2009

Fifty Years Of Challenges To The Colorline Montgomery, Alabama, Alison L. Murphy

History Theses

After fifty years of challenges to the color line in Montgomery, Alabama, the Metropolitan Statistical Area is more integrated now than it was in 1950. Through exploring the effects of Brown v. Board of Education, the bus boycott, school integration court cases, re-segregation of schools in city and suburban districts, and federal open-housing policies, the volatile transformation appears to shows how, after fifty years, Montgomery has moved from a segregated dual society to a partially integrated society in spite of the massive resistance to integration.


Embodied Identities: Negotiating The Self Through Flamenco Dance, Pamela Ann Caltabiano Dec 2009

Embodied Identities: Negotiating The Self Through Flamenco Dance, Pamela Ann Caltabiano

Anthropology Theses

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Atlanta, this study analyzes how transnational practices of, and discourse about, flamenco dance contribute to the performance and embodiment of gender, ethnic, and national identities. It argues that, in the context of the flamenco studio, women dancers renegotiate authenticity and hybridity against the backdrop of an embodied “exot-ic” passion.


Metabolic Network Alignments And Their Applications, Qiong Cheng Dec 2009

Metabolic Network Alignments And Their Applications, Qiong Cheng

Computer Science Dissertations

The accumulation of high-throughput genomic and proteomic data allows for the reconstruction of the increasingly large and complex metabolic networks. In order to analyze the accumulated data and reconstructed networks, it is critical to identify network patterns and evolutionary relations between metabolic networks. But even finding similar networks becomes computationally challenging. The dissertation addresses these challenges with discrete optimization and the corresponding algorithmic techniques. Based on the property of the gene duplication and function sharing in biological network,we have formulated the network alignment problem which asks the optimal vertex-to-vertex mapping allowing path contraction, vertex deletion, and vertex insertions. We have …


Body, Speech And Mind: Negotiating Meaning And Experience At A Tibetan Buddhist Center, Amanda S. Woomer Dec 2009

Body, Speech And Mind: Negotiating Meaning And Experience At A Tibetan Buddhist Center, Amanda S. Woomer

Anthropology Theses

Examining an Atlanta area Tibetan Buddhist center as a symbolic and imagined borderland space, I investigate the ways that meaning is created through competing narratives of spirituality and “culture.” Drawing from theories of borderlands, cross-cultural interaction, narratives, authenticity and material culture, I analyze the ways that non-Tibetan community members of the Drepung Loseling center navigate through the interplay of culture and spirituality and how this interaction plays into larger discussions of cultural adaptation, appropriation and representation. Although this particular Tibetan Buddhist center is only a small part of Buddhism’s existence in the United States today, discourses on authenticity, representation and …


The Thirteenth-Century Fresco Decoration Of Santa Maria Ad Cryptas In Fossa, Italy, Ashely Wilemon Walker Dec 2009

The Thirteenth-Century Fresco Decoration Of Santa Maria Ad Cryptas In Fossa, Italy, Ashely Wilemon Walker

Art and Design Theses

This paper discusses the fresco decoration of Santa Maria ad Cryptas. The frescoes are described and analyzed, and then compared to similar programs in order to determine which features are based on earlier sources, and which are unusual or unique to this particular church. The traditional features are found to reflect a long-established pattern of church decoration reflected in such monuments as Old Saint Peter’s, Sant’Angelo in Formis, the Cathedral of Monreale, and the Cappella Palatina. The unusual features (including the placement of the Passion cycle in the presbytery, and the location of the Crucifixion over the altar) are explained …


Wangechi Mutu: Feminist Collage And The Cyborg, Nicole R. Smith Dec 2009

Wangechi Mutu: Feminist Collage And The Cyborg, Nicole R. Smith

Art and Design Theses

Wangechi Mutu is an internationally recognized Kenyan-born artist who lives and works in Brooklyn. She creates collaged female figures composed of human, animal, object, and machine parts. Mutu’s constructions of the female body provide a transcultural critique on the female persona in Western culture. This paper contextualizes Mutu’s work and artistic strategies within feminist, postmodern, and postcolonial narratives on collage, while exploring whether collage strategies are particularly useful for feminist artists. In their fusion of machine and organism, Mutu’s characters are visual metaphors for feminist cyborgs, particularly those outlined by Donna Haraway. In this paper, I examine parallels between collage …


The Culinary Browns, Phoebe A. Brown Dec 2009

The Culinary Browns, Phoebe A. Brown

Art and Design Theses

The Culinary Browns is an experimental documentary that traces four generations of the Brown family beginning with Bob Brown, my great-grandfather, a writer of pulp fiction, modern poetry, cookbooks and social commentary. This documentary is not a linear history or purely factual document, but instead, uses personal experience as a means to generate more universal connections to the inherently dysfunctional dynamics of family, the fragmentary quality of memory, and to ultimately remind the viewer that history is relative.


Biochemical Study Of Engineered Fluorescent Proteins As Calcium Sensors And The Effect Of Calcium And Ph In Cell Reproduction And Protein Expression, Malcom Arturo Delgado Dec 2009

Biochemical Study Of Engineered Fluorescent Proteins As Calcium Sensors And The Effect Of Calcium And Ph In Cell Reproduction And Protein Expression, Malcom Arturo Delgado

Chemistry Theses

Calcium plays important roles in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Its actions help to stabilize cell synthesis, growth and development. In this thesis, studies have been completed to determine effects of calcium and pH on bacterial cell growth and protein expression using the bacterial cell strain E.coli BL21(DE3). Our studies demonstrated the addition of calcium addition in the media does not affect growth but increases protein expression, while reducing the pH from 7 to 4 through the addition of 10mM EGTA in LB media inhibits both. Additionally, we report studies on the design, expression, and purification of fluorescent mCherry variants …


Subversion Of Natural Killer Cell Defenses Induced By A Deadly Zoonotic Virus, Mugdha Vasireddi Dec 2009

Subversion Of Natural Killer Cell Defenses Induced By A Deadly Zoonotic Virus, Mugdha Vasireddi

Biology Dissertations

B virus (Macacine herpesvirus 1, Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1, herpes B virus) is an Old World monkey simplex virus endemic in macaques. B virus infection in its natural host, macaque, is very similar to HSV-­‐1 infection in humans causing mild or asymptomatic infection. On the other hand, zoonotic infection in humans results in death in the absence of early initiation of antiviral drugs. Viruses evade host immune responses in order to survive and propagate. Most herpes viruses including HSV-­‐1 down-­‐regulate major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC class I) surface expression on infected cells in order to prevent CD8+ T-­‐cell recognition and …


Mtsr Is A Dual Regulator That Controls Virulence Genes And Metabolic Functions In Addition To Metal Homeostasis In Group A Streptococcus, Chadia Toukoki Dec 2009

Mtsr Is A Dual Regulator That Controls Virulence Genes And Metabolic Functions In Addition To Metal Homeostasis In Group A Streptococcus, Chadia Toukoki

Biology Dissertations

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a common pathogen of the human skin and mucosal surfaces and is capable of producing a variety of diseases. This dissertation investigates the function of a metalloregulator named MtsR in GAS physiology and disease process. An mtsR mutant was constructed and analyzed. Consistent with MtsR role in iron uptake regulation, the mtsR mutant accumulates more iron (80 ± 22.5%) than the wild type strain. Inactivation of mtsR results in constitutive transcription of the sia (Streptococcal Iron Acquisition) operon, which is negatively regulated by iron in the parent strain. We identified the promoter that controls the …


Bartonella Henselae Inhibits Cellular Apoptotic Regulators To Ensure Survival, Jeffery Todd Parker Dec 2009

Bartonella Henselae Inhibits Cellular Apoptotic Regulators To Ensure Survival, Jeffery Todd Parker

Biology Dissertations

Human pathogens survive anti-pathogen host immune assault by either circumventing or evading the host immune response. Bartonella henselae, an intracellular pathogen previously shown to disrupt intrinsic apoptotic messengers to enhance its survival, exploits multiple facets of the cellular apoptotic mechanisms. Cellular pathways affected by apoptotic processes were assessed using real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (rRT-PCR) to measure the effect of B. henselae on cell regulator gene expression (TRADD, FADD, caspase-8 and caspase-3), caspase activity, DNA cell cycle analysis, cell regulator protein expression and overall cell viability and morphology. The presence of B. henselae suppresses overall gene expression for TRADD and FADD and it …


Structural Basis Of Caspase-3 Substrate Specificity Revealed By Crystallography, Enzyme Kinetics, And Computational Modeling, Bin Fang Dec 2009

Structural Basis Of Caspase-3 Substrate Specificity Revealed By Crystallography, Enzyme Kinetics, And Computational Modeling, Bin Fang

Biology Dissertations

Caspase-3 is a cysteine protease that hydrolyzes diverse intracellular proteins during programmed cell death (known as apoptosis). It has been a popular target for drug design against abnormal cell death for more than a decade. No approved caspase based drug, however, is available so far. Therefore, structural insights about the substrate recognition of caspase-3 are needed for the future development of caspase-3 based inhibitors and drugs. In this study, crystal structures of recombinant caspase-3 in complex with seven substrate analog inhibitors, including acetyl (Ac)-DEVD-aldehyde (Cho), Ac-DMQD-Cho, Ac-IEPD-Cho, Ac-YVAD-Cho, Ac-WEHD-Cho, Ac-VDVAD-Cho, and tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-D-fluoromethylketone (Fmk), have been analyzed in combination with …


Siaa And Neat2 Heme Binding Proteins From Streptococcus Pyogenes, Giselle M. Delgado Dec 2009

Siaa And Neat2 Heme Binding Proteins From Streptococcus Pyogenes, Giselle M. Delgado

Chemistry Theses

The bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes requires heme, which is taken up via an ABC transporter. An understanding of this pathway may result in new approaches to antibacterial agents. Both SiaA and NEAT2 (NEAr Transporter 2) are proteins involved in heme binding. One of the axial ligands of SiaA, His 229, was purified to study how mutagenesis affects heme binding. UV-visible studies showed a small band at 420 nm with respect to the protein band at 288 nm which probably indicates that heme was lost easily from this mutant. We have also worked to optimize the yield of Shr-NEAT2 by changing different …