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A Performance Project With An Historical And Analytical Perspective On The Concerto For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra, Op. 31 By Peter Jona Korn, Brian Sanford Ransom

Dissertations

Peter Jona Korn (1922-1998) is not a name immediately recognized in American music circles, yet during the 1940s and '50s he led a successful career as an American composer. His Saxophone Concerto - composed in 1956 for the virtuoso Sigurd Rascher, and revised by Korn in 1982 - is an important contribution to the saxophone repertoire.

Many composers, including Glazounov, Ibert, and Larsson, wrote concertos for Sigurd Rascher. These works, once considered highly virtuosic, are now studied and performed by college level saxophonists. The original version of Korn's Concerto, among the most technically demanding works, has remained in obscurity for …

Entropy And Certainty In Lossless Data Compression, James Jay Jacobs

Dissertations

Data compression is the art of using encoding techniques to represent data symbols using less storage space compared to the original data representation. The encoding process builds a relationship between the entropy of the data and the certainty of the system. The theoretical limits of this relationship are defined by the theory of entropy in information that was proposed by Claude Shannon. Lossless data compression is uniquely tied to entropy theory as the data and the system have a static definition. The static nature of the two requires a mechanism to reduce the entropy without the ability to alter either …

Study Of Thermal Frontal Polymerization Utilizing Reactive And Non-Reactive Additives, Veronika Grace Viner

Dissertations

Thermal frontal polymerization is a process that involves a propagating front travelling through a monomer/initiator solution and converting monomer into polymer. The effects of different reactive and non-reactive additives on front temperature, front velocity, and pot life were studied in a thermal frontal polymerization system of multifunctional acrylates. One issue with thermal frontal polymerization of acrylate monomers is the amount of smoke and fumes produced due to high front temperatures. The effect of thermally-expandable microspheres was studied utilizing a variety of monomers. Solid additives including fillers, inert phase changer materials, and high thermal conductive fillers were investigated. The addition of …

The Impact Of Multicultural Trade Books And An Intervention On Fourth Graders' Cultural Attitudes, Susan Herberger Whitcomb

Dissertations

As the United States population has become more diverse and the civil rights movement of the 1960s increased attentiveness to the change in population, the need for multicultural awareness has grown (Perry & Fraser, 1993). This study examined if teacher read alouds of multicultural trade books and a scripted instructional intervention could impact 187 fourth graders' cultural attitudes. The 10-session, 5-week study involved six reading teacher volunteers participating in one of the three group levels (treatment one: multicultural trade book read alouds, treatment two: multicultural trade books and a scripted instructional intervention, and treatment three: a control group). The mixed …

Interpersonal Perception Of Narcissism In An At-Risk Adolescent Sample: A Social Relations Analysis, Sarah June Grafeman

Dissertations

The current study utilized Kenny's (1994) social relations model to explore the interpersonal consequences of narcissism in an at-risk adolescent residential sample. Members of two platoons (N= 47) attending a 22-week military-style intervention program completed a self-report measure of narcissism and rated one another on narcissism-related traits as well as social status within the peer group. Interpersonal ratings demonstrated small but significant consensus as well as self-other agreement for narcissism-related traits. Individuals with relatively high levels of self-reported narcissism were perceived by peers as hostile, competitive, and likely to engage in future delinquent behaviors. Self-reported narcissism was also associated with …

Investigation Of Novel Thiol "Click" Reactions, Justin William Chan

Dissertations

The thio-Michael addition reaction is traditionally considered a base catalyzed reaction which involves high catalyst concentrations and long reaction times. This reaction utilizes potent, simple nucleophiles to catalyze the reaction, decreases the catalyst concentration and greatly increases the reaction times. The free radical mediated thiol-ene click reaction uses light or heat and an initiator to catalyze the rapid and quantitative addition of thiols to most electron rich enes without the formation of side products and in the absence of solvent. Recently, the thiol-ene click reaction has been exploited for these reasons in materials science and organic synthesis. The research herein …

Answer Me That, Catherine Davis

Dissertations

This is a collection of five works of short fiction and one creative non-fiction essay.

Predictors And Influences Of Graduation Rates In Mississippi Public Schools, Donna Rebekah Holden Chiasson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine if possible predictors of graduation rates in Mississippi existed. This study included 10 independent variables and one dependent variable. The independent variables consisted of average daily attendance, algebra I scores, teacher salary, socioeconomic status (as expressed in the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch within a school), eighth grade math MCT scores, eighth grade language MCT scores, the number of teachers with advanced degrees, the school's outcome of Adequate Yearly Progress, school size, and principal leadership style.

The dependent variable was graduation rate. A total of 100 schools were …

Impact Of Preschool Education On Reading Achievement Of Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade Students, Melissa Harvey Clark

Dissertations

This study examines the impact of various types of preschool care and education on the reading achievement of children, kindergarten through fifth grade, who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). The participants in this study are located throughout the United States of America. These students attend public and private schools.

The data for this study were provided by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education. The researcher utilized ECLS-K's Public Use Data File and Electronic Codebook to create an SPSS syntax file in order to determine if …

In Quest Of Walter Smith: The Past, Present, And Future Impact Of Visual Art In Adult Education, Meredith Amanda Cole

Dissertations

Walter Smith is a relatively unknown historical figure in the art world, but he is essential to defining adult education's past, present, and future in the area of visual art. His artistic endeavors in America sparked facets of the way art education is practiced today. However, along the way we have lost the tenets of social change which he sought but never accomplished. In chapter one, I introduce the purpose of the research. In chapter two, I explain the position Walter Smith entered when coming to America. I also detail Smith's Herculean social reform efforts for adult education and why …

Reactor R&D: Synthesis And Optimization Of Metallic Nitride Fullerenes And The Introduction Of Two New Classes Of Endohedral Metallofullerenes, Metallic Nitride Azafullerenes And Oxo-Metallic Fullerenes, Curtis Earl Coumbe

Dissertations

Metallic nitride fullerenes (MNFs) were discovered in 1999. This class of endohedral fullerenes show promise in a new diverse range of useful applications. Since then, focus has shifted to the selective synthesis of these molecules with yields that would accommodate adequate sample distribution. Using the electric arc method, the traditional yield of these molecules has been very low (i.e. < 5 mg), and only a small percentage of the fullerene products (i.e. < 5%). This dissertation introduces the novel CAPTEAR (Chemically Adjusting Plasma Temperature, Energy, And Reactivity) method that allows the targeted synthesis of MNFs in high purity and yield. This method utilizes a nontraditional oxidizing method for fullerene synthesis that has not only provided optimization of MNFs, but also resulted in the discovery of two new classes of fullerenes: metallic nitride azafullerenes (MNAFs) and oxo-metallic fullerenes (OMFs). Evidence suggests that the nitrogen of the MNAF cage provides stability for the trimetallic nitride clusters, while the OMFs are the first fullerenes to encapsulate oxygen and incorporate a seven atom cluster inside a Cgo cage.

Other efforts to increase yields resulted from scaling up production of fullerenes by using larger quantities of starting materials. These larger quantities required energy (electrical current) beyond the capacity of the traditional electric arc generator. Therefore, a new electric arc generator …

Conservation Genetics And Systematics Of Several Turtles Species In The Southeastern United States, Joshua Robert Ennen

Dissertations

Chelonians (i.e., turtles) are an imperiled group of reptiles with about 66% of the recognized species listed as threatened by the IUCN. Most chelonian species have a unique set of life history traits (i.e., longevity, delayed sexual maturity, and low juvenile survivorship), which makes their populations exceedingly sensitive to increases in adult and juvenile moralities. With numerous anthropogenic effects (e.g., habitat alteration, exploitation, and over harvesting) negatively influencing mortality rates, chelonians have experienced global precipitous declines and extinctions.

This dissertation focuses on species within two chelonian genera, Gopherus and Graptemys. Although these two genera are vastly different ecologically, they are …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between Polymer Structures And Thermal, Mechanical, Viscoelastic Properties, Ethem Kaya

Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation involves four distinct areas: physical crosslinking systems, UV curable coatings for enhanced oxygen and carbon dioxide barrier properties, synthesis, and investigation of melting behavior/crystallinity relations of linear polyamides with long alkyl chains, and synthesis and characterization of cyclic diamides as precursors to linear polyamides 6 4.

The physical crosslinking section involves synthesis of monomers and polymers bearing cyclodextrin and adamantane pendent groups, and investigation of non-covalent interactions between these polymers (Chapter II). Two methacrylate monomers bearing cyclodextrin and adamantane were synthesized, and copolymerized with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate. The specific interaction between copolymers …

The 2008 United States Senate Elections: A Typology Of Negative Themes On Candidate-Sponsored Websites, Erin Brining Hammond

Dissertations

The following study is an examination of the negativity on candidate-sponsored websites for the 2008 United States Senate candidates. Results of a content analysis indicated that negative themes identified were more likely to be oppositional than comparative (Johnson-Cartee & Copeland, 1991) and were more likely to be characterbased than policy-based (Benoit, 1999, 2007). The majority of negative themes were identified as focusing on issue stands rather than political record, job experience, criminal activities, religion, marriage/sex life, family members, medical history, or personal life (Johnson-Cartee & Copeland's, 1989).

Results of the content analysis go against the assumption of functional theory (Benoit, …

Remote Sensing Of Harmful Algal Blooms In The Mississippi Sound And Mobile Bay: Modelling And Algorithm Formation, Dan Martin Holiday

Dissertations

The incidence and severity of harmful algal blooms have increased in recent decades, as have the economic effects of their occurrence./The diatom Pseudo-nitzschia spp. caused fisheries closures in Mobile Bay during 2005 due to elevated levels of domoic acid. In the previous 4 years Karenia brevis counts of >5,000 cells L"1 have occurred in Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound. Population levels of this magnitude had previously been recorded only in 1996. Increases in human populations, urban sprawl, development of shoreline properties, sewage effluent and resultant changes in NP ratios of discharge waters, and decline in forest and marsh lands, …

Principal Efficacy: An Investigation Of School Principals' Sense Of Efficacy And Indicators Of School Effectiveness, Charles Wayne Lovell

Dissertations

At the individual school level, the responsibility for demonstrating school effectiveness lies on the shoulders of the building administrator. In fact, "it is widely accepted that good principals are the cornerstones of good schools and that, without a principal's leadership efforts to raise student achievement, schools cannot succeed" (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004, p. 573). However, federal, state, and local mandates have increased the pressure on school administrators to demonstrate effectiveness. As a result, the work of school administrators has changed. Furthermore, Fullan (2003) identifies a trend that demonstrates a dramatic decrease in the principal's perceptions of effectiveness, authority, trust, and …

Application Of Molecular Modeling In The Noncovalent Dispersion Of Carbon Nanomaterials, Praveen Kumar Madasu

Dissertations

Molecular modeling is a powerful tool to better understand the intermolecular interactions of carbon nanostructures. It provides structures and energies not easily obtainable from experiments and predicts properties that can be tested experimentally. Intermolecular interactions play an important role in the aggregation of various carbon nanomaterials. Three molecular modeling studies of carbon nanomaterial dispersions are presented in this dissertation, with an emphasis on illustrating how effective these theoretical techniques are in providing insight on the selection of dispersion additives. To achieve our goals, we employed molecular mechanics based methods, along with semi-empirical methods, and quantum mechanical methods, such as density …

Experimental Population Dynamics Of Amyloodiniumocellatum In The Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion Nebulosus, And The Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, Ignacio Masson

Dissertations

Amyloodinium ocellatum is a parasitic dinoflagellate that infects warm water marine bony fishes and causes high mortalities in aquaculture settings. It has three life history stages: the feeding trophont, the reproductive tomont, and the infective dinospore. This dissertation describes the characteristics of A. ocellatum infections in juvenile spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, and red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, studies the survival and fecundities of the stages in the life cycle of the parasite and presents a population model for A. ocellatum.

At 25°C and 33 ppt, the peak of trophont detachment occurred on day 2 postinfection in spotted seatrout and day 3 …

The Relationship Between Leadership Behaviors, Teacher Collaboration, And Student Achievement, Angela Nix Mchenry

Dissertations

Educational administrators face the unprecedented challenge of increasing student achievement for all students. One response to this challenge has been to increase and improve teacher collaboration. This study analyzed the relationship between elementary principals' leadership behaviors, teacher collaboration, and student achievement. The relationship between the variables of teacher age, years of experience, and years working with the current principal were also analyzed using multiple regression.

A random sample of 161 Mississippi elementary teachers in 15 schools were surveyed, using the researcher-designed questionnaire, Leadership for Collaboration. These responses measured the teachers' perception of their elementary principals' leadership behaviors and the level …

Random And Block Copolymers Of Poly(Dodecamethyleneterephthalamide), Theodore Frank Novitsky Jr.

Dissertations

The following dissertation focuses on the synthesis and characterization of poly(dodecamethylene terephthalamide) (PA-12,T) and novel copolymers. Chapter I details the synthesis of PA-12,T homopolymer by melt condensation polymerization. A series of homopolymers with different molecular weights were obtained by adjusting the stoichiometry of the polymerization using 1,12-diaminododecane, terephthalic acid and benzoic acid. End group 13C NMR spectroscopy resonances were obtained by correlating peak intensities with intrinsic viscosity values. From the NMR data, total end group concentrations and molecular weights were determined for each sample. The data exhibited a linear trend when plotting log (IV) versus log (Mn), and previously unknown …

Preparation And Characterization Of Thiol Based Polymeric Materials, Junghwan Shin

Dissertations

The thiol click-type reaction is one of the most efficient chemical processes that can undergo at room temperature in the benign organic solvent providing excellent opportunity in the fabrication of new materials as well as development of new manufacturing processes. Moreover, the versatility of thiol click-type reactions with many different functional groups such as ene, yne, epoxy, isocyanate, and alkyl halide is the important aspect that should be differentiated from the classic azide-alkyne click chemistry. Although, there are tremendous studies on many areas using thiol click-type reactions, the efficiency and utilities for the material applications have been barely explored. Especially, …

The Advanced Placement And International Baccalaureate Programs: The Graduates' Perspective, Shannon Saxby Smith

Dissertations

This study was designed to solicit the perspectives of AP and IB graduates who have completed at least one semester of postsecondary education about their experiences while in their respective programs. This study was also conducted to determine whether these IB graduates report that they were better prepared for postsecondary studies than students who participated in the AP program. The researcher was also able to determine whether AP and IB graduates believed they experienced any long-term benefits or detriments by having been in their programs and whether they believed their experiences were worthwhile. Lastly, the researcher was able to determine …

Tuning Pig Liver Esterase Enantioselectivity For The Synthesis Of Unnatural Serine And Tyrosine Analogues, Dale Anthony Rosado Jr.

Dissertations

The synthesis of disubstituted and homologated unnatural amino acids and the development of a mass spectrometry based assay for enantioselectivity are presented here. Disubstituted and homologated unnatural amino acids have proven to be effective for the treatment of diseases and for use as imaging agents. Peptides that contain unnatural amino acids have also proven to be effective treatments for various disease states including cancer. The potential to evaluate such unnatural amino acids for pharmaceutical properties is limited by the available syntheses. No method currently exists that will allow for the synthesis of homochirally similar unnatural amino acids from a common …

Teacher Education Preparation Assessment System And The National Council For Accreditation Of Teacher Education Accreditation, Deborah Lynn Vaughan Stoulig

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the assessment systems of teacher preparation programs have changed since the new NCATE Standards were implemented in 2004, what methods of data collections are being used, and to measure coordinators' perceptions of the assessment systems. An electronic survey was developed by the researcher based upon a review of related literature, the researcher's personal experience, and years of reviewing data collection software. An invitation to the survey was emailed to 631 NCATE Coordinators or equivalent as identified from their institution's website with 221 participants completing the survey for a return rate of …

An Investigation Of The Persuasive Effects Of Rhetorical Questions, Message Framing, And The Elm In Promoting Responsible Cell Phone Usage, Robert James Glenn Iii

Dissertations

This study evaluated persuasive messages that advocate support for a ban against cell phones while driving using Petty and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion as its theoretical framework. Seven hypotheses were tested using a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design assessing the influence of need for cognition (high vs. low) in tandem with the variables of message framing (gain vs. loss statements) and message form (questions vs. statements) upon assessments of elaboration (ME), cognition message value (CMV), message effectiveness ratings (MEF), and attitude toward the prescribed behavior (ATPB).

A significant main effect was found for message framing as …

Comparative Analysis Of Representative Marimba Works By Nebojsa Jo Van Zivkovic, Jefferson Lavelle Grant Iii

Dissertations

Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic has been an active performer and composer since the late 1970s. He is the closest modern percussionists have to the tradition of the virtuosocomposer from the Romantic period. He holds degrees in composition, music theory, and percussion performance. His music merits study based on the fact that he is an accomplished marimbist who composes at the instrument. This lends to his music a uniquely idiomatic quality. The two works presented in this treatise span almost twenty years of the composer's thirty-year career. The unifying element in both works is that they feature a marimba soloist as the …

Source-Message-Receiver In Integrated Marketing Communication: A Study Of U.S. Institutional Advancement, Sharee Leblanc Broussard

Dissertations

Because integrated marketing communication (IMC) research has traditionally been problematic, this study used an existing scale to determine that higher educational institutional advancement (alumni, marketing-communications, development) is an appropriate venue to study the process model. Responses from practitioners representing every department within advancement, every regional accrediting body and each of the baccalaureate to doctoral Carnegie Classification levels indicated the IMC process model is both understood and its tenets practiced by practitioners at all sizes and levels of institution. The study was of interest to the practitioners as more than half of the respondents requested a copy of the results. Additionally, …

Mathematics Achievement Of Regular Education Students By Placement In Inclusion And Non-Inclusion Classrooms And Their Principals' Perceptions Of Inclusion, Loretta Rodgers Hartfield

Dissertations

This study examined mathematics achievement of fourth and fifth grade students in Mississippi and principals' perceptions of inclusion.

A sample of 462 students from eight separate elementary schools was selected for this study. Fifteen principals completed the Principal and Inclusion Survey regarding inclusion education. Eight of the 15 principals were interviewed with 10 open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of inclusion.

Data were analyzed using an independent two-tailed t test and Pearson product moment correlation. The independent two-tailed / test was used to determine differences in mathematics achievement for fourth and fifth grade students in inclusion classrooms compared to non-inclusion classrooms …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Geospatial Technologies As Part Of Disaster Management Efforts Related To The Asian Tsunami Of 2004, Robert William Redding Jr.

Dissertations

On the 26th of December, 2004, a tsunami impacted the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, immediately killing over two hundred and eighty thousand people, displacing another million people, and initially causing at least US$10 billion in damage. The response by the international community was swift and massive. Disaster decision-makers who led their organization's responses to the tsunami used geospatial information to support their decision-making efforts with mixed success. When describing their use of geospatial technologies during the response, a select set of disaster decision-makers provided information about how they used geospatial information, they described what worked and what did not …

High School Sophomores' Perceptions Of The Role Of Extra-Curricular Activities As Preparation For College Admission, John Earl Wyble

Dissertations

While there is significant interest and emphasis on student participation in extra-curricular activities, limited research on such participation and the benefits it may possess toward preparing students for college admissions exists. A survey of 312 high school sophomores in a rural, southeastern Louisiana school district was conducted. Data were collected through the survey on the students' participation in extra-curricular activities and their perceived value of such participation toward gaining admission to a postsecondary institution. The purpose of the study was to analyze the relationship between participation in extra-curricular activity and the perceived value of such participation toward gaining admission to …