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Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

2010

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Fabrication And Characterization Of Nanomaterials Grown By Electron Beam Induced Deposition Process, Juntao Li Jan 2010

Fabrication And Characterization Of Nanomaterials Grown By Electron Beam Induced Deposition Process, Juntao Li

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Platinum&ndash and tungsten&ndashcontaining materials were grown on bulk substrates from a variety of precursors including (CH3)3CH3C5H4Pt, W(CO)6, WF6, and Pt(PF3)4 in either a high vacuum dual beam focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope (FIB&ndashSEM) or an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The effects of deposition conditions on the growth kinetics, microstructure and composition of the grown materials, structural and chemical homogeneity of impurities inside the deposits as well as the resistivity were investigated.


Interventions To Modify Television Viewing Behavior Of Children : A Review, Meta-Analysis, And Key-Informant Interviews, Dayna Maureen Maniccia Jan 2010

Interventions To Modify Television Viewing Behavior Of Children : A Review, Meta-Analysis, And Key-Informant Interviews, Dayna Maureen Maniccia

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Excessive screen time and childhood obesity are two associated public health concerns. Several interventions to modify children's screen time exist. To date, no systematic review of these interventions has been conducted. This dissertation identified and summarized interventions to modify children's screen time. Suggestions for future work are provided.


Safety Assessment For Tipranavir : A Protease Inhibitor Treatment For Hiv Infected Adults, Jaromir Mikl Jan 2010

Safety Assessment For Tipranavir : A Protease Inhibitor Treatment For Hiv Infected Adults, Jaromir Mikl

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Dose-limiting adverse events associated with anti-retroviral therapy (ART) generally include gastro-intestinal (GI) issues such as vomiting and nausea. However, serious adverse events (SAEs) do occur, the most frequent of which include liver toxicities and renal impairment as well as recent evidence of cardio-vascular disease (CVD) risk.


Mobile Technologies & Socio-Economic Opportunities For Disadvantaged Women : A Study Of Information Behavior In A Developing Nation Context, Devendra Dilip Potnis Jan 2010

Mobile Technologies & Socio-Economic Opportunities For Disadvantaged Women : A Study Of Information Behavior In A Developing Nation Context, Devendra Dilip Potnis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been championed by the United Nations and others as one of the key media to open up socio-economic opportunities for disadvantaged populations. Studies lead us to believe that after being introduced to ICTs, users' information behavior changes, enabling them to benefit from socio-economic opportunities. Using Wilson's (1997) Revised General Model of Information Behavior (Model), the dissertation explored the role of cell phones - the fastest spreading information and communication technology (ICT) - in shaping the information behavior of disadvantaged population, with its implications on socio-economic opportunities.


Effect Of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids On Murine Thymocytes, Aparna Prasad Jan 2010

Effect Of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids On Murine Thymocytes, Aparna Prasad

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Several reports suggest that the relative beneficial effect of consumption of omega-3 as


Polymorphic Attacks And Network Topology : Application Of Concepts From Natural Systems, Prahalad Rangan Jan 2010

Polymorphic Attacks And Network Topology : Application Of Concepts From Natural Systems, Prahalad Rangan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The growing complexity of interactions between computers and networks makes the subject of network security a very interesting one. As our dependence on the services provided by computing networks grows, so does our investment in such technology. In this situation, there is a greater risk of occurrence of targeted malicious attacks on computers and networks, which could result in system failure. At the user level, the goal of network security is to prevent any malicious attack by a virus or a worm. However, at the network level, total prevention of such malicious attacks is an impossible and impractical objective to …


Individualized Intimacy? : The Negotiation Of Self And Other In Heterosexual Relationships, Daniel Santore Jan 2010

Individualized Intimacy? : The Negotiation Of Self And Other In Heterosexual Relationships, Daniel Santore

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Sociologists working in various scholarly traditions posit an individualization of contemporary romantic relationships occurring in Western societies over the passed several decades. This dissertation uses North American and European theoretical perspectives on "individualized intimacy" as the basis for a qualitative interview study of 45 women and men involved in heterosexual relationships. In keeping with the theoretical perspectives that ground the study, the interviews focus on how concepts of self-development, communication, gender and social class collide with one another in, and serve to shape, respondents' narratives of self and other in intimacy. Findings demonstrate that: (a) regarding gender, women and men …


Heterometallic Beta-Diketonates And Oxo-Diketonates As Single Source Precursors For The Synthesis Of Oxide Materials, Haitao Zhang Jan 2010

Heterometallic Beta-Diketonates And Oxo-Diketonates As Single Source Precursors For The Synthesis Of Oxide Materials, Haitao Zhang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The focus of this investigation was to develop a simple, high-yield synthetic approach to heterometallic diketonates using the same construction principles as for their polynuclear homometallic analogs. Several low-temperature solid-state synthetic routes were suggested that appear to be general for the preparation of heterometallic diketonates incorporating a wide range of s-, p-, d-, and f-metals. Using this investigative approach, two families of bimetallic homoleptic diketonates that contain heavy main group (BiIII, PbII) and the first row divalent transition metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) have been obtained. The heterometallic molecules that are held together by strong Lewis acid-base …


Explaining The 2004 Exit Poll Error As A Product Of Response Bias And Not Fraud : A Comparison Of The "Spiral Of Silence" And "Political Ambivalence" Perspectives As Heurism For Analyzing The Causal Structure Of Differential Response In The Exit Polls, Tamas Bodor Jan 2010

Explaining The 2004 Exit Poll Error As A Product Of Response Bias And Not Fraud : A Comparison Of The "Spiral Of Silence" And "Political Ambivalence" Perspectives As Heurism For Analyzing The Causal Structure Of Differential Response In The Exit Polls, Tamas Bodor

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Leaked exit poll data on the 2004 Presidential election suggested that John Kerry was ahead in several key states and was winning the election. Yet the official vote tallies showed that George W. Bush easily secured his second term. The unprecedented degree of discrepancy between the exit poll estimates and the official tallies fuelled a fierce controversy. Since no particular methodological shortcomings had been identified, some advanced the "reluctant Bush respondent" hypothesis, arguing that the exit polls overstated the Kerry vote because Bush supporters were less willing to express their views by participating in the exit polls. Since no information …


The Role Of The Progesterone Receptor In The Development Of The Ventromedial Nucleus And Female Sexual Behaviors, Keith L. Gonzales Jan 2010

The Role Of The Progesterone Receptor In The Development Of The Ventromedial Nucleus And Female Sexual Behaviors, Keith L. Gonzales

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Steroid induced gene transcription plays an important role in neural sex differences within many mammalian species. Steroid hormones actions within the developing brain have profound, permanent effects in the development of neurochemical processes and behaviors. Within the developing ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN), a potent transcription factor, the progesterone receptor (PR), is highly expressed within female rats. Furthermore, the regulation of PR within the developing VMN of the female rat is anatomically and developmentally specific. Typically, PR expression is highly dependent on the activity of estradiol acting at ERα. As such, circulating levels of estradiol act to induce PR …


Partnership Between Myth And Reality : Structural Asymmetries In Parent-Teacher Relationships, Marisa Bel Holtz Jan 2010

Partnership Between Myth And Reality : Structural Asymmetries In Parent-Teacher Relationships, Marisa Bel Holtz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite a historically unprecedented increase in advocacy for parental involvement in education in recent decades, parents continue to express dissatisfaction with their communication with teachers, while teachers continue to identify their interactions with parents as a source of tension and stress. While the practitioner literature recommends parent-teacher collaboration as an attainable goal, the theoretical literature suggests that, given the structural asymmetries of parent-teacher relationships, open communication may be impossible. Via unstructured interviews with parents and teachers of suburban secondary students, this study explored the structural limitations on authentic parent-teacher communication. A two-layered analytic approach combined thematic analysis and narrative discourse …


The Schenectady Virtual Community : Exploring The Ecology Of Political Discourse In A Local Context, Andrea B. Baker Jan 2010

The Schenectady Virtual Community : Exploring The Ecology Of Political Discourse In A Local Context, Andrea B. Baker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

From Facebook to Twitter, ordinary citizens' use of social media to discuss, organize, and participate in the political process continues to grow in popularity (Davis, 2005; Rainie, 2005; Kohut, 2008). Researchers interested in this area have explored the demographics, patterns of behavior and motives of participants in online communities (Stromer-Galley, 2002, 2003), the dynamics of the online discussions (Dahlberg, 2001; Davis, 2005; Wilhelm, 2000), the effect of online participation on other forms of political activity (Brunsting, 2002; Kavanaugh & Patterson, 2001), and more recently the relationship between social media and the conventional press (Hiler, 2002; Park, 2004; Cornfield, 2006; Lenhart …


Effective Community-Based Chemical Dependency Treatment For Adolescents : Matching Program Services With Individual Difference Variables, Joseph S. Hunter Jan 2010

Effective Community-Based Chemical Dependency Treatment For Adolescents : Matching Program Services With Individual Difference Variables, Joseph S. Hunter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recognition of differences in presenting needs and treatment responses of various subgroups of the adolescent substance abusing population, this study breaks ground from the traditional concept of utilizing a "one size fits all" evidence-based practice for treating adolescents by revealing the importance of tailoring treatments to adolescent subgroups. The subgroups studied were defined by age, gender, race, and special needs including, co-occurring mental illness, juvenile justice history, parental addiction, and those of higher severity of substance abuse. The interventions studied included group treatment, family treatment, case management, multi-service programming, vocational treatment and behavioral approaches. A quasi-experimental design was utilized …


Dependability And Accuracy Of Clinical Performance In Nursing Examination Scores, Laurie Vanessa Nagelsmith Jan 2010

Dependability And Accuracy Of Clinical Performance In Nursing Examination Scores, Laurie Vanessa Nagelsmith

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study is to determine the dependability and accuracy of Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination (CPNE®) scores obtained from trained raters. Intraclass correlations were calculated to estimate interrater agreement. Accuracy of scores was determined by identifying percent accuracy for each scored element. Generalizability (G) coefficients were calculated to estimate sources of variance in CPNE scores. The population for the study is adjunct faculty at Excelsior College who agreed to participate in the study and are clinical examiners trained as raters for the CPNE


Retrieval Of Atmospheric Elemental Carbon Records Using Lake Sediments : Implications In Radiative Forcing, Tanveer Ahmed Jan 2010

Retrieval Of Atmospheric Elemental Carbon Records Using Lake Sediments : Implications In Radiative Forcing, Tanveer Ahmed

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Elemental or black carbon (EC or BC) aerosols produced during incomplete combustion strongly absorb solar radiation and contribute to global warming, and cause cardiopulmonary disease. Long-term atmospheric EC measurements, [EC]atm, are needed to validate global climate models to estimate the impact of EC on earth's temperature. Such data is sparse.


Enhancing Literacy Among Rural, Work-Oriented Youth : A Cultural Analysis, Marta Kliger Albert Jan 2010

Enhancing Literacy Among Rural, Work-Oriented Youth : A Cultural Analysis, Marta Kliger Albert

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation focuses on educational reform in New York State in relation to two policies that I term "dual reform." The 1996 Regents graduation policy required all students to participate in the college-prep curriculum and attain a Regents diploma, while the 2001 Career and Technical Education (CTE) policy promoted integrative approaches to teach academic topics within CTE. The central study questions were: How has literacy reform been constituted in relation to CTE within two rural communities? How does CTE enable and constrain youth literacy learning and development?


Ecological Invasion In Spatially Competitive Systems, Andrew James Allstadt Jan 2010

Ecological Invasion In Spatially Competitive Systems, Andrew James Allstadt

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although the term invasion conjures images of invasive species, the dynamics of rarity is fundamental to many ecological processes. The community-level effects of invasion are determined by interactions between individuals in the system. Competition is most intense between neighboring individuals, which may generate spatial organization that can affect the outcome and time scale of an invasion. In this dissertation, I use analytic and simulation models of invasion to study preemptive competition between a rare invading type, and a resident that already occupies the system. In Chapter 1, I give motivation for these studies, and then introduce a spatially structured, individual-based …


Building Perceived Organizational Support Through Justice : The Mediating Effect Of Perceived Organizational Support On The Relationship Between Justice Interventions And Organizational Outcomes, Maria Belen Arboleda Jan 2010

Building Perceived Organizational Support Through Justice : The Mediating Effect Of Perceived Organizational Support On The Relationship Between Justice Interventions And Organizational Outcomes, Maria Belen Arboleda

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research on perceived organizational support has focused on theoretical antecedents and organizational outcomes, however to date there is limited research on practical interventions to enhance POS. The present study examined, in a lab setting, whether two operationalizations of justice, provision of information (informational justice) and encouraging suggestions (procedural justice) influence the extent to which employees feel supported by their organization. Further, this study explored the mediating effect of POS on the relationship between these justice interventions and organizational outcomes supported in the literature, affective commitment, extra-role performance and in-role performance. One hundred and seventy three participants were randomly assigned to …


Bilingual Visual Culture In New York : Socially-Engaged Latina Artists And The Discourse Of Hybridity, Solmerina Aponte Jan 2010

Bilingual Visual Culture In New York : Socially-Engaged Latina Artists And The Discourse Of Hybridity, Solmerina Aponte

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the aesthetic visual discourse of hybridity manifested in the works of contemporary socially-engaged Latina artists of the New York diaspora. For Latin America and the Caribbean, regions where sociopolitical history has generally exhibited a tumultuous trajectory, the arts have provided a formidable venue for addressing the social concerns engendered by this turbulent history and for studying the creative ways in which artists interpret them. The symbiotic bond created between art and politics would become a cultural force and tradition in the history of struggle that characterizes the countries that are part of …


Community-Level Crime Control : A Closer Look At The Mediating Variables Of Social Disorganization Theory, David Paul Armstrong Jan 2010

Community-Level Crime Control : A Closer Look At The Mediating Variables Of Social Disorganization Theory, David Paul Armstrong

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study focuses on the mediating factors of social disorganization theory. To be more specific, this study combines the insights from the classical social disorganization model, the systemic model of crime, and the more recent work of Sampson and colleagues on collective efficacy and Carr (2003) on the new parochialism to answer some of the lingering questions within the perspective. The three mediating factors examined are social ties, collective efficacy, and organizational activism, a concept derived from Carr's work on the new parochialism. The concept organizational activism refers to using local organizations with access to outside resources to indirectly …


First Principles Investigation Of Electronic Structures And Associated Energy And Wave-Function Dependent Properties Of Biological Systems : Deoxyribonucleic Acid (Dna), Oxy-Haemoglobin, Shyam Raj Badu Jan 2010

First Principles Investigation Of Electronic Structures And Associated Energy And Wave-Function Dependent Properties Of Biological Systems : Deoxyribonucleic Acid (Dna), Oxy-Haemoglobin, Shyam Raj Badu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Hartree-Fock procedure combined with many body perturbation theory has been used to investigate the electronic structures and associated properties of DNA systems and their corresponding muonium (Mu) adducts, as well as oxyhaemoglobin (HbO2).


Improving Primary Care Outcomes For Hispanics With Anxiety Disorders : A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Velma -. Barrios Jan 2010

Improving Primary Care Outcomes For Hispanics With Anxiety Disorders : A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Velma -. Barrios

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The proportion of Hispanics in psychosocial treatment outcome research is limited. To our knowledge, no randomized clinical trials have investigated the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in adult Hispanics with anxiety disorders. This is important because Hispanics are among the fastest growing minority group in the U. S., and as a group, they evidence pervasive and persistent anxiety disorders. The growth of the Hispanic population has taken place while social service systems are ill prepared to address the needs of these individuals. In this study, we addressed this gap in the literature by evaluating the difference in clinical effectiveness of cognitive …


Negotiating New Roles, New Moralities : Ukrainian Women Physicians At A Post-Socialist Crossroad, Maryna Yevgenivna Bazylevych Jan 2010

Negotiating New Roles, New Moralities : Ukrainian Women Physicians At A Post-Socialist Crossroad, Maryna Yevgenivna Bazylevych

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

My dissertation discusses concepts of professionalism and morality as seen by women physicians in post-socialist Ukraine. As in many other post-socialist societies, Ukrainian women constitute the majority of the medical profession (over 70% of practicing physicians and 80% of medical students). Most of the existing literature explains this narrowly in materialist terms whereby low salary is viewed as determinant of low prestige and thus unattractiveness to men. I suggest that prestige is defined much broader in the local context. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Central and Western Ukraine (2007-2008), I argue that the meanings of prestige carry both socialist and …


Prevention Of Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Infection And Hpv-Related Diseases : Barriers To Hpv Vaccine Coverage Among University Women In The U.S., And Initial Steps In Integrating Cervical Cytology Testing Into Primary Care In The Republic Of Georgia, Robert Bednarczyk Jan 2010

Prevention Of Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Infection And Hpv-Related Diseases : Barriers To Hpv Vaccine Coverage Among University Women In The U.S., And Initial Steps In Integrating Cervical Cytology Testing Into Primary Care In The Republic Of Georgia, Robert Bednarczyk

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Worldwide, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer in incidence. Screening for pre-cancerous abnormalities can reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality, though this is not uniformly used worldwide. Recently, a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), a necessary cause of cervical cancer, was approved for preventive use in the United States.


Do You See What I See? : Testing The Effects Of Race And Social Class On Therapists' Recognition Of And Attributions For Intimate Partner Violence, Susana Blanco Jan 2010

Do You See What I See? : Testing The Effects Of Race And Social Class On Therapists' Recognition Of And Attributions For Intimate Partner Violence, Susana Blanco

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

An estimated 5.3 million intimate partner violence (IPV) victimizations occur among U.S. women each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Because of the high prevalence, Harway and Hansen (2004) recommended that therapists assume that all women presenting for therapy may be at risk for violence. However, assessment for IPV is not standard practice. In fact, studies repeatedly indicate that therapists tend to under-identify IPV (e.g., Harway & Hansen, 1993).


Recovering Brande : Freewriting And Sustainable (Procedural) Expression, Richard Bower Jan 2010

Recovering Brande : Freewriting And Sustainable (Procedural) Expression, Richard Bower

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Dorothea Brande is rarely known in rhetoric and composition yet continues to hold popular influence over writers attracted to Cartesian beliefs. The aim of this project is to recover Brande's contributions in order to rethink composition's trajectories. Chiefly, Dorothea Brande's legacy has been in creative writing through Becoming a Writer. In this bestseller, she establishes a program for putting the Cartesian divide to work. "Writing with the unconscious mind in the ascent," as Brande explains about what Ken Macrorie and Peter Elbow later call freewriting, harnesses the bifurcated consciousness of writers and begins a journey of unification.


Toward A Theory-Based Natural Language Capability In Robots And Other Embodied Agents : Evaluating Hausser's Slim Theory And Database Semantics, Robin Kowalchuk Burk Jan 2010

Toward A Theory-Based Natural Language Capability In Robots And Other Embodied Agents : Evaluating Hausser's Slim Theory And Database Semantics, Robin Kowalchuk Burk

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Computational natural language understanding and generation have been a goal of artificial intelligence since McCarthy, Minsky, Rochester and Shannon first proposed to spend the summer of 1956 studying this and related problems. Although statistical approaches dominate current natural language applications, two current research trends bring renewed focus on this goal. The nascent field of artificial general intelligence (AGI) seeks to evolve intelligent agents whose multi-subagent architectures are motivated by neuroscience insights into the modular functional structure of the brain and by cognitive science insights into human learning processes. Rapid advances in cognitive robotics also entail multi-agent software architectures that attempt …


Modern Day Mary Poppins : Uncovering The Work Of Nannies And The Expectations Of Employers, Laura Ann Bunyan Jan 2010

Modern Day Mary Poppins : Uncovering The Work Of Nannies And The Expectations Of Employers, Laura Ann Bunyan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Throughout the past few decades the number of parents relying on child care has risen. Most research on parental use of child care focuses on relationships between employers and employees of differing racial-ethnic, social class, and educational status. This dissertation was designed to examine the experiences of those who perform nanny work, the process of selecting care, and understand the experiences of those who do not seek to maximize social space between employee and employer.


Beyond Regular : Pattern Matching With Extended Regular Expressions, Benjamin Robert Carle Jan 2010

Beyond Regular : Pattern Matching With Extended Regular Expressions, Benjamin Robert Carle

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Regular expression pattern matching or some variant thereof is present


Life Transitions, Social Support And Psychological Well-Being Among The Elderly In Taiwan : A Longitudinal Study, Shiau-Fang Chao Jan 2010

Life Transitions, Social Support And Psychological Well-Being Among The Elderly In Taiwan : A Longitudinal Study, Shiau-Fang Chao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines the relationships between life transitions, social support and psychological well-being. A decline in health and financial strain were selected as two types of chronic stressors and loss of a spouse as an acute stressor. This study integrates previous literature and develops a unique predictive model involving seven components of social support -- social network size, social network composition, frequency of social contact, satisfaction with social support, types of support, helping others, and proximity of support. Depression and life satisfaction were the two measures of psychological well-being. 3,585 elders who were interviewed up to five times over a …