Digital Commons Network^™

Gender And Internet Advertising: Differences In The Ways Males And Females Engage With And Perceive Internet Advertising, Carolynn Anne Mcmahan

Doctoral Dissertations

This paper discusses an examination of the differences in the ways males’ and females’ engage with and perceive Internet advertising. Specifically, commercial Web sites were analyzed to better understand the role of gender within online consumer behavior, its effect on interactivity and advertising effectiveness and the implications for online marketing communications. Gender differences in Internet advertising are first explored by analyzing gender in relation to interactivity. This exploration will be based upon dimensions of consumers’ online behavior, referred to as user processes, and consumers’ beliefs about the interactive communication environment, or user perceptions, in relation to three types of features, …

Gravity In Extra Dimensions Of Infinite Volume, Chad Aaron Middleton

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis, we discuss various aspects of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model in D-dimensions. Firstly, we generalize the DGP model, which consists of a delta-function type 3-brane embedded in an infinite volume bulk-space by allowing the 3-brane to have a finite thickness. We calculate the graviton propagator in the harmonic gauge both inside and outside the brane and discuss its dependence on the thickness of the brane. We obtain two infinite towers of massive modes and tachyonic ghosts. In the thin-brane limit, we recover the four-dimensional Einstein gravity behavior of the graviton propagator which was found in the delta-function treatment. …

The Ds/Cft Correspondence And Quasinormal Modes Of Black Holes, Scott Henry Ness

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis we discuss two aspects of quantum gravity and break it up in the following way. In part I, we discuss a scalar field theory living in de Sitter space-time. We may describe the infinite past or future as being boundaries of this space-time and, on these boundaries we construct a field theory. It has been shown by Strominger that there exists a correspondence between the bulk de Sitter space-time and the field theory living in the infinite past [1]. This may be described as a holographic principle, where information in the bulk de Sitter space-time corresponds to …

Relationships Between Operationalizations Of Dyslexia And Attitudes And Perceptions Of Learning A Foreign Language, Katrinda Wills Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Relationships among foreign language attitudes and perceptions and reading skills were investigated for 278 English-speaking college students enrolled in 100 and 200 level foreign language classes using the Foreign Language Attitudes and Perceptions Survey (FLAPS; Sparks and Ganschow, 1993), a 35 item questionnaire, the Test of Dyslexia, Rapid Assessment Profile (TOD-RAP; Bell, McCallum, & Cox, 2003), and the Woodcock Johnson III (WJIII; McGrew & Woodcock, 2001). Correlational analyses indicated that spelling, silent reading fluency, orthography and listening vocabulary were correlated modestly but significantly with foreign language attitudes and perceptions, i.e., those with weaker reading and reading-related scores exhibited more negative …

Two Essays On Momentum, Seung-Chan Park

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most controversial topics in recent investment literature has been stock return momentum. If an investor buys past winners and sells past losers, he will earn positive profits in the intermediate-term horizon (3 to 12 months). While behavioral theories seem to dominate as an explanation for the momentum phenomenon since momentum has been regarded as direct counter evidence for the efficient market hypothesis, Chordia and Shivakumar (2002) find that momentum can be explained by a set of macroeconomic variables. Chordia and Shivakumar argue that momentum is caused by time-varying expected returns that can be predicted by a set …

Examining Consumer Pre-Purchase Deliberation Process In An Online Marketplace, Hyung Chul Park

Doctoral Dissertations

The research objective of this study was to examine the consumer pre-purchase deliberation process in an online marketplace. Especially, examining the role of extrinsic quality (website-related quality), intrinsic quality (business operation-related quality), reputation of the retailer (other consumers’ opinions), attitude toward the retailer, and intention to transact with the retailer in an online marketplace context was main purpose of this study.

To collect the data, extensive online survey was performed. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling test.

Findings revealed that there are significant positive relationships among extrinsic quality, intrinsic quality, reputation of the retailer, attitude toward the retailer, …

Interdisciplinary Approaches To New Chemical Analysis, David Lynn Rodman

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation is the development of new chemical analyses for inorganic, organic, and organometallic compounds. Interdisciplinary approaches combining analytical, polymer, inorganic, organic, and materials chemistry have been used to develop new analytical methods. Topics discussed in this dissertation include the development of a sol-gel based metal ion sensor, photochemical oxidation of a biomimetic Cr(III) complex, photochemical oxidation of organic ligands and other interferences in model Pd catalyst complexes, modified Fujiwara reactions for the detection of halogenated hydrocarbons, and the development of a controlled-release polymer for delivery of reagents needed for chemical sensing applications.

Predicting Success Of Developmental And Core Mathematics Students At East Tennessee State University, Daryl Lynn Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations

Current regulations in the Tennessee Board of Regents system place students into developmental or regular classes based solely on scores on either the ACT or COMPASS. This study examined whether a combination of other readily available factors might better predict a student’s success.

Students at East Tennessee State University taking elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, and probability and statistics (the core math class at the university) were surveyed in Fall, 2004, to find out when they took their last mathematics class in high school and what mathematics courses they took in high school. Other variables were obtained from the student information …

An Assessment Of Influences Which Affect Teachers’ Use Of Technology, Bryan K. Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

Current literature is plentiful on computer-based technology’s positive influence on students. There are only a few studies that have considered the influence that technology has on teachers. This is a study about influences, which affect teachers’ use of technology. It is based on inconsistencies in previous studies, areas not addressed in previous surveys, and the dramatic changes in technology and Internet access using Web browsers since the previous surveys on technology were conducted.

As new technologies make their way into instructional settings, effects of teachers’ use of technology can be dynamic. This study examined particular areas of teachers’ use of …

Personnel Selection In The Transportation Sector: An Investigation Of Personality Traits In Relation To The Job Performance Of Delivery Drivers, Mark Andrew Tichon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of a pre-employment selection instrument for predicting occupational success of delivery drivers. A criterion-based concurrent validation study was performed on a customized version of the Personal Style Inventory , a work-based personality measurement system based on the Five Factor model of personality (Lounsbury & Gibson, 2000). Relationships between both broad and narrow bandwidth personality dimensions and important job performance criterion measures were examined. Four traits were found to be correlated with Overall Performance Rating of delivery drivers: Agreeableness, Comfort with Procedures, Attention to Detail, and Preference for Long Tenure. A …

Isolation And Thermodynamic Characterization Of Aminoglycoside Nucleotidyltransferase (2″)-Ia, Roger Edward Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

Aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase(2″)-Ia is one of the most important aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Because of the difficulties in isolating this enzyme with a high level of purity, very little work has been reported for this enzyme. A procedure for obtaining this enzyme with a purity level of greater than 95% from inclusion bodies was developed. The optimal conditions for isolating ANT(2″) were solubilizing the inclusion bodies in 8 M urea followed by direct dilution of the enzyme into 0.1 M Tris-HCl pH 8.5, 0.2 M KCl, 0.4 ML-arginine and 5 mM reduced glutathione at 4°C. The determination of an effective method of obtaining …

A Proposed Framework For Simultaneous Optimization Of Evacuation Traffic Distribution And Assignment, Fang Yuan

Doctoral Dissertations

In the conventional evacuation planning process, evacuees are assigned to fixed destinations based mainly on the criterion of geographical proximity. However, such pre-specified destinations (OD table) almost always lead to sub-optimal evacuation efficiencies due to uncertain road conditions such as congestion, road blockage, and other hazards associated with the emergency. By relaxing the constraint of assigning evacuees to pre-specified destinations, a one-destination evacuation (ODE) concept has the potential of greatly improving the evacuation efficiency. A framework for simultaneous optimization of evacuation traffic distribution and assignment is therefore proposed in this study. Based on the concept of ODE, the optimal destination …

Analysis Of Vehicle Use Patterns During Military Field Exercises To Identify Potential Roads, Chunxia Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

Military training is an intensive land use and can cause negative environmental effects. Many studies conducted under Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) for quantifying the impact resulted from the military training exercise found that off-road vehicular activities during training exercises cause the major impact to the training land. Vehicle land use patterns at a certain location affect the impact severity: concentrated and repeated traffic create more serious damage to the land compared to the dispersed offroad vehicle movements. Those areas heavily disturbed by off-road traffic may require a longer period of time or special treatments for the land to return …

High Performance Parallel Approximate Eigensolver For Real Symmetric Matrices, Yihua Bai

Doctoral Dissertations

In the first-principles calculation of electronic structures, one of the most timeconsuming tasks is that of computing the eigensystem of a large symmetric nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The standard approach is to use an iterative scheme involving the solution to a large symmetric linear eigenvalue problem in each iteration. In the early and intermediate iterations, significant gains in efficiency may result from solving the eigensystem to reduced accuracy. As the iteration nears convergence, the eigensystem can be computed to the required accuracy.
Traditional real symmetric eigensolvers compute the eigensystem in three steps: 1) reduce a dense matrix to a symmetric tridiagonal …

High Resolution X-Ray And Neutron Crystallographic Studies Of Escherichia Coli Dihydrofolate Reductase, Brad C. Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

Dihydrofolate Reductases (DHFRs) have been identified in nearly every proteome and are essential for most biosynthetic pathways involving one-carbon transfer reactions due to their recycling of tetrahydrofolate (THF). They catalyze the NADPH-dependent reduction of dihydrofolate (DHF), producing THF. Inhibition of DHFR ultimately depletes cellular pools of THF; causing a reduced supply of thymine nucleotides for DNA synthesis, resulting in genomic instability and cell death. Therefore, DHFRs remain important drug targets in antimicrobial and chemotherapeutic treatments. Despite exhaustive investigation of E. coli chromosomal DHFR, controversy persists over the dynamics of regulatory loops (the Met20, the βF-βG, and the βG-βH) and the …

Physical Activity Of Older Adults Residing In Different Levels Of Care, Randall Joseph Bergman

Doctoral Dissertations

This study compared the physical activity and functional levels of older adults residing in retirement (RH), assisted-living (AL) and nursing homes (NH). The StepWatch Step Activity Monitor3 (SW) pedometer was used to collect the number of steps taken during one day of activity. Activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) surveys were completed to measure functional status in terms of ADL problems and impairments. The sample consisted of thirty-seven older adults (17 RH, 8 AL, 12 NH, 71 – 94 years old) who wore the SW on the right ankle during a full day of …

New Approaches To Risk Management And Scenario Approximation In Financial Optimization, Maksym Bychkov

Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of the thesis addresses the problem of risk management in financial optimization modeling. Motivation for constructing a new concept of risk measurement is given through the history of development: utility theory, risk/return tradeoff, and coherent risk measures. The process of describing investor's preferences is presented through the proposed collection of Rational Level Sets (RLS). Based on RLS, a new concept termed Rational Risk Measures (RRM) for nancial optimization models is defined. The advantages of RRM over coherent risk measures are discussed. Approximation of a given set of scenarios using tail information is addressed in the second part …

Children’S Books And The Nature Of Science: A Multisite Naturalistic Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers In The Rural Southeast, Patricia Lynn Bricker

Doctoral Dissertations

This naturalistic case study describes the efforts of three elementary teachers in a rural southeastern school to use children’s books in support of inquiry-based science and specifically addresses issues related to the nature of science. Data were collected through 26 classroom and meeting observations, 16 semi-structured and informal interviews, 35 documents and 76 children’s books used by the teachers. Three themes were identified related to the nature of science and the selection and use of children’s books in the teachers’ second, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms.

1. Science was portrayed as a human endeavor that connects to the lives of people …

Student Success: A Study Of Computer-Based Instruction Versus Lecture-Based Instruction In Developmental Mathematics At A Tennessee Community College, Tina Renee Cannon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of incorporating computerized instruction into developmental mathematics courses. The study examined achievement, retention, persistence, and success of students who began in Elementary Algebra, progressed into Intermediate Algebra and subsequently obtained their goal of completing an initial college-level mathematics course. The college-level courses consist of College Algebra, Introductory Statistics, or Contemporary Mathematics.

Two groups of elementary algebra students from Chattanooga State Technical Community College were used in this study. One group was taught using a lecture based approach and one group was taught using a computerized instructional approach. The lecture group …

Evaluation Of Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicle Emissions During Cold-Start And Steady-State Idling Conditions And Reduction Of Emissions From A Truck-Stop Electrification Program, James A. Calcagno

Doctoral Dissertations

Cold-start and extended-idling emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) were measured from 24, class-8B, heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDV8B) using portable emission monitoring equipment. The ratio of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) to NOx and the ratio of PM_2.5 to total PM were reported. Truck model years ranged from 1992 to 2004. All vehicles were tested in the field during summer and fall months under ambient environmental conditions at low (600-800 rpm) and high (1000 rpm) engine idling speeds with the truck cab air-conditioner operating at “on” and “off” modes. Sampling data thus …

The Effect Of Specific Versus Generalized Supervisory Feedback On Counseling Self-Efficacy Of Counselors-In-Training, Sheri Lyn Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

This study assessed the effects of general and specific supervisory feedback on counselors’-in-training ratings of counseling self-efficacy (CSE). Fifty-four students in counseling-related graduate programs from two universities in the southeast and one in the mid-west volunteered as participants. Thirty-seven participants were female (68.5%), 14 were male (25.9%), and three did not indicate their sex (5.6%). Forty out of 54 participants (74.1%) indicated they were Caucasian-American, five were African-American (9.3%), one was Hispanic-American (1.9%), one was Asian-American (1.9%), and three indicated that they were best described as “other” (5.6%). The median number of months of previous clinical supervision for the participants …

Structural And Spectroscopic Studies Of Transition Metal Organometallic And Coordination Complexes With Reference To Catalysis, Megan Taliaferro Bragg

Doctoral Dissertations

Inorganic chemistry encompasses a variety of topics and in many ways, these advances affect a wider sphere of chemists than purely inorganic and progress in this field is interesting to many scientists. The developments presented in this dissertation are significant as they affect three issues: catalytic reactivity, ligand fluxionality, and catalyst development. Catalysis affects industrial profit, pharmaceutical development, agrochemical synthesis, spectroscopy, enzymatic activity, and polymerization.

Progress in certain areas such as the [Cp*Rh(TsDPEN)] (TsDPEN = p-toluenesulfonyldiphenylethylenediamine) has lead to a moiety that is a powerful and efficient catalyst for the reduction of C=N bonds. The precise mechanism of the …

The Development Of Building Block Methodologies To Produce Nanostructured Heterogeneous Catalysts By Design, Jason Curtis Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

Building block methods were successfully developed to demonstrate the potential of this approach to synthesizing nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts by design. The octa(trimethyltin) cuboctameric spherosilicate, Si₈O₂₀(SnMe₃)₈, was used as the building block for the synthesis of these materials. The solid state structure of this building block was characterized and compared to other solid state structures of Si₈O₁₂ containing compounds. These studies showed that this building block is composed of rigid tetrahedral units connect through a flexible siloxy bridge. The trimethyltin functionality present on this molecular precursor will react with metal …

Health Risk Assessment Posed By The Mobile Source Air Toxics On An Urban To Regional Area, Luis Alonso Díaz Robles

Doctoral Dissertations

Air toxics are important health concern. The purpose of this research was to develop a protocol to predict exposure concentrations of air toxics and inhalation cancer and noncancer risk that come from different gasoline and diesel-fueled sources. The protocol was developed by linking the U.S. EPA’s Models-3/CMAQ model as the exposure model and toxicological and epidemiological evidence functions. The NEI version 3 for the year 1999 was used in this analysis for point, area, and non-road sources, whereas NMIM was used to create the on-road emissions. The year 2003 was used for meteorological data and as reference to compare the …

Variation In Life History And Behavioral Traits In The Colonial Spider Parawixia Bistriata (Araneidae): Some Adaptive Responses To Different Environments, María Florencia Fernández Campón

Doctoral Dissertations

Widely distributed species are exposed to different environmental forces throughout their range. As a response to differences in local environmental conditions, these species are expected to present geographic variation in phenotypic traits (e.g., behavioral, physiological, anatomical) in order to better adapt to these conditions. Parawixia bistriata (Araneidae) is a colonial spider distributed in a variety of habitats in South America. This species is unusual in two respects: contrary to most social species found in tropical wet forests, P. bistriata’s distribution extends from tropical to temperate latitudes; and it exhibits facultative group foraging, a behavioral pattern absent in territorial colonial …

A Zooarchaeological Analysis Of Change In Animal Utilization At Bethsaida From Iron Age Ii Through The Early Roman Period, Toni Gayle Fisher

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines and compares the patterns of animal utilization by the peoples who inhabited et-Tell / Bethsaida during three historical periods: the Iron Age (specifically Iron Age IIA, IIB and IIC, 1000–740 BCE), the Early Hellenistic Period (332–142 BCE) and the Late Hellenistic / Early Roman Period (142 BCE–second century CE). The research presented here analyzes animal bones discovered during excavations from 1995 through 1998 at et-Tell, a site in present-day Israel. Zooarchaeological analysis of these remains in their archaeological contexts, in combination and comparison with data from neighboring sites, is used to identify the economic strategies and lifeways …

Liquid Crystals Confined In Nanoporous Silica, Yang Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

Confinement has a nontrivial effect on a condensed matter system due to the finite size effect, the surface effect and the induced disorder. Different techniques such as calorimetric measurement, dielectric spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray scattering and quasi-elastic neutron scattering have been widely used to study this important topic. Confined liquid crystals (LCs) have attracted great attention in particular because they are a soft system and their physical properties are more easily affected by the geometrical confinement (entropic) effect and the surface interaction (energetic) effect. In this paper, we study the phase transitions and dynamic behavior of LCs, 5CB and …

Designs For Stated Preference Experiments, Jennifer Lynn Golek

Doctoral Dissertations

We explore the use of different strategies for the construction of optimal choice experiments and their impact on the overall efficiency of the resulting design. We then evaluate how these choice designs meet the desired characteristics of optimal choice designs (orthogonality, level balance, utility balance and minimum level overlap). We further explore the feasibility of using entropy as a secondary measure of design optimality. We find that current algorithms afford little flexibility for using this secondary measure. We further study the impact of misspecification of the assumed parameter values used in creation of optimal choice designs. We find that the …

Father Perspectives On The Relationship Between Family-Centered Practices And Empowerment Outcomes In Early Intervention, William Bryan Higgins

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore fathers’ perceptions of family-centered practices in early intervention services and to examine how these practices influence fathers’ feelings of empowerment. Literature reviewed examined the family-centered approach to service delivery and empowerment outcomes, especially in early intervention programs. In addition, a brief discussion of fatherhood research was presented in an effort to inform potential hypotheses and discussion.

The current study was conducted as part of the Pathways to Family Empowerment Project whose purpose is to evaluate the family-centered model of service delivery in Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS). The data collected were …

Adaptive Nonlinear Optimization Methodology For Installed Capacity Decisions In Distributed Energy/Cooling Heat And Power Applications., Carl Randolph Hudson

Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluation of potential cooling, heating and power (CHP) applications requires an assessment of the operations and economics of a particular system in meeting the electric and thermal demands of a specific end-use facility. Given the electrical and thermal load behavior of a facility, the tariff structure for grid-supplied electricity, the price of primary fuel (e.g., natural gas), the operating strategy and characteristics of the CHP system, and an assumed set of installed CHP system capacities (e.g., installed capacity of prime mover and absorption chiller), one can determine the cost of such a system as compared to reliance solely on traditional, …