Digital Commons Network^™

Digital Integration For Monitoring Acceleration Signals, Charles Matthew Rose

Masters Theses

When testing turbine engines at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), vibration measurements are some of the most critical data taken. The present vibration monitoring system (VMS) consists of a charge producing accelerometer sensor, a charge amplifier, and a recording and analysis system. Currently the charge amplifier and the recording and analysis system are located in a data conditioning room which is approximately 150 feet from the accelerometer. If the signal processing equipment were moved closer to the test cell near the accelerometer, the fidelity of the acquired data could be greatly improved. An ideal system for this purpose would acquire …

An Analysis Of Spatiotemporal Variations Of Water Quality In The Little River Watershed And Their Connection With Land-Cover Patterns, Thomas Edward Burley

Masters Theses

The Little River supplies drinking water to Blount County, Tennessee, and supports several state and federally listed species. The upper, southeastern area of the Little River watershed is fed by protected sources originating in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the lower, northwestern part, however, the watershed has been affected by anthropogenic land-cover and land-cover change in recent years. These changes may have impacted water quality in the Little River watershed over the past 20 years. The objectives of this study were: (1) to elucidate the spatiotemporal patterns of water quality, (2) to understand the Little River watershed's land-cover …

Genetic Load Of Crop Genes And Tandem Mitigating Genes In Transgenic Brassica Napus (Oilseed Rape) X Brassica Rapa (Field Mustard) Populations, Christy Weems Rose

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Impact Of Knowledge Sharing On Quality Improvement Initiatives, Collins Landon Dukes

Masters Theses

The contributions of knowledge-based processes in quality initiatives, though unfamiliar, may have been realized by the improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge workers (Malhotra 2000). Effective knowledge management (KM) can provide an organization with a competitive edge through effective management of product and process quality. It is possible that quality initiatives can be directed using knowledge sharing practices by focusing on common themes throughout the organization. Hence, it stands to reason that knowledge sharing can be facilitated by understanding those factors that are critical to the success of quality improvement initiatives and, conversely, that the impact of quality …

From Authoritarian Dirty War To Neoliberal, 'Democratic' Class War Neoliberalism As Class Struggle In Argentina, Aaron Thomas Rowland

Masters Theses

This paper is a critical analysis of the theoretical assertions made, made by David Harvey and others, that neoliberalism is the ideological foundation for a one-sided, class-based struggle intended to restore or reconstruct the power of economic elites. Tracing neoliberalism back to its roots in the Austrian School of economics, I analyze the historical development of neoliberal theory and its critics. I show that it provides theoretical justification for elite class struggle. This theoretical argument is then grounded in a case study of Argentina's period of neoliberal reforms. In the case of Argentina, I show that this process was one …

Moderating Effect Of Intimate Exchange On The Reciprocal Relation Between Best Friend Delinquency And Child Externalizing Behavior, Alden Elizabeth Gaertner

Masters Theses

Research indicates both peer selection (choosing behaviorally similar individuals as friends) and peer socialization (mutual regulation of behavior) processes impact the development of problem behavior in childhood and adolescence. Differential association theory explains these processes by suggesting children and adolescents elect to participate in peer groups that conform to a commonly accepted set of group norms. Moreover, deviant peer groups ascribe to unconventional norms characterized by a higher proportion of pro-deviance messages learned in the context of intimate personal groups. Consistent with differential association theory, the current study examined the moderating effect of intimate exchange, or relational closeness, on the …

Simulating Truck Lane Management Approaches To Improve Efficiency And Safety Of Highways In Knoxville, Tennessee, Adebola Adebisi Adelakum

Masters Theses

Increased globalization has caused large increases in truck traffic on the nation’s interstate system, with much additional growth expected in the coming years. This growth has elevated interest in developing new strategies to address rising levels of truck traffic, especially in dense and congested urban areas. This thesis focuses on the evaluation of several alternative lane management configurations as they compare to the current lane configuration in search of the best fit for operational improvement. This task was performed in two ways – survey and simulation. A survey of 500 long-haul truck drivers was administered in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the …

Numerical Analysis For Determination Of Fiber Orientation In Nonwoven Mats, Lee Reynolds Allen

Masters Theses

The University of Tennessee Space Institute is interested in pitch-based carbon fibers. A need has arisen for characterizing relative alignment of nonwoven fiber mats, produced by the spinning gathering technology implemented. Knowledge of this alignment is relevant in the validation of production methodology as well as aiding in the analysis of carbon fiber composite materials made with the fiber mats. A digital image processing method was developed presented and evaluated in this thesis consisting of three steps: preprocessing using image smoothing, edge detection based upon local intensity gradients, and line detection via the Hough Transform. A summary of typical results …

Heats Of Solvation Of Organic Liquids In Room Temperature Ionic Liquids, Paula Jeanette Beach

Masters Theses

Ionic liquids are of potential use in industry as reusable, non-polluting solvents. Their thermochemical properties need to be known to facilitate planning of processes and experiments using these solvents. Two ionic liquids: 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim]PF6 or [bmim]PF6) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([hmim]NTf2) were studied using a calorimeter. Various organic liquids were introduced into the solvents and their heats of solution were measured and tabulated. Potential effects of certain functional groups such as alcohol, amine, carboxylic acid, ketone, and aldehyde were examined as well as aromatics versus chains and saturated rings.

Novel Method For Recovery Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 From Beef Surfaces, Matthew Adam Becher

Masters Theses

A study was conducted to compare the efficiency of detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL 933 on external beef trim by commercial recovery systems based upon of the Microbial-Vac System (M-Vac) and excision sampling. Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL 933 was cultured in tryptic soy broth for 24 hr at 37°C and transferred for three consecutive days before diluting and spot inoculating onto a 684 cm² piece of beef trim (10 CFU/684 cm²). Beef trim was sampled with the M-Vac by passing the sampling head over the entire surface area in a vertical sampling pattern. The sampling head …

Resonant Ultrasound Studies Of Quasi-2d NaXCoo2, Timothy Allen Cagle

Masters Theses

Sodium cobaltate possesses all the important traits needed in a material for potential thermoelectric applications yet it shows little regard for the traditional physics of thermoelectrics. As existing theories regarding the phenomenon in Na_xCoO₂ are incomplete, we have set out to elucidate some of the issues by looking into the elastic response of the system. To this effect, we have employed Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy to obtain the elastic tensor at various temperatures. As the Na_0.75CoO₂ stoichiometry seemed to potentially offer the most rewards due to a pronounced ground state and anomalous thermopower at higher …

Response-Contingent Positive Reinforcement: Incremental Validity In Predicting Depression Severity, John Paul Carvalho

Masters Theses

Insufficient response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR), or pleasure obtained through interaction with the environment that increases the likelihood of rewarding behavior, has been hypothesized to directly contribute to the onset and persistence of depression symptoms (Lewinsohn, 1974; Lewinsohn, Sullivan, & Grosscup, 1980). The present study examined the utility of RCPR in predicting the presence and severity of depression symptoms relative to other well-established risk factors that included gender, stressful life events, traumatic life events, childhood maltreatment, and cognitive vulnerability. Based on bivariate and hierarchical regression analyses, all variables except gender were significantly associated with the severity of depression symptoms, with RCPR …

A Comparison Of Us And Korean Consumers: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Brand-Related Ugc Found In Discussion Boards Of Product Review Sites, Hyuk Jun Cheong

Masters Theses

This study is a partial replication of Fong and Burton’s 2008 study. Fong and Burton (2008) conducted a cross-cultural study comparing Chinese and US Internet users in terms of willingness to engage in information-seeking and information-giving, utilizing Hofstede’s (1980; 1991) individualistic/collectivistic cultural dimension.

The current study examines cross-cultural differences in the use of UGC between US and Korean consumers by conducting a content analysis of the discussion boards of six digital camera review sites based in the US and Korea. It content-analyzes 1871 online postings on discussion boards of US-based and Korea-based product review sites.

The study adopts Hofstede’s (1980; …

Citizens (Or Citoyennes) Of The World: Women’S Citizenship And Exile In The French Revolutionary Years 1789-1793, Lisa Michelle Christian

Masters Theses

This study examines the fluid definitions of citizenship during the French Revolution, especially citizenship’s relationship to exile. I assert that citizenship was always defined by who could not be citizens. Furthermore, this study focuses upon women’s experience of citizenship and exile for their especial vulnerability to exclusion from public and political affairs. In particular, I address the political actions of Parisian common women, and the political actions and writings of the English exiles Helen Maria Williams and Mary Wollstonecraft. Essentially, this study has three distinct parts that demonstrate the development of women’s citizenship during the Revolution and the causes of …

New Consolidation Of Emission And Processing For Air Quality Modeling Assessment In Asia, Yuan Du

Masters Theses

Gridded Asian emission input with fine resolutions for regional photochemical air quality modeling is absent from current studies. A new top-down emission process based on GIS-FORTRAN program has been developed in this study to consolidate the current available regional emissions in Asia and provide model-ready emission input with more flexibility. The INTEX-B anthropogenic emission inventory in 2006 integrated with biogenic from GEIA, as well as biomass burning and ship emissions from TRACE-P has been adopted as the top-level emissions, which are then spatially allocated into grid-cell level by our GIS application. The spatial allocation factors generated for this process are …

Women’S Mysticism In The Late Middle Ages: The Influence Of Affective Love And The Courtly Love Tradition, Allison Jaines Elledge

Masters Theses

This thesis will focus on the devotional accounts of several influential women living in European cloisters or other religious communities during the twelfth, thirteenth, and early fourteenth centuries, such as Hadewijch of Antwerp, Mary of Oignies, Gertrude of Helfta, Mechthild of Magdeburg. I will explore how the rhetoric of love, selfknowledge, intention, and the focus on Christ’s humanity influenced the development of theological themes that affected their experiences and featured prominently in their writing. Finally, this thesis will examine the influence of affective mysticism and of courtly love poetry on the genre of medieval religious literature reporting mystical encounters with …

Quantitative Comparison Of Mechanical Harvesting Methods And Conventional Harvesting Methods Of Burley Tobacco In The Southeast, Robert Bailey Elliott

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine burley tobacco growers decision making processes as they pertain to labor usage during the harvest of their crop and adoption rates of mechanical harvesting technology in order to create a laudable document that could be used by those who disseminate knowledge in agricultural communities. This study sought to compare current conventional harvesting methods to mechanical harvesting methods to determine efficiency and affordability of each of the two methods for the tobacco grower. This study incorporated both survey data and focus group data in order to develop the findings herein. Survey data were …

Accelerated Thermal Aging Of Fe-Zeolite Scr Catalysts On An Engine Bench, Adam Lamar Foster

Masters Theses

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x with urea/NH₃ is a leading candidate to the impending more stringent emissions regulations for diesel engines. Currently, there is no consensus on the durability and the deactivation mechanisms associated with zeolite-based SCR catalysts, nor is there an established protocol for rapidly aging zeolite-based SCR catalysts that replicates the catalyst deactivation associated with field service. A 517 cc single-cylinder, naturally-aspirated direct injection (NA/DI) diesel engine is used to perform accelerated thermal aging on Fe-zeolite SCR catalysts. The engine is fitted with an exhaust aftertreatment system consisting of a DOC, a SCR catalyst and …

Experimental Determination Of Emissivity And Resistivity Of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia At High Temperatures, Howard Mosley Frederick

Masters Theses

The emissivity and resistivity of yttria stabilized zirconia (YsZ), Y₂O₃-ZrO₂, a ceramic material that has been specially fabricated for use as an electrically powered high temperature air heater are determined for temperatures above 2000 K. Published results of measurements of emissivity and resistivity of yttria, zirconia, and their alloys at temperatures above 2000 K are rare in the technical literature. A survey of literature describing the properties of YsZ, particularly literature concerning the ionic conduction process at high temperatures, is assembled to provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of a temperature and resistivity …

The Use Of Lanthanide Triflates As A Method For Reducing Ytterbium(Iii) To Ytterbium(Ii), Latasha Michelle Garrett

Masters Theses

High purity lutetium (99.999%) is employed in the manufacture of cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate. Such lutetium is in high demand because the cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate is the best gamma-detecting scintillator known. Solvent extraction is the most widely used method for separating the rare earths on an industrial scale at 99.999% purity. However, this process is time consuming and requires 80-100 separation stages. The major difficulty in pure lutetium production is the separation from the adjacent element, ytterbium. If ytterbium(III) could be reduced to ytterbium(II), this would permit a different chemistry between ytterbium(II) and the trivalent state elements, allowing a more facile …

Behavioral Activation For Mildly Depressed Students: Randomized Controlled Trial, Michael John Gawrysiak

Masters Theses

Although depression is prevalent among university students, limited and dated research has examined the efficacy of behavioral interventions in treating this population. Based on a modified version of the Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD; Hopko & Lejuez, 2007; Lejuez, Hopko, & Hopko, 2001) that involved a structured single-session intervention and 2- week treatment period, we conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing individualized BATD and a no-treatment control for university students with mild to moderate depression symptoms (N = 30). Outcome measures assessed depression severity, environmental reward, social support, and somatic anxiety. Repeated measures analyses of variance and reliable change …

Enshrining, Adapting And Contesting The Latin Apology Of Al-Kindi: Readers' Interactions With An Authoritative Polemic Against Islam, Leah Jenkins Giamalva

Masters Theses

In this study, I have examined the use of the Latin translation of the Arabic Apology of al-Kindi,, regarded as the most influential source of information about Islam for Latin readers in the Middle Ages, by some of its readers from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. My work is divided into three parts, beginning with an analysis of the writings of the man who commissioned the translation, Peter the Venerable, and Peter of Poitiers, the secretary of the first Peter and a member of the translation team. I argue that, for Peter the Venerable, the Latin translation of …

Fire History Of Gum Swamp And Black Pond In Eastern Tennessee, U.S.A., From Macroscopic Sedimentary Charcoal, Alisa Lynn Hass

Masters Theses

Eastern Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are biological hotspots in which settlement by Native Americans and Euro-Americans dramatically changed the landscape through land clearance and changes in fire occurrence. I present two local fire histories using macroscopic sedimentary charcoal, one from a highly managed area and one from private agricultural land. Gum Swamp (35°35' N 83°50' W) is a pond located in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park that experiences seasonal drying. The 0.94 m sediment profile extends to about 425 cal yr BP, based on an AMS radiocarbon date on charcoal fragments at mid-depth in the …

A Note On Hamel Bases, Jeremy S. Higdon

Masters Theses

The purpose of this paper is to discuss certain properties of Hamel bases. In particular, we reprove and generalize a theorem of R. Mabry (Aequations Mathematicae 71 (2006) p. 294-299) on the non-existence of nontrivial Hamel bases closed under multiplication.

The Evaluation Of A Chemical Fingerprinting Technique For Identifying The Sources Of In-Stream Sediments, Robert Alexander Hull

Masters Theses

Sediment is often listed as one of the main contributors to the impairment of surface waters throughout the United States. Sediment source identification is difficult in watersheds with complex combinations of land-uses and non-point sources because of the complexities involved in correlating water quality data, which are relatively easy to collect, to the source of a degrading component. The elemental properties of a particular soil on the landscape may be viewed as a “fingerprint”. A comparison of the elemental fingerprints of potential sources and in-stream sediment may be used to establish sediment source. The objectives of this investigation were to …

Buyer And Grower Perceptions Of Liner Quality And Associated Production Costs Of Nursery Liner Stock, Andrew H. Jeffers

Masters Theses

Liner production is a key segment in the nursery industry. Due to a lack of specific of quality standards by governing industry organizations as well as a lack of general consensus among growers of perceived liner quality, a conjoint analysis study was developed to determine buyer and grower preferences for nursery liner product features during point-of-purchase decisions. The study used a visual survey using six variables (first order lateral roots (FOLR), price, region of production, and height, canopy density and caliper uniformity) with varying levels yielding a 3 x 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design. …

Multi-Channel Real-Time Communication In Wireless Sensor Network, Nitish Kumar Jha

Masters Theses

Many radio chips used in today's sensor mote hardware can work at different frequencies. Recently, several multi-channel communication protocols have been proposed to improve network throughput and reduce packet loss for wireless sensor networks. However, existing work does not provide explicit guarantees for application-specified end-to-end communication delays, which are critical to many real-time applications such as surveillance and disaster response. On the other hand, those radio chips also have adaptable transmission power which allows a trade-off between communication delays and energy efficiency.

This work proposes two multi-channel real-time communication protocols. One of the protocols features a node-based channel assignment policy …

The Application Of A Two-Dimensional Sediment Transport Model In A Cumberland Plateau Mountainous Stream Reach With Complex Morphology And Coarse Substrate, Daniel Hale Johnson

Masters Theses

Among river engineers there is growing recognition that the success of a stream restoration project is dependent on the accurate prediction of sediment transport along a reach. To aid the design process, several numerical one- and multi-dimensional models have been developed to quantify in-stream sediment transport and hydraulic characteristics, and multiple sampling techniques have been proposed to establish the upstream sediment supply. However, the governing physical boundaries and variables (i.e., Manning’s ‘n’ variable, energy slope, and upstream sediment supply) required to initiate a sediment transport simulation are time consuming and difficult to measure in the field, and the estimation of …

The Adsorption Of 2-Ketogluconate By Goethite, Jessica Suzanne Journey

Masters Theses

The low-molecular-mass-organic acid, 2-ketogluconate (kG), has been found to exist in significant concentrations in the rhizosphere of agricultural soils. Adsorption of kG by constant potential mineral surfaces may influence soil chemical processes. This study examines influence of temperature, pH, and ionic environment on the adsorption of kG by goethite. When kG was present on the surface of goethite, the pH_pzc decreased by approximately 0.4 pH units, from pH 7.6 to pH 7.2, suggesting that kG is chemisorbed to the goethite surface via ligand exchange mechanisms. The adsorption of kG by goethite is a function of pH and ionic strength. …

Characterization Of The Metallohistin Cdna Agnt84 And Pteris Vittata Tissue Culture For Phytoremediation, Blake Lee Joyce

Masters Theses

Contamination of soils with toxic metals such as arsenic and cadmium has become a major environmental and human health risk. Phytoremediation provides a method to remove contaminants from soils that is not only economically viable but also environmentally sound. Metallohistins are proteins that have the capability to bind divalent metal ions such as Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺. In this study, a concatemer sequence was designed to try to increase the presence of metal-binding proteins in transgenic plants. Two methods to increase translational efficiency of the metallohistin protein were used: …