Digital Commons Network^™

$750 Million Of Neutral News Coverage: A Content Analysis Of Nextel's Media Exposure Before And After Becoming Nascar's Primary Corporate Sponsor., Joshua Tod Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the exposure of the Nextel brand name in major U.S. newspapers 1 year before and after Nextel became the primary sponsor of the North American Stock Car Association of Racing. A content analysis of 576 newspaper articles was performed. The hypotheses tested the quantity and quality of Nextel's coverage, as well where the stories were appearing and where the brand was being used in the stories.

The study found the number of Nextel mentions in year two was almost 4 times as many as year one. The data reveal a dramatic increase in cases found in sports …

A Study Of Instructional Technology Resource Teachers In Virginia's Public School Divisions: Who Are They And What Do They Do?, Kimberly M. Hooker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of instructional technology resource teachers (ITRTs) within Virginia's public school divisions focusing on how ITRTs used their time throughout the school year to integrate technology into the curriculum. Based on data from surveys of current ITRTs, the researcher investigated further to find relationships, if any, among the professional and educational backgrounds and work calendar of these teachers and their responses to their actual role. The study also addressed training that the ITRTs have received to assist them in their job duties and explored the participants' perceptions of their roles as …

Indoor Air Quality: Determination Of Voc's In A Reproductive Clinic., Miriam Rachel Trivette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to perform an indoor air quality (IAQ) investigation at the Center for Applied Reproductive Science (CARS) to assess whether VOCs exist at levels dangerous to embryo. Formaldehyde, n-hexane, benzene, and styrene concentrations were measured at six locations. Formaldehyde concentrations were comparable to office and residential indoor air. N-hexane, benzene, and styrene were not detected. In addition, acetaldehyde, ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol were detected. IAQ parameters (carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity, pressure, and particulates) were measured at 22 sites monthly for one year. Temperature and humidity readings were within Environmental Protection Agency recommendations. Particulate concentrations were …

In Pursuit Of The Ed.D.: A Study Of East Tennessee State University's Doctors Of Education: Who They Are And Why They Persisted., Mata J. Banks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to Kerlin (1995a), first-generation students are not expected to survive to doctorate degree attainment because of vulnerability to negative affects associated with their status; yet persist they do at East Tennessee State University. The desire to study the first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and the limited number of first-generation graduate studies available, especially in the academic field of education, promoted developing this study. It was the intent of this study to offer additional empirical research toward understanding variables associated with first-generation persistence as encountered by East Tennessee State University's Doctors of education.

Quantitative analysis derived through …

Derivation Of Change From Sequences Of Snapshots, Dominik Wilmsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current research in the domain of geographic information science considers possibilities of including another dimension, time, which is generally missing to this point. Users interested in changes have few functions available to compare datasets of spatial configurations at different points in time. Such a comparison of spatial configurations requires large amounts of manual labor. An automatic derivation of changes would decrease amounts of manual labor. The thesis introduces a set of methods that allows for an automatic derivation of changes. These methods analyze identity and topological states of objects in snapshots and derive types of change for the specific configuration …

The Introduction Of Christianity Into Scandinavia, Iceland, And Finland., Tracy Marie Legel 1974-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conversion of Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland occurred over many years and resulted in the formation of Scandinavian monarchies, a strong Icelandic parliament, and an loosely organized Finnish nation. The conversion of Northern Europe was completed Viking style with aggressive tactics, involvement of few as outside leaders as possible, and reward seeking converts. Viking explorations introduced the Northern European communities to Christianity and Northern Europeans acknowledged the religion in their own societies even though they did not completely embrace it. When their status quo was upset, Northern Europeans looked to Christianity as a solution to their woes. Promoted by the …

Mindful Teachers: Case Studies Of Intermediate Teachers And Their Mindful Teaching Practices, Christine Edwards Sherretz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For generations, educational philosophers, parents, business people, and practitioners have argued that public schools promote mindless standardization that stifles creativity, curiosity, and enthusiasm for learning. The case has been made that instead of mindlessness, schools should be a place where mindful individuals can flourish. Langer (1989, 1997) described mindful individuals as displaying the following characteristics: (a) openness to novelty, (b) alertness to distinction, (c) sensitivity to different contexts, (d) awareness of multiple perspectives, and (e) orientation in the present. Langer (2000) states that mindlessness might be described as a lack of these attributes. The purpose of this research was to …

Closing The Minority Achievement Gap In Georgia Middle Schools: Principals' Perspectives, Stacy Eugene Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide best practices and strategies for middle school principals that have been struggling to close the minority achievement gap in schools. Three Georgia middle school principals considered to be successful in closing the achievement gap were interviewed to determine the strategies and practices that they use to close the minority achievement gap. These practices and strategies were further examined to determine their effectiveness in the areas of reading and mathematics. The researcher used in-depth interviewing procedures through a structured interview format to encourage research participants to speak openly and candidly about the strategies …

Pedagogy Of Social Justice: An Inquiry Into The Experiences Of African American Adolescent Males, Natalie Ann Lambright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using Critical Race Theory (Crenshaw, Gotanda, Peller, & Thomas, 1995; Ladson-Billing, 1998; Richard Delgado & Jean Stefanic, 2000; Solorzano & Yasso, 2002) as a theoretical framework, and critical narrative inquiry (Clendanin & Connelly, 1999) as research methodology, I explored stories from five eighth grade African American adolescent males in order to identify how home, community, and school experiences contributed to their academic success and social development. My passion for the inquiry was driven for my desire to foster a sense of agency for social justice and positive changes for the African American community. Selection of participants was based upon reading …

Derrida, Deconstruction And A Dialogue On The Contemporary Nursing Curriculum, Catherine Louise Gilbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This theoretical inquiry utilizes the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and deconstruction to begin a discourse on the disconnect between student learning and nursing education within the academy. By entering into a thoughtful, reasoned and responsible critique of the nursing curriculum, this journey of discovery examines those constructs integral to nursing education: students, teachers, identity, the art and science of nursing, the curriculum, power and control, and the university, their (dis)connectedness and begins a dialogue that positions nursing education as the legitimate professional nursing curricula for the next millennium. This journey of discovery recognizes an underlying thesis; meaningful learning that facilitates …

Rhetorics Of Globalism., Steven Nathaniel Wexler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the rhetorics that enable nations to tap into and deploy capital transnationally. Its primary focus is on China. China's globalism promotes a version of Western neoliberalism, including tropes such as efficiency, individuality, and freedom, to underwrite inequality, consumerism, and masking of surplus labor/value. While an ostensible boon for China's marginalized, China's globalism continues to increase the gap between wealthy and poor. Chapter One introduces the project with an overview of theoretical and disciplinary responses to globalization. This chapter demonstrates how the discourse of transnational capital supports consumerism, competition, and simultaneous "universality/difference" worldwide. Chapter Two offers a rhetorical …

Surface Modification Of Pigments And Its Role In Offset Ink Setting, Wei Gu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ink setting affects offset print quality issues such as print mottle and print gloss. It is known that ink setting depends on many factors, such as the nature of the substrate, the properties of the coating, and the ink formulation. However, the role of pigment surface chemistry in offset ink setting is unknown. From an experimental perspective, it is difficult to determine the role of the surface chemistry as it requires paper coatings that are similar in physical properties and differ only in the pigment surface chemistry. The aim of this study was two-fold. The first was to apply methods …

Engineering Calpastatin To Develop A Sensor To Detect Active Calpain, Lisa M. Vanhooser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Calpains, Ca²⁺-activated cysteine proteases are essential for early embryonic development and function in signal transduction, cell adhesion, and apoptosis. Calpains also contribute to cataractogenesis, myocardial infarctions, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The various methods currently available to demonstrate these roles do not directly identify spatial or temporal activation of calpain in cells. Therefore, a tool to detect active calpain in situ will be useful. Calpastatin is the ubiquitous, endogenous inhibitor that specifically binds the active conformation of the conventional calpains. Calpastatin consists of four homologous domains each containing three subdomains A, B, and C. The crystal structure …

Yellow Tree: A Distributed Main-Memory Spatial Index Structure For Moving Objects, Hariharan Gowrisankar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mobile devices equipped with wireless technologies to communicate and positioning systems to locate objects of interest are common place today, providing the impetus to develop location-aware applications. At the heart of location-aware applications are moving objects or objects that continuously change location over time, such as cars in transportation networks or pedestrians or postal packages. Location-aware applications tend to support the tracking of very large numbers of such moving objects as well as many users that are interested in finding out about the locations of other moving objects. Such location-aware applications rely on support from database management systems to model, …

Production Of Ethanol From Hardwood, Jay Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diminishing crude oil and natural gas supplies, along with concern about greenhouse gas are major driving forces in the search for efficient renewable energy sources. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to energy and useful chemicals is a component of the solution. Ethanol is most commonly produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates to simple sugars followed by fermentation using yeast.

C₆H_l0O₅ + H₂O −Enxymes→ C₆H₁₂O₆ −Yeast→ 2CH₃CH₂OH + 2C0₂

In the U.S. corn is the primary starting raw material for commercial ethanol production. …

Geomorphic Considerations For Restoration Of Headwater Streams Impacted By Mountaintop Mining Hollow Fills., Ben Mater 1982-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the Appalachian hills of eastern Kentucky, large-scale coal mining operations are directly altering the headwater landscape through the construction of hollow fills. These man-made landforms and their associated in-stream structures alter a longterm, continuous morphologic evolution driven by the natural interaction of erosive forces and material of the earth's surface. Post-mining channel morphology, hillslopes, and hollow fills continue to actively evolve in response to erosive forces. Aquatic ecosystem functionality and hollow fill stability may be jeopardized by this condition, yet they may be preserved through efforts to restore or re-create channel morphology more representative of the natural headwater stream. …

Determining Environmental Drivers Of Fish Community Structure Along The Coast Of Maine, Adrian Jordaan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work presented here was conceived to determine whether structure in marine communities could be related to multiple scaled environmental parameters, as seen in lake and stream systems. Four datasets collected from 2001 to 2005 were used. The datasets ranged from local scale tidepool and estuarine surveys, to more regional intertidal/subtidal surveys and conclude using a coast-wide trawl survey. Initially, a bootstrap program for running principal component analysis (PCA) was developed and tested for utility with additional information from Pearson correlation coefficients. The bootstrap-PC A program was capable of determining confidence limits for correlations amongst species. The results from analysis …

Diel And Tidal Rhythms Of Emercenge Events Based On Acousitc Observations In A Shallow Estuary, Mei Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Field observations of emergence events by epibenthic animals were conducted with two Tracor Acoustic Profiling Systems (TAPS) in the Damariscotta River estuary, Maine, in fall 2005 and summer 2006. Spectral analysis revealed that periodic temporal variability of the acoustic signals was concentrated at four periods. One was the solar day (24 h) and the other three were lunar tidal periods of 25.82 (diurnal or Oi), 12.42 (semidiurnal or M2) and 6.21 h (half the semidiurnal period). The mysid Neomysis americana showed strong nocturnal migration patterns of water-column activity during its peak summer emergence season, regulated by the diel cycle. Toward …

Integrated Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Perceptions Of A Professional Learning Community Utilizing Senge's Five Disciplines Of A Learning Organization, Margaret Zena Stockard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine a high school's attempt at reform through implementing a component of a professional learning community to determine if Senge's five disciplines of a learning organization were present. The school was in the second year of implementing common planning time, one of the practices related to organizational learning. This study used qualitative methodology and employed an integrated phenomenological design to investigate the perceptions and lived experiences of the core-subject teachers and department heads involved in common planning time at one high school. Participant observation, document and artifact collection, semi structured interviews, photographs and …

Georgia Elementary Principals' Perceptions Of Their Ethical Philosophy, Formal Leadership Preparation In Ethics, And Actions Related To The Development And Maintenance Of An Ethical School, Laura Martinez Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to determine elementary principals' perceptions of their ethical philosophy, formal leadership preparation in graduate school in the area of ethics, and actions needed for the development and maintenance of an ethical school. The persons most appropriate to provide the answers to the research questions included the population of elementary principals. A random sample of 915 elementary principals in Georgia was identified by listings on the Georgia Department of Education Website or by each county's web page. A descriptive, quantitative methodology was used, with a qualitative component of open-ended questions in order to bring …

Analysis Of Implementing Inclusion In A Local School District, Faith Deborah Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher's purpose was to conduct an analysis of the implementation of an inclusion program in three schools in a southeastern Georgia school district. The sample consisted of two elementary schools and one middle school. One elementary school was implementing inclusion for the first time and consisted of 586 students with 50 staff members serving a mixed population, racially, economically, and socially. The second elementary school consisted of 504 students with 50 staff members serving a mixed population, but with a slightly higher economic and social status than the previously mentioned elementary school. This school was attempting to implement inclusion …

Captured Artifacts, Charles Pearson Burch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My art examines the possible existence of an unknown civilization through the presentation of sculptural art objects within the conventional practice of displaying artifacts in a public institution. Historically, artifacts have served as visual records of journeying to and returning from a far-away land, unknown territory, alien soil, or enemy battlefield. Whether that place is tangible or is a fabrication of our subconscious, the presence of an artifact represents validation of the existence of that place. When displayed, artifacts offer a pleasurable challenge to the viewer by evoking the possibilities of a lost civilization or adventurer's journey. I employ these …

Analysis Of Retention Factors That Influence Georgia's Secondary Career And Technical Education Teachers To Remain In The Teaching Profession, Hope Jackson Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research study on the retention influences of Georgia's secondary career and technical education teachers was conducted to determine why the teachers chose to remain in the teaching profession. Participants included all program areas of career and technical education in the state of Georgia. Data were gathered to analyze the demographics, personal retention influences, and professional retention influences of the career and technical education teachers. The quantitative study was conducted by an on-line survey. Approximately 700 e-mails were sent, and 154 participants responded. Demographic results suggested that the typical career and technical education teacher respondents had 21 plus years of …

Body Dissatisfaction And Other Sociocultural Factors As Predictors Of Body Image Perceptions In Sorority And Non-Sorority Women, Kiley Elizabeth Winston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore body dissatisfaction and other sociocultural factors as predictors of body image perceptions in college-aged sorority and non-sorority women. The Social Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3) (Thompson et al, 2004), the Body Dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorders Inventory 3 (EDI-3) (Garner, 2004), the Body Image Assessment (BIA) (Williamson et. al., 1985), the Mother Influence Scale, Parent Involvement Scale and the Peer Influence Scale (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1998) were used. The sample for this study included a total of 502 college age women N sorority = 322 and Nnon-sorority= 180. Data …

Effects Of Dynamic, Static Stretch, And Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation On Running Velocity, Step Length, And Step Rate, William Todd Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the possible effects of three different types of stretch protocols and a no stretch protocol on collegiate female sprinters on the velocity, step length and step rate. Ten NCAA Division I female sprinters ranging in age from 18 to 22 participated in the study. A forty five meter sprint was performed with the section from thirty to forty meters digitally recorded and later analyzed for velocity, step length, and step rate. The sprint was performed before the stretch protocol was applied and then again after it was applied. The participants were tested …

School Renewal In South Georgia, Sean Michael Mulvanity

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the implementation of the Accelerated Schools Project at one school in South Georgia. The Accelerated Schools Project is a comprehensive school renewal effort developed by Henry Levin which attempts to change both the school decision making process and the instructional techniques used in the classroom. The unique governance structure, which attempts to involve all stakeholders in decisions that impact the institution, and the student-centered instructional technique are combined in an effort to instigate school renewal. The phenomenological nature of this study examines the implementation of the Accelerated School Project from a historical and cultural perspective. The author …

Auto/Biographical Inquiry Into The Lives Of Three Female High School Dropouts In The Rural South, Barbara A. Spurlock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The economic value of an education is thoroughly documented in the United States Census Bureau report, The big payoff: Educational attainment and synthetic estimates of work-life earnings (2002). The report clearly shows that earnings increase with educational level. Yet, students continue to leave school before graduating. In October of 1996, 11.1% of persons aged 16 to 24 years were dropouts. They wree not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school. Nearly a half million of them left high school between October 1995 and 1996 (U.S. Census Bureau, 1997). This inquiry examined the lives of three …

Host Attraction And Host Selection In The Family Corethrellidae (Wood And Borkent) (Diptera), Jeremy Vann Camp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Flies in the family Corethrellidae (Diptera) are known to be attracted to the mating calls of tree frogs. Field studies using the calls of nine species of frogs native to the SE USA confirmed prior findings that the call of the barking tree frog, Hyla gratiosa LeConte, is the most attractive call to sympatric Corethrella (Coquillett) from Georgia. A synthetic barking tree frog call was created using computer software. It was found that the synthetic call was more attractive than the real call of the barking tree frog. A recent study in Panama using the tungara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, found …

Curriculum Of Imagination Beyond The Walls Of Standardization, Robert Lewis Lake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a theoretical inquiry into ways of seeing, knowing, and learning that are frequently excluded in this present climate of standardized practices in the field of education. In this study, I explore how imagination permeates every aspect of life experience and helps develop personal and political awareness in students to look beyond what they take for granted, to question the normal, and to develop various ways of knowing, seeing, feeling, and acting upon positive social and educational change in an era of accountability. This is accomplished by tracing the historical and contemporary evolution of the concepts of imagination …

Parental Investment And Male Ornamentation In The Eastern Bluebird (Sialis Sialis), Daniel Paul Wetzel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bright plumage coloration in most birds is thought to be a product of sexual selection. Brighter, more-ornamented males are preferred by females because their plumage conveys information regarding the quality of the individual. One measure of male quality is willingness to invest in offspring. In birds, investment is usually measured as the rate at which nestlings are provisioned. However there are other forms of parental investment. The purpose of this study is to quantify the relationship between two measures of parental investment and their association with structural plumage coloration in male Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). I found there was no …