Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Recycling: Knowledge, Demographic & Motivational Factors Which Differentiate Behavior, David Ducoff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focuses on motivation -Involved in recycling behavior among residents of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Knowledge of recycling and how it was acquired, and the variables of environmental concern, economic incentive and the peer pressure were compared so that behavior could be distinguished that separated recyclers from nonrecyclers. Talcott Parsons' work in action theory and George Homans' work in exchange theory provide the theoretical foundation for my study. The research was approached in a qualitatively based design with interviews of twenty area residents. Demographic factors of age, sex, religious affiliation, church attendance, education and income of respondents were solicited. In …

Regional Temperature Trends & Variations In The Contiguous United States From 1935 To 1986, Fahad Alkolibi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The temperature trends and variations of the contiguous United States as a whole and ten designated regions were investigated from 1935 to 1986. To obtain reliable results, 263 stations of the Historical Climate Network (HCN) were used. The HCN stations are corrected for many non-climatic factors which may bias the data. The data for the contiguous United States reveals that the annual, summer, and winter temperatures are free of clear positive or negative trends. Unlike the annual and summer data, winter temperatures exhibit relatively strong variations.

Each region was then studyed individually. The summer temperatures for all the ten regions …

Evolved Gas Analysis Using Coupled Tg-Cg & Tg-Ftir, Keith Bradfield

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Thermal analysis methods have ben used for many years for material characterization. In recent years, thermal methods have been coupled to other methods of chemical analysis to obtain more complete material characterization. This study looks at thermal decomposition of polymer samples as well as coal samples in atmospheres of nitrogen and air. The thermal analysis instrument used was coupled to a Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) so that the gaseous products evolved during thermal decomposition could be analyzed. The results obtained show that the coupled techniques of TG -GC and TG-FTIR can show pyrolysis and …