Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Analysis Of Cavity Flow And The Effects Of A Rod In Crossflow, Richard David Loewen

Masters Theses

Subsonic cavity flow tests of an L/D = 3.5 cavity, with three different diameter rods in crossflow, 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4", were conducted using the High Speed Wind Tunnel in the University of Tennessee Space Institute’s Gas Dynamic Laboratory. The average Mach number flow over the duration of the four phase testing sequence was 0.52, with a unit Reynolds number of 13.8 x 106. With the use of a dynamic pressure transducer and a laser PIV system, Spectral and Flow Visualization data was collected with aim of investigating the effect of the rods in crossflow on cavity flow. However, for …

Industrial Concentration And Quality Of Life, James Nathaniel Maples

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of industrial concentration at the county level on quality of life among residents of US counties. Data on various aspects of quality of life and industrial characteristics were collected for all United States counties. Four quality of life-related variables (infant mortality, percent of female-headed households, the burglary rate, and income inequality) were regressed on industrial concentration percentage and industrial concentration types. Industrial concentration was associated with an increase in infant mortality, a decrease in the burglary rate, and had no effect on the percent of female headed households or income …

Impacts Of A 4-Lane Highway On The Spatial Ecology Of American Black Bears And The Effectiveness Of Wildlife Underpasses In Eastern North Carolina, Matthew Flanders Mccollister

Masters Theses

From 2001 through 2005, the North Carolina Department of Transportation rerouted and upgraded a section of U.S. Highway 64 in Washington County to a 4-lane divided highway. This new roadway included 3 wildlife underpasses with adjacent wildlife fencing to mitigate the effects of the highway on wildlife, in particular American black bears (Ursus americanus). From 2000 to 2001, the University of Tennessee conducted research on the spatial ecology and population demographics of the black bear population at the new highway site and on a nearby control area of similar habitat composition. From 2006 to 2007, after highway construction, …

Self-Controlled Feedback And Activity Level In Learning A Simple Movement Skill, Tim Van Nguyen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if active and sedentary individuals differed in terms the effects of self-controlled feedback on the learning of a movement skill. The task consisted of a blindfolded beanbag toss using the non-preferred arm. Participants were prescreened according to their physical activity level using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Craig et al., 2003). An equal number of active (A) and sedentary (S) participants were assigned to self-control (SC) and yoked (Y) feedback conditions, creating four groups: Self-Control Active; Self-Control Sedentary; Yoked Active; and Yoked Sedentary. SC condition participants were provided feedback whenever they requested …

Biochemical Reactions Instigating Vision – Parameter Sensitivity Analysis, Sophonie Ketcha Tchoua

Masters Theses

The purpose of this work is to investigate the sensitivity of parameters involved in a cascade of biochemical reactions occurring in photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye. This cascade constitutes the first stage of the elaborate process of vision, by which light captured in a photoreceptor generates an electrical signal. It is this signal that travels to the brain enabling vision.

Sensitivity on parameters was performed on an ODE model of the biochemical cascade using two methods. One method used SimLab, a statistical sensitivity analysis program. We found that there are at most five important parameters out of …

A Descriptive Study Of Sustainability Strategies Among Local Parks And Recreation Departments In Tennessee, Jennifer Yowell

Masters Theses

This thesis represents the first study ever performed in the state of Tennessee on the usage of ecological sustainability strategies in the local parks and an analysis of the existing barriers preventing their implementation. A survey was e-mailed to all of the 105 Tennessee Recreation Park Association park directors requesting this data. As a result of this analysis, a list of 34 environmentally friendly sustainability strategies has been identified that should be considered for implementation in the local parks by their directors. The most common perceptions the directors listed as barriers to their implementation of sustainability strategies included staff knowledge, …

Gis Data And Geoprocess Modeling For Hydrologic Network Conservation Analysis In A Green Infrastructure Plan, Andrew Lorenz Wunderlich

Masters Theses

As urban sprawl swallows the areas around cities, planners are looking for alternative methods of development that help to protect and preserve the environment, enhance the lives of residents, and help reduce the skyrocketing costs of maintaining sprawling infrastructure. Green Infrastructure (GI) planning principles have gained in popularity due to their holistic nature and ability to balance preservation and development. A GI plan seeks to identify the critical “green” infrastructure in an area (the environmental resources that we rely on for clean air and water) and proposes complementary development strategies. One plan component of particular interest is the analysis of …

Liquid Viscosity Measurement Technique Using Space Microgravity Environment, Nobuhisa Yasuda

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to validate a method of determining viscosity of highly viscous liquids with known surface tension in which is not confined by solid wall.

The major part of the work involves comparing and analyzing the data from the Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement experiments (FMVM), conducted onboard the ISS, with results from numerical analysis codes. In these experiments, two different size or equal size droplets are deployed and allowed to merge under the action of the known surface tension without any external forcing. The drop merging process is performed in the zero gravity environment of space …

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 …

Roles, Perceptions, And Control Of Infant Feeding Among Low-Income Fathers In East Tennessee, Kristen Erika Anderson

Masters Theses

INTRODUCTION: Introduction of solid foods before the recommended age of 4-6 months is a common practice in the United States, and appears to be especially prevalent among infants who are enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Currently, little is known about how fathers influence early infant feeding decisions, outside of the decision to breast- or formulafeed. The purpose of this study was to explore how fathers perceive the role they play in feeding and caring for their infants. METHODS: Participants were 21 male-caregivers, who were fathers or partners of the mothers …

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 …

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; …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

Tree-Like Spaces With The Fixed-Point Property, Realized As Inverse Limits Of Special Finite Trees, Jennifer Katherine Aust

Masters Theses

In this paper, we explore some properties of inverse limit sequences on sub-spaces of Euclidean n-space. We address some well-known examples, in particular the example by David Bellamy of the "tree-like" continuum that does not have the fixed-point property. We highlight some spaces with the fixed-point property that are between snake-like continua and Bellamy's example in their level of complexity. Specifically, we prove the fixed-point property for inverse limits of limit sequences on the unit interval and on the n-ad (in two configurations), and for inverse limits that can be mapped via a continuous function with small point pre-images to …

The Kozolec: Material Culture, Identity, And Social Practice In Slovenia, Toby Martin Applegate

Masters Theses

This research investigates the intersections of national identity, representation, and material culture in the Republic of Slovenia. The subject of the thesis, the kozolec, is a freestanding farm implement, usually made of wood, used to dry hay as fodder for animals and, occasionally, corn for human and animal consumption. It is found on the landscape of Slovenia, a small alpine country that was formerly part of Yugoslavia. The kozolec has been romanticized as being indicative of “where” Slovenia is. It has also been cast aside as a symbol marking the Slovene landscape for both representational and practical reasons.

This thesis …

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.

On The Trail Of Fine Ale: The Role Of Factor Conditions In The Location Of Craft Breweries In The United States, James Daniel Baginski

Masters Theses

Since their origin in the late 1970s, craft breweries have diffused throughout the United States, greatly changing American perceptions of beer in the process. The manner in which craft breweries have spread throughout the nation has not been ubiquitous; at all scales of analysis, a great deal of variation exists. Some areas are far more developed than others in terms of the number of craft breweries present. The data indicate that, while population does play a role in influencing the development of craft breweries, other sociological and demographic conditions also appear to be of great importance in explaining the spatial …

Characterization Of Vitronectin And Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 1: Insights Into Metal Binding, And Production Of Reagents To Facilitate Structural Studies, Cynthia Lee Brown

Masters Theses

Vitronectin is a multifunctional glycoprotein involved in regulation of such processes as hemostasis, cell migration, immunity, and tumor metastasis. Many of its functions require interaction with various binding partners. One such partner, plasminogen activator inhibitor-type 1 (PAI-1), belongs to the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily of proteins. PAI-1 helps regulate hemostasis by affecting blood clot breakdown, and helps regulate cell migration and tissue remodeling by affecting extracellular matrix digestion. Our laboratory is pursuing structural information on vitronectin and the complex formed between vitronectin and PAI-1. To this end, the work presented in this thesis focuses on two aims: characterizing the …

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 …