Digital Commons Network^™

Performance On Natural Dissemblance Tasks In 7-11 Year-Old, Language-Impaired And Typically Developing Children, Noel Quist

Theses and Dissertations

Studies over the past several years have shown that children with language impairment (LI) have greater difficulty in social situations than typically developing children. More specifically, studies have shown that children with LI have more difficulty with dissemblance. This study was conducted to assess whether these children are less likely to dissemble in real-life situations. Forty-four children aged 7 to 11 years (22 LI and 22 typically developing) were presented with four situations designed to elicit dissemblance. Their reactions were scored and compared. The results of this study showed subtle differences between children with LI and typically developing children. Children …

Wwjd, Anna Christina Kohler Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

This creative thesis includes one full length play followed by a critical essay. The play is a comedy revolving around an apartment of college students who are visited by Jesus. Jesus washes their dishes, skateboards with them and otherwise accompanies them throughout their daily activities. Tom, one of the college students, is unable to see Jesus and believes that his roommates are playing a joke on him. Trying to ignore his friends' insistence that Jesus is indeed in their apartment, Tom attempts to pursue his long term crush. Things become complicated when Tom goes on a date and Jesus tags …

Vision-Assisted Control Of A Hovering Air Vehicle In An Indoor Setting, Neil G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The quadrotor helicopter is a unique flying vehicle which uses the thrust from four motors to provide hover flight capability. The uncoupled nature of the longitudinal and lateral axes and its ability to support large payloads with respect to its size make it an attractive vehicle for autonomous vehicle research. In this thesis, the quadrotor is modeled based on first principles and a proportional-derivative control method is applied for attitude stabilization and position control. A unique means of using an optic flow sensor for velocity and position estimation in an indoor setting is presented with flight results. Reliable hover flight …

The Impact Of Web-Based Tutorials In One Corporation's Transition To A Blended Learning Environment, Michelle Anne Boyd

Theses and Dissertations

ELM Resources, a not-for-profit, mutual-benefit corporation, provides web-based transmission and data translation services for student loan data between loan providers and schools/universities. This corporation has a relatively new training staff of five to seven employees and over 1,800 client organizations. Because of the heavy demands placed on the training staff, ELM training administrators sought alternatives to their current training program of onsite training and web conferencing. Blended learning was identified as one possible solution. In this project, blended learning is defined as using a combination of face-to-face training and technology-delivered training. By adding web-based, on-demand tutorials, along with other training …

A Naive, Robust And Stable State Estimate, Todd Gordon Remund

Theses and Dissertations

A naive approach to filtering for feedback control of dynamic systems that is robust and stable is proposed. Simulations are run on the filters presented to investigate the robustness properties of each filter. Each simulation with the comparison of the filters is carried out using the usual mean squared error. The filters to be included are the classic Kalman filter, Krein space Kalman, two adjustments to the Krein filter with input modeling and a second uncertainty parameter, a newly developed filter called the Naive filter, bias corrected Naive, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) Naive, and bias corrected EWMA Naive filter.

Development And Characterization Of Friction Bit Joining: A New Solid State Spot Joining Technology Applied To Dissimilar Al/Steel Joints, Brandon Raymond Siemssen

Theses and Dissertations

Friction bit joining (FBJ) is a new solid-state spot joining technology developed in cooperation between Brigham Young University of Provo Utah, and MegaStir Technologies of West Bountiful Utah. Although capable of joining several different material combinations, this research focuses on the application of FBJ to joining 5754 aluminum to DP 980 steel, two alloys commonly used in automotive applications. The thicknesses of the materials used were 0.070 inches (1.78 mm) and 0.065 inches (1.65 mm), respectively. The FBJ process employs a consumable 4140 steel bit and is carried out on a purpose built research machine. In the first stage of …

Geochemistry, Structure, And Tectonic Evolution Of The Eldivan Ophiolite, Ankara Melange, Central Turkey, Anne Dangerfield

Theses and Dissertations

The Eldivan ophiolite, in the Ankara Mélange, represents the remnant of an ocean basin that developed in the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan Ocean and collapsed the form the İzmir -Ankara-Erzincan suture zone (İAESZ) through continental block collision. Whole-rock and mineral geochemical evidence show supra-subduction zone tectonomagmatic affinity for the ophiolite, revealing this basin formed in the upper plate of an intra-oceanic subduction zone. Detrital zircon from the ophiolitic mélange sandstone and the overlying Karadağ Formation suggest the ophiolites maximum age is 143.2 (±2) Ma, and the overlying Karadağ Formation is 105.2 (±5) Ma. The angular unconformity between the ophiolite and Karadağ formation reveal …

Effects Of In-Home Positive Behavior Support Training On Parent Perceptions Of Parent-Child Relationships And Maladaptive Behavior, Elisha K. Kamalu

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of the positive behavior support program Family HOPE conducted in homes of families of children with disabilities. Graduate students conducted an 8-10 week collaborative method of training for parents of children with disabilities to reduce problem behaviors of their child with a disability. The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) and Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (SIB-R) were given to both experimental and control group families to investigate the program effects on parents' perceptions of limit setting, parental support, frequency and severity of problem behaviors. Results indicated that there was not a significant pre-post difference for either group …

Development Of Tongan Materials For Determining Speech Recognition Thresholds, Lisa Dawn Bunker

Theses and Dissertations

Speech recognition threshold (SRT) is an important clinical measure that validates the pure-tone average (PTA), assists in diagnosis and prognosis of hearing and hearing impairment, and helps identify non-organic hearing impairment. Few published, recorded, and standardized materials exist in languages other than English, which results in audiologists testing individuals using materials developed in a non-native language. Research shows that this is problematic, as certain criterion for SRT testing are not met. Thus, performance may reflect test-language deficiency rather than hearing impairment. Currently, there are no known published materials for use in measuring the SRT in individuals whose native language is …

Marina Carr's Hauntings: Liminality And The Addictive Society On And Off The Stage, Hillary Jarvis Campos

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the trapped lives of Marina Carr's female protagonists and their relevance to contemporary Irish women. In her six plays from The Mai to Woman and Scarecrow, each of Carr's female protagonists is trapped either in a liminal state, defined by Victor Turner as a phase in a rites of passage process, or in a patriarchal addictive society, defined by Anne Wilson Schaef as a society in which the power is maintained and perpetuated by white males with the help of all members of society including women. Portia (Portia Coughlan), Hester (By the Bog of …

Interactive Part Selection For Mesh And Point Models Using Hierarchical Graph-Cut Partitioning, Steven W. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a method for interactive part selection for mesh and point set surface models that combines scribble-based selection methods with hierarchically accelerated graph-cut segmentation. Using graph-cut segmentation to determine optimal intuitive part boundaries enables easy part selection on complex geometries and allows for a simple, scribble-based interface that focuses on selecting within visible parts instead of precisely defining part boundaries that may be in difficult or occluded regions. Hierarchical acceleration is used to maintain interactive speeds with large models and to determine connectivity when extending the technique to point set models.

The Effects Of Task Preference On Speech And Motor Performance Under Divided Attention Conditions, Amy Sue Leiter

Theses and Dissertations

Dual task performance and the interaction of tasks has been the subject of much research. When tasks are performed together they affect each other to varying degrees depending upon such factors as the similarity of the tasks, their difficulty, and whether one task is given preference over another. In this study, task preference was investigated under divided attention conditions in order to determine what effect preference had on task performance. Twenty young adults took part in this study and were randomly assigned into two groups. Each group was experimentally motivated to favor one of the two tasks – either speaking …

A Surveillance System To Create And Distribute Geo-Referenced Mosaics Using Suav Video, Evan D. Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs) are an attractive choice for many surveillance tasks. However, video from an SUAV can be difficult to use in its raw form. In addition, the limitations inherent in the SUAV platform inhibit the distribution of video to remote users. To solve the problems with using SUAV video, we propose a system to automatically create geo-referenced mosiacs of video frames. We also present three novel techniques we have developed to improve ortho-rectification and geo-location accuracy of the mosaics. The most successful of these techniques is able to reduce geo-location error by a factor of 15 with …

Negotiating Identity In The Transnational Imaginary Of Julia Alvarez's And Edwidge Danticat's Literature, Erik R. Kerby

Theses and Dissertations

The increased contact between nations and cultures in the globalization of the twenty-first century requires an increased accountability for the ways in which individuals and countries negotiate these points of contact. New World and Caribbean Studies envision the cross-cultural and transnational encounters between indigenous, European, and African peoples as important contributors to a paradigm within which identity in relation offers an alternative to identities rooted in national and filial frameworks. Such frameworks limit the ability to construct identity without relying upon static representations of history, culture, and ethnicity that tend to privilege one group over another. In the literature of …

Lifting Galois Representations In A Conjecture Of Figueiredo, Wayne Bennett Rosengren

Theses and Dissertations

In 1987, Jean-Pierre Serre gave a conjecture on the correspondence between degree 2 odd irreducible representations of the absolute Galois group of Q and modular forms. Letting M be an imaginary quadratic field, L.M. Figueiredo gave a related conjecture concerning degree 2 irreducible representations of the absolute Galois group of M and their correspondence to homology classes. He experimentally confirmed his conjecture for three representations arising from PSL(2,3)-polynomials, but only up to a sign because he did not lift them to SL(2,3)-polynomials. In this paper we compute explicit lifts and give further evidence that his conjecture is accurate.

Sympathetic Observations: Widowhood, Spectatorship, And Sympathy In The Fiction Of Henry James, George Michael Gordon-Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the roles of widowhood and sympathy in Henry James's short and long fiction. By the time James established himself as a writer of fiction, the culture of sentiment and its formation of sympathetic identification had become central to American and British writers. Critically, however, sympathy in James's fiction has been overlooked because he chose to write about rich expatriates and European nobility. James's pervasive use of widowed characters in his fiction suggests the he too participated in the same aesthetic agenda as William Dean Howells and George Eliot to evoke sympathy in their readers as a means …

An Optimization-Based Framework For Designing Robust Cam-Based Constant-Force Compliant Mechanisms, John Christian Meaders

Theses and Dissertations

Constant-force mechanisms are mechanical devices that provide a near-constant output force over a prescribed deflection range. This thesis develops various optimization-based methods for designing robust constant-force mechanisms. The configuration of the mechanisms that are the focus of this research comprises a cam and a compliant spring fixed at one end while making contact with the cam at the other end. This configuration has proven to be an innovative solution in several applications because of its simplicity in manufacturing and operation. In this work, several methods are introduced to design these mechanisms, and reduce the sensitivity of these mechanisms to manufacturing …

Mormon Rhetoric And The Theory Of Organic Evolution, Kurt Wilford Laird

Theses and Dissertations

Most rhetorical studies of evolution/religion debates have addressed the media version of the debates that pits fundamentalist religion against science. Yet, most of the rhetorical studies in this area have not been nuanced enough to appreciate the complexity of the rhetoric resulting from this rich area of discourse. This study provides a rhetorical analysis of the evolution rhetoric in one particular religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and focuses on the discourse of two prominent leaders in the LDS Church, B.H. Roberts and Joseph Fielding Smith. In the LDS Church there is a clear distinction …

Oral Retelling As A Measure Of Reading Comprehension: The Generalizability Of Ratings Of Elementary School Students Reading Expository Texts, Rachel Clinger Burton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to refine a rating procedure used to assess intermediate elementary school students' ability to orally retell what they had read from two expository passages. Oral retellings from 28 fourth grade students were tape-recorded and rated on two different occasions by each of 4 raters. A four-facet (passage, day of test administration, rater, and rating occasion) generalizability study was conducted using a partially nested design. The six largest sources of variability identified in the G-study included (a) students, (b) the student-by-day interaction, (c) the interaction of passage with rater (nested within student and day), (d) …

The Man In The Transatlantic Crowd: The Early Reception Of Edgar Allan Poe In Victorian England, Brian Robert Wall

Theses and Dissertations

An important anomaly in transatlantic criticism is the contrast between transatlantic theory and the applied criticism of literature through a transatlantic lens. While most transatlantic scholars assert the value of individual strands of thought throughout the globe and stress the importance of overcoming national hegemonic barriers in literature, applied criticism generally favors an older model that privileges British literary thought in the nineteenth century. I claim that both British and American writers can influence each other, and that mutations in thought can travel both ways across the Atlantic. To argue this claim, I begin by analyzing the influence of Blackwood's …

Monitoring The Antarctic Ice Sheet From Space, Benjamin Rule Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

The Antarctic ice sheet is a geophysically - and in an age of growing concern about global warming, geopolitically - important portion of Earth. The composition and dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheet influence global climate patterns, global sea level and the planet's radiation budget. Recent evidence also suggests that the long term stability of portions of the ice sheet may be in jeopardy. In this thesis I use data from three Ku-band space-borne scatterometers to monitor changes in the backscatter signature of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1978 through 2007. Significant changes in backscatter, which result from geophysical changes …

Cross-Language Perception Of German Vowels By Speakers Of American English, Lore Katharina Gerti Schultheiss

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how the cross-language perception of German vowels by native speakers of North American English differs based on various levels of classroom instruction and experience in a German-speaking country. Of special interest is whether more advanced students and those with target country experience have a different cross-language perception of German vowels from naive or less-experienced listeners. It further examines how English-speaking learners perceive German sounds that are not found in English, namely the front-rounded vowels. Study participants were students at Brigham Young University, divided into four groups: those 1) without knowledge of German; 2) in their 3rd …

Assessing Item And Scale Sensitivity To Therapeutic Change On The College Adjustment Scales: Working Toward A Counseling Center Specific Outcome Questionnaire, Christian L. Wimmer

Theses and Dissertations

Many college counseling centers use outcome measures to track therapeutic change for their clientele. These questionnaires have traditionally looked primarily at a client's symptom distress (e.g. depression, anxiety, suicidality, etc.) and are used to detect changes in the client's life that are due to therapy. Unfortunately, there is no measure that has been exclusively created and validated for use with college students. The College Adjustment Scales (CAS) form a multidimensional psychological measure designed specifically for use in college and university settings. Even though the CAS was created as a screening tool, it contains items that provide insight into changes that …

Material Flow Behavior In Friction Stir Welding, Brian C. Liechty

Theses and Dissertations

Material flow in friction stir welding is largely uncharacterized due to the difficulty in material flow measurement and visualization in metals. This study investigates plasticine for use as an analog for modeling material flow in friction stir welding (FSW) of metals. Qualitative comparisons between welded plasticine and metal sections exhibit many similarities. The transient temperature response of the plasticine also shows the same qualitative behavior as welds conducted in metal. To quantify its similarity to metal, the plasticine is further analyzed through compression tests to characterize its strain, strain-rate, and temperature sensitivities. A detailed analysis is presented which defines the …

The Development Of Word Recognition Materials For Native Speakers Of Tongan, Lara Cahoon Seaver

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Tongan bisyllabic word lists for use in measurement of word recognition testing. Commonly used bisyllabic words were digitally recorded by male and female native talkers of Tongan. The psychometric performance of the words was measured at ten intensity levels (- 5 to 40 dB HL) in 5 dB increments by 20 listeners with normal hearing acuity. The 200 words with the highest rate of listener identification were included in four relatively psychometrically equivalent word lists of 50 words each and eight half-lists of …

Committee Activities, Su Chen, Dianna Xu

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

How Do Academic Libraries Manage Change In The 21St Century?, Patrick Lo

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Digital Archives And Contents In Japan: New Technologies, Trends, And Issues, Setsuko Noguchi

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Iris Von Roten: The 1950s - The Work - The Author, Elisabeth Joris

Swiss American Historical Society Review

PART ONE

ASPECTS OF AN IDENTITY

Postscript to Frauen im Laufgitter Bern: efef Verlag, 1996

The 1950s

Iris von Roten wrote her epochal work Frauen im Laufgitter (Women in the Playpen) in the 1950s. Growth of industry and increasing prosperity marked the times, and the Unites States had emerged victorious from the war. The American life style had gained model status also for the role assigned to women and mothers; the change, however, was only superficial. The new housewife was young, uncomplicated, spontaneous, and she knew how to handle daily chores with amazing ease. Refrigerators as well as …

Equal Rights - American Style, Margot Ammann Durrer

Swiss American Historical Society Review

PART TWO: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Awakenings and Murmurs of Protest

In the United States, the history of women's struggle for equal rights played out in many ways unique to this young developing country. The early settlers, both men and women, brought with them a burning desire for freedom to worship and govern as they chose. Existence in a new world was a dire struggle. Then came the conflict of loyalty to the King of England and the fight for Independence. Through all of this the women stood side by side with their husbands, wielding the plough and shotgun, sharing their work, …