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Room Temperature Synthesis And Systematic Characterization Of Ultra-Small Ceria Nanoparticles, Chetak Patel Jan 2009

Room Temperature Synthesis And Systematic Characterization Of Ultra-Small Ceria Nanoparticles, Chetak Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cerium oxide (ceria, CeOâ‚‚) is a rare earth oxide that has attracted wide-spread research interest because of its unique properties such as high mechanical strength, oxygen ion conductivity, oxygen storage capacity and autocatalytic property. In recent years, researchers have discovered that ceria nanoparticles (NPs) are capable of protecting cells from free radical induced damage. Interestingly, it was found that nanometer size (~ 5 nm) ceria can scavenge free radicals quite efficiently, thus acting as an anti-oxidant. This phenomenon has been explained based on the autocatalytic property of ceria NPs. Several methods have been developed for the synthesis of ceria NPs …

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Formation Of Lyotropic Liquid Crystals Through The Self-Assembly Of Bile Acid Building Blocks, Karan Tamhane Jan 2009

Formation Of Lyotropic Liquid Crystals Through The Self-Assembly Of Bile Acid Building Blocks, Karan Tamhane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Liquid crystalline materials (LCMs) have gained much popularity over the past century. The thermotropic forms of these materials have been extensively studied and employed in a range of innovative applications. The lyotropic liquid crystal systems that have been studied in the past have often been formed by the organization of natural and synthetic small molecules in solutions. In this study, we use self-assembled supramolecular structures as building blocks to fabricate lyotropic liquid crystals. We investigate the self-assembly of a naturally occurring bile acid called lithocholic acid (LCA), to form supramolecular fibrous and tubular structures in basic aqueous solutions. We control …

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Determining Emissions From Landfills And Creating Odor Buffer Distances, Nicholas Guarrieloo Jan 2009

Determining Emissions From Landfills And Creating Odor Buffer Distances, Nicholas Guarrieloo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With population growing every year, more and more people are looking for places to live. This can lead to construction of houses near and around landfills. As homes get closer to landfills, the odors these landfills produce become more of a problem, and lead to an increase in odor complaints. Modeling these odors and recommending odor buffer distances will help determine limits on how close to landfills new homes should be allowed. This should help reduce future odor complaints. To solve this problem one must accurately estimate odorous gas emissions from the landfill. Often odors can be indicated by methane …

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Analyses Of Crash Occurence And Injury Severities On Multi Lane Highways Using Machine Learning Algorithms, Abhishek Das Jan 2009

Analyses Of Crash Occurence And Injury Severities On Multi Lane Highways Using Machine Learning Algorithms, Abhishek Das

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reduction of crash occurrence on the various roadway locations (mid-block segments; signalized intersections; un-signalized intersections) and the mitigation of injury severity in the event of a crash are the major concerns of transportation safety engineers. Multi lane arterial roadways (excluding freeways and expressways) account for forty-three percent of fatal crashes in the state of Florida. Significant contributing causes fall under the broad categories of aggressive driver behavior; adverse weather and environmental conditions; and roadway geometric and traffic factors. The objective of this research was the implementation of innovative, state-of-the-art analytical methods to identify the contributing factors for crashes and injury …

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Sintering Additives For Nanocrystalline Titania And Processing Of Porous Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, Arun Menon Jan 2009

Sintering Additives For Nanocrystalline Titania And Processing Of Porous Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, Arun Menon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Titania (Titanium dioxide, TiO2) has been researched as a promising biomaterial due to its excellent biocompatibility. However, the main limitation of titania is its poor mechanical properties which limit its use in many load-bearing applications. In this thesis report, the properties of titania were improved by doping with small quantities of MgO, ZnO and SiO2 as sintering additives. Nanocrystalline powder was selected, as it possesses outstanding properties over conventional coarse-grained powders due to reduced grain size. Nanocrystalline anatase powder of size 5-15 nm was synthesized via a simple sol-gel technique. Small quantities of dopants were introduced into pure titania powder, …

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Characterizing Spontaneous Fires In Landfills, Shadi Moqbel Jan 2009

Characterizing Spontaneous Fires In Landfills, Shadi Moqbel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Landfill fires are relatively common incidents that landfill operators encounter which have great impact on landfill structure and the environment. According to a U.S. Fire Administration report in 2001, an average of 8,300 landfill fires occurs each year in the United States, most of them in the spring and summer months. Subsurface spontaneous fires are considered the most dangerous and difficult to detect and extinguish among landfill fires. Few studies have been conducted on spontaneous fires in landfills. Information regarding the thermal behavior of solid waste is not available nor have measurements been made to evaluate spontaneous ignition of solid …

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An Integrated Hydrology/Hydraulic And Water Quality Model For Watershed-Scale Simulations, Cheng Wang Jan 2009

An Integrated Hydrology/Hydraulic And Water Quality Model For Watershed-Scale Simulations, Cheng Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the design of an integrated watershed model, WASH123D version 3.0, a first principle, physics-based watershed-scale model of integrated hydrology/hydraulics and water quality transport. This numerical model is comprised of three modules: (1) a one-dimensional (1-D) simulation module that is capable of simulating separated and coupled fluid flow, sediment transport and reaction-based water quality transport in river/stream/canal networks and through control structures; (2) a two-dimensional (2-D) simulation module, capable of simulating separated and coupled fluid flow, sediment transport, and reactive biogeochemical transport and transformation in two-dimensional overland flow systems; and (3) a three-dimensional (3-D) simulation module, capable of …

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Pedagogical Re-Mediation In Hybrid Courses: A Case Study Of Five First-Year Composition Instructors, Rebecca Middlebrook Jan 2009

Pedagogical Re-Mediation In Hybrid Courses: A Case Study Of Five First-Year Composition Instructors, Rebecca Middlebrook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the move to increase availability of composition courses in the online environment continues, it is important to understand the ways in which composition instructors have taken on the challenges associated with moving their teaching online and how they modify, or re-mediate, their pedagogy for the this new teaching and learning environment. This study takes on the task of examining re-mediation as it occurs in the pedagogical practices used by instructors to facilitate peer review activities in hybrid, first-year composition courses. At the same time, it is important to understand the varying factors that may influence the degree to which …

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The Bush Administration's Decision To Invade Iraq: Did They Fall Victim To Groupthink?, Joel Nantais Jan 2009

The Bush Administration's Decision To Invade Iraq: Did They Fall Victim To Groupthink?, Joel Nantais

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the George W. Bush administration became victims of groupthink when they made the policy decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Groupthink is a policy-making model which was first put forward by Irving Janis which attempts to explain how experienced and elite policy-makers can make decisions which lead to disastrous outcomes due to conditions which cause defective decision-making. Research was conducted through a qualitative, within case study which was made possible through the inherent process tracing method of the groupthink model. Mainly secondary sources which detailed the historical case of the decision …

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Reelin Signaling Promotes Radial Glia Maturation And Neurogenesis, Serene Keilani Jan 2009

Reelin Signaling Promotes Radial Glia Maturation And Neurogenesis, Serene Keilani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The end of neurogenesis in the human brain is marked by the transformation of the neural progenitors, the radial glial cells, into astrocytes. This event coincides with the reduction of Reelin expression, a glycoprotein that regulates neuronal migration in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. A recent study showed that the dentate gyrus of the adult reeler mice, with homozygous mutation in the RELIN gene, have reduced neurogenesis relative to the wild type. Based on the above findings, our first hypothesis states that Reelin expression is important for the formation of radial glia and the generation of neurons from the neural …

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Vesicle Targeting In Plasmodium Falciparum: The Identification And Molecular Characterization Of Plasmodium Falciparum Family Of Of Snare Proteins, Lawrence Sumanjah Ayong Jan 2009

Vesicle Targeting In Plasmodium Falciparum: The Identification And Molecular Characterization Of Plasmodium Falciparum Family Of Of Snare Proteins, Lawrence Sumanjah Ayong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proteins of the SNARE (Soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) super-family have been characterized as playing an essential role in vesicle targeting and fusion in all eukaryotes. The intracellular malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum exhibits an unusual endomembrane system that is characterized by an unstacked Golgi apparatus, a developmentally induced apical complex, and various organellar structures of parasite origin in the infected host cells. How malaria parasites target nuclear-encoded proteins to these novel compartments is a central question in Plasmodium cell biology. Ultrastructural studies elsewhere have implicated the participation of specialized vesicular elements in transport of virulence proteins, including various …

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Determining Sex And Ancestry Of The Hyoid From The Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection, Sarah Kindschuh Jan 2009

Determining Sex And Ancestry Of The Hyoid From The Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection, Sarah Kindschuh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the basic goals of the physical anthropologist is to create a biological profile, consisting of sex, ancestry, age, and stature, from the skeletal material that they are presented with. This thesis seeks to explore size and shape differences related to sex and ancestry from the hyoid bones of the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection in order to gauge its usefulness in the process of developing a biological profile. A series of measurements were taken from 398 hyoids and analysis was conducted using a number of statistical methods. Independent samples t-tests were used to examine size differences between sexes …

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Humanizing Technical Communication With Metaphor, Ashley Mcclure Jan 2009

Humanizing Technical Communication With Metaphor, Ashley Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how metaphors can humanize a technical document and more effectively facilitate user comprehension. The frequent use of metaphor in technical communication reminds us that the discipline is highly creative and rhetorical. Theory demonstrates that a technical text involves interpretation and subjectivity during both its creation by the technical communicator and its application by the user. If employed carefully and skillfully, metaphor can be a powerful tool to ensure users' needs are met during this process. The primary goal of technical communication is to convey information to an audience as clearly and efficiently as possible. Because of the …

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Globalization And Identity: A Cross-National Study Among Chinese, Indian, Colombian, And American College Students, Min Cheng Jan 2009

Globalization And Identity: A Cross-National Study Among Chinese, Indian, Colombian, And American College Students, Min Cheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Arnett (2002) has suggested the development of a typology similar to one that has become popular in the ethnic identity literature (Berry, 1993; Phinney, 1990) whereby people are surveyed in terms of strength of identification with both the dominant national culture and their particular sub-group minority culture. Based on this typology, we have developed a paper and pencil measure, the Global Identity Survey (GIS), which asks participants about the degree to which they identify with either the local or global culture. A new typology is proposed, with behaviors and attitudes falling into one of the four following categories: "locally encapsulated" …

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The Effect Of Relative Deprivation On Delinquency: An Assessment Of Juveniles, Adrienne Horne Jan 2009

The Effect Of Relative Deprivation On Delinquency: An Assessment Of Juveniles, Adrienne Horne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of relative deprivation on juvenile delinquency. Though this topic has been explored by several researchers, there has not been much consistency in the research due to the operationalization of key variables. Traditionally, relative deprivation has been referenced in relation to Merton's Classic Strain Theory, using economic indicators to measure relative deprivation. Webber and Runciman however, expanded upon Merton's original premise and integrated more diverse measures of relative deprivation into their research. The current study utilizes Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) as a means to measure relative deprivation as a broader and more subjective topic. This …

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A Study Of Regional Language And Identities In A Small Occitan Village, Patrick Sacleux Jan 2009

A Study Of Regional Language And Identities In A Small Occitan Village, Patrick Sacleux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study utilized qualitative methods to approach regional language abilities of local respondents and how it affects their regional identity. The theoretical framework of this study explored some of the tenets of symbolic interaction emphasizing on identity theory and how the flexible aspect of face-to-face interaction can define the self and someone's regional identity as it relates to their regional language use. Data for this study were collected in a small Occitan village in Southern France. In particular, the study explored the link between an individual residential setting, his/her age and his/her ability to speak the regional language. The …

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Science Inquiry Kits And Teacher Preparedness To Teach Science As Inquiry In Elementary Classrooms, Angela Clayton Jan 2009

Science Inquiry Kits And Teacher Preparedness To Teach Science As Inquiry In Elementary Classrooms, Angela Clayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Science Education Standards (1996) indicate that science education should include inquiry instruction. Many teachers still struggle with how to implement inquiry in their classrooms and a lack of high quality inquiry-based instructional materials has been posited as a hindrance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to observe the instructional practices of three elementary teachers when using an inquiry-based science kit program in their fourth grade classrooms. Teacher practices and their attitudes towards their preparedness to teach science with the support of the curricular program were examined. Data were collected through pre/post survey comparisons, observations, and a focus …

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Predicting Compensation And Reciprocity Of Bids For Sexual And/Or Romantic Escalation In Cross-Sex Friendships, Valerie Akbulut Jan 2009

Predicting Compensation And Reciprocity Of Bids For Sexual And/Or Romantic Escalation In Cross-Sex Friendships, Valerie Akbulut

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With more opportunities available to men and women to interact, both professionally and personally (i.e., the workplace, educational setting, community), friendships with members of the opposite sex are becoming more common. Increasingly, researchers have noted that one facet that makes cross-sex friendships unique compared to other types of relationships (i.e. romantic love, same-sex friendships, familial relationships), is that there is the possibility and opportunity for a romantic or sexual relationship to manifest. Communication research has yet to investigate how one decides whether to begin a romantic or sexual relationship or choose to remain platonic with their cross-sex friend. Given that …

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Understanding Plant Community Composition In Agricultural Welands: Context Dependent Effects And Plant Interactions, Elizabeth Boughton Jan 2009

Understanding Plant Community Composition In Agricultural Welands: Context Dependent Effects And Plant Interactions, Elizabeth Boughton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community composition results from an integrated combination of random processes, regional habitat spatial structure, local environmental conditions, and species interactions. For example, the outcome of plant interactions can change depending on local environmental conditions such as nutrient availability, land management, or herbivory intensity. In particular, plant interactions may vary between facilitation and competition depending on ecological context, with facilitation expected to be prevalent under stressful conditions. I present the results of four studies that address different aspects of the community assemblage and dynamics emphasizing the synergistic effect of different processes. In the first, I investigated the importance of habitat isolation …

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Landcover Change And Population Dynamics Of Florida Scrub-Jays And Florida Grasshopper Sparrows, David Breininger Jan 2009

Landcover Change And Population Dynamics Of Florida Scrub-Jays And Florida Grasshopper Sparrows, David Breininger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I confronted empirical habitat data (1994-2004) and population data (1988-2005) with ecological theory on habitat dynamics, recruitment, survival, and dispersal to develop predictive relationships between landcover variation and population dynamics. I focus on Florida Scrub-Jays, although one chapter presents a model for the potential influence of habitat restoration on viability of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Both species are unique to Florida landscapes that are dominated by shrubs and grasses and maintained by frequent fires. Both species are declining, even in protected areas, despite their protected status. I mapped habitat for both species using grid polygon cells to quantify population potential …

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Synthesis Of Biocompatible Antioixidant Polymer Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles, Its Oxidase Like Behavior And Cellular Uptake, Atul Asati Jan 2009

Synthesis Of Biocompatible Antioixidant Polymer Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles, Its Oxidase Like Behavior And Cellular Uptake, Atul Asati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cerium oxide nanoparticles have been widely used for various applications such as catalytic converters for automobile exhaust, ultraviolet absorber, and electrolyte in fuel cells. Most recently, cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) have been employed as potent free-radical scavengers with neuroprotective, radioprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties. These properties of cerium oxide nanoparticles can open new vistas in medicine and biotechnology. The present study utilizes the water-based-wet-chemical method to synthesize biocompatible,stable and highly monodisperse polymer coated cerium oxide nanoparticles. Polymer coated cerium oxide nanoparticles possess all the characteristics of the uncoated cerium oxide nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were found to be effective as pH-dependent antioxidant …

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Tissue Engineered Myelination And The Stretch Reflex Arc Sensory Circuit: Defined Medium Formulation, Interface Design And Microfabrication, John Rumsey Jan 2009

Tissue Engineered Myelination And The Stretch Reflex Arc Sensory Circuit: Defined Medium Formulation, Interface Design And Microfabrication, John Rumsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall focus of this research project was to develop an in vitro tissue-engineered system that accurately reproduced the physiology of the sensory elements of the stretch reflex arc as well as engineer the myelination of neurons in the systems. In order to achieve this goal we hypothesized that myelinating culture systems, intrafusal muscle fibers and the sensory circuit of the stretch reflex arc could be bioengineered using serum-free medium formulations, growth substrate interface design and microfabrication technology. The monosynaptic stretch reflex arc is formed by a direct synapse between motoneurons and sensory neurons and is one of the fundamental …

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Exploring The Relationship Between Marital Expectations And Marital Satisfaction Between Married African Immigrant Couples And U, Evadne Ngazimbi Jan 2009

Exploring The Relationship Between Marital Expectations And Marital Satisfaction Between Married African Immigrant Couples And U, Evadne Ngazimbi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Marriage is still considered a universal institution in many countries worldwide. Marriage provides benefits for wives, husbands, children, families, and communities. Why Marriage Matters (Wilcox et al., 2005), outlined the benefits of marriage, including improved physical and mental health, biological and social benefits for husbands, wives, children and families in America. In sub-Saharan Africa benefits emanating from marriage included increased survival rates for young children (Omariba & Boyle, 2007); reduced maternal morbidity and mortality rates for women due to reduced risks from self-inflicted abortions (Garenne, Tollman, Kahn, Collins, & Ngwenya, 2001); and improved economic management in homes due to exchanging …

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The Relationship Between Research Self-Efficacy, Perceptions Of The Research Training Environment And Interest In Research In Co, Nicole Vaccaro Jan 2009

The Relationship Between Research Self-Efficacy, Perceptions Of The Research Training Environment And Interest In Research In Co, Nicole Vaccaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between research self-efficacy (as measured by the Research Self-Efficacy Scale [Greeley et al., 1989]), perceptions of the research training environment (as measured by the Research Training Environment Scale --Revised [Gelso et al., 1996]), and interest in research (as measured by the Interest in Research Questionnaire [Bieschke & Bishop, 1994]) within a national sample of doctoral counselor education students (N = 89). Additionally, the study investigated whether there were differences between levels of research self-efficacy, perceptions of the research training environment, and interest in research in relation to the demographic characteristics …

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Tourists' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Animals In Tourist Attractions: An Empirical Investigation, Amir Shani Jan 2009

Tourists' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Animals In Tourist Attractions: An Empirical Investigation, Amir Shani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From time immemorial human beings have utilized animals for various needs and purposes, which led societies to debate the justification for using animals and to reflect on the way in which animals are treated. These concerns have also resulted in various contemporary studies aimed to reveal interest groups'--as well as the general publics'--views and opinions on the issues under dispute. Nevertheless, despite the considerable incorporation of animals in entertainment and leisure venues, only limited efforts have been geared towards exploring the ethical aspects of using animals in these initiatives. This lack of attention is especially evident in the tourism literature, …

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Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Florida School Principals Regarding Federal And State Accountability Measures, John Mccullers Jan 2009

Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Florida School Principals Regarding Federal And State Accountability Measures, John Mccullers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how self-efficacy beliefs, a central construct of social cognitive theory, might be used to inform educational leadership and policy decisions related to school accountability measures. A survey of 112 principals in Florida was used to investigate the degree to which principals believed the goals of federal and state school accountability measures (the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Florida School Grades Plan) were actually attainable, and to what degree they believed their leadership actually helped achieve these goals. A large majority (83.8%) of respondents believed the state goals to be attainable, whereas only a …

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A Theory Of Complex Adaptive Inquiring Organizations: Application To Continuous Assurance Of Corporate Financial Information, John Kuhn Jan 2009

A Theory Of Complex Adaptive Inquiring Organizations: Application To Continuous Assurance Of Corporate Financial Information, John Kuhn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing upon the theories of complexity and complex adaptive systems and the Singerian Inquiring System from C. West Churchman's seminal work The Design of Inquiring Systems the dissertation herein develops a systems design theory for continuous auditing systems. The dissertation consists of discussion of the two foundational theories, development of the Theory of Complex Adaptive Inquiring Organizations (CAIO) and associated design principles for a continuous auditing system supporting a CAIO, and instantiation of the CAIO theory. The instantiation consists of an agent-based model depicting the marketplace for Frontier Airlines that generates an anticipated market share used as an integral component …

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Dags: An Information System Design Research Framework Supporting The Design, Development And Delivery Of More Effective Informat, Lascelles Adams Jan 2009

Dags: An Information System Design Research Framework Supporting The Design, Development And Delivery Of More Effective Informat, Lascelles Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many IT systems fail to realize their objectives because not enough attention has been paid to the business context in which the system functions. One reason expressed--an emphasized technical focus which tend to omit business and organizational issues germane to the organization's and the system's success. When an organization's information system is in line with, and provides support for its business strategy--strategic alignment--superior business performance is often the result. Within the Requirements Engineering (RE) community there has been several attempts to develop and utilize approaches which can illuminate business and organizational informational needs. In this dissertation, the DAGS framework is …

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Neurocognitive Correlates Of Body Image Disturbance, Elizabeth Frei Jan 2009

Neurocognitive Correlates Of Body Image Disturbance, Elizabeth Frei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body image, broadly defined as an individual's general experience of his or her physical appearance, is a multidimensional phenomenon that has been found to affect functioning throughout the lifetime. Although some degree of dissatisfaction has been found to be a common aspect of the female experience, research suggests that a disturbance in body image can result in a number of clinical complications, particularly the development of an eating disorder (ED). Despite the relationship between body image and EDs, examinations of the cognitive underpinnings of the relationship between body image disturbance and EDs are relatively few and inconclusive. Research indicates that …

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In-Situ Gas Phase Catalytic Properties Of Metal Nanoparticles, Luis Ono Jan 2009

In-Situ Gas Phase Catalytic Properties Of Metal Nanoparticles, Luis Ono

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in surface science technology have opened new opportunities for atomic scale studies in the field of nanoparticle (NP) catalysis. The 2007 Nobel Prize of Chemistry awarded to Prof. G. Ertl, a pioneer in introducing surface science techniques to the field of heterogeneous catalysis, shows the importance of the field and revealed some of the fundamental processes of how chemical reactions take place at extended surfaces. However, after several decades of intense research, fundamental understanding on the factors that dominate the activity, selectivity, and stability (life-time) of nanoscale catalysts are still not well understood. This dissertation aims to explore …

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