Digital Commons Network^™

Specifying The Psychomotor Domain Of The Construct Of Nursing Competence, Joni L. Jones

Dissertations

The measurement of an individual's predicted performance in his/her field is a requirement of many professions. The NCLEX-RN® is the measurement tool used to determine whether or not new graduates of registered nursing programs are competent to enter the profession. Although there are three domains of learning in nursing (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) the only domain tested for licensure is the cognitive. Many factors contribute to the lack of testing in the psychomotor area. One of the major impediments is that the entry-level psychomotor domain for registered nursing has yet to be defined. The purpose of this study was to …

A Comparison Of One-To-One And Small Group Instruction For Young Children With Autism: Focus On Effective Teaching And Behavior Management, Kathy Marie Bertsch

Dissertations

Over the past two decades, research has focused on identifying successful instructional methods and appropriate programming for young children with autism. Much of this early research focused on the effectiveness of intensive one-to-one behavioral programs. Support for intensive one-to-one instruction for children with autism began a long-term debate over the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of one-to-one instructional strategies for young children with autism. In response, researchers and educators began considering and studying small group instruction, a less restrictive alternative to intensive one-to-one instruction. While support is mounting for the use of small group instructional strategies, there continues to be limited …

On Rank-Based Considerations For Generalized Linear Models And Generalized Estimating Equation Models, Diana R. Cucos

Dissertations

This study discusses rank-based robust methods for estimation of parameters and hypotheses testing in the generalized linear models (GLM) and generalized estimating equations (GEE) setting. The robust estimates are obtained by minimizing a Wilcoxon drop in dispersion function for linear or nonlinear regression models. In addition, diagnostic tools for outliers and influential observations are being developed. These models are generalizations of linear and nonlinear models. They allow for both nonlinear mean functions and heteroscedasticity of their random errors. This makes them quite useful in practice. Rank-based inference has been developed for linear models over the last thirty years. This inference …

Teaching My Son To Be A Father: The Plight Of Unmarried Adolescent African American Fathers, Michael George Till

Dissertations

A quantitative research design was utilized to examine and understand the perceptions of fatherhood and manhood held by unmarried African American adolescent fathers. In face-to-face 60-90 minute interviews using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researcher, participants were asked open-ended questions to provide these young men with a voice and an opportunity to express their needs, support, neglect, understanding, and perception of how society views them and its impact on the functioning of the family unit. Using purposeful sampling, 10 unmarried African American adolescent fathers, located in the southwestern area of Michigan, were interviewed for data collection.

Interviews were …

The Development And Psychometric Testing Of An Instrument Measuring The Use Of Intuition By Nursing Students, Anita Joel Smith Phd, Mn, Rn

Dissertations

Measurement of intuition use among nursing students has not occurred because developed intuition measures have been designed specifically for experienced nurses. The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an intuition instrument for nursing students. An intuition instrument can provide the means to (a) determine if students use intuition in care providing activities and (b) measure intuition use over time. Instrument development included (a) concept clarification, (b) item development, and (c) psychometric testing. Intuition was defined as a nonlinear process of knowing perceived through physical awareness, emotional awareness, and/or through physical or spiritual connections. Content experts established …

Have Charter Schools Materialized Their Promise A Contrast Between Rhetoric And Reality, Mary Kay Kempker-Vandriel

Dissertations

Charter schools are a growing force in American education. Parents are demanding a choice in their child's public education. Are charter schools better than traditional public schools? Have charter schools kept their promise?

In the study regular public schools and charter schools were compared along five dimensions: (a) opportunity for learning and access to quality education, (b) innovative teaching methods and participative management, (c) teacher job satisfaction, (d) parent involvement, and (e) school accountability. Existing data from the 1999/2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) were analyzed with primarily chi-square tests and one t-test. These analyses provided results in relation to …

Adaptive Ds-Cdma Multiuser Detection For Time Variant Frequency Selective Rayleigh Fading Channel, Xin Tang

Dissertations

The current digital wireless mobile system such as IS-95, which is based on direct sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) technology, will not be able to meet the growing demands for multimedia service due to low information exchanging rate. Its capacity is also limited by multiple accessed interference (MAI) signals.

This work focuses on the development of adaptive algorithms for multiuser detection (MUD) and interference suppression for wideband direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems over time-variant frequency selective fading channels. In addition, channel acquisition and delay estimation techniques are developed to combat the uncertainty introduced by the wireless …

Resonances Of Periodic Metal-Dielectric Structures At The Infrared Wavelength Region, Oren Sternberg

Dissertations

Metal meshes have been used as reflectors in radar receivers for wavelength much longer than the periodic constant of the conducting wires and as optical reflectors in a FabryPerot in the far infrared. Cross shaped metal meshes can be used as band pass filters but the design theory and near field properties have not been known.

Transmittance of thin, single-layer and multiplayer metal meshes has been investigated using Micro-Strips, yielding numerical solutions of Maxwell's equations. The near field effect was studied for two alignment configurations of cross shaped metal meshes, both free standing and with dielectrics, and transmission line theory …

A Microfabricated Microconcentrator For Sensors And Chromatography, Minhee Kim

Dissertations

The detection and quantitative measurement of trace components is a challenging task. The key component in such an instrument is the concentration step where the analytes are accumulated before the analysis. In this research, simple and inexpensive processes for the microfabrication of microconcentrator that can be used with sensors and as an injector in GC were developed. Analytes are selectively concentrated in the microconcentrator. Rapid electrical heating of the microconcentrator releases the adsorbed species as a 66 concentration pulse", which serves as an injection for the detection system. The relatively small size of the microconcentrator allows it to be heated …

Knowledge Discovery And Modeling In Genomic Databases, Michael M. Yin

Dissertations

This dissertation research is targeted toward developing effective and accurate methods for identifying gene structures in the genomes of high eukaryotes, such as vertebrate organisms. Several effective hidden Markov models (HMMs) are developed to represent the consensus and degeneracy features of the functional sites including protein-translation start sites, mRNA splicing junction donor and acceptor sites in vertebrate genes. The HMM system based on the developed models is fully trained using an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and the system performance is evaluated using a 10-way cross-validation method. Experimental results show that the proposed HMM system achieves high sensitivity and specificity in …

Numerical Studies Of Transition For Flows Around Multi-Element Airfoils, Fengjun Liu

Dissertations

The transition of flows around a multi-element airfoil has been numerically studied using RANS with a k - e two-equation transition model, LST and DNS. The transition model uses an effective eddy-viscosity by coupling an intermittence-like correction to a turbulence eddy-viscosity that can be obtained via solving a parent k - e turbulence model. The transition model is truly predictive in that it is able to predict transition onset locations without having to specify prior knowledge of the targeted transition process. The predicted transition onset locations for all the cases studied were compared with the measured data. The results suggest …

Social Anxiety: Attentional Bias In Reaction To Emotional Faces Before And After Participation In A College Level Public Speaking Course, Scott Walter Maieritsch

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a semester-long public speaking course in reducing the self-reported levels of communication anxiety and social anxiety among college students enrolled in such a course. The current study also sought to replicate and extend a recent line of research that has demonstrated that highly socially anxious individuals show an attentional bias away from emotional faces under conditions of social-evaluative threat. The current study extended this line of research by conducting the same reaction time procedure with participants in a pretest/post-test design. The project was designed to determine if groups (rating high vs. …

An Analysis Of Student Progress In Beginning Flight Training: Performance Prediction, Performance Measurement, And Performance Improvement, Ryan Olson

Dissertations

The current project was designed to explore potential strategies for reducing the risk of accidents and incidents with beginning flight students (V = 28) by: (a) evaluating the CogScreen™ Aeromedical Edition (CogScreen-AE) test as a predictor of performance, (b) investigating patterns in student performance using expanded data collection procedures, including more extensive measurement of landings, and (c) evaluating the effects of early supplemental training on a personal computer-based aviation training device (PCATD). The experimental manipulation employed a matched pairs research design and exposed a treatment group (rt = 14) to six trials of “skill pattern” practice on a PCATD, with …

How Does It Mean? Literary Theory As Metacognitive Reading Strategy In The High School English Classroom, Lisa J. Schade

Dissertations

In the last two decades, serious scholarly attention has been paid both to theories of teaching reading and to theories of literary interpretation. These potentially related fields have been treated as separate, focused either on teaching reading in the elementary grades or on teaching interpretation to advanced college literature students. Until very recently the relevance of either reading theory or literary theory to middle school or high school pedagogy has remained unexamined. My research, as a reflective practitioner, addresses this important gap. I focus on the teaching of literary theory in the high school English classroom as a strategy to …

Job Satisfaction And Leadership Style: A Study Of Michigan High School Principals, David A. Barry

Dissertations

Given the magnitude of importance in the role of the school principal, it is important to understand some of the job satisfaction factors related to the retention of current school principals particularly as it relates to leadership style. This study focuses on the retention of current principals by analyzing the job satisfaction of Michigan high school principals and examining its relationship with the principal’s leadership style. This study incorporates correlation research methods and survey procedures which include a self-administered questionnaire by the principal. The subjects for this study were randomly selected from the target population of all Michigan public high …

A Study Of Expert Problem-Solving In Qualitative Organic Analysis Using A Computer Simulation, Keith A. Schramm

Dissertations

A qualitative case study of eight doctoral level organic chemists from academia (6) and industry (2) solved eleven qualitative organic analysis problems using the Identification of Organic Compounds* software computer simulation. Think-aloud protocols were analyzed for content knowledge and strategic knowledge to account for expert performance. Each of the eleven qualitative organic analysis problems included a variety of functional groups and structures and was solved in a computer-simulated environment to allow for extensive problem-solving by the experts and to evaluate the simulation’s ability to model the problem-solving environment The data provided consisted of the typical instrumentation available to university undergraduate …

Visualization Methods: A Comparative Study Of New, Traditional And Robust Procedures, Kimberly Crimin

Dissertations

Two major goals in discriminant analysis are discrimination and classification. In discrimination, the goal is to describe graphically (visualization) different features of several known groups. In classification, the goal is to allocate unknown observations to one of several known groups. We have developed new visualization procedures based on traditional estimating procedures and also on robust estimating procedures. We have further developed robust classification procedures. We propose several robust classification procedures based on coordinatewise and affine equivariant, rank-based robust estimates. Empirical studies are performed over many different error distributions. These studies result in empirical efficiencies of the robust and traditional procedures. …

Education, Social Security, And The Welfare State: Alternative Policy Choices In The United States And Germany, Karl G. Hokenmaier

Dissertations

Western welfare states have not all followed the same path in their social policy development. Still, certain similarities have been identified in the types and combinations of social insurance supported by specific groupings of these states. Titmuss (1974) described "three contrasting models or functions of social policy." Heclo (1985) argued "three broad groups of nations can be distinguished” with different models of social welfare policy. Esping-Andersen (1990) identified "three worlds of welfare capitalism," each with a unique social policy agenda and distinctive social insurance system. Education is typically not included with other social programs in depicting the policy profiles of …

A New Type Of Particle Detector For Nuclear Scattering Experiments, Philip Ugorowski

Dissertations

A new detector was needed for counting recoil protons resulting from proton-proton (pp) elastic scattering during pion production experiments by the Polarized Internal Target Experiments (PINTEX) group at Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF). The previous silicon detectors were only usable forincoming protons up to 9 MeV, and a stopping power of at least 40 MeV was needed. In addition, the detector had to operate in nanotorr vacuum, and near strong varying magnetic fields, ruling out standard organic plastic scintillators and photomultiplier tubes. We needed to find the most suitable inorganic scintillator and another method of detecting the photons produced when …

Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn't: Explaining Theological Incorrectness In South Asia And America, D. Jason Slone

Dissertations

Cross-cultural descriptions of religious thought and behavior in South Asia and America show that people commonly hold ideas and perform actions that seem to be not only conceptually incoherent but also “theologically incorrect” by the standards of their own traditions. For example. South Asian Theravada Buddhists are taught that the historical Buddha is unavailable because he attained enlightenment and achieved parinirvana (“complete extinction”) and yet conceptually and ritually represent him as if he is present and available for petition. Similarly, American Protestants represent the Christian God as having absolute divine sovereignty and yet reveal confidence in an inner locus of …

Classroom Questioning Strategies As Indicators Of Inquiry Based Science Instruction, Linda Hale Goossen

Dissertations

Inquiry teaching often rests upon the assumption that through the use of questioning and response strategies, teachers can stimulate students to actively construct knowledge. Based on this hypothesis, middle-school science lessons were observed and questioning and response strategies were identified that are related to inquiry-based instruction.

Twenty-four science lessons were observed, videotaped, and ranked by inquiry characteristics other than questioning strategy. The video and audio portions of the recordings were analyzed to determine the student and teacher’s questioning and response strategies in each classroom. These strategies were then compared to teaching style, along a continuum from traditional to inquiry, to …

Factors Predicting Distress At Marital Therapy Onset, Joseph J.H. Horak

Dissertations

Higher levels of distress at marital therapy onset predict poorer treatment outcomes in several studies. This study selected nine variables to determine their ability to predict distress at marital therapy onset. The first two predictor variables, shame (measured by the Internalized Shame Scale; Cook, 2000) and expressive atmosphere in the family of origin (measured by the Family of Origin Expressive Atmosphere Scale; Yelsma, Hovestadt, Anderson, & Nilsson, 2000), were chosen from the literature and studies that considered these variables to be related to marital distress. The remaining seven sociodemographic predictor variables—(1) parental divorce as a child, (2) pregnancy before marriage, …

The Link Between Smoking And Body Weight Among Adolescents, Tracey Barnett

Dissertations

Trends in smoking rates among adolescents indicate that white females generally smoke more than their adolescent counterparts, the only substance in which this occurs. Another trend in which white females far outnumber any other adolescent group is eating disorders. This study was conducted to assess the relationship between cigarette smoking and perception of weight among adolescents. A logistic regression model was constructed to test the relationship using the Adolescent Health Public Dataset. For females, there was a link between cigarette smoking and perception of overweight which was not found among the males. Similarly, white females had a significantly higher rate …

What Have They Told Us About Gangs? A Content Analysis Of Twentieth Century Texts On U.S. Gangs, Douglas Lee Gilbertson

Dissertations

Inspired by a scholarly desire to understand and explain things, formal theoretical explanations for the social problem of gangs have been around just about as long as gangs themselves. This is an inductive content analysis of the texts within twentieth century works explaining gangs. This study explores those explanations as social artifacts and analyzes the text within them in order to identify textual similarities. This is accomplished by consolidating codified text or words until typologies of abstract theoretical concepts are revealed. The purpose of this study is to identify probable causal factors for gang formation and gang joining behavior that …

Bi-Axially Loaded Slender Reinforced Concrete Columns Subjected To Sustained Loads, Song Gu

Dissertations

A generalized analytical approach is presented in this research to predict the behavior both of slender and short reinforced concrete columns under sustained biaxial eccentric load.

The present analysis proposes equations established at a cross section of a reinforced concrete column by combining force equilibrium, constitutive law, and compatibility conditions. The strain and curvature of each section and the deflection of the column can then be obtained and resolved.

The established creep computation models, recommended separately by American Concrete Institute (ACI) 209R-92 and the Comite' Euro-International du Be'ton (CEB)-FIP 1990 Model Code have been used to calculate creep and shrinkage …

The Development Of H Homogeneous Nucleation Rate Model For Thermoplastic Foams Based On A Molecular Partition Function And Fickian Diffusion, Ronald G. Gabbard

Dissertations

An improved homogeneous nucleation rate model for thermoplastic foams has been developed. This model does not rely on experimentally determined parameters and only uses pure component physical property data and a binary diffusion coefficient. This model, like those derived from classical nucleation theory, is made up of two parts, one that determines the size of the energy barrier in the nucleation process and one that estimates the forward rate of the process. A statistical-mechanical approach was used to create an energy term that is based on a molecular partition function. In this approach, the bulk phase (polymer and blowing, agent …

Destructive Disassembly Of Bolts And Screws Using Impact, Kyung Geun Pak

Dissertations

Disassembly, the process of separating parts or components at the end of their useful life is complex due to a variety of fastener shapes and variability in their damage during use. As a natural solution, mechanical impact has been suggested as a cost-effective method for destructive disassembly of joining elements.

The objective of this research is to improve the efficiency of impact disassembly process by studying the characteristics of elastic waves caused by impact. This research presents a new method for increasing the shear stress applied on the bolt head without increasing the energy input invested on launching striker. The …

Experimental And Theoretical Study Of An Integrated Silicon Mach-Zehnder Interferometer For Chemical Sensing Applications, Yew Fong Hor

Dissertations

This thesis involves the design, fabrication and characterization of an integrated optical waveguide sensor. Prior to fabrication, design parameters of the waveguide need to be determined and optimized. The waveguide parameters such as waveguide dimension and the refractive index of the core and cladding are obtained from the single-mode cutoff frequency calculated using either analytical or numerical methods. In this thesis, details of analytical calculations to determine the cutoff frequency in terms of the waveguide parameters will be presented. The method discussed here is Marcatili's approximation. The purpose is to solve the scalar wave equation derived from Maxwell's equations because …

Instability Of Electrified Viscous Films, Knograt Savettaseranee

Dissertations

We examine the stability of a thin two-dimensional liquid film with a regular electric field applied in a direction parallel to an initially flat bounding fluid interface. We study the distinct physical effects of surface tension, van der Waals and electrically induced forces for a viscous incompressible fluid. The film is assumed to be sufficiently thin, and the surface tension and electrically induced forces are large enough that gravity can be ignored to the leading order. Our target is to analyse the nonlinear stability of the flow. We attain this by deriving and numerically solving a set of nonlinear evolution …

Development And Characterization Of Methodology And Technology For The Alignment Of Fmri Time Series, Carlo Ciulla

Dissertations

This dissertation has developed, implemented and tested a novel computer based system (AUTOALIGN) that incorporates an algorithm for the alignment of functional Magnetic Resonance Image (fMRI) time series. The algorithm assumes the human brain to be a rigid body and computes a head coordinate system on the basis of three reference points that lie on the directions correspondent to two of the eigenvectors of inertia of the volume, at the intersections with the head boundary. The eigenvectors are found weighting the inertia components with the voxel's intensity values assumed as mass. The three reference points are found in the same …