Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of Paraelectric Ptl Thin Films Using Reactive Magnetron Sputtering, Hyun Hoo Kim

Dissertations

The study of methods to prepare paraelectric perovskite PLT (Pb_1-xLa_xTi_1-x/4O₃; x=0.28) thin films has been important because thin films of this high dielectric strength material are required to make high density capacitors for dynamic random access memory. In this research, paraelectric PLT thin films were prepared on multi-layer (Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si) and MgO substrates in a unique way by the reactive magnetron sputtering method using a multi-component metal target. The individual control of each metal area on the sputtering target had considerable influence on the stoichiometry and electrical properties of the thin …

Engineering Analysis Of A Packed-Bed Biofilter For Removal Of Volatile Organic Compound (Voc) Emissions, Zarook M. Shareefdeen

Dissertations

This study dealt with removal of VOC emissions from airstreams using an evolving new technology which is known as biofiltration. The basis of this technology is biodegradation of VOCs in biofilms formed around porous solids which are placed in packed-bed reactors.

A detailed model describing steady state biofiltration of single and mixed VOCs was developed, and experimentally validated. The model takes into account biodegradation kinetics, the effect of oxygen, kinetic interactions among structurally similar compounds, and mass transfer from the gas phase to the biolayer. It was found that oxygen (a factor neglected in all previous studies) plays a very …

Blind Detection In Channels With Intersymbol Interference, Raafat Edward Kamel

Dissertations

In high speed digital transmission over bandlimited channels, one of the principal impairments, besides additive white Gaussian noise, is intersymbol interference. For unknown channels, adaptive equalization is used to mitigate the interference. Different types of equalizers were proposed in the literature such as linear, decision feedback equalizers and maximum likelihood sequence estimation. The transmitter embeds sequences with the data regularly to help the equalizer adapt to the unknown channel parameters.

It is not always appropriate or feasible to send training sequences; in such cases, self adaptive or blind equalizers are used. The past ten years have witnessed an interest in …

Effects Of Family Stress, Family Social Support, And Family Balance On Maternal Adaptation In Post Birth Families, Constance H. Blake Hansen Dnsc, Mn, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of perinatal family stress, family social support, and family balance on post birth maternal adaptation. The birth of a new infant is a transitional event that causes stress to the individuals within the family and the family as a unit. The childbearing woman has been identified as the core of the expanding family. Her adaptive level is critical to the integration of the new infant into the family unit. Stress and support are important variables in maternal adaptation, yet the specific relationship of these variables as they relate to the …

Motion Synthesis Of Mechanisms Using Constraint Manifolds In Image Space, Yeou-Kai Wu

Dissertations

Kinematic mappings, quaternion algebra, and constraint manifolds in the algebraic image space are applied to the problems of the dimensional synthesis of mechanisms. Dimensions of a mechanism are determined such that a tracer frame fixed on the coupler will pass through or at least as close as possible to the desired positions and orientations in the physical space as the input link rotates about its fixed joint. First, using kinematic mappings, the desired positions and orientations of the tracer frame of the mechanism can be mapped onto points in a hyperspace in which the motion of the tracer frame can …

The Effects Of Utilitarianism On Performance Appraisal And Selected Output Measures In A Weberian Bureaucracy, Donald Wayne Wright

Dissertations

The research explored whether or not a relationship existed between the performance appraisal criteria used by the Social Security Administration and actual performance between 1984 and 1990. The issue was whether or not either of the diverse sets of performance appraisal criteria was more effective in improving performance than the other and whether or not base pay should be tied to the results of the performance appraisal system.

The methodology for this study was both quantitative and qualitative. The qualitative technique of content analysis was done on the sets of performance appraisal criteria to assess the extent to which each …

Interim Summative Evaluation: Assessing The Value Of A Long Term Or Ongoing Program During Its Operation, Sharon Craven Dodson

Dissertations

Evaluation conducted for the purpose of certifying a program's utility or summarizing its value is summative in nature. Most commonly, summative evaluations are conducted retrospectively to provide a record for program accountability. In the case of long term programs that may run ten or twenty years, however, there is often a need to conduct summative evaluations while the program is operating, so that value and utility can be assessed at various stages of the program's development. This study was designed to develop the concept and methodology for conducting these interim summative evaluations.

Through a review of research, characteristics of interim …

Profiles Of Promise: Students With Learning Difference Prepare For Optimal Foreign Language Learning, Ludmilla Coven

Dissertations

Many secondary school counselors discourage students with diagnosed native language deficits from foreign language studies. They hold the unsubstantiated belief that these studies would jeopardize their hard-earned gains in native language learning. Research disproves that position, and some writers advocate foreign language study to improve language learning and enhance cognitive strategies. Improvement occurs more readily when the instructor has the expertise to choose from a repertoire of teaching styles the one most compatible with the learning style of the student. With the full inclusion promised by the regular education initiative becoming a reality, this study explores research, design, and team-teaching …

Numerical Investigation Of Flow Through Wide Angle Diffusers, Moududur Rahman

Dissertations

This study is aimed at the development of a computational technique for the prediction of the flow field in wide angle diffusers. The finite element technique is used for the solution of the governing equations. A commercial software package, NISA/3DFlUID, modified for this specific application was used. The parameters affecting the flow field have been identified. For a wide range of variation of these parameters, the effects on the flow field have been examined. This investigation is an exhaustive and comprehensive numerical study of diffuser flows. Such a study will result in substantial improvement in the understanding of the anatomy …

Human Visual System Modelling : Analysis Of Evoked Potential Dynamics, Zongqi Hu

Dissertations

The visual evoked potential (VEP) reflects the electrical activity in the cerebral cortex due to visual stimulation. It contains information on signal processing in the visual pathways from the retina, through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to the cortical level. Although the VEP is generated by various sources in the multi-layer neural network, the functions of some neuronal mechanisms and the transfer characteristics of particular pathways can be revealed and analyzed by use of carefully designed stimuli (Zemon & Ratliff, 1984; Zemon, Victor & Ratliff, 1986). This dissertation focuses on studies of the visual evoked potential as a composite of …

The Leadership Of A Superintendent: Putting The California School Reform Movement To Work, Jennifer L. Jeffries Edd

Dissertations

Public education has been engulfed in a dramatic and turbulent time. In California, the drive for improvement in public education was codified in Senate Bill 813, passed in 1983. Each school district wrestled with the intent and the mandates of this massive reform document. During the implementation stage of this legislation, the organizational climate in school districts was ripe for leaders and followers to engage each other in dialogue and debate about the direction and form the legislation would take. This dialogue and debate rendered policies in response to the legislative mandates. Senate Bill 813 provided opportunities to promote and …

Barriers To Community: The Development Of An Instrument To Assess Components Of Prejudice, Anita M. Rogers Edd

Dissertations

Contemporary theory and practice defines leadership as a collaborative effort, based in community, and purposefully guided by a mutual vision of freedom, justice and equality. Prejudice, as a preset of negative beliefs and behaviors toward a person or a group is a primary barrier to the transformational process of team-building and formation of community. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the effectiveness of training and educational interventions through further understanding of the origins and aspects of prejudice which act as barriers to community. The Retroductive Triangulation process served as a guiding methodology for the development of a …

Meeting Graduate Student Needs Through Alternative Programs: An Analysis Of The Impact Of Factors Related To Student Choice, Debra Jill Wright Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the design and initiation of alternative graduate programs and their impact on student needs, to examine the university organizational structure and environment that fosters the development of alternative graduate programs, and to identify the factors graduate students see as important in their choice to attend and participate in an alternative graduate program. The intent of the research was to rank the factors significant in the design of a graduate program to meet the factors meaningful to the student in meeting their needs related to graduate programs. The content of the survey instrument …

Transformation Related Defects In Vacuolar Acidification And Mannose 6-Phosphate Receptor Function: Effects On Lysosomal Targeting, Valerie Pracht

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Carter G. Woodson: Scientific Historian Of African-American History And Education, Alvin L. Williams

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

African-American Males Perception Of Unsolicited Help: An Attributional Analysis Of Cooperative Vs. Individualistic Learning, Reginald Wade Williams

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Tutoring As An Alternate Adult Teaching Methodology Within A Business Environment, Roger M. Dore

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Verbal And Nonverbal Learning Disability Subtypes And Concomitant Behavior Problems In Ld Children With And Without Physical Disability, Kate E. Zilla

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of Malathion, Malaoxon, And Isomalathion Enantiomers And Examination Of Their Interactions With Acetylcholinesterase, Clifford E. Berkman

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A History Of The Rush University, College Of Nursing And The Development Of The Unification Model 1972-1988, Barbara Anne Fisli

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Detecting Malingered Psychotic Symptoms With The Rorschach Projective Technique, Kristin M. Batchelder

Dissertations

Problem. Criminal defendants may be strongly motivated to avoid prosecution by appearing mentally ill, and the malingering of psychotic symptoms is of special concern in legal proceedings. Much research has been conducted to determine accurate methods to detect malingering. These include clinical interviews, structured personality tests, intelligence tests, and projective techniques. This present study investigated the ability of specific variables on the Rorschach Projective Technique to detect malingered protocols.

Method. The 83 subjects in this study were restricted to male pre-trial defendants in the Federal Judicial system who were placed into three categories by diagnosis: (1) malingering psychotic symptoms, (2) …

Transforming Leadership In The California Literature Project: Ethnographic Narrative As True Fiction, Jon S. Davies Edd

Dissertations

With rare exception leadership scholars and practitioners focus on individuals as leaders. However, to investigate leadership only through the activities of individual leaders is to miss its essential feature, namely, that leadership is a particular kind of relationship in which leaders and followers create changes. Relationships are difficult to describe because researchers cannot observe them directly; instead, they must infer them indirectly. This study investigated leadership relationships in the California Literature Project. An exploration of leadership relationships required that I implement research methods that would support the construction of detailed descriptions of transforming leadership processes. These methods developed in part …

Affecting Change Synergistically: An Interpretative Case Study Of Leadership Relationships At Southwest Airlines, Jacquelyn A. Freiberg Edd

Dissertations

As we move into the 21st century it becomes increasingly more important to move beyond what we have come to know as leadership--great man and position/authority-based, excellent management. Instead, what organizations are in need of is a postindustrial model of leadership. Rost defined 21st century leadership as "an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes" (p. 102). This study sought to operationalize 21st century leadership in Southwest Airlines Co., a Texas-based corporation that is recognized as one of America's most successful airlines. This company has a 22 year history, over 10,000 employees, …

Self-Esteem: A Descriptive Study Of Students Of San Diego Unified School District At Grades 4, 6, 8, 10, And 12 Related To Components Of Self-Esteem, Kathryn Dorothy Skube Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the self-esteem of students in a large, multicultural, urban, public school system on overall self-esteem and components of self-esteem across various ages. This was a descriptive study in which the researcher attempted to discern changes in levels of self-esteem as the students moved through the school system (grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12). Utilizing the Coopersmith Inventory, the researcher compared students' overall level of self-esteem, as well as the individual components of self-esteem: general self, social self/peers, home/parents, and school/academic. Selected teachers also completed a behavioral-observational rating scale on their students. …

Perceptions Of Infants As A Function Of Adult And Infant Characteristics, Christine Gesell Anderson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Persistence And Desistence In Delinquent Careers: A Test Of Braithwaite's Reintegrative Shaming Theory, Ronald G. Gulotta

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status, Gender, And Religious Views On Attributional Patterns Of High School Students In Nigeria, Ben Ejide

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation And Description Of Teacher Behavior In High-Track And Low-Track English Classes, Dorothy Carlton Sievert

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Description And A Comparative Evaluation Of A Social Skills Training Program, Sheila Morrison

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Novice Counselors' Inner Experiences, Counseling Self-Efficacy, And Skills, Pamela Rezek

Dissertations

No abstract provided.