Digital Commons Network^™

Story As A Means To Distributed Cognition In Dispute Mediation, Mary Lindsay Edd

Dissertations

In spite of a long history and wide-spread usage, dispute mediation has developed largely in the absence of theories to corroborate its practices. Mediators are taught techniques during their training to help disputants communicate; however, the kinds, patterns and evocation of disputant discourse that may further advance the mediation process have received little attention. In particular, stories may have been overlooked as a means in the creation of mutual understanding and in the promotion of relationship. At the same time, some mediators disavow storytelling as an acceptable type of discourse as they believe that the focus of the activity is …

The Relationship Between Selected Environmental Variables And Attrition, Persistence, And Academic Success Of Majority And Minority College Students, Carole J. Woolford-Hunt

Dissertations

Research indicates that college student persistence, attrition, and success is related to the student’s ability to gain academic and social integration into the university community. This theory has guided researchers to explore either the academic or social factors that promote integration. Under the umbrella of social integration exists the underresearched category of environmental factors.

The overall purpose of this study was to identify selected environmental factors that affect minority and majority students’ persistence and success rates in a Midwestern state-run university. The environmental variables of size of college within a larger university, residential versus nonresidential nature of colleges within a …

Periodicity And Disorder, Simeon D. Simeonov

Dissertations

We have studied four examples of periodicity and disorder in nature and the phenomena associated with them.

In the first chapter of the dissertation we present an introduction to this work.

In the second chapter, the photonic band structures of two types of zinc blend structures are computed using the plane wave expansion method. Both structures are formed from an array of dielectric spheres in a vacuum background. In a first type zinc blend structure the spheres have the same size but different dielectric constants. In a second type of structure we keep the dielectric contrast of the spheres the …

The Relationship Between Principals' Leadership Characteristics And Characteristics Of Public Middle Schools, Linda S. Schneider-Rediske

Dissertations

Principals’ perceptions of the relationship between middle school leadership characteristics and the relevance and use of middle school characteristics were examined in this study. A systematic random sampling procedure was used to select principals from public middle schools in the State of Michigan. A survey instrument was developed to measure the variables. These variables were determined based on a review of the literature. The reliability of the instrument was obtained using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Spearman rank-ordered correlations were used to determine the strength and direction of the relationships of each hypothesis.

The findings from this study suggest that there …

Diversity, Collaboration, Reflective Practice, And Technology In Professional Education Programs: Strategic Choices For Higher Education, Caren L. Sax Edd

Dissertations

Today's postsecondary students are entering American institutions of higher education (IHEs) with different experiences, expectations, and learning needs than students of previous generations. Calls for more diverse campuses, advanced technology, and lifelong learning are maintaining pressure on IHEs to adjust to new demands for a more encompassing vision as traditional approaches are no longer adequate. The challenges are tremendous; the responses must be extensive and reflective if higher education is to achieve its goals of preparing students for productive and meaningful lives. This study investigated student experiences in a yearlong professional education program that was focused by four strategic choices …

Domain Architecture A Design Framework For System Development And Integration, Vassilka D. Kirova

Dissertations

The ever growing complexity of software systems has revealed many short-comings in existing software engineering practices and has raised interest in architecture-driven software development. A system's architecture provides a model of the system that suppresses implementation detail, allowing the architects to concentrate on the analysis and decisions that are most critical to structuring the system to satisfy its requirements. Recently, interests of researchers and practi-tioners have shifted from individual system architectures to architectures for classes of software systems which provide more general, reusable solutions to the issues of overall system organization, interoperability, and allocation of services to system components. These …

Investigation Of Thermal Contact Resistance At A Plastic-Metal Interface In Injection Molding, Lakshminarayanan Sridhar

Dissertations

Thermal contact resistance (TCR) at the plastic-metal interface is one of the parameters required for the simulation of plastic processing techniques such as injection molding. However, the available data is both unreliable and insufficient due to the difficulties involved in measuring this parameter. The effects of thermal contact resistance on the heat transfer in plastics processing with particular reference to injection molding of thermoplastics is investigated using combined experimental measurement techniques, parametric studies and numerical analysis.

TCR under steady state conditions has been determined experimentally at typical thermoplastic-mold metal interfaces for an amorphous and a semi-crystalline polymer using a one-dimensional …

Parallelization For Image Processing Algorithms Based Chain And Mid-Crack Codes, Wai-Tak Wong

Dissertations

Freeman chain code is a widely-used description for a contour image. Another mid-crack code algorithm was proposed as a more precise method for image representation. We have developed a coding algorithm which is suitable to generate either chain code description or mid-crack code description by switching between two different tables. Since there is a strong urge to use parallel processing in image related problems, a parallel coding algorithm is implemented. This algorithm is developed on a pyramid architecture and a N cube architecture. Using link-list data structure and neighbor identification, the algorithm gains efficiency because no sorting or neighborhood pairing …

A Methodology For Component-Based System Integration, Yongming Tang

Dissertations

Component-based software based on software architectures is emerging to be the next generation software development paradigm. The paradigm shifts the development focus from lines-of-codes to coarser-grained components and the interconnections among them. It consists of system architecture design, architecture description, component search and system integration from components to generate a software system.

However, one of the bottlenecks in this paradigm is the integration of the individual components into the overall system. In this dissertation a methodology for component-based system integration is proposed. It is based on an architectural aggregation view, a component model, flowgraphs and cyclomatic complexity. We introduce this …

Oxidation Of Dimethyl-Ether And Ethylene In The Atmosphere And Combustion Environment And Thermodynamic Studies On Hydrofluorocarbons Using Ab Initio Calculation Methods, Takahiro Yamada

Dissertations

Reaction pathways and kinetics are analyzed on CH₃OC·H₂ unimolecular decay and on the complete CH₃OC·H₂ + O₂ reaction system using thermodynamic properties (ΔH_f°₂₉₈, S°₂₉₈, and C(T) 300≤T/K≤1500) derived by two ab initio calculation methods, CBS-q and G2. These are used to determine thermodynamic properties of reactants, intermediate radicals and transition state (TS) compounds. Quantum Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel (QRRK) analysis is used to calculate energy dependent rate constants, k(E), and master equation is used to account for collisional stabilization. Comparison of calculated fall-off with experiment indicates that the CBS-q and …

A Theoretical Study Of Bubble Motion In Surfactant Solutions, Yanping Wang

Dissertations

We examine the effect of surfactants on a spherical gas bubble rising steadily in an infinite fluid at low and order one Reynolds number with order one and larger Peclet numbers. Our mathematical model is based on the Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a convection-diffusion equation together with appropriate interfacial conditions. The nonlinearity of the equations and boundary conditions, and the coupling between hydrodynamics and surfactant transport make the problem very challenging.

When a bubble rises in a fluid containing surface-active agents, surfactant adsorbs onto the bubble surface at the leading edge, convects to the trailing edge by the surface flow …

Integration Of Faith And Learning In Christian Higher Education : Professional Development Of Teachers And Classroom Implementation, Constance Chibuzo Nwosu

Dissertations

Problem. Few studies have focused on effective professional development programs that enhance faith-learning implementation in the Christian higher education classroom, and little has been documented about what integration of faith and learning actually looks or sounds like in Christian higher education classrooms.

Purpose. This study had four purposes:

1. To describe the training processes used for preparing teachers in Christian higher education for implementing EFL in the classroom.
2. To compare these methodologies with Jesus’ training methodologies and research-based professional development programs.
3. To understand how teachers in Christian higher education classrooms defined IFL.
4. To identify and document some exemplary practices of faith …

The Relationship Between Parent Status And The Home Learning Environment, Self-Esteem, And Academic Achievement Of Fifth- To Eighth-Grade Students From Ohio Conference Seventh-Day Adventist Schools, Joseph R. Allison

Dissertations

Problem. The social issues at the end of the 20^th century have not left the Seventh-day Adventist church untouched. This present study sought to determine the differences that may exist between one- and two-parent students in the area of home learning environment, self-esteem, and academic achievement.

Method. Eighty-eight male and female students from 14 Ohio Seventh-day Adventist schools in grades 5-8 were studied. Data for the study were collected from three instruments: the Hare Self-Esteem Scale, the modified Henderson Environmental Learning Process Scale, and the Family Survey. Additional data were gathered from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills student …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Individual Student Acquisition And Retention Rates As Measured By Instructional Assessment, Matthew K. Burns

Dissertations

Statement of the problem. Research on Instructional Assessment is in its infancy. To date, no studies regarding its psychometric properties have been published, but the need for using technically sound assessment methods is prominent in education. Therefore, demonstrated technical adequacy is crucial. The lack of psychometric data for Instructional Assessment is especially noteworthy since it is one of the few educational assessment techniques that includes assessment of performance and cognitive learning theory, both of which have been linked to improved student achievement.

Method. Ninety-six students from Grades 1, 3, and 5 were individually taught a series ofwords from …

Technology Partnership Curriculum Initiative: A Descriptive Case Study Of Its History, Development, And Implementation, Ingrid Wright-Jones

Dissertations

Problem

Curricular reform has a pathetic history. Curriculum documents, some of the major tools of reformers, have had a minor effect on transforming education because the power of pedagogy has been ignored (Cuban, 1993). Teachers in the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) system voiced similar concerns about curriculum documents. Additionally, they felt that their 2-4-day in-service training did not adequately prepare them to implement curricular changes. This initiative, aimed at restructuring both the content and process of teaching, was to be implemented in a distance-learning pilot project in eight one-teacher schools.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to: (1) define the …

Max Horkheimer’S Critical Theory Of Religion:The Meaning Of Religion In The Struggle For Human Emancipation, Michael R. Ott

Dissertations

Over the past thirty years much has been written about the critical theory of society that was produced by a small group of left-wing Hegelians in the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and in the United States. However, except for the pioneering work of Rudolf Siebert, little has been written about the critical theory of religion as a fundamental and dynamic element of the entire critical theory’s struggle for human emancipation. This study seeks to make a contribution in the development of the critical theory of religion as a corrective to the one-sided, positivistic development of …

An Examination Of Self-Efficacy In Master’S Level Counselor Trainees, Matthew G. Rushlau

Dissertations

This research is an investigation into changes in individuals’ belief of self-efficacy as they advanced through master’s-level counselor training. Differences were examined between reported levels of beliefs of self-efficacy for a group of 30 master’s students involved in counselor practicum training and 31 master’s students involved in basic counseling coursework. Participants completed the Counselor Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) (Larson et al., 1992) at the beginning and end of an academic semester. Data generated by the COSE included an overall score on beliefs of counselor self-efficacy along with five subscale scores of various aspects of counseling, consisting of Micro-Skills, Process, Difficult Client …

De-Emphasizing Grade-Level Identities: A Case Study Of Mathematics Instruction In An Intermediate Elementary Multiage Classroom, Kevin Oconnor

Dissertations

This is an interpretive study that investigates the nature of the issues, dilemmas, and successes of planning and implementing a mathematics program with minimal reference to grade-level designations in a multiage classroom setting of fourth—and fifth-grade students.

The study focused on how one teacher conceptualized, designed, and structured a mathematics curriculum. An analysis of over 60 hours of interviews conducted over six months revealed a teacher who integrated her knowledge of elementary mathematics with her knowledge and practice of teaching and learning theories, mathematical understanding, curriculum perspectives, and classroom management. This integration is explained through a conceptual framework of the …

A Resource Allocation Mechanism Based On Cost Function Synthesis In Complex Systems, Carlos C. Amaro

Dissertations

While the management of resources in computer systems can greatly impact the usefulness and integrity of the system, finding an optimal solution to the management problem is unfortunately NP hard. Adding to the complexity, today's 'modern' systems - such as in multimedia, medical, and military systems - may be, and often are, comprised of interacting real and non-real-time components. In addition, these systems can be driven by a host of non-functional objectives – often differing not only in nature, importance, and form, but also in dimensional units and range, and themselves interacting in complex ways. We refer to systems exhibiting …

Microwave Heating Of Fluid/Solid Layers : A Study Of Hydrodynamic Stability And Melting Front Propagation, John Gilchrist

Dissertations

In this work we study the effects of externally induced heating on the dynamics of fluid layers, and materials composed of two phases separated by a thermally driven moving front. One novel aspect of our study is in the nature of the external source, which is provided by the action of microwaves acting on dielectric materials. The main challenge is to model and solve systems of differential equations, which couple fluid dynamical motions (the Navie- Stokes equations for nonisothermal flows) and electromagnetic wave propagation (governed by Maxwell's equations).

When an electromagnetic wave impinges on a material, energy is generated within …

Emissivity Measurements And Modeling Of Silicon Related Materials And Structures, Sufian Abedrabbo

Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the major issues concerning applications of pyrometry for applications in rapid thermal processing (RTP) of silicon related materials. The research highlights of this work are:

Establishment of spectral ernissometry as a novel, reliable and reproducible technique for:

Determination of wavelength and temperature dependent reflectivity, transmissivity, emissivity and temperature, simultaneously, of silicon related materials and structures. The emissometer operates in the wavelength range of 1-20mm and temperature range of 300-1200K. The analysis of the influence of morphological effects on the radiative properties by measurement of (a) front-smooth incidence versus backside-rough incidence of singleside …

A Folder Organization Model For Information Systems : Exploring Its Architectural Expressive Power And Predicate-Based Filing, Simon Doong

Dissertations

This dissertation presents an Internal Folder Organization (I-ORG) which supplements the architectural deficiencies of the existing model - the User Folder Organization (U-ORG), to electronically model a person's filing system in the modern office environment. An I-ORG folder organization gives a logical representation of how documents of the same or different kinds are related and grouped into folders based on predefined premises. Our model is represented by a Rooted Direct Acyclic Graph (RDAG). Each node in the graph represents a folder; and folders are related by "subfolder relationship" (for capturing the "and" relation) and "virtual-folder relationship" (for capturing the "or" …

A Graph Based Process Model Measurement Framework Using Scheduling Theory, Gary Guang-Li Mou

Dissertations

Software development processes, as a means of ensuring software quality and productivity, have been widely accepted within the software development community; software process modeling, on the other hand, continues to be a subject of interest in the research community. Even with organizations that have achieved higher SEI maturity levels, processes are by and large described in documents and reinforced as guidelines or laws governing software development activities. The lack of industry-wide adaptation of software process modeling as part of development activities can be attributed to two major reasons: lack of forecast power in the (software) process modeling and lack of …

Pneumatic Fracture Propagation And Particulate Transport In Geologic Formations, Suresh Puppala

Dissertations

Pneumatic fracturing is an in situ remediation enhancement technology developed to increase the permeability of contaminated geologic formations. This technology can also be used to deliver atomized liquid and particulate supplements to geologic formations, thereby enhancing in situ processes such as bioremediation and reactive dechlorination.

The main objective of this study was the development of a mathematical model that simulates the propagation of pneumatic fractures in soil and rock formations. Pneumatic fracture propagation differs from other fluid fracturing phenomena in the propagation velocity (1-3 m/sec) and the viscosity of the fracturing fluid (1.9E-05 Pa•sec). For the purposes of model development, …

Automatic Analysis Of Electronic Drawings Using Neural Network, Yi Shi

Dissertations

Neural network technique has been found to be a powerful tool in pattern recognition. It captures associations or discovers regularities with a set of patterns, where the types, number of variables or diversity of the data are very great, the relationships between variables are vaguely understood, or the relationships are difficult to describe adequately with conventional approaches.

In this dissertation, which is related to the research and the system design aiming at recognizing the digital gate symbols and characters in electronic drawings, we have proposed: (1) A modified Kohonen neural network with a shift-invariant capability in pattern recognition; (2) An …

Adaptive Bootstrap Signal Separators For Bpsk/Qam-Modulated Wireless Cdma Systems In A Multipath Environment, Nico J.M. Van Waes

Dissertations

CDMA is an attractive multiple-access scheme, because of its potential capacity increase and its anti-multipath fading capability. For satisfactory performance, however, the effect of the "near-far" problem has to be resolved. This problem can be combated by using power-control, which, however, results in an overall reduction in communication ranges, and thus in a loss of capacity. Among other methods for mitigating the near-far problem is the use of decorrelating receivers, both of fixed type, which directly utilizes the cross-correlation of the users codes, and of adaptive type, which uses recursive algorithms that leads to signal decorrelation. Not to lessen the …

Angle-Resolved Studies Of Inner Shell Excitations For Argon, Krypton And Xenon Using Third Generation Synchrotron Sources, Ahmad H. Farhat

Dissertations

This dissertation, which is in the area of atomic physics, concentrates on the study of the interaction between VUV-soft X-ray radiation and atoms in the gas phase. The main area of interest is the study of Auger decay in atoms utilizing the process known as the resonance Auger effect, where an inner shell electron is excited to an unfilled orbital followed by the ejection of an Auger electron. The measurements in this thesis were performed by using the high resolution Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics undulator beam line, which utilizes a spherical grating monochromator at the Advanced Light Source at …

A Generalization Of Cayley Graphs For Finite Fields, Dawn M. Jones

Dissertations

A central question in the area of topological graph theory is to find the genus of a given graph. In particular, the genus parameter has been studied for Cayley graphs. A Cayley graph is a representation of a group and a fixed generating set for that group. A group is said to be planar if there is a generating set which produces a planar Cayley graph. We say that a group is toroidal if there is a generating set that produces a toroidal Cayley graph and if there are no generating sets which produce a planar Cayley graph. Characterizations for …

A Computer/Tutorial System Compared With A Workbook/Tutorial System For Presenting Instructional Material To At-Risk Elementary School Students, Vincent O. Hodge

Dissertations

Two different ways of presenting instructional material and reacting to students’ responses were compared. One, taking advantage of several features of multimedia instruction involved a desktop computer and various computer-presented consequences of correct and incorrect responses (largely chosen by the student). The other consisted in presenting the same instructional materials (the SRA primary curriculum) in a workbook form with tutors' comments and praise as the main form of response consequence. The two methods were compared with respect to various measures of student and system performance, including student accuracy (percent correct responses), types of errors, amount of correct response repetition (over-responding), …

Units In Integral Group Rings For Direct Products, Richard M. Low

Dissertations

Given a finite group G and the ring of integers, one can form the integral group ring ZG . A natural problem to investigate is to find a description of the group of units for this ring ZG. Since the unit problem for integral group rings arises in the contexts of algebraic topology, number theory, and algebra, it is an important question to try to answer. For this reason, it has drawn the attention of researchers from diverse areas of mathematics.

Graham Higman (circa 1940) made substantial contributions to the solution of this problem, in the case where G was …