Digital Commons Network^™

Winds Of Change: The Historical Contingency Of State Crime, Kelly L. Faust

Dissertations

Destruction of the built environment during a natural disaster is by no means a new phenomenon. What has changed over time is how we as a society react to such destruction, as well as what we expect from the state in terms of protection from, and responses to, said destruction. This dissertation explores these changes through a political economic lens with the goal of gaining increased knowledge of the phenomena that constitute state crime. Social structure of accumulation (SSA) theory provides the basis for a view of the state as a social institution which acts according to the goals of …

Mapa Provisonal De La Literatura Hispanoamericana De Entre Siglo (Xx-Xxi): Una Mirada Al Camino Literario Actual, Claudia Lorena Márquez-Reséndiz

Dissertations

Globalization has dramatically transformed many aspects of our life. Media and technology have advanced significantly in the last two decades. At the same time, migration has increased at an unprecedented pace. Literature reflects and expresses the social, economic, political and cultural factors that are occurring at any given time. My dissertation focuses on a novelistic production of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. This body of literature carries within a particular structure of feeling that has emerged in our global era.

In chapter one, I undertake the reading of three novels that discuss and question the concept of "national" …

The Role Of Focus Group Venue: A Comparative Study Of Face-To-Face, Telephone, And Internet Video-Based Venues, June E. Gothberg

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the equivalence or non-inferiority for comparisons of telephone focus group venue to face-to-face focus group venue, Internet video-based focus group venue to face-to-face focus group venue, and Internet video based focus group venue to telephone focus group venue. Research questions examined the equivalence and non-inferiority of five variables reported in the literature as fundamental reasons a researcher would choose focus groups as a data collection tool. The five variables were: participant interactions, breadth of conversation, depth of conversation, disclosure of sensitive information, and adherence to the topic. Variables were measured using content …

The Incorporation Of Electrohydrodynamics And Other Modifications Into A Dry Spinning Model To Develop A Theoretical Framework For Electrospinning, Yuki Imura

Dissertations

The objective of this research was the development of a mathematical model of the electrospinning process using dry spinning modeling principles as a basis. This model is directed at the identification of parameters which influence final fiber characteristics, e.g., solvent concentration, temperature, spin line tension, and electric field. Preliminary computer simulations were performed; however, the generated data was inconclusive and was determined to be due in part to the complexity of the modeled system and the subsequent computational difficulties encountered. Although a comprehensive computational model of the electrospinning process has not yet been demonstrated, the theoretical development that was undertaken …

Synthesis, Molecular And Solid State Structures, And Magnetic Properties Of Sandwich Lanthanide Phthalocyanines Lacking C-H Bonds, Wycliffe A. Graham

Dissertations

A new class of sandwich phthalocyanine (Pc) compounds without C-H bonds was synthesized and characterized. They are the bis[octakis(perfluoro i-C₃F₇) octakis(perfluoro)phthalocyaninato(2−)]M(III) complexes, formulated as (F₆₄Pc)₂MH, M = Tb, Dy, Lu, Y. Single molecular magnetic (SMM) behavior in the (F₆₄Pc)₂TbH and (F₆₄Pc)₂DyH complexes was confirmed through slowed relaxation response of their magnetization in an applied time varying magnetic field during alternating current (AC) magnetic testing in the range 2 - 50 K. The energy barrier to magnetic reversal, Δ = 215 cm^-1 and …

Rational Design Of Hydrogen-Free Catalytic Active Sites, Andrei Ioan Loas

Dissertations

Materials that are organic-based and exhibit oxidative catalytic activity, including free-radical pathways, while being refractory to the activated oxygen species are not known. The synthesis of several classes of such materials, their electronic and structural characterizations as well as catalytic properties are reported. Their rational molecular design and biologically inspired reactivity are based on enzymatic active sites, which are reengineered into robust metal-organic fluoroalkylated scaffolds that, for the first time, exhibit structural asymmetry and tunable π-π interactions both in solution and solid state. In these complexes, labile C-H bonds are replaced with chemically and thermally resistant C-F bonds to create …

Vector Coprocessor Sharing Techniques For Multicores: Performance And Energy Gains, Spiridon Florin Beldianu

Dissertations

Vector Processors (VPs) created the breakthroughs needed for the emergence of computational science many years ago. All commercial computing architectures on the market today contain some form of vector or SIMD processing.

Many high-performance and embedded applications, often dealing with streams of data, cannot efficiently utilize dedicated vector processors for various reasons: limited percentage of sustained vector code due to substantial flow control; inherent small parallelism or the frequent involvement of operating system tasks; varying vector length across applications or within a single application; data dependencies within short sequences of instructions, a problem further exacerbated without loop unrolling or other …

Dispersibility Of And Adsorption On Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes, Susana Addo Ntim

Dissertations

As the applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) proliferate, mass production and widespread use of these nanocarbons will continue to rise. While raw, unrefined, and hydrophobic carbon nanotubes tend to settle out of aqueous media/environments, water dispersible, functionalized CNTs (F-CNTs) will contaminate water resources and will also be highly bioavailable on exposure. Therefore, there is a need to develop an understanding of the fate of F-CNTs in aqueous media.

The colloidal behavior of aqueous dispersions of F-CNTs formed via carboxylation and polymer wrapping with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) is investigated. The presence of polymer on the nanotube surface provides steric stabilization, and …

Image Statistical Frameworks For Digital Image Forensics, Patchara Sutthiwan

Dissertations

The advances of digital cameras, scanners, printers, image editing tools, smartphones, tablet personal computers as well as high-speed networks have made a digital image a conventional medium for visual information. Creation, duplication, distribution, or tampering of such a medium can be easily done, which calls for the necessity to be able to trace back the authenticity or history of the medium. Digital image forensics is an emerging research area that aims to resolve the imposed problem and has grown in popularity over the past decade. On the other hand, anti-forensics has emerged over the past few years as a relatively …

Assessing The Impact Participation In Science Journalism Activities Has On Scientific Literacy Among High School Students, Cathy Farrar

Dissertations

As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) initiative (http://www.scijourn.org; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students’ scientific literacy. Over the course of a school year students participated in a variety of activities culminating in the production of science news articles for Scijourner (http://www.scijourner.org). Participating teachers and SciJourn team members collaboratively developed activities focused on five aspects of scientific literacy: contextualizing information, recognizing relevance, evaluating factual accuracy, use of multiple credible sources and information seeking processes. This study details the …

Shopping For Identity: An Economic Explanation For The Post-2003 Violence In Iraq, Alan M. Noory

Dissertations

The American occupation of Iraq revealed intense intra-society violence in Iraq that was not possible to take note of during decades of the state’s systematic practice of violence against society and the organized counter-violence in response to it. The occupation, along with the collapse of a regime without any viable governing alternative, and the historic ethno-sectarian tensions are attractive explanatory factors for the ongoing intra-society violence in Iraq. Yet, they fail to explain another civil war that took place in Iraqi Kurdistan a decade earlier. This forgotten war took place in an almost all Kurd/ all Sunni society, after three …

Planned Parenthood Takes On Live Action: An Analysis Of Media Interplay And Image Restoration Strategies In Strategic Conflict Management, Leslie Lynn Rasmussen

Dissertations

On February 1, 2011 the pro-life organization Live Action released videos that appeared to show Planned Parenthood clinic staff disregarding statutory rape and abortion reporting laws and aiding sex traffickers. The videos posted online quickly garnered over a million views and placed Planned Parenthood at the forefront of national news. The Federal government intervened and threatened to remove funding to the Title X organization. Planned Parenthood launched a campaign to retain funding using social media and controlled online media, and attempted restore its image as a reputable healthcare provider while engaged in conflict with Live Action.

A content analysis was …

Genetic Variation In Potentially Virulent Vibrio Parahaemolyticus From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Nicholas Felix Noriea Iii

Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V_p) is a gram-negative bacterium found naturally in marine and estuarine environments. V_p is found in oysters including those which are later consumed by the public. Sub-populations of potentially virulent Vp contain specific virulence factors and are relevant human pathogens capable of causing gastroenteritis, wound infection, and death. The tdh and trh genes, both encoding hemolysins, have been correlated with the majority of clinical V_p isolates but have not been shown to be the definitive virulence factors.

A total of 146 V_p isolates from the northern Gulf of Mexico were collected and probed …

An Examination Of Perceived Stress Levels And Coping Styles Among Rural Law Enforcement Officers, Marcos Luis Misis

Dissertations

Policing is a very stressful job. Despite the extensive body of research on police stress, the majority of studies have focused solely on officers within urban police departments. Research on stress within rural law enforcement departments is virtually non-existent even though the majority of police agencies in America serve towns and areas under 50,000 residents.

This study had four main goals: (1) to examine how work-related stress affects the levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression for rural law enforcement officers; (2) to explore the specific stressors affecting rural law enforcement officers; (3) to investigate how rural law enforcement officers …

The Impact Of Teacher Certification Programs On Teacher Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, And Teacher Performance: A Comparison Of Traditional And Alternative Certification, Christopher Mark Mueller

Dissertations

The method selected to prepare and certify teachers continues to be a widely debated issue. Advocates for alternative certification (AC) contend that allowing content specialists from fields outside of education into the classroom will help meet the demand for teachers in hard-to-fill areas like math, science, and special education. Proponents of traditional teacher certification (TC) programs maintain that placing individuals without strong backgrounds in teaching methods, learning strategies, and child development will impede student achievement.

This study compared the levels of teacher efficacy, job performance and job satisfaction of teachers between AC (N = 164) and TC (N = 960) …

Perceptions Of Kentucky Educators Concerning The Kentucky State Assessment System As An Accurate Reflection Of Student Learning, Benny C. Lile

Dissertations

While educational testing has been in place since the one room school house, it was not until the 1990s that accountability began to accompany assessment programs. With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, virtually every public school district in the United States of America that desired to continue to receive Title 1 funding found themselves tied to rigorous assessment and accountability systems. This focus on accountability has impacted every school, district, and state as they have sought to implement and deal with the consequences it has wrought. As the 50 states have sought to …

Community College Students' Perceptions Of Effective Communication In Online Learning, Donna Alice Hill Parker

Dissertations

This quantitative research project analyzed the application of instructional communication tools and techniques used by community college students to determine how they perceive communication in their online classes. Online students from a community college participated in this study by completing an electronic survey. Data analysis revealed that these participating students communicated primarily through written online communication tools such as posting of class notes, email, and discussions. Students lack exposure to more innovative communication tools such as teacher-made audio and video presentations or live conversations and demonstrations through the use of Wimba or other tools, which are readily available in the …

New Media, New Politics: The Emergence Of The Internet In American Politics, Michael Robert Artime

Dissertations

The Internet is viewed by some as a great tool for democracy. Indeed, if we believe in the value of a marketplace of ideas, there is no greater forum through which individuals can express any and every opinion on a variety of issues than the Internet. However, it is unclear whether this free and unfettered expression of ideas has been helpful or harmful to American democracy. This dissertation demonstrates, through the use of National Election Studies (NES) data that those using the Internet tend to have more negative attitudes toward political leaders and institutions than their counterparts who either do …

An Analysis Of How National Basketball Association (Nba) Teams Use Social Media, Tariq Ahmad

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Middle School Students’ Perceptions Of Their Interests In Reading As Defined By Engagement And Social Interaction When Using Sustained Silent Reading, Ssr, And Peer Interests Reading Strategies, Pirs, Regina J. Ware

Dissertations

Alarming statistics report that middle school students are not reading as much as they should be reading. This study is an examination of two interventions that were incorporated into the regular curriculum to determine if these two reading interventions would encourage this researcher’s students to read more. The “Nation’s Report Card” (NAEP, 2010) showed that eighth graders were reading less on the 2009 exam than indicated by the score they received in 2007. This data intensifies the importance of encouraging reading in middle school students. To help the students in Blue Sky Middle School improve their reading habits, this researcher …

Cultural Diversity And The Experiences Of Alaska Native Nursing Students, Margaret Gilmon

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of The Yea Tobacco Prevention Program With A Media Literacy Component For Middle School Age Students In Regards To Tobacco Use, Unsun Grace Lee

Dissertations

This is a study focusing on a tobacco prevention program with a media literacy component that was administered in middle schools across the state of Missouri. In this study, the effectiveness of the Youth Empowerment in Action – Tobacco Education Advocacy and Media Program (YEA! TEAM) was investigated to determine if the inclusion of a media literacy component in an anti-tobacco prevention program made an impact on youth and their overall attitudes towards smoking. In this program, youth were taught how to dissect persuasive media techniques to make informed decisions. The research question for this study was, Can the media …

Interactive Whiteboard Use: The Catalyst Of Student Achievement, Tenneille Terrell Lamberth

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 forced school districts to become more accountable by requiring all students to read on grade level by the year 2014. However, President Obama’s educational policy shift is allowing states to develop their own accountability and improvement system. This study examined fourth and eighth grade math achievement on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd edition and interactive whiteboard use, attitudes and perceptions, and professional development. Data were collected from 21 participating Mississippi Gulf Coast area schools to determine if a correlation existed between fourth and eighth grade math achievement and interactive whiteboard use, …

Roadblocks To Integrating Technology Into Classroom Instruction, Courteney Lester Knight

Dissertations

Although research has concluded that technology can enhance the teaching and learning processes, teachers have not yet fully adopted technology to support their teaching methodologies. In the last decade or so, as the accessible gap narrowed, the focus switched to other factors. This study attempts to answer the question: Why teachers do not fully integrate technology into their classroom instruction?

Recently a preponderance of the literature on technology integration has inquired into teachers’ knowledge of technology, the role of the administrator, the curriculum and teachers’ perception of the benefits of technology in instruction. The problem was to determine the relationship …

Educational Technology Integration And High-Stakes Testing, Tracy Demetrie Daniel

Dissertations

Determining if the investment in educational technology will improve student achievement is complicated and multifarious. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of teacher technology integration on student achievement as measured by the Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) and to explore the relationship between technology integration and other factors (a teacher’s age, gender, computer self-efficacy, and technology training).

This non-experimental, quantitative study included 106 secondary school teachers from six school districts in Mississippi. The respondents completed a questionnaire based on their SATP course (Algebra I, Biology, English II, and U. S. History) teaching experiences. This study …

The Relationship Between Schools Utilizing Positive Behavior Interventions And Support Programs And Student Achievement, Lori Herrington Massey

Dissertations

Incidents of student misbehavior are on the rise in classrooms across the United States. The acts of misconduct committed by students are increasing in both frequency and severity. While there is a broad spectrum of causal factors for the presentation of these behaviors, the end result is the decline of student achievement. These behavioral issues are negatively impacting student achievement by creating disruptions in the teaching process, loss of instruction for students who are serving suspensions, preoccupying administrators with dispensing office discipline referrals rather than serving as instructional leaders. To combat this rise in behavioral concerns both federal law and …

What Influences Principal Perceptions Of Bullying?, Matthew Benjamin Alred

Dissertations

Bullying is a wide-spread problem that affects millions of students every day. School bullying is a serious social issue that can have both short-term and long-term devastating effects on the victims, bullies, and bystanders. Federal, state, and local agencies have created policies to address school bullying. However, the school principal has the most pivotal role in reducing the incidents of bullying and appropriately intervening in incidents that do occur. Furthermore, the principal is the most empowered by his or her role to bring about change to the school’s climate and culture which are key factors in the prevalence of bullying. …

Administrators’ Perceptions Of Alternative School Characteristics And Their Relationship With Recidivism, Lori Elaine Burkett

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed between secondary and alternative school administrators’ reported perceptions on the importance and existence of 26 alternative school effectiveness characteristics and if the administrators’ perceptions were related to alternative school recidivism. The administrator groups were in agreement that 25 of the 26 characteristics were important; they also agreed that the characteristic student enrollment is by choice, not a mandate, was not important. Significant differences were identified between the administrator groups on reported existence of the characteristics; alternative administrators reported the existence of the characteristics to be significantly higher than the …

The Influence Of Classroom Instruction And Test Preparation On School Accountability Levels, Karen Adair Carter Bryant

Dissertations

Federal and state educational agencies provide guidelines for public schools across the United States to follow (Linn, 2008; Levy, 2008). During a time of highstakes testing fueled by school accountability standards, educators strive to meet requirements for academic growth in order to maintain a successful accountability level and avoid being labeled as a school under improvement (Behrent, 2009; Hardman & Dawson, 2008). Some argue that the demands of accountability standards pressure administrators and teachers to provide less than adequate instruction in order to focus on the content of mandatory state tests (Abrams & Madaus, 2003; Anderson, 2009; Behrent, 2009; Hamilton, …

Faculty Teaching Behaviors At Three State-Funded Universities, Christa Michelle Bryant

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if faculty teaching behaviors differed as a function of demographic variables including academic discipline, years of experience making accommodations, academic rank, and/or gender. College faculty from three universities completed and submitted the Faculty Inventory, a questionnaire containing seven subscales with ten statements per subscale. Faculty members rated the level at which they participate in the teaching behaviors represented by the statements. Results of the data analysis indicated that academic discipline and years of experience making accommodations for students with disabilities significantly influenced teaching behaviors. Academic rank and gender were examined only by …