Digital Commons Network^™

Integrating Hypertext With Information Systems Through Dynamic Mapping, Jiangling Wan

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a general hypertext model (GHMI) supporting integration of hypertext and information systems through dynamic mapping. Information systems integrated based on this model benefit from hypertext function-alities (such as linking, backtracking, history, guided tours, annotations, etc.) while preserving their own computation capabilities. Although systems supporting integration of hypertext and interface-oriented information systems do exist in hypertext literature, there is no existing model or system effectively supporting integration of hypertext and computation-oriented information systems. GHMI makes its major contributions by both extending and specifying the well-known Dexter Hypertext Reference Model. GHMI extends the Dexter model to overcome its limitations. …

Theory And Design Of Portable Parallel Programs For Heterogeneous Computing Systems And Networks, Ying-Chieh Wu

Dissertations

A recurring problem with high-performance computing is that advanced architectures generally achieve only a small fraction of their peak performance on many portions of real applications sets. The Amdahl's law corollary of this is that such architectures often spend most of their time on tasks (codes/algorithms and the data sets upon which they operate) for which they are unsuited. Heterogeneous Computing (HC) is needed in the mid 90's and beyond due to ever increasing super-speed requirements and the number of projects with these requirements. HC is defined as a special form of parallel and distributed computing that performs computations using …

A Full Wave Method For Rough Surface Scattering Using Fictitious Current Distributions, Anthony A. Triolo

Dissertations

Rough surface scattering is a current topic of interest in many diverse fields. But, despite its importance, the two most widely used solution methods, the Kirchhoff and first order perturbation methods, are valid only for a restricted range of surface types. There is a large range of surface statistics for which neither of these theories is valid. There are purely numerical solutions to the problem, i.e., the integral equation technique and FDTD method, but these methods require a prohibitively large amount of computer time and storage space for use in practical applications. A full wave method has been introduced by …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Dry Granular Material Using A Massively Parallel Supercomputer, David W. Washington

Dissertations

It is the state-of -the-art within Geotechnical Engineering to model soils as systems of particles rather than using the traditional continuum approach. Simulating these systems of particles for geotechnical boundary value problems results in systems which are of necessity large, motivating the application of massively parallel supercomputers. This thesis pursues such an approach.

The following work describes numerical experiments using a Discrete Element Method (DEM) paradigm for soils (Trubal) together with massively parallel computers with Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) architecture. The discrete element method describes the behavior of granular assemblies using the classical mechanics of discrete bodies. The computational …

The Effect Of Written Information And Reassurance On Patient Satisfaction, Anxiety, And Intent To Return For Emergency Care, June Andrea Dnsc

Dissertations

Patients' satisfaction is one of the primary goals of emergency department (ED) providers today. As emergency departments are overcrowded, stressful environments, anxious patients want to be kept informed. Nurses have the opportunity to meet these needs and possibly influence the patients' perception of the experience and intent to return for future care. This study examined the effects of providing written information and reassurance on patient satisfaction, anxiety, and intent to return for emergency care. The design was a posttest design involving a comparison between the control and three experimental groups. Two hundred and forty patients participated in the study, approximately …

A Comparison Of Youth Living Environment In Small And Large Communities Of Michigan, Huilan Yang

Dissertations

This study compares youth living environment in small and large communities in Michigan. The comparison includes three areas of youth living environment: community environment, financial environment, and educational environment. Community in this study is defined as school district. Data are extracted from an existing database developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics titled School District Data Book (SDDB). Out of 560 Michigan school districts included in SDDB, 370 are used in the data analysis, excluding the Detroit City School District and 189 medium-sized districts. Fifteen variables are selected for comparison, categorized under the three areas of youth environment. The …

Ground Water Movement Through The Highly-Fractured Crystalline Core Of A Large-Scale, Foreland Uplift, Roy Al Gorge Arch, South-Central Colorado, Timothy L. Clarey

Dissertations

The objectives of this study were twofold: ( 1) to examine the well-exposed, basement core of the Royal Gorge arch as a large-scale, field test of ground water flow through a fractured, crystalline, aquifer system; and (2) to devise a method to more accurately determine the direction of maximum aperture of a fractured aquifer through structural and hydrogeologic analysis.

The recognition of a preferred direction of maximum aperture in a fractured aquifer remains an important hydrogeologic consideration because flow through a fracture is proportional to the cube of the aperture width. Previous studies of hydraulic directions using fracture orientation techniques …

Lobbying In The Nonprofit Sector: A Study Of Practice And Values, Larry A. Buzas

Dissertations

Executive directors of nonprofit organizations were interviewed to determine their lobbying practices. Direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying, as defined by P. A. 94-455 were studied. Independent variables include: (a) formal organizational support, (b) organizational affiliation, (c) organizational characteristics, and (d) the executive directors' perceptions and demographic characteristics.

Data were collected during semi-standardized interviews. A random sample of 50 executive directors of nonprofit organizations in Michigan was selected. The research shows that executive directors of nonprofit organizations do lobby policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels using the following techniques: (a) face-to-face visits, individually or with coalitions, including providing …

On The Adaptive Multi-Stage Detector For Cancellation Of Multiuser Interference In Cdma Wireless Communication Systems, Nadir Sezgin

Dissertations

The classical multiple access techniques such as Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) schemes are band limited in terms of their capacity to be used for mobile radio communication. Recent developments in the area of digital signal processing, makes Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) as a possible solution to the demand of capacity for the mobile radio communication. The capacity of CDMA is limited by multiuser interference, that is the interference from the other users.

The goal of this dissertation is to improve the multiuser CDMA detector with high Bit Error Rate (BER) performance, low …

Identifying And Exploiting Concurrency In Object-Based Real-Time Systems, Guohui Yu

Dissertations

The use of object-based mechanisms, i.e., abstract data types (ADTs), for constructing software systems can help to decrease development costs, increase understandability and increase maintainability. However, execution efficiency may be sacrificed due to the large number of procedure calls, and due to contention for shared ADTs in concurrent systems. Such inefficiencies are a concern in real-time applications that have stringent timing requirements. To address these issues, the potentially inefficient procedure calls are turned into a source of concurrency via asynchronous procedure calls (ARPCs), and contention for shared ADTS is reduced via ADT cloning. A framework for concurrency analysis in object-based …

Anaerobic Digestion And Acid Hydrolysis Of Nitrocellulose, Fong-Jung Tai

Dissertations

In this investigation, studies were conducted to evaluate the biodegradation of nitrocellulose in anaerobic batch reactors with and without the supplemental carbon inducers, such as cellulose, cellobiose, and lactose. Results from the anaerobic study show that degradation of nitrocellulose alone is difficult and that nitrocellulose degradative enzymes could be induced by the three inducers tested. As high as 48.91% conversion could be obtained at Cellulose/Nitrocellulose ratio of 1 to I. Studies also indicated that type 20 and 50 celluloses would be more effective and optimum pH was about 6.4 in biodegradation of nitrocellulose. Three testing systems, namely, single-stage, two-stage, and …

The Literary Study Of Non-Fiction: An Analysis Of Selected Works By George Orwell, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, And Virginia Woolf, Kenneth S. Rogers

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The Mechanisms Controlling Phospholipid Biosynthetic Gene Expression In The Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Brian Patrick Ashburner

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Empirical Development Of A Curriculum On The Issues Concerning The History Of Ancient Israel, Ruzica Gregor

Dissertations

Problem. An understanding of Israel's history is crucial to a Christian view of history, including its morals and values, and is a foundation stone of most conservative Christians including Seventh-day Adventists and their religious educational philosophy. There is a vital need for a curriculum that provides reasonable answers to the most frequently asked questions about Israel's early history and builds a solid base for the Christian/Adventist faith. The purpose of this study was to meet this need by empirically developing a curriculum for religion majors in Seventh-day Adventist colleges. Issues discussed include the Philosophical Background and Importance of History; the …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Psychological Androgyny And College Adjustment Among Korean American College Students, Daniel Donghyun Kim

Dissertations

Problem. The process of adjusting to college has been difficult for many Korean-Americans because of the tension that exists between traditional sex roles versus androgynous sex roles. While it has opened doors to new and exciting opportunities in personal growth, complex challenges of academic, emotional, and social adjustments must be made. The traditional views of the subculture have posed unique problems for young Korean Americans who have enrolled in higher education. This descriptive study examined the relationship between androgynous flexibility and the college adjustment of Korean American students. Androgynous flexibility was investigated in terms of college adjustment.

Method. The sample …

Photophysics And Photochemistry Of Carbocations, Maria R. Valentino

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The American Bible College: An Eye To The Future, Larry J. Davidhizar

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Reading, Writing, And Language Development In An Integrated Intermediate School Program, Rosa Antonietta Rizzato

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adolecents' Daily Experience Of Parenting Styles And Alcohol Use, John Philbin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Factors Related To Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Donald L. Totten

Dissertations

Problem. Clergy sexual misconduct creates credibility, marital, family, and financial problems in the general church. The purpose of this study was to determine, through a survey research methodology, personality and situational factors in the lives of active clergy that may be related to clergy sexual misconduct.

Method. Two hundred sixty-nine pastors filled out questionnaires pertaining to spiritual well-being, locus of control, burnout, social support, active pre-marital sexual conduct, erotic thoughts, naivete/lack of training, demographics, and sexual involvement with a non-spouse while in the ministry. Univariate, discriminant, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the influence of each variable …

The Colton Celebration Congregation: A Case Study In American Adventist Worship Renewal 1986-1991, Viviane Haenni

Dissertations

This study investigates the experience of Celebration Center (Colton, California), its milieu, and its impact on the North American Seventh-day Adventist Church through what has been perceived as the celebration movement and controversy, while addressing underlying historical, sociological, and philosophical/theological question.

The principal findings of the study reveal that Celebration Center has uniquely attempted to explore a more multilayered approach to church life and worship within White Anglo Adventism. The celebration experience has ventured into breaking up some old Adventist expectations through its congregational trend; its emphasis on love, acceptance, and forgiveness; its different church organization and more holistic worship; …

Regulation Of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Atpase (Serca2) Gene Expression In Left Ventricular Hypertrophy And Heart Failure, Ming Qi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Nonsense Codon-Mediated Degradation Of Immunoglobulin Heavy-Chain [Mu] Messenger Rna In B Cells, Tianhong Li

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Phospholipid Biosynthesis In The Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae By The Ume6 Gene, John Charles Jackson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Psychological Autopsy Study Of Completed Suicide: An Experimental Test Of The Impact Of Knowledge Of The Suicide Upon Informants' Reports Of Psychopathology In The Victim, Sharon L. Telcser

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sowing The American Dream: Consumer Culture In The Rural Midwest, 1865-1900, David Blanke

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Stadium Development And Urban Communities In Chicago, Costas Spirou

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Personality And Peace: A Study Of Person, Process, And Response In A Human Growth Group Procedure, Julie Oxenberg

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Nursing Student And Faculty Perceptions Of Clinical Post-Conference Learning Environments, Marijo Letizia

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Disability Status And Introduction Of An Attitudinal Prompt On Therapists' Projections Of Client Self-Esteem, Dennis R. Bowling

Dissertations

No abstract provided.