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Time-Frequency Investigation Of Heart Rate Variability And Cardiovascular System Modeling Of Normal And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) Subjects, Douglas Alan Newandee

Dissertations

A study has been designed to add insight to some questions that have not been fully investigated in the heart rate variability field and the cardiovascular regulation system in normal and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) subjects. It explores the correlations between heart rate variability and cardiovascular regulation, which interact through complex multiple feedback and control loops. This work examines the coupling between heart rate (HR), respiration (RESP), and blood pressure (BP) via closed-loop system identification techniques in order to noninvasively assess the underlying physiology.

In the first part of the study, the applications of five different bilinear time-frequency representations …

The Lived Experience Of Latina Women Giving Birth In The United States, Ana-Maria Gallo Phd

Dissertations

As the Latino community continues to grow in the United States, it is essential that cultural considerations be addressed, particularly in health care. Cultural assessment is of the utmost importance when trying to understand the phenomena of childbirth. Childbirth is one of the most significant events in a woman's life. It is complicated when giving birth in a country other than one's own. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend and appreciate how culture influences the birth experience. Nurses play an essential role in assisting women of diverse cultures to fulfill their expectations regarding traditions, beliefs, and practices regarding childbirth. The …

Role That Professional Positioning And Professional Socialization Play In The Career Path Of African American Women Superintendents, Cheryl Celestin

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the professional positioning and professional socialization of African American women school superintendents in the Mid-West area of the United States. Numerous studies revealed that there are very few African American women superintendents (Glass, 2000; Alston, 2000; Brunner, 1999; Ortiz, 1998; and Jackson, 1995). Women educators in general and African American women educators more specifically were not placed in professional paths that normally lead to the superintendency (Alston, 2000; Gardiner, Enomoto and Grogan, 2000; and Shakeshaft, 1987). The ladder to the school superintendency had historically included male dominated line positions such as athletic coaching and band directing with …

Student Ecosystems Problem Solving With Computer Simulation, Melissa A. Howse

Dissertations

Computer simulations, such as the BioQUEST Environmental Decision Making (EDM) program, represent a viable supplement or alternative to traditional science teaching approaches. This study concentrated on the manner in which knowledge is acquired and then disseminated through the use of the simulations. In addition, the study took into account the nature of science by revealing what notions of ecosystems and simulation were revealed when students encountered concepts imparted to them via this method. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What content knowledge do students use to solve ecology problems? (2) What procedural knowledge do students use to solve …

The Effects Of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate On Response Acquisition, Sean Patrick Laraway

Dissertations

In the last 10 years, the use and abuse of the club drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has noticeably increased. Because GHB has only recently emerged as a drug of abuse, relatively little is known about the drug's behavioral effects, including its effects on learning. Therefore, the present study sought to characterize GHB's effects on rats' acquisition of a lever-press response using a two-lever, resetting/cancellation procedure. Under this procedure, responses on one ( reinforcement ) lever produced a single food pellet after a delay of 0, 20, or 40 s. Presses on the second ( cancellation ) lever during a delay interval …

One Mind Or Two? How Psychiatrists And Psychologists Manage Medical-Scientific And Religious Interpretations Of Mind, Ellen Wagenfeld-Heintz

Dissertations

Building upon concepts from sociology of medicine, religion, knowledge, and professions, this study explores the social determinants of separation and integration of medical-scientific and religious approaches to mind and mental health. Using qualitative interviews, it shows how, to what extent, and why psychiatrists and psychologists of Judeo-Christian religious orientations or nonaffiliated believers in the State of Michigan are willing or reluctant to integrate religious paradigms in their mental health practices. The study turns to a content analysis of 3,680 articles from two leading professional journals to assess the participants’ claims regarding the treatment of religion prevalent in psychiatry and psychology. …

An Interpretive Exploration Of The Meaning Of Being With Women During Birth For Midwives, Lauren P. Hunter Phd

Dissertations

This study explored the meaning of the phenomenon of the midwife's experience of being present with a woman during childbirth. The value and importance of being with a woman during childbirth, specific and unique to midwifery care, is reflected in midwifery philosophies and models of care. This study looked through the lens of midwives who have written poetry about births they have attended to learn more about the experience of being with a woman. Hermeneutical phenomenology was selected for the philosophical methodology and method because it looked at both the phenomenon and the use of language to describe the phenomenon. …

Justifying Coercion: Nurses' Experiences Medicating Involuntary Psychiatric Patients, Paula K. Vuckovich Phd, Rn

Dissertations

This grounded theory study delineates the process inpatient psychiatric nurses use to respond to the challenging nursing problem of medicating resistant involuntary patients. Since approximately one third of all admissions to psychiatric units in the United States are involuntary (Durham, 1996), caring for involuntary patients is a significant part of psychiatric nursing. Medication administration is a major treatment modality that is expected in caring effectively for psychiatric patients (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 1994; APA, 1997; Patel & Hardy, 2001). The process of getting the involuntary patient to accept medication is a major nursing function in a psychiatric unit that treats …

Handgrip Pattern Recognition, Zong Chen

Dissertations

There are numerous tragic gun deaths each year. Making handguns safer by personalizing them could prevent most such tragedies. Personalized handguns, also called "smart" guns, are handguns that can only be fired by the authorized user. Handgrip pattern recognition holds great promise in the development of the smart gun.

Two algorithms, static analysis algorithm and dynamic analysis algorithm, were developed to find the patterns of a person about how to grasp a handgun. The static analysis algorithm measured 160 subjects' fingertip placements on the replica gun handle. The cluster analysis and discriminant analysis were applied to these fingertip placements, and …

Looking Forward, Looking Back, Looking Inward: Lessons From Vital Women Leaders In Old Age, Shelly Marks Valdez Edd

Dissertations

Current social paradigms, based on established theory about the aged, consider old age as a time of drastic decline and deterioration and view the aged as nonproductive takers of society's resources. Far from using the wisdom and resources of the aged population, our society marginalizes old adults and treats them as obsolete. This study looks into the lives of nine women over the age of 65 who have found within themselves the strength, courage and determination to overcome the stereotypes of aging in order to become leaders in their old age. Life stories were obtained through personal interviews. Data from …

Leadership Development: Continuous Improvement Through Character Assessment, Robert Scott Clark Edd

Dissertations

One of the keys to personal development is self-awareness as assessed by instruments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the NEO PI-R, both of which are widely accepted reliable and valid indicators and measures of personality type. However, assessing the part of personality known as character presents challenges that are not adequately addressed by today's popular instruments leaving information needed for development incomplete or unavailable. An instrument that provides a reliable and valid assessment of character for leadership and personal development purposes could be very valuable. Qualitative methods were used for this study to investigate leaders' perceptions of …

Career Paths To Navy Admiral, Lilly "Ericka" A. Jordan Edd

Dissertations

A significant disparity exists between the numbers of male and female personnel among high-ranking officers serving in the U.S. Navy. The general perception is that women have not been part of the Navy long enough to be in the flag officer's ranks. However, it has been over 30 years since the Navy first placed women in the ranks of flag officers. The purpose of the study is to trace the most common professional career paths followed by male and female flag officers in the U.S. Navy and to examine how certain aspects of a military career might have influenced selection …

Teachers' And Students' Perceptions Of Seventh- And Eighth-Grade Science Education In A Selected Seventh-Day Adventist Union Conference, Marcel Andre Sargeant

Dissertations

Problem. Science education has long been a great concern in the United States, where less than one-third of the students perform at or above the proficient level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of the science program in a selected Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist school system. Specifically, this study investigated the perceptions of teachers and students regarding the extent to which the science program meets the criteria of the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st century and to what extent these criteria are related to academic performance as indicated by …

The Phenomenon Of Woman-On-Woman Abuse And Its Relationship To Gender Profile And Personal Experiences Of Women, Deborah Johnson Spence

Dissertations

Purpose of the Study. Female-on-female aggression is often inferred, or drawn from studies conducted with children or males. Little or no information is available that reports behaviors perceived as mistreatment or abuse among women. The purposes of this study were to investigate (a) behaviors demonstrated by women that women consider abuse or mistreatment; (b) the extent to which these perceptions of abuse/mistreatment were related to gender profiles; and (c) the extent to which personal experiences as victims or perpetrators of abuse were related to age, race, and education.

Method. This study used the survey research method in which questionnaires …

A Comparative Study Of Giving And Volunteering Patterns Among Adults With Seventh-Day Adventist And Other Christian Religious Identities, Karen E. Stockton-Chilson

Dissertations

Problem. In an environment that challenges the non-profit sector, including church-based organizations, to do more with less, it is important to understand the mechanisms that build and sustain two key resources-individual giving and volunteering. Research indicates that there is a great deal of variation in the extent to which individuals provide help. An integrative theoretical model is utilized to examine and compare the giving and volunteering behaviors, socialization, attitudes, reasons, and motivations of adults with Seventh-day Adventist and other Christian religious identities, with secondary consideration given to the effect of potential ethnic variations.

Method. The sample (N = 1359) …

A Study On Various Factors And Their Relationship To Burnout Among Seventh-Day Adventist Clergy, W. Don Edwards

Dissertations

Problem. Few studies have addressed burnout among Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) clergy. Many SDA ministers report experiencing high stress in their ministries and they find it difficult to function optimally under these circumstances. Others experience serious complications that lead them to terminate their work as ministers.

Method. A quantitative research design was used for an ex post facto study of 130 pastors from the Pacific Union Conference. They completed two questionnaires: the Pastoral Services Demographic Data Sheet (PSDDS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).

Results. This study examined 12 variables and found that 10 variables had a significant …

Developing Life Skills : Perceptions Of Graduates Of The Adult, Non-Traditional Business And Management Programs At Indiana Wesleyan University, Joseph Robert Flowers

Dissertations

Problem. Indiana Wesleyan University teaches all of its adult courses using 10 skills as a foundation. This study determined the perceived attitudes of its graduates regarding the importance of and their relative progress in these 10 areas.

Method. A survey questionnaire was developed and a stratified random sample of graduates was surveyed. A two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences and interactions among the graduates based on two variables: major and gender.

Results. Graduates perceived the following four skills as "very important": Problem Solving, Oral Communication, Writing Effectively, and Ethics. Six skills were perceived …

Differential Perceptions Of Teachers And Students About The Teaching And Learning Of History In Secondary Schools Of Trinidad And Tobago, Stephen Joseph

Dissertations

Problem. Students at the upper secondary-school level sometimes experience difficulties understanding basic historical concepts as well as appreciating the relevance of history as a subject in the school's curriculum. While these students are capable of formulating perspectives of their own, teachers often find it necessary to guide students' thinking toward an accepted paradigm (scholarly concept) of history. The problem is that there are mismatched paradigms that teachers need to bring together in order to establish a foundation for a scholarly approach to history.

This study seeks to identify different conceptual frameworks that exist in students' thinking about history. It …

Predicting A Passing Outcome On The National Council Licensure Examination For Registered Nurses By Associate Degree Graduates, Patricia M. Collins

Dissertations

This ex-post facto study was conducted to determine whether grades in pre-program science courses, pre-program cumulative grade point average (GPA) and grades in selected nursing theory courses predict pass/fail performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for graduates of an Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program. A small, rural community college in western Michigan participated in the study. The subjects included 159 graduates, (143 females, 16 males) admitted to the program beginning fall semester 1992 through May 2001. Data was obtained from the college data files. The independent variables were the four pre-program science courses, Anatomy and …

Co-Occurring Disorders And Selective Substance Use In Females Ages 10 To 25 Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Nancy A. Clinton

Dissertations

The paucity o f research on females diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) precipitated this exploratory investigation into co-occurring disorders and selective substance use in females (n = 70), ranging in age between 10 and 25, diagnosed with ADHD and substance use disorder (SUD). Data extracted from archived substance abuse treatment center records were tested via chi-square analyses to determine proportional differences between frequencies in predetermined co-occurring disorder groups (disruptive behavior disorders, moodanxiety disorders, and learning disorders) and predetermined substance groups (stimulant, depressant, and cannabis) for the total ADHD cohort and for specific diagnoses (inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, combined, and with …

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 …

Perceptions Of A Prejudiced Campus: Institutional Antecedents And Personal Consequences For African-American Students, Brenda Taylor King

Dissertations

The present research consists of two studies designed to (a) identify those institutional characteristics that African-American students, themselves, consider to evaluate the campus environment of predominately White colleges and universities (PW'CUs). and (b) examine the relationship between African-American students' perceptions o f the campus environment at a PWCU (based on institutional characteristics) and their expectations of quality of life and academic achievement In Study One. African-American and White students at Western Michigan University and high school seniors at two public high schools completed the Campus Climate Survey, designed to identify the institutional characteristics to which African- American students spontaneously attend …

Roles And Regulation Of Nf-Κb In Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Transformed Cells, Takeshi Shimamura

Dissertations

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is overexpressed in various cancer cells and the overexpression may be correlated with the prognosis of several types of cancers. Binding of PDGF to its receptors induces receptor dimerization and subsequent autophosphorylation of tyrosine residues in the receptor’s cytoplasmic domains. The phosphorylated tyrosine residues interact with the secondary signaling molecules to initiate signaling cascades that trigger cellular changes by affecting downstream effectors. In our recent publication, we have shown that a NF-κB mediates the transformation of mouse fibroblast cells overexpressing PDGF B chain. Though there is a significant correlation between PDGF stimulation and NF-κB activity, it …

Inbreeding, Male Diploidy, And Complementary Sex Determination In The Solitary Wasp Euodynerus Foraminatus, Julie Kozaczka Stahlhut

Dissertations

In the insect order Hymenoptera, which includes wasps, bees, and ants, females normally develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid, while males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid. Underlying mechanisms of sex determination are more complex and vary among different hymenopteran taxa. One such method is single-locus complementary sex determination, or sl-CSD, in which sex is determined by a single gene locus with many alleles. In species with sl-CSD, diploid individuals that are heterozygous at the sex locus develop as normal females and hemizygous (haploid) individuals as normal males, but diploids homozygous at the sex locus will also develop …

New Statitstical Methods For The Estimation Of The Mean And Standard Deviation From Normally Distributed Censored Samples, Abou El-Makarim Abd El-Alim Aboueissa

Dissertations

The main objective of this dissertation is to estimate the mean /x and standard deviation cr of a normal population from left-censored samples. We have developed new methods for calculating estimates for the mean and standard deviation of a normal population from left-censored samples. Some of these methods based on traditional estimating procedures. A new method of obtaining the Cohen maximum likelihood estimates for fx and cr without the aid of an auxiliary table will be introduced. This new method will be used to extend Cohen table of estimating the Cohen A-parameter that is required for calculating the maximum likelihood …

The Cultural Script Of Special Needs Adoption, George Grant, Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine special needs adoption from the perspective of the adoptive parents. Using the general guidelines of grounded theory, the study analyzed secondary data from a post-adoption program providing services to families who adopted special needs children. The data revealed that adoptive parents function under a cultural script of special needs adoption. The cultural script influences how families view themselves, the environment around them and how they decide to function as adoptive families. The study explains the cultural script, ways that professionals working in adoption can use that cultural script to support adoptive families …

Synthesis And Enzymatic Resolution Of Amino Acid Esters In "Green" Solvents -- Ionic Liquids, Hua Zhao

Dissertations

Chiral separation has attracted tremendous attention in pharmaceutical and chemical fields, especially in the area of chiral drug development. Chiral amino acids are among the most important intermediates in the asymmetric synthesis of modem drugs. This research has developed an effective method for obtaining optically pure amino acids by enzymatic resolution using a "green" solvent, named an ionic liquid.

Ionic liquids, a new type of "green" solvents, have been used in many organic reactions and other chemical processes (such as liquid-liquid extraction) with improved performance. This is mainly due to their favorable properties for chemical applications, such as low vapor …

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 …

Catalytic Reduction Of Nitric Oxide By Solid Carbonaceous Material Under Lean Condition, Shan Xiao

Dissertations

The reactions of O₂, NO_x and soot from Diesel exhaust over Cu containing catalysts can significantly reduce soot and NO_x emissions while producing N₂ and CO₂. The author has evaluated the performance of Cu ion exchanged ZSM-5 and Cu adsorbed on Granulated Activated Carbon (Cu-GAC) using GAC as a surrogate for soot in a packed bed reactor. CO, formed primarily by the oxidation of GAC with O₂, appears to be a stable intermediate in the reduction of NO. With experimental parameters chosen to simulate Diesel exhaust conditions, Cu-GAC is much more …

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 …