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Removal And Recovery Of Fermentation-Produced Volatile Organic Compounds By A Novel Liquid Membrane-Based Pervaporation Technique, Atsawin Thongsukmak

Dissertations

Pervaporation is an energy -- efficient alternative to distillation for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water especially solvents from their dilute solutions in a fermentation broth. Liquid membranes have high selectivities for removing solvents from aqueous solutions compared with polymeric membranes or ceramic membranes; however liquid membranes have stability problems due to various losses. The loss of liquid membrane (LM) to the feed solution leads to toxicity for the organisms in a fermentation broth. A new liquid membrane based pervaporation technique has been developed to achieve high selectivity, ensure stability and prevent contamination of the fermentation broth. Trioctylamine (TOA) …

Modeling Inventory And Responsiveness Costs In A Supply Chain, Robert Nearier

Dissertations

Evaluation of supply chain performance is often complicated by the various interrelationships that exist within the network of suppliers. Currently many supply chain metrics cannot be analytically determined. Instead, metrics are derived from monitoring historical data, which is commonly referred to as Supply Chain Analytics. With these analytics it is possible to answer questions such as: What is the inventory cost distribution across the chain? What is the actual inventory turnover ratio? What is the cost of demand changes to individual suppliers? However, this approach requires a significant amount of historical data which must be continuously extracted from the associated …

Vector Support For Multicore Processors With Major Emphasis On Configurable Multiprocessors, Hongyan Yang

Dissertations

It recently became increasingly difficult to build higher speed uniprocessor chips because of performance degradation and high power consumption. The quadratically increasing circuit complexity forbade the exploration of more instruction-level parallelism (JLP). To continue raising the performance, processor designers then focused on thread-level parallelism (TLP) to realize a new architecture design paradigm. Multicore processor design is the result of this trend. It has proven quite capable in performance increase and provides new opportunities in power management and system scalability. But current multicore processors do not provide powerful vector architecture support which could yield significant speedups for array operations while maintaining …

The Impact Of Cultural Differences In Temporal Perception On Global Software Development Teams, Richard William Egan

Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the impact of cultural differences in temporal perception on globally dispersed software development teams. Literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that these temporal differences affect individual communication quality, which in turn will affect individual satisfaction and trust within global teams. Additionally, the temporal dispersion of the team was expected to affect an individual's sense of temporal disruption which, in turn, was expected to affect individual satisfaction and trust. Differences in temporal perception were expected to moderate this impact on perceived temporal disruption. A Fortune 100 Company that carried out software testing in Ireland, the United States, China and …

The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act (Nclb), The Amended 2004 Individuals With Disabilities Educational Act (Idea), And Promoting The American Democratic Ideals Of Equity And Access, Bambi Rene' Bethel-Leitschuh

Dissertations

Abstract There is a long history relative to the purpose of American public education. Since at least the Founders, in particular Thomas Jefferson, the purpose of public education has been to prepare children to assume the primary political office, that of citizen. The reasoning was that for a democracy to endure citizens would have to make political judgments relative to both preserving the democracy and furthering democratic ideals including equity and access to the ?good life.? This educational philosophy took root more firmly during the 19th century with the advancement of the Common School. The twentieth century saw the dramatic …

Standards-Based Instruction: What Teachers Do In The Classroom

Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of this case study was to answer the research question: what do teachers do in a standards-based classroom? Four teachers in one elementary school participated in the study. Archival data (lesson plans, walk-through feedback) from the previous school year were used to portray and describe the instructional practices, and teaching styles of the teachers. Additional information was obtained through teacher interviews and self-reported surveys. This information helped the researcher gain a better understanding of teacher knowledge-base and comprehension of standards-based instruction. Student reading scores were also used to make connections between standards-based instructional practices and student reading …

An Analysis Of Mer1 Function During Meiotic Splicing Regulation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Frederick William Scherrer

Dissertations

The transition from mitosis to meiosis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires a significant change to gene expression profiles. Regulation of pre-messenger RNA splicing patterns during meiosis assists in this transition by fine tuning expression of essential meiotic genes. Produced only during meiosis, Mer1p is linked to the splicing of at least three mRNAs: MER2, MER3, and AMA1. Previous evidence suggests that Mer1p activates splicing by directly recruiting snRNPs or stabilizing intermediate splicing complexes formed on pre-mRNA that contains an intronic Mer1p enhancer element. However, some splicing factors, especially accessory/non-snRNP factors, have critical roles in retaining unspliced pre-mRNAs in the …

The Relationship Between Learning Styles And Student Performance On The Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test In A Low Performing, Low Socioeconomic-Status School, Joseph Lassale Williams

Dissertations

The intention of this research was to bring light to the current state mandated testing, and possible solutions in assisting educators to address the issues of students not meeting the standards. In more general terms, this study is looking to prove to what extent a student's learning style has on their performance on the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT). This study analyzed four of the twenty-six learning preference areas identified by the Learning Style Instrument (LSI) of middle school students in a traditional public middle school in seventh grade. The four areas that were looked at were kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, …

Statutory Restrictions On Initiating Judicial Review Proceedings In The Asylum Context, Éamonn Foley

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

About Love, Kerri Ann Quinn

Dissertations

About Love is a novella and a collection of short stories written at the University of Southern Mississippi. It is accompanied by a critical preface.

Marathon, Ohio, Alan Guido Rossi Jr.

Dissertations

Marathon, Ohio is an original collection of fiction, accompanied by a critical introduction. All of the stories were written between 2005 and 2008 at the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Writers. The stories are arranged for a thematic and formal effect, rather than by chronology.

Defining Acquaintance Rape: College Students' Perceptions Of Sexual Consent And Coercion, Sara Elizabeth Buck Doude

Dissertations

Perceptions of rape have evolved dramatically over the past decade. Prior to the second wave of the feminist movement, rape was perceived to be committed by a psychotic man against a woman. The feminist movement brought the term "acquaintance rape" into the popular lexicon and into the forefront of women's consciousness. As a result, throughout the 1970s and 1980s state governments enacted laws to prohibit "sexual assault," or expanded existing rape laws to include a variety of relationships or sexual acts. However, public perceptions of rape did not evolve as rapidly. Despite legislative efforts, there is no universally understood definition …

Perceptions Of Sources Of Pressure And Reasons For Dismissals Of Mississippi High School Head Coaches, Michael Keith Pigott

Dissertations

The coaching profession is like a roller coaster ride. A person pays to get on the ride, sacrifices their life, enjoys the highs, and survives the lows. It is a job filled with long hours, stressful days, sacrifices of health and family, and moments of adrenaline rushes that make an individual want to stay in this profession forever.

The primary focus of this study was to identify the perceived sources of pressure on high school head coaches in the state of Mississippi. This study provides feedback regarding reasons for coaching dismissals and perceived sources of pressure. Two hundred and thirty …

A Systematic And Taxonomic Review Of The Family Pseudotanaidae (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) Based Primarily On Morphometry Cladistic Analyses, Jerry Alan Mclelland

Dissertations

Species of the tanaid family Pseudotanaidae, established by Jurgen Sieg in 1973, have been reported from all the world's oceans in depths ranging from near the surface to below 6,000 m. The family currently consists of 46 characteristically small tanaidomorph species residing in two subfamilies, the Cryptocopinae (seven species) and the Pseudotanainae (39 species). Members of the more ancestral Crytocopinae differ from the Pseudotanainae by having females with four rather than three antennule articles and a complete separation of the maxilliped endites. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the current structure of the family …

Evaluating Vascular Plant Composition And Species Richness On Horn Island, Mississippi, Using Passive And Active Remote Sensing In Conjunction With Ground Based Measurements, Kelly Lynn Lucas

Dissertations

Barrier island vegetation is subjected to chronic abiotic stressors combined with periodic storm events that favor species adapted to harsh environments. These islands are the first landforms to be affected by changes in coastal subsidence and sea-level rise. Evaluating changes in vegetation is important for understanding the impact of global climate change on coastal environments.

This study assesses vegetation composition and plant species richness on Horn Island, Mississippi using ground data in conjunction with remotely sensed spectral and LIDAR data. The goals of this research are to: 1) classify and map vegetation composition on Horn Island using hyperspectral and LIDAR …

Teachers' Participation In Formal Induction Programs And Their Subsequent Level Of Professional Growth In Wisconsin Public Schools, Paul Edmund Blanford Sr.

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' participation in formal induction programs and their subsequent level of professional growth as measured by two variables (graduate level credits/graduate degrees attained) as reported by public school teachers in the State of Wisconsin. In addition, selected demographic variables (teachers' age; teachers grade level taught; teachers' school district size; training and support provided to teachers in their first years of teaching; participation by teachers in mentoring and induction programs; teachers' level of education) were examined for their predictive relationships with teacher induction and professional development.

This study was conducted during the spring of 2007. …

Power Base Perceptions Of School Administrators At Residential Schools For The Culturally Deaf, Allison Washington Moffett

Dissertations

Residential schools fill a significant role in the academic and social education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students worldwide. Progress has been made in these schools as a result of a collaborative effort between schools and community working together. Administrators at the residential schools play essential roles in the academic and social processes of education and as such they must be aware of their own power bases and usages. Hersey and Blanchard (1993) maintained that it is essential for school administrators to be able to distinguish the power sources and to be knowledgeable about which power sources to use in a …

The Effect Of The Middle School Concept On Student Achievement In Coastal Mississippi Middle Level Schools, Mary Lee Davis

Dissertations

In this study, the researcher examined the effect of the implementation of the middle school concept on student achievement in coastal Mississippi middle level schools with a grade configuration of 6-8. The study was conducted in the fall semester of the 2006-2007 school year; archival data were collected from the Mississippi Department of Education's Web site. There were 15 schools identified as housing grades 6-8; of those 15, participants included 12 coastal Mississippi middle level schools. There was a total of 9 schools identified as implementing the middle school concept, and 6 schools were identified as not implementing the concept; …

Support Systems, Isolation, And Intended Persistence In Doctoral Education, Casey Nicole Cockrell

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of formal academic support systems and stage of doctoral study on persistence, satisfaction, and knowledge of resources, expectations, and customs in doctoral education. Part-time and full-time doctoral students (N=141) enrolled in four public institutions in a southeastern state during the spring and summer semesters of 2007 were surveyed.

An online questionnaire, adapted from the 1999 Survey on Doctoral Education (Golde & Dore, 2001), was used to survey participants. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed to define the variables. A MANOVA was performed to determine if any differences existed between formal academic support system …

Differences In Learning Motivations Of Professionals And Nonprofessionals Participating In Two South Mississippi Institutes For Learning In Retirement, Constance Marie Farmer

Dissertations

This study investigated the differences in learning motivations of (a) professional and nonprofessional, and (b) urban and rural members of two south Mississippi Institutes for Learning in Retirement (ILR) programs in an attempt to expand C. O. Houle's conceptual model of continuing professional education into the retirement years and to determine if the life transitions of the older adult unite the learning orientations of these subpopulations into self-actualizing (growth) motives as part of the maturation process identified y Abraham Maslow.

Ninety urban ILR and 60 rural ILR members were recruited. Professional was defined as having completed a bachelor's degree or …

Student Achievement And Teacher Perception In Small Schools And Large Schools, Frances Irene Dearman

Dissertations

The study analyzed student achievement in various school sizes and teachers' perceptions of relationships and interactions with colleagues, students, and parents depending on the size of the school in which teachers work. The purpose was to assist school leaders when they are faced with decisions about school size.

Simple linear regression was used to analyze the relationship of achievement and school size of fourth-grade students. The variables mathematics achievement and size and language arts achievement and size were positively correlated. These findings suggest that as the size of a school increases, achievement increases. After holding the variables socioeconomic status and …

Keeping The Faith: The Public Library's Commitment To Adult Education, 1950-2006, Brenda Weeks Coleman

Dissertations

This study examines the extent to which the conception and implementation of the public library's educational commitment to adults changed between 1950 and 2006 within the context of the institutional development of the public library and the influences exerted by internal and external forces such as philanthropic organizations, the federal government, the American Library Association, research, the public library planning process, the nontraditional education movement, and changes in public library ideology. Philanthropic organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation and the Ford Foundation's Fund for Adult Education played pivotal roles in the development of the library's liberal adult education programming in …

The Effects Of Positive Behavior Intervention Support On Office Discipline Referrals, Third And Fourth Grade Reading And Math Scores, And Perceptions Of Teachers Regarding Discipline And Safety In Alabama Elementary Schools, Denise Yvonne Pavlovich

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies and school-wide discipline problems after a school had been trained in Positive Behavior Intervention Support, the difference in educators' perceptions about the relationship between positive school climate, SAT scores, and academic achievement. The researcher surveyed 35 schools in Alabama and collected office discipline referral data, SAT scores, and teacher/administrator perception data. Some of the data were gathered via the Internet for the years prior to implementation, during implementation, and the year following implementation. A survey was sent to each of the schools to collect perception data. Results indicated a significant …

The Rhetorical Strategies Of Pregnancy Support Centers Including The Visual Rhetoric Of Fetal Ultrasound Technology, Raymond Kyle Jones

Dissertations

This study examined the rhetorical strategies, including verbal and visual rhetoric, of pregnancy support centers that provide clients with fetal ultrasounds to persuade those who may be considering abortion as a means of resolving their unplanned pregnancy to carry to term. Qualitative data were gathered from 12 interviews of directors and ultrasound personnel from 7 states as well as from television advertisements and printed material. Eighteen research questions investigating the rhetorical transactions between centers and clients were answered. Rhetorical analyses were performed on the verbal and visual messages used in client interactions.

The grounded theory approach of inquiry resulted in …

The Associated Colleges Of The South: A Case Study Chronicling Program Development At The Consortium And The Significance Of Consortium Membership Through The Experiences Of Presidents Of Member Institutions, Todd Spencer Rose

Dissertations

The Associated Colleges of the South is a consortium of liberal arts colleges founded in 1991. The consortium serves as a third-party agency to further the collective interests of the member institutions. Since its founding in 1991 and original membership of nine institutions, the consortium has grown to 16 member institutions. This research reviews literature relevant to the history and organization of voluntary consortia in the United States, the history of liberal arts colleges and the challenges that are faced by these institutions, and recent technology and how it affects higher education. In addition, the history of the consortia and …

Emotional Intelligence As A Non-Traditional Predictor Of College Student Retention And Graduation, Larry Austin Sparkman

Dissertations

Universities are looking for new predictors of student retention and graduation. Based on the findings of this study, emotional intelligence is a predictor of student retention and performance over time. A survey of 783 traditional college students was conducted using the Bar-On EQ-i:125 prior to initial enrollment for the fall semester 2002 at a particular university in the southeastern United States. At the conclusion of spring semester 2007, data were collected which included enrollment status, graduation status, and cumulative college grade point average. Relationships between the 15 subscales of emotional intelligence as defined by the Bar-On EQ-i:125 (self-regard, emotional self-awareness, …

Adult Education Principles In A Teacher Mentoring Program: A Grounded Theory, Debra Jean Winans

Dissertations

A qualitative study using grounded theory was conducted to determine the use of adult education principles in a school mentoring program. The study was conducted in a middle school in rural South Georgia during the 2006-2007 school year. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 25 participants: 11 proteges, nine mentors, and 5 mentor program coordinators. Insights into the dynamics of mentoring relationships and administration of the mentoring program were illustrated by stories of selected participants.

In this study, adult education principles were identified as (a) respect, (b) participation, (c) collaboration, (d) dialogue, (e) problem posing as a catalyst toward …

Attacking Ethos: The Rhetorical Use Of Uncertainty In The 2004 Election, Theron Allen Verdon

Dissertations

The rhetorical use of uncertainty in political communication (and other areas) has many implications. Uncertainty plays a major role in everyday life. Therefore, it likely plays a major role in political decision-making. Research has shown that uncertainty about a candidate affects a voter's voting preference. Uncertainty usually affects voter decisions. Uncertainty was a factor in the 2004 presidential election. The Bush-Cheney Campaign used uncertainty to corrupt the ethos of the Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry. The Bush-Cheney campaign rhetorically manipulated information about Senator Kerry to create a perception of a leader whose actions revealed an unpredictable flip-flopper. A lack of …

Composition Programs And Practices In Sweden: Possibilities For Cross-Fertilization With The United States, Birgitta Linnea Sjoberg Ramsey

Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to several of the discussions that are taking place within the field of rhetoric and composition at this particular time: about the nature and definition of academic literacy; about the impact of a heterogeneous and multicultural student population on literacy practices in the academy; about the issue of academic socialization; and about the advantages and disadvantages of traditional first-year composition courses. Most importantly, this work is a contribution to cross-national research and an attempt to open up the field of composition to recognize and include voices other than the ones from North America. Even though the differences …

Economic Inequality In The New European Union: Are Monetary Policies In The European Union Unfair For Certain Countries?, Gregory Eric Banach

Dissertations

This research is focused on the affect one uniform monetary policy will have on the less developed countries that entered the European Union (EU) in 2004. One of the challenges facing the new entrants involves the required implementation of monetary policy goals, even though these new entrants do not have a vote on how the monetary policy is determined. Monetary policy in the EU is the responsibility of the European Central Bank (ECB) who has a stated goal price stability. It is possible to use the Taylor Rule to test whether the ECB focuses on price stability for both old …