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Utopia Park, Utopian Church: James K. Humphrey And The Emergence Of The Sabbath-Day Adventists, Romauld C. Jones

Dissertations

James K. Humphrey was a Baptist minister who joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church shortly after migrating to the United States from Jamaica at the turn of the twentieth century. A leader of uncommon skill and charisma, Humphrey ministered in Harlem, New York, during the period the area became the Black capital of the United States, leading his congregation to a position of primacy in the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Yet Humphrey believed that the African American experience in Adventism was one of disenfranchisement, a problem he attempted to ameliorate with the establishment of the Utopia Park Benevolent …

Women's Experiences With Chronic Heart Failure, Denise M. Boren Phd, Msn, Cns

Dissertations

Nationwide, approximately 4.1 million Americans suffer from chronic heart failure accounting for estimated direct and indirect costs of over $21 billion spent annually for health care. The incidence of heart failure has doubled each decade since the 1940's and slightly more men were inflicted with the illness. This trend changed three years ago, with a decline in the overall incidence of heart failure and a slight predominance of the illness in women rather than men. The incidence of this condition was reduced in males nearly three times that of females. Women survive longer after diagnosis, however they are hospitalized more, …

Therapeutic Alliance: Development, Evaluation, And Application Of The Kim Alliance Scale, Son Chae Kim Phd, Msn, Fnp, Rn

Dissertations

The quality of therapeutic alliance between the patient and healthcare provider is a pivotal contributing factor toward optimal healthcare in the current context of rising healthcare costs, shorter hospital stays, and patient's rights. The availability of a well-designed and sound therapeutic alliance instrument can provide understanding and insight into improving the quality of healthcare. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid therapeutic alliance instrument, to evaluate its psychometric properties, and to explore its usefulness in predicting patient satisfaction. The retroductive triangulation method provided a framework for the development of the instrument, the Kim Alliance Scale …

Quality Of Life Factors Among Recovering Alcoholics, George Edwin Compton Jr.

Dissertations

The inspiration for undertaking the current research came from the Student Investigator’s own experience of 19 years in recovery from alcoholism. During his early years in graduate school, the Student Investigator witnessed occasional misunderstandings among some academics and helping professionals regarding the nature of alcoholism, and, specifically, the tasks involved in sustaining enduring recovery from alcoholism. Thus, this dissertation research, which has sought to examine, through qualitative research methodology, the factors involved in achieving and sustaining quality of life in extended recovery from alcoholism was undertaken.

Several authors have noted the need for research which focuses on long-term recovery from …

Executive Coaching As An Individually Tailored Consultation Intervention: Does It Increase Leadership?, Sheila Kampa-Kokesch

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (a) consolidate/critique the executive coaching practice literature and empirical research to determine what is known about executive coaching as an individual consultation intervention, and (b) provide additional knowledge about outcomes by testing whether executive coaching affects leadership as measured by the MLQ 5x (Short Form) (Bass & Avolio, 1995).

Twenty-seven coaches, 50 clients (pre/early- or post/later coaching), and 62 direct-report/peers participated. Coaches provided demographic information, invited client participation, and distributed surveys to clients. Clients provided demographic information, rated themselves on a leadership instrument, and invited direct-report/ peer participation. Direct-report/peers rated clients’ leadership using …

Sepsis Bundle Completion, Jenna Churnock

Dissertations

Background: Sepsis is a serious condition resulting in end organ damage and ultimately, death. Communication techniques for nurses and physicians on septic patients admitted to the hospital from the emergency department was evaluated. Paper communication was used in 2020 to facilitate serum diagnostic acquisition and antibiotic administration (i.e., sepsis bundle), but an electronic communication form was utilized in 2021.

Method: An observational, descriptive design utilizing a medical record review was completed to compare the same time-period in 2020 and 2021. Communication methods for sepsis bundle completion were compared.

Results: A total of 100 medical records were reviewed (N …

The Role Of A Middle School Assistant Principal In Establishing And Maintaining Positive School Climate, Charles R. Girvin Iii Edd

Dissertations

Organizational theorists have for over 50 years used the concept of organizational climate to study and describe the effects of environment on the attitudes and behaviors of individual members and subgroups within organizations. Within the school setting, researchers and practitioners have increasingly used the concept of organizational climate to evaluate school effectiveness, particularly in middle schools where school climate plays a central role in middle school strategies and philosophies. Though extensive research has examined the relationship between climate and leadership in business, industry, and government, relatively few studies have eyed the linkages between school climate and leadership within the school …

The Relative Importance Of Academic Achievement In Determining The Self-Esteem Of Students In Rural British Columbia: An Empirical Examination Of Students In Grades 6, 8, 10 And 12, Scott E. Bergstrome Edd

Dissertations

As school systems across North America struggle to redefine themselves, educators everywhere are seeking a balance between academic achievement and the human and social needs of their students. The purpose of this correlational study was to quantitatively assess the construct of the school experience, as determined by academic achievement, as measured by GPA, and the level of involvement in school activities, from the perspective of four measures of student self-esteem. Data were collected from 263 students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 in a small district in southwestern Canada. The first part of this study explored the relationship between …

A Study Of Emergent Leadership Factors In A Total Ministry Model, David C. Meyers

Dissertations

This study generalized emergent leadership research to the unstudied population of Total Ministry parishes in the Episcopal Church. The research population was 75 small congregations who chose parish members as their liturgical and pastoral leaders. A survey was designed to distinguish more satisfied from less satisfied parishes in areas of worship, climate, and pastoral care. Each group was given a questionnaire with 29 emergent leadership factors. It was hypothesized that more satisfied parishes would match the constructs of emergent leadership to a higher degree. A T-test was used to compare scores. Results were very strong in pastoral care and climate, …

The Politicization Of Ethnicity As A Prelude To Ethnopolitical Conflict: Croatia And Serbia In Former Yugoslavia, Agneza Bozic-Roberson

Dissertations

This interdisciplinary research develops a framework or a model for the study of the politicization of ethnicity, a process that transforms peaceful ethnic conflict into violent inter-ethnic conflict. The hypothesis investigated in this study is that the ethnopolitical conflict that led to the break up of former Yugoslavia was the result of deliberate politicization of ethnicity. The model consists o f three variables— ethnic entrepreneurs as actors, and mass media and political rhetoric as their tools for politicization of ethnicity. Ethnic entrepreneurs, with a conscious interest in mobilizing ethnicity, are given this opportunity in transitional societies in which politicized ethnicity …

"How Should One Love?": Alternative Love Plots And Their Ethical Implications In The Victorian Novel, Jennifer J. Carpentier

Dissertations

In reading Victorian fiction through an ethical lens, I am attentive to questions of what constitutes the good, loving, w ell-lived life. It is my contention that Victorian writers turned to fiction - specifically, the rapidly emerging novel form - to explore the ethical implications of being in love, and the problem s occasioned by erotic love. The writers I examine modify the basic Aristotelian search for a specification of the good life for human beings: they used novels as testing grounds for the ethical question, "How should one love?"

My study of 19th-century British fiction reveals a strain of …

Quantification Of Benzo[A]Pyrene-Guanine Adducts In In Vitro And In Vivo Tissue Samples By Lc Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Po-Chang Chiang

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fay Weldon's Late Bloomers And Comedy And A Lawyer, A Vet, And A Couple Of Dogs, One Of Them Dead, Susan Rote Siferd

Dissertations

Creative dissertation begins with a critical study of comedy as Weldon employs it in her novels of marriage, infidelity, and divorce. Traditionally, comedy ends in marriage; Weldon's dark comedies end in self-understanding as a necessary prerequisite to growth and possible future relationship. However, Weldon does not celebrate divorce. She recognizes the impact on women's lives of historic period, world events, and their own female nature. An avowed feminist, Weldon yet refuses to blame men for women's problems, but insists that while women struggle against sexism, they often conform to it. If there is no genre designation comparable to "bildungsroman" for …

Aging Beauty: The Adaptive Reconstruction Of The Aging Process In Women, Sheila Marie Bluhm

Dissertations

The youth-based, patriarchal culture in which we live bestows valuable status, power and prestige upon young, beautiful women. Within the standards of this society, the natural aging process progressively deteriorates a woman's beauty, and, therefore, her social worth. A vast network of media and societal messages prompt middle-aged women to react to this devaluation. Several pathways or behavioral alternatives are available as reactions, adaptive reconstructions, and/or the medicalization of the aging process in women. The goal of this sociological/gerontological exploratory research is to identify, examine, label, and categorize the multiple options available to midlife women.

The primary method used for …

The Romans Commentaries Of William Of St. Thierry And Peter Abelard: A Theological And Methodological Comparison, Steven R. Cartwright

Dissertations

In 1140, William o f St. Thierry, a Cistercian monk and former Benedictine abbot, accused Peter Abelard, the well-known philosopher and theologian, of propagating grave errors concerning Christian doctrine in his theological teachings. William’s accusations resulted in Peter’s condemnation at the Council of Sens in 1140.

This study compares the commentaries on the Episode of St. Paul to the Romans written by William of St. Thierry and Peter Abelard in the mid-1130s, only a few years before William’s accusations. While this conflict has been much studied, no one has previously examined it via these commentaries, which are the only literary …

Cost Domination In Graphs, David John Erwin

Dissertations

Let G be a connected graph having order at least 2. A function f : V (G) —> {0 , 1 , . . . , diam G} for which f ( v ) < e(v) for every vertex v of G is a cost function on G. A vertex v with f ( v ) > 0 is an f-dominating vertex, and the set Vj~ = {v 6 V(G) : f(v) > 0} of f-dominating vertices is the f-dominating set. An /-dominating vertex v is said to f-dominate every vertex u with d(n, v) < f(u ), while …

A Systems Approach To Designing An Internship Model That Benefits The Sponsoring Organization, Peter-Cornelius Dams

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Self-Criticism As Experienced By Performing Artists A Phenomenological Study, Rosemary Hakes

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and document the essence of the experience of self-criticism for performing artists with the aim of providing recommendations for educational and therapeutic purposes. Moustakas (1994) defines essence as “that which is common or universal, the condition or quality without which a thing would not be what it is” (p. 100). In this study a phenomenological research paradigm was used. Each step in the data reduction process built directly toward revelation of essence through synthesis.

The central question guiding this research was: What is the essence of self-criticism as it is experienced by …

Qualitative Inquiry Of Biased And Exemplary Practices Of White Supervisors In Multicultural Supervision, Brian D. Paul

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ben Jonson And The Mirror: Folly Knows No Gender, Sherry Broadwell Niewoonder

Dissertations

Ben Jonson, Renaissance poet and playwright, has been the subject of renewed evaluation in recent scholarship, particularly new historicism and cultural materialism. The consensus among some current scholars is that Jonson overtly practices and advocates misogyny in his dramas. Such theorists suggest that Jonson both embodies and promulgates the antiwoman rhetoric of his time, basing their position on contemporary cultural material, religious tracts, and the writings of King James I. However, the external evidence cited by late twentieth-century writers as to the nature of women's position in seventeenth-century England is contradictory and speculative. A more productive method of determining misogyny …

Effect Of Relaxation On Neuro-Immune Responses Of Persons Undergoing Chemotherapy, Patricia K. Taylor Pothier Phd, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Chemotherapy can be considered both a physiologic and a psychological stressor. Anxiety, nausea, emesis, and immunosuppression are commonly associated with chemotherapy, and may adversely affect the outcome or the process of treatment. Chemotherapy-related anxiety can exacerbate negative side-effects. Some psychological stressors, such as anxiety, can result in down-regulation of certain immune functions. Studies have demonstrated that behavioral interventions, such as specific relaxation strategies, can modify stress-related immune modulation. These behavioral interventions have also been shown to decrease the degree of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a relaxation intervention would result …

Parametric Study Of Heavy Metal Partitioning In A Pilot Scale Incinerator Burning Simulated Municipal Solid Waste, Sukrut S. Thipse

Dissertations

Incineration is a combustion process used to convert toxic waste to benign gases and residue in presence of excess air. The products of the incineration process are bottom ash, fly ash and the flue gas. Most of the metal-based phases formed in incineration are toxic and their emissions need to be strictly controlled. Therefore, behavior of metal species during incineration must be well understood. Such understanding is possible based on the experimental identification of the metal phases formed in the waste combustion and determination of their concentration in various incineration products.

A pilot-scale incinerator of 140,000 Btu/hr capacity was constructed, …

Turbo Space-Time Coded Modulation : Principle And Performance Analysis, Dongzhe Cui

Dissertations

A breakthrough in coding was achieved with the invention of turbo codes. Turbo codes approach Shannon capacity by displaying the properties of long random codes, yet allowing efficient decoding. Coding alone, however, cannot fully address the problem of multipath fading channel. Recent advances in information theory have revolutionized the traditional view of multipath channel as an impairment. New results show that high gains in capacity can be achieved through the use of multiple antennas at the transmitter and the receiver. To take advantage of these new results in information theory, it is necessary to devise methods that allow communication systems …

E-Docspros : Exploring Texpros Into E-Business Era, Zhenfu Cheng

Dissertations

Document processing is a critical element of office automation. TEXPROS (TEXt PROcessing System) is a knowledge-based system designed to manage personal documents. However, as the Internet and e-Business changed the way offices operate, there is a need to re-envision document processing, storage, retrieval, and sharing. In the current environment, people must be able to access documents remotely and to share those documents with others. e-DOCPROS (e-DOCument PROcessing System) is a new document processing system that takes advantage of many of TEXPROS's structures but adapts the system to this new environment. The new system is built to serve e-businesses, takes advantage …

Ultrathin Silicon Wafer Bonding Physics And Applications, Michael H. Beggans

Dissertations

Ultrathin silicon wafer bonding is an emerging process that simplifies device fabrication, reduces manufacturing costs, increases yield, and allows the realization of novel devices. Ultrathin silicon wafers are between 3 and 200 microns thick with all the same properties of the thicker silicon wafers (greater than 300 microns) normally used by the semiconductor electronics industry. Wafer bonding is one technique by which multiple layers are formed.

In this thesis, the history and practice of wafer bonding is described and applied to the manufacture of microelectomechanical systems (MEMS) devices with layer thickness on the scale of microns. Handling and processing problems …

Low Energy Implantation Of Boron With Decaborane Ions, Maria Angela Albano

Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to determine the feasibility of a novel approach to forming ultra shallow p-type junctions (tens of nm.) needed for future generations of Si MOS devices. In the new approach, B dopant atoms are implanted by cluster ions obtained by ionization of decaborane (B₁₀H₁₄)vapor. Each B atom carries only ~9% of the cluster kinetic energy and the B dose per unit charge is 10 times larger than in the case of monomer ion beams. Thus, the problems of spacecharge, limiting the extraction and transport of low energy (< = 1 keV) beams of B⁺ ions, can …

A Conceptual Framework Of Cost/Benefit Justification For Ergonomic Projects To Reduce Musculoskeletal Disorders In The Workplace, Nitipong Boon-Long

Dissertations

A framework for justifying ergonomic projects to the overall cost savings is developed which estimates the extent of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) exposures to a specific industry. A cost structure is developed to estimate the investment needed for an ergonomics program and the costs related to MSDs problems including workers' compensation costs, work-related costs, and labor turnover costs. Data was adopted from sources including Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP-3), and estimates suggested in OSHA's former Ergonomics Standard. Top fifteen manufacturing industries with the highest MSDs rates were selected to apply the framework. Results showed …

Waqs : A Web-Based Approximate Query System, George Jyh-Shian Chang

Dissertations

The Web is often viewed as a gigantic database holding vast stores of information and provides ubiquitous accessibility to end-users. Since its inception, the Internet has experienced explosive growth both in the number of users and the amount of content available on it. However, searching for information on the Web has become increasingly difficult. Although query languages have long been part of database management systems, the standard query language being the Structural Query Language is not suitable for the Web content retrieval.

In this dissertation, a new technique for document retrieval on the Web is presented. This technique is designed …

Scheduling Algorithms For High-Speed Switches, Jinhui Li

Dissertations

The virtual output queued (VOQ) switching architecture was adopted for high speed switch implementation owing to its scalability and high throughput. An ideal VOQ algorithm should provide Quality of Service (QoS) with low complexity. However, none of the existing algorithms can meet these requirements.

Several algorithms for VOQ switches are introduced in this dissertation in order to improve upon existing algorithms in terms of implementation or QoS features. Initially, the earliest due date first matching (EDDFM) algorithm, which is stable for both uniform and non-uniform traffic patterns, is proposed. EDDFM has lower probability of cell overdue than other existing maximum …

Broadband Whole Package Fdtd Simulation, Shenjun Li

Dissertations

Whole package analysis is becoming more and more important with the rapid expansion of high frequency electronics. The motivation of this thesis is to find and implement a new method for broadband whole package simulation. 3-dimension (3-D) whole package Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulation result was first reported in detail in this thesis.

The FDTD method is a widely used full-wave time-domain simulation method used in the design and analysis for electromagnetic (EM) systems, such as antennas, wave propagating, and microwave circuits. Absorbing boundary condition (ABC), such as the perfect matched layer (PML) method, makes it possible to accurately …