Digital Commons Network^™

Reactor Design For Hazardous Waste Treatment Using A White Rot Fungus, Daewon Pak

Dissertations

Various nutrient media and reactor configurations have been explored in order to grow the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, induce its active enzyme, develop kinetic data for the degradation of 2-chlorophenol, and use chemical engineering analysis to design an efficient reactor.

Preliminary experiments indicated that the biodegradation rate was improved by two to three orders of magnitude when the fungus was immobilized. As a result, emphasis shifted to two types of reactor design: a packed-bed reactor employing a silica-based porous support, and a fluidized-bed reactor employing alginate beads. Both were very effective in degrading 2 chlorophenol at inlet concentrations up …

Assessment Of Autonomic Regulation Of Heart Rate Variability, Shaw-Jyh Shin

Dissertations

Complex demodulation, accompanied by the techniques of interpolation, detrending and zero-phase-shift lowpass filtering were used to examine the effect of both divisions of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) on heart rate by analyzing the heart rate variability signal from dogs under two different classical conditionings: CS+ and CS-, which cause different dynamic pattern changes in the autonomic nervous system to regulate the heart rate.

Unlike power spectral analysis, complex demodulation gives results in the time domain and shows the variation of amplitude and phase over time at a given frequency. The variation of phase indicates the frequency deviation …

Multiyear Drought Simulation With Periodic-Stochastic Hydrologic Processes, Lankeswara Hemal Wijayaratne

Dissertations

Previous studies on multiyear droughts are often limited to the analysis of historic annual flow series. A major problem in these studies is the unavailability of long historic flow records, on which to perform the analysis. To overcome this difficulty, the present study has used synthetically generated mean annual flow series to suppliment the historic flows. For the purpose of generating flows, a general methodology was developed to propose a mathematical model based on the harmonic and stochastic analyses of the historic flow series. The main objective was to derive a large population of multiyear drought events from the generated …

Sorption And Desorption Of Organic Compounds By Flyash, Kashinath Banerjee

Dissertations

A sorbent treatment process has been developed which uses flyash as sorbent in the treatment of highly toxic and hazardous chemicals; these include: Alcohols, Aldehydes, Ketones and Aromatics. Batch, as well as dynamic, studies were performed, in different phases, during the investigation. Single and multiple solute systems were examined separately. The samples were analyzed using a Flame Ionization Detector Gas Chromatograph.

The result of this study demonstrates that isolation/ immobilization of the organic pollutants is technologically feasible by adsorbing the contaminants onto flyash. The residual carbon content of the flyash plays a very significant role during the treatment process. The …

An Investigation Of The Traditional And Non-Traditional College Students' Perceived Benefits Regarding Participation In The Cooperative Education Program, Beatrice C. Ullrich

Dissertations

Cooperative education has become an important component of education. The basis for cooperative education is that learning occurs outside the classroom as well as in the classroom. The shift in employment patterns from an industrial society to a knowledge and information based society means that many of the existing types of jobs will disappear. The value of cooperative education exists in its ability to provide a transition from school to work and its flexibility to respond to industries' needs and individuals' training needs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of the traditional cooperative education student and …

A Feasible Direction Procedure For General Multiple Objective Optimization, Wen-Tsia Liu

Dissertations

The Feasible Direction Finding Problem (DFP) of Zoutendijk is adapted to create a general Mathematical Programming (MP) algorithm for treating optimization problems with multiple objective functions. Classically such problems are reduced to standard MP form by converting them to single objective function problems by the use of weighting functions. Unfortunately not all practical problems can be so reduced. Consider the problem of maximizing the strength of a structure. Typically there are several, or even many, failure modes. All active failure modes must be included in the optimal search in such a way that resistance to one active mode can not …

The Efficacy Of Bilingual Education In Relation To Student Linguistic Type, Program Type, And Program Setting, Carol Stubbs Rice

Dissertations

The focus of this study was the differential effectiveness of bilingual education models as determined through the examination of Title VII project evaluations. The evaluation data were subject to a meta-analysis and the results compared to national norms.

The study examined the efficacy of bilingual education in relation to student type, program type and program setting, using data produced by projects from 1983-1986. The study design was based on the gap-reduction design, as modified for Title VII evaluations, with group means used as the unit of analysis. The study sample contained 2,500 monolingual and limited English proficient students from the …

Training-Program Evaluation: An Investigation Of Perceptions And Practices In Nonmanufacturing Business Organizations, Sarah P. Gutek

Dissertations

Despite the proliferation of evaluation literature and business and industry's growing investment in training activities, the evaluation component of training programs remains underdeveloped. Without evaluating the merit and worth of training, there is little evidence that organizations are getting a return on investment from training programs they sponsor.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discrepancy between the emphasis on training-program evaluation in professional literature and actual practice in the field. The writer examined the perceptions of two stakeholders in the training process: upper-level managers and training directors.

Three hypotheses concerned the relationship between the frequency with which …

The Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On Anxiety In Pregnant Women, Janet L. Fourman

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if aerobic exercise affects trait anxiety in pregnant women and if selected demographic variables relate to trait anxiety. These variables were age, occupation, family income, general physical and mental health, education, lifestyle, and previous exercise history. The independent variable was aerobic exercise. The dependent variable was anxiety which was measured by the trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983).

This research was quasi-experimental and used the Solomon Four-Group Design. The experimental group consisted of women who participated in a Pregnancy Fitness Aerobic exercise program for the duration of their pregnancies. …

A Systematic Approach To Staff Management And Systems Evaluation In An Inpatient Psychiatric Setting: The First Step Toward Reform Through Accountability, Helen Diann Pratt

Dissertations

The current study had two major objectives: (1) to evaluate the impact of a staff management package consisting of training, prompts, task assignments, and oral and graphic feedback, and (2) to assess the effects of prescribed staff interventions on the inappropriate behaviors of three psychiatric inpatients. Accomplishing these two objectives produced an objective data base for the detailed evaluation of patient behaviors. Study I was designed to get staff members to record patient behaviors, to use contingent and consistent interventions, and to record those interventions. Results yielded high staff performance without tangible incentives. Staff members were able to consistently, reliably …

An Assessment Of The Instructional Needs Of Ohio's Educational Administrators Relative To Computer Technology, Mary F. Missavage Berney

Dissertations

This study was conducted to identify the needs of Ohio's educational administrators relative to the administrative and curricular uses of computer technology. It answers the following questions: (1) What are the felt needs of Ohio's educational administrators relative to the administrative and curricular uses of computer technology? (2) What are the felt needs of Ohio's NCATE-accredited faculty of educational administration relative to instruction in the areas of administrative and curricular uses of computer technology for educational administrators? (3) What are the anticipated needs of experts in computing relative to the administrative and curricular uses of computer technology? (4) What are …

Attributes Of Undergraduates Majoring In Scientific And Technological Disciplines: Perseverance And Commitments, Judith Watlington Edwin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was first to determine the characteristics that distinguished persisters from nonpersisters in the fields of science and technology; second, to determine the effects of sex, college choice, parental income, parental educational background, GPA, and academic and social integration factors on persistence; and third, to suggest program implementation for assisting students in the science and technology disciplines to make choices in "fit" of characteristics to college environment. Subjects for this study were randomly selected from a group of 256 juniors at the University of California, San Diego who had initially selected science or technology as an …

Naturalistic Inquiry: An Appropriate Method For Evaluating Customer Training A Case Study Of A Computer System Value-Added Reseller, Barbara Coulter Broderick Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the use of naturalistic inquiry as an appropriate method for evaluating customer training. The study's scope was limited to computer system value-added-resellers (VARs). Four research questions were identified, each addressing the use of naturalistic inquiry in this setting. Case study methodology was selected as the most effective approach to demonstrate use of this type of evaluation. In order to limit the focus of the case study, the researcher identified three propositions. These propositions addressed the following: (1) the evolution of computer system VAR's customer training programs; (2) the merit and worth of …

A Study Of Licensed Psychologists And The Problem Of Addressing Spiritual/Religious Issues In Therapy, Suzanne Lorenz Brennan

Dissertations

The study was done in response to a documented concern in the literature that therapists are unprepared to treat the spiritual concerns of their clients who come from a population in which 95% profess a belief in God.

One objective of the study was to determine the spiritual orientation of licensed psychologists and their attitudes toward religious belief and addressing religious issues in psychotherapy. Other objectives were to determine the amount of help received in addressing these issues during training and supervision and how competent they perceived themselves to be in this regard. Responses of the two license levels, full …

The Effects Of A Wilderness/Adventure Program On The Self-Concept, Locus Of Control Orientation, And Interpersonal Behavior Of Delinquent Adolescents, Timothy J. Zwart

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 26-day therapeutic wilderness program for delinquent adolescent males on three conceptually distinct but closely related constructs: self-concept, locus of control orientation, and interpersonal behavior. Justification for the study was derived from the limitations of past wilderness/adventure research which suggested that there was a need for additional research on the effects of this type of alternative program for delinquent adolescents.

It was hypothesized that following participation in this program the youths would exhibit increased self-concept, more internal locus of control orientation, would express higher needs for inclusion and affection …

Determination Of A "Benchmark" Rate Of Return For Regulated Small Telephone Utilities In The State Of Michigan, Gondy Bhaskara Rao

Dissertations

This study presents an approach that is consistent with regulatory standards of fairness, and enables the Public Service Commission staff to determining "benchmark" rates of return for Michigan's small telephone utilities. It applies only where they are either subsidiaries of holding companies or independently operating but whose securities are not publicly traded.

The methodology developed in this research is couched in the capital asset pricing framework and is powerful enough to capture the parent-subsidiary relationship to the ultimate determination of benchmark rates of return for utilities that have similar risks.

To evaluate the methodology for consistency with the regulatory standards, …

Defining A Social Problem: A Sociohistorical Analysis Of The Antinuclear Weapons Movement, Frances B. Mccrea

Dissertations

This dissertation is a sociohistorical analysis of the anti-nuclear weapons movement in the United States. This work conceptualizes social movements in advanced industrial societies by synthesizing certain aspects of social constructionism, resource mobilization and new class theory. The synthesis argues that progressive social movements are a form of class conflict in which members of the new class challenge the old elite for the control of cultural capital. Such movements are created, in part, by issue entrepreneurs, many of whom are intellectuals. The success or failure of any social movement organization is dependent on its own tactics and strategies, as well …

Educational Outcomes Of Children With Two Working Parents, Michael B. Dib

Dissertations

In this study five measures of ability or achievement (I.Q., reading comprehension, vocabulary, math concepts, and math computation) for each of four grade levels (third, fourth, fifth, and sixth) were analyzed to determine whether there were significant differences for students from traditional working parent families and students from two-working-parent families. An ex post facto design was used.

Subjects were 335 third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from a single public school district in the state of Michigan. These students were identified by teachers or principals as being from either a traditional or a two-working-parent family. All ability and achievement …

Self-Control: Effects Of Ratio Size, Intra-Delay Reinforcers, And Response Requirement, Elbert Q. Blakely Jr.

Dissertations

This study tested the following hypotheses: (a) The preference reversal phenomenon will be found when the delays to reinforcement are defined by fixed-ratio schedules, (b) The preference reversal phenomenon will be observed when intra-delay reinforcers are programmed, and (c) Imposing response requirements during the delay to reinforcement will affect preference for a larger delayed reinforcer over a smaller more immediate reinforcer. In Experiment 1, pigeons chose between two schedules, each a sequence of two fixed-ratio schedules. The second schedule of one sequence offered a small reinforcer and the second schedule of the alternative offered a larger reinforcer. The latter sequence …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Depression Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths; An Experimental Study, Carole Jeanne Weidaw

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of providing information about the grief process and a supportive environment of peers on depression in recently bereaved spouses.

The treatment intervention consisted of the Bereavement Support Seminar, which provided didactic material relating to the normal aspects of the grief process with emphasis on dealing with anger, guilt and progressive growth while allowing for feelings and memories to be vented and supported.

The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental (those who were involved in the 4-week Bereavement Support Seminar) and control (those who received no intervention). The experimental …

A Survey Of Oral Communication Instructional Practices In The Elementary Public Schools Of Michigan, James N. Walker

Dissertations

Instruction in oral communication is critical to education. Oral communication skills are needed in the development of skills in written language, math, problem solving, and reading. Oral communication skills are important in achieving academic, vocational, and personal success. On November 1, 1978, speech education was recognized as a basic skill by United States law.

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral communication instructional practices in Michigan public elementary schools grades K-5. Eight research questions were identified:

(1) Is instruction provided? (2) What is the "basis" for instruction? (3) What materials are used? (4) What is the method …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Expressed Physical Symptoms Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths: An Experimental Study, Susan Jean Zonnebelt-Smeenge

Dissertations

Morbidity and mortality have been identified as potentially negative outcomes for bereaved spouses. Intervention is theorized to be an important factor in bereavement outcome, but few investigators have reported relevant studies depicting a decrease in somatic symptoms relative to planned treatment. The present research was conducted to explore the effect of attendance at a 4-session bereavement support seminar on the expressed physical symptoms of the widowed, within the first year subsequent to spousal death.

Subjects were obtained for this experimental study by the random sampling without replacement method, utilizing the obituary notices appearing in local newspapers. To facilitate generalization of …

The Development And Field Testing Of A Semi-Programed Text For The Establishment Of Reading And Writing Repertoires With Mexican-Illiterate Adults, Marco Wilfredo Salas Martinez

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a Semi-Programed text for establishing reading and writing skills for Spanish-speaking illiterate adults, and to compare it with the Mexican Secretariat of Public Education Reading and Writing program. Thirty-two male prisoners incarcerated at the Regional Prison of Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (a) Semi-Programed I; (b) Semi-Programed II; (c) Conventional I; and (d) Conventional II. Subjects of the Semi-Programed Instructional condition groups were taught to read and write with a Semi-Programed text, which was based on the behavioral principles and …

Warren Eugene Howell, Seventh-Day Adventist Educational Administrator, John Francis Waters

Dissertations

Problem. Warren Eugene Howell served the Seventh-day Adventist educational system as an administrator and teacher for thirty-four years. He pioneered in two important Adventist educational institutions and led the General Conference Education Department during a critical period in the history of Seventh-day Adventist education. Notwithstanding Howell's contribution to Adventist education, no comprehensive study of his administration has been attempted.

Method. In this study a historical-documentary method of research has been used. Correspondence collections; minutes of boards, committees, and faculty meetings; church periodicals; transcripts of lectures; and miscellaneous archival materials have provided primary source materials. These sources may be found …

The Successive, Corresponding Epochal Arrangement Of The "Chronogenealogies" Of Genesis 5 And 11b In The Three Textual Traditions : Lxxa, Sp, And Mt, Colin L. House

Dissertations

Problem. The research problem of this study has been, How might church pastors and college Bible teachers answer questions from members/students regarding the three numerically disparate versions of Gen 5 and 11b?

Method. The categories of chronological data investigated were: prepaternal, remainder, life span, anno mundi, and postflood birth and death. Analysis preceded synthesis, and the formulation of hypotheses followed the investigation of the data. It was assumed that the necessary arithmetic commonly used within Torah was available to the ordinary reader. In hypothetical reconstructions, investigation was confined to extant variants rather than fictitious numbers.

Findings. An …

The Relationship Of Hemispheric Performance And Reading Achievement For Black And Caucasian Fourth- And Fifth- Grade Students, Helen Dorothy Byoune

Dissertations

Problem. The relationship between race and hemispheric performance and the resultant effects of this relationship on learning pose a problem for educators. This study sought to determine whether Black students have a style of cerebral processing different from Caucasian students and whether this cognitive style leads to under achievement in certain subject areas.

Method. The Cognitive Laterality Battery (CLB) was used to measure hemisphericity for 111 fourth- and fifth-grade students categorized into four groups: Blacks, Caucasians, males and females. Ninety-seven of these students comprised the population for this study. The results from the CLB were then used to determine whether …

Viewpoint And Vision In George Eliot: The Novelist And Her Major Fiction, Patricia Ward Svec

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Corticospinal Tract Remodelling In Adult Rats That Sustained Unilateral Cortical Ablation At Birth, Blesilda Reinoso

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neurokinin Regulation Of Midbrain Raphe Neurons: A Behavioral And Anatomical Study, Joseph Paris

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Chinese Minority In Thailand: Social And Educational Perspective, Supha Phinaitrup

Dissertations

No abstract provided.