Digital Commons Network^™

Essays On The Economics Of Municipal And Household Solid Waste Disposal And Recycling, Christopher Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

The sustained increase of municipal solid waste generation is an ongoing management and environmental challenge confronting many local governmental units in the United States. The management problems associated with municipal solid waste generation are attributed to rising levels of solid waste, and the real costs to collect, transport, and dispose solid waste is increasing. The increase in landfill disposal costs, referred to as "tipping-fees", is partially attributed to the regulatory and technological requirements of landfill operations designed to reduce pollution from landfills. In response to these challenges, municipal solid waste managers are evaluating the benefits and costs of alternative programs …

On Wavelet-Based Testing For Serial Correlation Of Unknown Form Using Fan's Adaptive Neyman Method, Shan Yao

Doctoral Dissertations

Test procedures for serial correlation of unknown form with wavelet methods are investigated in this dissertation. The new wavelet-based consistent test is motivated using Fan's (1996) canonical multivariate normal hypothesis testing model. In our framework, the test statistic relies on empirical wavelet coefficients of a wavelet-based spectral density estimator. We advocate the choice of the simple Haar wavelet function, since evidence demonstrates that the choice of the wavelet function is not critical. Under the null hypothesis of no serial correlation, the asymptotic distribution of a vector of empirical wavelet coefficients is derived, which is the multivariate normal distribution in the …

Student Science Achievement And The Integration Of Indigenous Knowledge In The Classroom And On Standardized Tests, Juliann Benson

Doctoral Dissertations

In science education, there has been little research focused on indigenous students' achievement on science standardized tests when indigenous knowledge is integrated into the test questions. However, there has been an increased amount of research investigating the impact of culturally relevant curriculum adaptations on indigenous students' achievement in standardized assessments (Aikenhead, 1997, 2001b; Barnhardt, 2005b).

This dissertation examines the achievement gap that is present between American Indian and White students in Montana. I use data from Montana eighth-grade standardized state science tests to determine whether incorporating indigenous material into classrooms and on state standardized science tests supported these initiatives and …

Transferring Big Data Across The Globe, Adam H. Villa

Doctoral Dissertations

Transmitting data via the Internet is a routine and common task for users today. The amount of data being transmitted by the average user has dramatically increased over the past few years. Transferring a gigabyte of data in an entire day was normal, however users are now transmitting multiple gigabytes in a single hour. With the influx of big data and massive scientific data sets that are measured in tens of petabytes, a user has the propensity to transfer even larger amounts of data. When transferring data sets of this magnitude on public or shared networks, the performance of all …

Morphological Study Of Composite Latex Particles And Water Interaction With Polymer Chains, Bo Jiang

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this research was the morphological study of composite polymer (2 or more) nano-particles in an aqueous dispersed system. This included synthesis, characterization and mathematical/numerical modeling. For a composite latex particle, the morphology can play an important role in determining the final application properties, and the structure depends on many factors which are active during and after polymerization. Among these are the penetration of oligomeric chains into the latex particles, mixing of the two composite polymers, and eventual phase separation of such mixtures. These actions depend upon the materials used in the polymerization and the process by …

Producing Science That Gets Used By Coastal Communities: What Funders Should Do To Link More Science With Decisions, Kalle Matso

Doctoral Dissertations

Many reports have noted that a significant portion of coastal science that is funded to help society address resource management issues does not actually link to decisions. Here, I report on 13 case studies involving new tools and science to help diverse decision makers better protect coastal resources. My qualitative analysis indicates that the programs' efforts to better link science with decisions have had varied results: some encouraging and some less so. In contrast, all 13 project case studies clearly confirm that the funding programs could have done more to link science with decisions. These case studies, combined with this …

Cross-Correlation Based Performance Measures For Characterizing The Influence Of In-Vehicle Interfaces On Driving And Cognitive Workload, Zeljko Medenica

Doctoral Dissertations

Driving is a cognitively loading task which requires drivers' full attention and coordination of both mind and body. However, drivers often engage in side activities which can negatively impact safety. A typical approach for analyzing the influences of side activities on driving is to conduct experiments in which various driving performance measures are collected, such as steering wheel angle and lane position. Those measures are then transformed, typically using means and variances, before being analyzed statistically. However, the problem is that those transformations perform averaging of the acquired data, which can result in missing short, but important events (such as …

Nonideality In High Concentration Solutions, Ronald Toth

Doctoral Dissertations

Our current understanding of molecular interactions, the kinetics, equilibria, and thermodynamics of biochemical reactions, is based mostly on research conducted in dilute solutions. Recent interest in the implications of true physiological concentrations has led to the development of new tools and techniques. In vivo biological systems differ so significantly from dilute solutions that a model is required to conceptualize them. The excluded volume theory is one such model. In this framework macromolecules are regarded as hard spherical volumes, holding only the property of size, and not those of shape or charge. Alternatively, the proximity energy framework considers molecules as having …

Mean Force Structure And Scaling Of Rough-Wall Turbulent Boundary Layers, Faraz Mehdi

Doctoral Dissertations

The combined roughness-Reynolds number problem is explored from the perspective of ordering of terms in the mean momentum balance. Existing mean velocity and Reynolds shear stress data from zero pressure gradient, rough-wall turbulent boundary layers are used to clarify the nature of the leading order balances across the boundary layer. These existing data are augmented by data from a judiciously chosen set of experiments performed at the University of New Hampshire. These low speed, Laser Doppler velocimetry based experiments were performed over three types of roughnesses. Their purpose is to clarify the trends found in the existing data sets.

By …

Ratiometric Copper(Ii) Indicators Based On Poly(N-Isoproprylacrylamide) And Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer, Shaojun Yao

Doctoral Dissertations

An approach to ratiometric fluorescence detection of Cu(II) ions was devised by copolymerizing N-isopropylacrylamide with small percentages of bipyridine and amine monomers. The copolymer was divided into two portions. The amine group on one portion was functionalized with AlexaFluor555 (donor fluorophore) and the other with AlexaFluor647 (acceptor fluorophore). The indicator consists of a mixture of these two portions. Aggregation above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of this copolymer brings about a large increase in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Addition of Cu(II) to the aggregated copolymer introduces charge onto the backbone, causing the copolymer to deaggregate with a resulting …

Watching Children: A History Of America's Race To Educate Kids And The Creation Of The 'Slow-Learner' Subject, Jeffrey C. Frenkiewich

Doctoral Dissertations

On January 25, 2011, United States President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to Congress and to the nation. As part of that address, President Obama articulated his vision for American education and stated that America had "to win the race to educate our kids" (Obama, 2011, state of the union). Mr. Obama's speech and his "Race to the Top" policy stand as statements in a discourse that expects fast-paced education based on universal standards and quantitative measures. Tracing a history of American schooling, one sees that this discourse has been dominant in this society for most …

Organic And Composite Aerogels Through Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (Romp), Dhairyashil Mohite

Doctoral Dissertations

"Aerogels are open-cell nanoporous materials, unique in terms of low density, low thermal conductivity, low dielectric constants and high acoustic attenuation. Those exceptional properties stem from their complex hierarchical solid framework (agglomerates of porous, fractal secondary nanoparticles), but they also come at a cost: low mechanical strength. This issue has been resolved by crosslinking silica aerogels with organic polymers. The crosslinking polymer has been assumed to form a conformal coating on the surface of the skeletal framework by covalent bridging elementary building blocks. However, "assuming" is not enough: for correlating nanostructure with bulk material properties, it is important to know …

Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty In Renewable Energy Portfolio Management And Inventory Management, Jianjun Deng

Doctoral Dissertations

"It is challenging and important for a firm to make effective decisions under uncertainties, such as random fluctuations of products prices or demands, etc. This dissertation formulates mathematic models to help decision makers in energy and retail industries make optimal timing and optimal operational decisions when facing uncertain electricity prices and demands. As for energy portfolio management, the optimal entry and dispatch strategies are investigated for an electricity generating firm to introduce a renewable power plant as an alternative method for generating electricity, with or without construction delay. In addition, the abandonment strategies of considering shutting down one of the …

A Monte Carlo Study Of The Scaling Of Nucleation Rates In A Lennard-Jones System, Mark Allan Thomason

Doctoral Dissertations

Temperature scaling of the homogenous vapor-to-liquid nucleation rate, J, is examined in a model Lennard-Jones (LJ) system. The model uses the Bennett Metropolis Monte Carlo technique to determine small cluster growth/decay rate constant ratios ß_n-1|α_n at four temperatures (T = 40, 50, 60, and 83.6K) below the argon Lennard-Jones critical temperature, T_c. The ß_n-1|α_n for clusters ranging in size from n = 2 to n = 192 LJ particles are applied to a kinetic steady-state nucleation rate formalism and nucleation rates are determined at the same four temperatures. When these rates are …

Characterization Of Soil Variability For Reliability-Based Design, Sitenikechukwu Onyejekwe

Doctoral Dissertations

"A very carefully planned Missouri-wide field exploration and laboratory investigation program, with a focus on fine-grained soils, was executed with the aim of characterizing the variability of geotechnical parameters statistically with a view to increasing the use of reliability-based design (RBD) among geotechnical engineers. Geotechnical parameters were characterized in terms of both their first and second statistical moments and their coefficient of variation (COV). Their probability distributions and their scale of fluctuation, θ, were also determined. Correlations between difficult-to-obtain parameters and more easily-obtained parameters were developed and the degree of fit of study data to published empirical correlations was investigated. …

Sieve Bootstrap Based Prediction Intervals And Unit Root Tests For Time Series, Maduka Rupasinghe

Doctoral Dissertations

"The application of the sieve bootstrap procedure, which resamples residuals obtained by fitting a finite autoregressvie (AR) approximation to empirical time series, to obtaining prediction intervals for integrated, long-memory, and seasonal time series as well as constructing a test for seasonal unit roots, is considered. The advantage of this resampling method is that it does not require knowledge about the underlying process generating a given time series and has been shown to work well for ARMA processes. We extend the application of the sieve bootstrap to ARIMA and FARIMA processes. The asymptotic properties of the sieve bootstrap prediction intervals for …

The Characterization Of Volatiles Associated With Young Stellar Objects, Kari Anne Wojtkowski

Doctoral Dissertations

In the first portion of this work, we searched for differences in volatiles within a single star forming region, Rho Ophiuchi. We determined the amount, temperature, and composition of two ice features, the bending modes of CO₂ and H₂O at 15 µm and 6 µm, respectively, toward 28 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). We found that more than 50% of the YSOs studied contained a portion of crystalline CO₂ ice. We also found that some sources with Flat or borderline Class II Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) have a larger abundance of CO₂ ice with respect to H₂O ice. In addition to …

Modeling And Synthesis Of Pvdf-Based Dielectrics For Energy Storage Applications, Xuhui Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The purpose of this research was to develop dielectric films for high energy density capacitor applications. Also desired was to develop a deeper understanding of dielectric breakdown and electric energy storage related phenomena through simulation, theoretical analysis, and experimental investigation.

An analytical model incorporating Weibull dielectric strength statistics was developed to establish quantitative relationships between material properties and device performance of self-healing capacitors. The model is useful for designing high voltage capacitors and developing dielectric materials where the effects of electric field-dependent permittivity need to be considered.

In the experimental work, solution-cast poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) homopolymer PVDF films with high …

The Effects Of Using Multimedia Presentations And Modular Worked-Out Examples As Instructional Methodologies To Manage The Cognitive Processing Associated With Information Literacy Instruction At The Graduate And Undergraduate Levels Of Nursing Education, Shawn P. Calhoun

Doctoral Dissertations

Information literacy is a complex knowledge domain. Cognitive processing theory describes the effects an instructional subject and the learning environment have on working memory. Essential processing is one component of cognitive processing theory that explains the inherent complexity of knowledge domains such as information literacy. Prior research involving cognitive processing relied heavily on instructional subjects from the areas of math, science and technology. For this study, the instructional subject of information literacy was situated within the literature describing ill-defined problems using modular worked-out examples instructional design techniques. The purpose of this study was to build on the limited research into …

Latino Immigrant Parents Of English Language Learner Students, School Involvement And The Participation Breach, Jose Vicente Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was the minimal school involvement by Latino immigrant parents due to the hegemonic practices, cultural misunderstandings and deficit-thinking models adopted by school personnel. The purpose of this Participatory Action Research (PAR) was to investigate the perceptions and benefits of participant and co-researcher parents who collaborated in the creation of an anti-hegemonic culturally sensitive advocacy-training program. The theoretical framework employed was Critical Race Theory because it addressed the issues of institutional racism, challenge to the status quo, social justice leadership and allowed for an interdisciplinary approach in order to utilize the parents' experiential knowledge to …

The Separate And Collective Effects Of Personalization, Personification, And Gender On Learning With Multimedia Chemistry Instructional Materials, Shannon James Halkyard

Doctoral Dissertations

Chemistry is a difficult subject to learn and teach for students in general. Additionally, female students are under-represented in chemistry and the physical sciences. Within chemistry, atomic and electronic structure is a key concept and several recommendations in the literature describe how this topic can be taught better.

These recommendations can be employed in multimedia instructional materials designed following principles understood through the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. Additionally, these materials can expand the known use of principles like personalization (addressing the learner as "you") and test prospective design principles like personification (referring to abstract objects like atoms as "she" …

The Comparative Effects Of Visual-Only Instruction Versus Modality Principle Instruction On Algebraic Problem Accuracy And Perceived Mental Effort At Varying Levels Of Task Complexity For Undergraduate Nursing Students, Kristina V. Mattis

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two instructional formats on math accuracy and perceived mental effort during a series of math problems that varied in levels of complexity. The multimedia instruction results were compared against a traditional form of instruction using visual-only teaching materials.

Few studies examine the impact of instructional design on learning outcomes math instruction within nursing with a lack of research describing how math is taught to nursing students other than traditional lecture or textbook. Nursing students demonstrate low performance rates on math problems that involve mixed numbers that also tend to …

Investigation Of The Misconceptions Related To The Concepts Of Equivalence And Literal Symbols Held By Underprepared Community College Students, Terrence Joseph Maguire

Doctoral Dissertations

Many students struggle to learn mathematics in K-8 grades. Research has shown that lower grade students often misconceive equivalence as an operation rather than a relation, and that students also form various misconceptions of literal symbols. Many students arrive at college seriously underprepared in mathematics, but there is scant research on the difficulties and misconceptions of these college students. The purpose of this research was to learn if underprepared community college students harbor misconceptions of equivalence and of literal symbols similar to K-8 students.

For this study, 191 underprepared college students were surveyed for misconceptions by a questionnaire of 43 …

De La Salle Christian Brothers' Experiences Of Catholic Identity In Higher Education In The United States, Scott Anthony Kier

Doctoral Dissertations

Catholic identity is considered to be the single most important issue facing Catholic higher education in the United States. Scholars (Burtchaell, 1998; Gallin, 1999; Gleason, 1995; Heft, 2003; Marsden, 1994; O'Brien, 1994) have suggested that sustaining Catholic identity and preventing secularization depends on the integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition with the sponsoring religious congregation. The Catholic identity often has been discussed in terms of the decreasing presence of various signs and symbols of Catholicity. Additionally, the number of Catholics among the student body, the number of required theology courses, and the role of the curriculum and faculty, have been …

Imagication = Imagination + Education: What Fifth Graders Think About Arts Integration In Public Elementary Schools, Lisa Edsall Giglio

Doctoral Dissertations

During the 2011-12 school year, a fifth grade class in a diverse San Francisco public elementary school collaborated with the Arts Resources In Action (ARIA) program of the San Francisco Opera's Education Department to create a teacher-guided opera. The students wrote the story, music and lyrics as well as designed and built the sets, props and costumes based on the American Revolution. The classroom teacher chose the topic of the American Revolution, and the students researched this historic event using literary, historical, visual, musical and theatrical methods of exploration and data gathering. Through the medium of opera, the program connected …

A Participatory Action Research Study With Bi-Ethnic Children In South Korea On Bi-Ethnic Identity Development, Jeong Min Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore how bi-ethnic children in South Korea understand their identity using a participatory action research (PAR) method. The number of bi-ethnic/multicultural families and children is increasing in South Korea, matched with a rising xenophobia towards these groups. Thus, the need for research that captured the inner thoughts and feelings of children, through their own voices, seems of paramount importance for a more secure and authentic identity development. The findings from this research provided evidence through their own storybooks that bi-ethnic Korean children had individual identity experiences in different contexts through diverse development processes. …

A Comparison Analysis Of Defensive Routines And Theories-In-Use Of Engineering And Non-Engineering Managers, Tyria Riley

Doctoral Dissertations

"Engineering managers are managers who have an understanding of both the technical and business world in organizations. Many lead teams of their peers who are purely technical individuals. However, the success of an engineering manager depends on being able to function in both worlds when necessary. There is a stigma that engineers experience challenges in areas such as communication, conflict resolution, and leadership. Due to these challenges, defensive routines are likely to exist. Defensive routines are behaviors that are common in many managers and may hinder the success of an organization. This research uses a case study approach to measure …

X-Ray Crystallography For The Study Of Nickel And Iron Salicylaldimines, Carla Schmiesing Eribal

Doctoral Dissertations

"X-ray diffraction of single crystals has developed dramatically over the last century by combining fundamental theories of light, diffraction, and statistics to generate the complete, geometric structure of molecules. The quality of the resulting X -ray structure data are reported in R₁ < 5%, wR2 < 12% and a goodness of fit value of one. This technique was applied specifically to the evaluation of the spin crossover (SCO) compound [Fe(salpm)₂]BF₄ʺ0.5EtOH and how the molecule's geometry changed during a two-step thermal LS-HS conversion. The crystal structure was measured at 100,175,225, and 296 K to yield final R₁ values of 0.047, 0.054, 0.051, and 0.058, respectively. The coordination bond lengths show the spin transitions occur between 100-175K at one crystallographically unique Fe and between 175-225K at the other Fe site. No strong long range interactions are found, suggesting a gradual spin transition. Reaction ofNi(Nalkyl-sal)₂ complexes with Ni(N0₃)₂ form either nickel dimeric, [Ni₃(Rsal)(N0₃)(MeOH)]₂ or trinuclear complexes, Ni₃(Rsal)₄(N0₃)₂. The binuclear complexes, with orthogonal bridging ligands, show overall ferromagnetic interactions. The crystal structures for Ni₃(Rsal)₄(N0₃)₂ from methyl to benzyl were solved and indicate no steric restriction on formation for the series. The trinuclear compounds form an isosceles triangle of metal atoms with the isopropyl analog showing an overall antiferromagnetic interaction with J=+11.386 and J23=-13.891. Lastly, xanthene spirolactam derivatives were structurally analyzed to determine binding modes for their selective and sensitive (µM) detection of metals Cr³⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺ and the nerve gas mimic, dichlorophosphate"--Abstract, page iii.

Prediction And Performance Of Single Piles In Clay Soils Under Vibratory Loadings, Domenica Cambio

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study developed a model for predicting the response, in terms of amplitude versus frequency of single piles under lateral vibratory loadings embedded in clay or fine silty soils. The model incorporates frequency dependent parameters and the effects of soil non-linearity through the relationship between soil shear modulus and damping with strain. A computer program, Dyna5, was used to generate the computed response of single piles using the Novak and El-Shamouby (1983) approach. Soil non-linearity was accounted for by incorporating spline interpolation routine into Dyna5. Sliding and coupled rocking vibrations were addressed. The computed responses were predicted and compared with …

Nano-Particles Induced Oxidative Stress In Immortalized Human Brain Endothelial Cells, Xinsheng Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Nanoparticles are engineered structure with at least one dimension of 100 nanometers or less. These materials are increasingly being used for commercial purposes such as catalyst, semiconductor, cosmetics, microelectronic, and drug carrier. However, the toxicological impact of these materials has not yet been studied in detail, thereby limiting their use. In our present study, we use human brain endothelial cell line as a blood-brain barrier (BBB) model to investigate if two kinds of nanoparticles [ 1). Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) and 2). single wall carbon nanotube (CNT) ] induced oxidative stress in cell model. Our studies showed that DEPs or …