Digital Commons Network^™

Enrichments Of Microbial Consortia, Mathematical Modeling And Statistical Analysis For Methane Production Form Acetate, Sulabh Madhusudan Koolwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Vibration And Acoustic Monitoring Of Bearing Faults In Machines With Phase Fluctuations / By Suresh Venugopal, Suresh Venugopal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Child Care In The United States: Assessing Parental Preferences In The Selection Of Nonparental Care, Andrea Castiglione

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between child, respondent, parent/guardian, and household characteristics and the preferences of the availability of sick care, a small group size, a reasonable cost, and a caregiver who shares similar beliefs about raising children in the selection of nonparental arrangements. SPPS was used to obtain bi-variate analyses of the categorized independent variables and their relationship to each of the four dependent variables regarding parental preferences of nonparental arrangements. Those who have a lower level of education, a lower total household income, rent their home, and have received welfare benefits within the past three years are more …

Desired Characteristics Of Ethical Leaders In Business, Educational, Political And Religious Organizations From East Tennessee: A Delphi Investigation., Jeff Moorhouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leadership is the moving of people towards specified goals. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. The leadership dynamic of human interaction is one of the most studied and least understood phenomena. More attention is currently being given to the ethics of leadership in light of recent situations involving misconduct in the White House, illeagal accounting practices amoung top corporations, and misuse of power in religous organizations.

In this study, I sought to identify and prioritize characteristics of ehtical leadership with the assistance of leaders in four distinct groups; the business, religious, political, and educational communities within a six county …

Dose-Response Effects Of Lithium On Spatial Memory In The Black Molly Fish., Thomas Kyle Creson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lithium continues to be widely prescribed for the management of bipolar disease, yet cognitive impairment-related side effects promote noncompliance of the treatment regimen. We have introduced a novel animal model, the black molly fish, to study dose-response effects of lithium on short-term (STM) and long-term (LTM) memories. We developed a method utilizing capillary ion analysis (CIA), to measure plasma and brain lithium levels employed in our behavioral studies. We then developed an appropriate testing environment to ascertain learning capacities of these fish. We established that black mollies could adequately perform a forced-choice spontaneous alternation (SA) task used extensively in rodents …

Activation Of Ca2+-Activated K+ Channels And Cell Migration By Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor In Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells., Min Jin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor (HGF/SF) stimulates migration of various cells and has been linked via Met tyrosine kinase signaling to transformation and the metastatic phenotype. HGF/SF-Met signaling also plays a role in malignancy. Migration of transformed MDCK-F cells depends on activation of a charybdotoxin (ChTX)-sensitive, volume-activated membrane K⁺ current. Patch-clamp electrophysiology and transwell migration assays were used to study the effects of HGF/SF on membrane K⁺ currents and cell migration in MDCK II cells. HGF/SF activated membrane K⁺ currents that increased over 24 hr, and these could be modulated by altering intracellular free calcium concentration [Ca^{2+ …}

Athletic Participation: A Test Of Learning And Neutralization Theories., Mario Bernard Hankerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Athletics has been regarded as a means of encouraging youth to build character, discipline, and develop healthy habits. However, literature has emerged that asserts athletics do not prevent deviant behaviors, but instead, influence one to commit deviant acts. As such, this research examined effects of athletics on the commission of deviant behaviors via learning and techniques of neutralization theories.

Subjects for this project included 325 college students from a southern regional university. Data were generated through the use of a self-report questionnaire, which measured variables pertaining to self-reported deviant behaviors including perceptions of peer deviance, neutralizing indicators, and sports participation. …

Folk Medicine In Southern Appalachian Fiction., Catherine Benson Strain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The region of Southern Appalachia, long known for its colorful storytellers, is also rich in folk medical lore and practice. In their Appalachian novels, Lucy Furman, Emma Bell Miles, Mildred Haun, Catherine Marshall, Harriette Arnow, Lee Smith, and Charles Frazier, feature folk medicine prominently in their narratives. The novels studied, set against the backdrop of the rise of official medicine, are divided into three major time periods that correspond to important chapters in the history of American medicine: the 1890s through the 1930s; the 1940s through the 1960s; and the 1970s through the present. The study of folk medicine, a …

An Analysis Of Functional Behavioral Assessments Used In Public Schools In Tennessee And Georgia., Dana Winningham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to survey special education supervisors in public school systems throughout Tennessee and Georgia to determine the types of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) procedures used and training provided to assessment personnel in their school systems. The primary focus of the study was on who conducts assessments, differences between the amount of training and support provided by school districts, and the use of best practices in conducting these assessments.

Surveys were mailed to 317 supervisors, 108 in Tennessee, and 123 in Georgia. These supervisors were asked to respond to questions concerning assessments in their respective school …

The Effects Of Character Education On Student Behavior., William G. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Character education has been a part of public schooling in the United States since its beginning. It has undergone dramatic changes over the years, from didactic instruction to service learning; it continues to evolve as more and more schools become involved in teaching students right from wrong. The current emphasis on character education in schools began in the early 1990s as an attempt to alleviate the increasingly violent behavior of students as reported in the media.

The purpose of this study was to determine how character education affected the behavior of students. The study involved: observing student behavior; interviewing teachers, …

The Effects Of Looping On The Academic Achievement Of Elementary School Students., Vada S. Bogart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement of students in looping programs from school systems in East Tennessee to their peers in traditional one-year instructional programs. Looping is defined as any program design that perpetuates a cohesive student group with the same teacher for more than one year. The study included all students who had completed fourth grade in 2001 at every school in East Tennessee that implemented a third/fourth grade looping design. Student scores reported for 1999, 2000, and 2001 on the TerraNova Standardized Achievement Test were obtained from individual student records. Comparisons were made …

Organizational Structural And Cultural Variables As Predictors Of Quality In Federally Approved Nursing Homes., Lorraine V. Desormeaux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which nursing home organizational structure and cultural variables were related to the outcomes reported by the Health Care Finance Administration public use data set (HCFA-NHCD). A second purpose was to examine the effects of a new style of nursing home management called the Eden Alternative™ concept. A related purpose was to test the usefulness of the HCFA-NHCD in predicting the quality of care for residents in federally approved nursing homes. Secondary data analysis was conducted on the HCFA-NHCD, as published in December 2001. Descriptive statistics and measures of association …

A Qualitative Study Of Effective School Discipline Practices: Perceptions Of Administrators, Tenured Teachers, And Parents In Twenty Schools., Faye Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many educators and parents are gravely concerned about disorder and danger in school environments. In addition to school discipline issues, American classrooms are frequently plagued by minor infractions of misbehavior that disrupt the flow of classroom activities and interfere with learning.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate common threads of effective school discipline practices as perceived by administrators, tenured teachers, and parents in 20 schools in East Tennessee. I also attempted to determine if the views of administrators, tenured teachers, and parents are consistent with published research on school discipline practices. Data were collected from administrators, tenured …

The Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Millipede And Salamander Populations In A Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest., Alison Baird Gagan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prescribed fire has increased as a forest management practice in southern Appalachia, but investigations into the effects of this silvicultural treatment on non-game wildlife inhabiting the region is limited. This study investigated the effects of prescribed fire on millipede and salamander populations. Seventeen sites within the Cherokee National Forest in east Tennessee that were treated once with prescribed fire between 1998 and 2002 were examined in the spring of 2002. Each burned plot was paired with an adjacent unburned plot.

The number of individual millipedes and salamanders collected from burned plots was compared to the corresponding control plot. Millipedes declined …

Perceptions Of Patronizing Speech By Service Providers Toward Elderly Adults: A Comparison Between Older Women And Female Nursing Students., Tammi Rae La Tourette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults are frequently the recipients of patronizing speech, particularly within healthcare settings where aging cues are salient and negative age-stereotypical expectations are common. Few studies have compared caregivers' and elderly adults' perceptions of patronizing speech. No studies have specifically examined perceptions of communicative competence in terms of how patronized elderly targets are evaluated, nor have they investigated the relationships between ratings of speech styles and ratings of the elderly target's communicative competence. Seventy-seven nursing students and 62 community elders viewed two vignettes, one in which a nurse spoke to an elder in a patronizing tone, and one in which …

The School's Role As A Support System For Children Of Parental Divorce., Constance Myers Cottongim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the year 2000, over one million children were involved in a new divorce. These statistics indicated that this subgroup of children would continue to be a large part of the school population. The school, because of time spent there, becomes a likely place for the recognition and identification of problems that may arise from parental divorce, thus providing an appropriate setting for interventions to be conducted.

The purpose of this study was to determine how parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors viewed the role of the school as a support system for children of divorce. The study also explored …

Special Education Teachers' And Speech Therapists' Knowledge Of Autism Spectrum Disorder., Carol Hendrix Whaley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to survey special education teachers and speech therapists in eleven school districts in Northeast Tennessee regarding their knowledge level (etiology and educational programming) of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary focus of the study was to identify effective programs and methods used by special educators in this region, comparing them to the latest techniques and teaching methods prescribed by recent research. In addition, identified weaknesses were used to recommend future training and staff development to enable educators to provide the best possible programs for children with autism.

Five hundred fifty-two surveys were disseminated to …

A New Immunoassay For Quantification Of A Novel Cancer Antigen In Serum And Immunostaining Of Carcinoma Tissues And Cultured Cells Revealing The Antigenic Cellular Location., Emily Christine Mcduffee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is 1) to examine the presence of the antigen in serum by employing a newly developed ELISA immunoassay that quantifies the total antigen and bound antigen (antigen-antibody complex) using polyclonal chicken antibodies directed against an IgM-binding epitope of the new antigen, and 2) to determine the location of the antigen in carcinoma and normal cells. Sera from healthy volunteers (n = 147) and cancer patients (n = 26) were compared for both bound and total antigen concentrations using the new ELISA. Healthy volunteers were subdivided into three groups: those with a personal history of cancer …

Artificial Tanning Salon Behaviors, Intentions, And Attitudes In Terms Of Sensuousness And Sensation Seeking., Christopher Jonathan Armes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the Theory of Alternative Behavior (Jaccard, 1981), we examined the relationship of warmth sensuousness, physical sensuousness, and sensation seeking to individuals' tanning salon behaviors, intentions, and attitudes among undergraduates at a Southeastern university.

Females, high sensation seekers, those high in warmth sensuousness, and those with darker skin types were more likely to tan. Females were more likely to intend to tan in the next year. Those higher in warmth sensuousness were more likely to intend to tan more than 10 times in the next year. Females and subjects higher in warmth sensuousness had more positive attitudes toward tanning. Significant …

Waiting For Mary Jane: A Collection Of Modern Appalachian Short Stories In The Joycean Tradition., Lorie Ann Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of a collection of short stories stylistically reminiscent of the works of James Joyce yet with an Appalachian and feminist voice. Waiting for Mary Jane should appeal to readers interested in experimental styles as well as feminist and Appalachian literature. The protagonist of the collection is Mary Jane, a female from present day East Tennessee. The reader experiences her life from age three to thirty. The introduction to the collection explores the link between James Joyce, Appalachia, Feminist writing, and the short stories. Structurally and thematically the collection reflects the works of James Joyce by using the …

The Signaling Pathway Of Oxysterol Induced Apoptosis In Chinese Hamster Ovary (Cho)-K1 Cells., Lin Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Apoptosis, a form of genetically programmed cell death, plays a key role in regulation of cellularity of the arterial wall. During atherogenesis, improper apoptosis may cause abnormalities of arterial morphogenesis, wall structural stability, and metabolisms. It has been well established that vascular cells undergo apoptosis after uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL). Thus, an analysis of the signaling pathway of apoptotic induction by oxLDL is of value in understanding the development of atherosclerotic plaque. In order to elucidate the signaling pathway of apoptosis induced by oxLDL, we have used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells treated with a potent oxysterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol …

Hiv Tat Protein Activates Endothelial Cells Through Nfκb And Map Kinase Pathways., Jason L. Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

HIV infection has been shown to predispose patients to accelerated development of heart disease. One mechanism for this pathology may involve endothelial activation either by HIV itself or by its secreted proteins, gp120 (a viral envelope protein) and tat (a protein that upregulates transcription of viral genes). We have studied the effects of gp120 and tat on signaling and production of inflammatory cytokines by Human Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells (HPAEC). HPAEC were stimulated at varying time points with combinations of gp120, tat, and monokines (IL-1β and TNFα). Cell lysate fractions were analyzed for MAP Kinase activity and NFκB activation, and …

Effectiveness Of Pre-Baccalaureate Health Careers Opportunity Programs (Hcop) For Disadvantaged Students In Three Southern States., Virloy Elizabeth Lewin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated three HCOP projects to determine, describe, and assess their overall effectiveness and identify successful strategies used by these projects to reach their specific objectives. Demographic and scholastic data were collected about 393 HCOP participants at the three HCOP projects in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia during the years 1990-1999. Detailed information about the activities used to incorporate the HCOP legislative purposes into the programs was also collected.

Sixty-seven percent of HCOP participants were Caucasian and 78% were female. Scholastic data was limited to data from the EKU and ETSU HCOP programs. The average high school GPA score for …

Ishmael: The Dissolution Of A Romantic And The Emergence Of A Poet., Allison M. Pepper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although Ishmael does not appear to be a main character in Moby Dick, his narration is integral to the text. Only through telling the story is Ishmael able to give himself a concrete identity, which is reflected not only through himself, but through the thoughts, speeches, and actions of the other characters, specifically Ahab and the shipmates. Ishmael represents the fragmented Romantic of nineteenth century American society. He is bound by a traditional patriarchal world where he must break away from the father to establish his own identity. He has lost his connection to nature, the primal source of his …

Models And Graphics In The Analysis Of Categorical Variables: The Case Of The Youth Tobacco Survey., Deborah Susan Hosler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth Tobacco Surveys have been conducted in several states in the U.S. in recent years, in order to design policies with the goal of reducing tobacco use among young people. Some primary analysis of those surveys has been done, but few analyses include modeling, and the study of independence has been addressed, mainly, in the bivariate context.

In this work contemporary methods, which are of relative recent appearance in categorical data analysis, will be examined, including logistic and log-linear modeling as well as graphical displays and correspondence analysis. These methods will be applied to data from the 2000 Tennessee Youth …

Coverage Properties Of The Inverse Sinh Transformation And The Adjusted Wald Confidence Intervals For The Odds Ratio And The Relative Risk., Troy Allen Bowman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inverse sinh transformation on the Woolf interval is used to calculate the confidence interval for the odds ratio and the relative risk in a 2 x 2 table. According to Robert Newcombe, the new interval should improve the coverage probabilities and shorten the width of the confidence interval for these ratios, but the new interval requires evaluation of coverage properties. In this thesis, we will evaluate the exact coverage properties of this modified interval in extreme cases. Also, we will compare the coverage properties of this new interval to other widely-used adjusted intervals. Through comparisons of exact coverage probabilities …

Differing Death Scenarios: Self Esteem And Death Anxiety., Kenneth Grant Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found a correlation between death anxiety and self esteem. Researchers have found that both self-esteem and death anxiety play a significant role in an individual's behavior.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a correlation, if any, between death anxiety and self esteem using death related scenarios. It was hypothesized the high death anxiety groups will have lower self-esteem than the low death anxiety group, and that the low self-esteem group will have higher death anxiety than the high self-esteem group.

Results of an ANOVA indicate that there is a significant difference between the high death …

A Land Use History Of The Holly Springs National Forest, Michelle R. Mcanally

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the land use history of the Holly Springs National Forest. A description of the physical environment and a narrative cultural history of the area from the arrival of people into the North Central Hills are included. Archaeological survey data, soils data and witness tree locations were brought together using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology and analyzed in an ecological framework.

An environmental reconstruction using witness tree locations and soil types served as a platform for the delineation of environmental zones in which presettlement tree cover was estimated and compared with previous environmental studies of the area. Prehistoric …

Unconventional Therapies : Individual Factors Associated With Use, Perceptions Of Function And Efficacy., Kenneth George Lombart 1954-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increasing use of Unconventional Therapies in the past decade. These refer to healthcare interventions representing either a compliment or alternative to traditional medicine to which many people have turned in hope of attaining a fuller, more healthy life. Previous research has focused on overall use, or use of general types, of these therapies. Research has also started delving into mechanisms of change and physical and psychological effects of some specific therapies. The present study examined individual factors of personality, locus of control, health values, desirable responding, age, medical conditions, and transformational events to determine associations with …

Proteomics And Morphology Demonstrate Mitochondrial Changes In Diabetic Cardiomyopathy., Xia Shen 1976-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication leading to accelerated cardiovascular failure in diabetic patients. Even though the exact mechanism(s) behind this disease still remain unclear, research from several laboratories including our own suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a very important role in the development of DCM. In our lab, we have developed and characterized a diabetic transgenic mice line, designated OVE26, which clearly develops diabetic cardiomyopathy. Comparison of protein expression patterns in the hearts of 120-day-old control and diabetic mice reveals 22 proteins that are differentially expressed in OVE26 mice hearts, most of which are involved in …