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The Effectiveness Of A Specifically Designed Green Roof Stormwater Treatment System Irrigated With Recycled Stormwater Runoff To Achieve Pollutant Removal And Stormwater Volume Reduction, Michael Hardin Jan 2006

The Effectiveness Of A Specifically Designed Green Roof Stormwater Treatment System Irrigated With Recycled Stormwater Runoff To Achieve Pollutant Removal And Stormwater Volume Reduction, Michael Hardin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of our greatest threats to surface-water quality is polluted stormwater runoff. In this research, investigated is the use of a green roof irrigated with recycled stormwater runoff to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff leaving developed areas. The green roof properties of interest are the filtration and biological processes as well as the roof's ability to hold water and increase evapotranspiration, reducing the volume of stormwater runoff from the source. Because of the above mentioned reasons the experiment consists of a water quality analysis and a water budget done on several experimental chambers …


Truly Non Invasive Glucose Optical Sensor Based On Metal Nanoparticles Generation, Marisol Garcia Jan 2006

Truly Non Invasive Glucose Optical Sensor Based On Metal Nanoparticles Generation, Marisol Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is a disease that causes many complications in human normal function. This disease represents the sixth-leading cause of death in USA. Prevention of diabetes-related complications can be accomplished through tight control of glucose levels in blood. In the last decades many different glucose sensors have been developed, however, none of them are really non invasive. Herein, we present the study of the application of gold and silver nanoparticles with different shapes and aspect ratios to detect glucose traces in human fluids such as tears and sweat. This is to our knowledge the first truly non invasive glucose optical sensor, …


Quo Vadis: An Integrated Direction For Catholic Media Technology Engagement, Eugene M. Gan Jan 2006

Quo Vadis: An Integrated Direction For Catholic Media Technology Engagement, Eugene M. Gan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, the Catholic Church has explored issues of media technology and how it relates to education. At the same time, a number of profound, modern Catholic thinkers have wrestled with the nature of media technology and how it affects the human condition. These two threads have been independent of each other. An effective conceptual understanding of the role and meaning of media technology in Catholic education requires us to weave these two threads together to craft an integrated and coherent synthesis. The question I raise is: in a culture that promulgates the digital lifestyle as the standard and …


Synthesis Of Manganese Oxide Coatings For Adsorption Of Trace Metals From Ground Water / Amey S. Tilak, Amey S. Tilak Jan 2006

Synthesis Of Manganese Oxide Coatings For Adsorption Of Trace Metals From Ground Water / Amey S. Tilak, Amey S. Tilak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Probing The Microenvironment Of Zeolites Nax, Nay And Usy, Deshi Moodley Jan 2006

Probing The Microenvironment Of Zeolites Nax, Nay And Usy, Deshi Moodley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Experimental Characterization Of Failure Loads Of Different Outfitting Methods On Sandwich Composite Structures In Naval Applications / Bruce E. Toman, Bruce E. Toman Jan 2006

Experimental Characterization Of Failure Loads Of Different Outfitting Methods On Sandwich Composite Structures In Naval Applications / Bruce E. Toman, Bruce E. Toman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


An Exploratory Study Of Socially Responsibleprocurement Activitiesin The Expenditure Of Public Fundsat The State And Local Level, Donna Mccarthy Jan 2006

An Exploratory Study Of Socially Responsibleprocurement Activitiesin The Expenditure Of Public Fundsat The State And Local Level, Donna Mccarthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aggregate annual expenditures of federal, state and local governments, in concert with universities and school districts represents incredible purchasing power and requires great prowess in its expenditure. Over the course of centuries, procurement has been used as a policy tool to improve society. This research delved into defining and determining the involvement of state and local governments in socially responsible activities related to the expenditure of public funds. Data collected in 2005 by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc., was reviewed to determine if the expectations set for the private sector known as corporate social responsibility could be …


The Real Deal : Experiencing Authenticity In The Music Of R.L. Burnside, Matthieu Dessier Jan 2006

The Real Deal : Experiencing Authenticity In The Music Of R.L. Burnside, Matthieu Dessier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Just Beneath The Surface : A Story About Race And Football In A Southern Town, Mary Battle Jan 2006

Just Beneath The Surface : A Story About Race And Football In A Southern Town, Mary Battle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Examining Attributions Of Blame And Consumer Trust Following Market Withdrawal Of A Pharmaceutical Product, Suvapun Bunniran Jan 2006

Examining Attributions Of Blame And Consumer Trust Following Market Withdrawal Of A Pharmaceutical Product, Suvapun Bunniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Mechanisms Of The Persistence Of Antibiotic Resistant Enteric Bacteria In Freshwater Wetland Environments, Andrekeus Lee Jan 2006

Mechanisms Of The Persistence Of Antibiotic Resistant Enteric Bacteria In Freshwater Wetland Environments, Andrekeus Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Up-Conversion In Rare-Earth Doped Micro-Particles Applied To New Emissive 2d Dislays, Anne Milliez Jan 2006

Up-Conversion In Rare-Earth Doped Micro-Particles Applied To New Emissive 2d Dislays, Anne Milliez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Up-conversion (UC) in rare-earth co-doped fluorides to convert diode laser light in the near infrared to red, green and blue visible light is applied to make possible high performance emissive displays. The infrared-to-visible UC in the materials we study is a sequential form of non-linear two photon absorption in which a strong absorbing constituent absorbs two low energy photons and transfers this energy to another constituent which emits visible light. Some of the UC emitters' most appealing characteristics for displays are: a wide color gamut with very saturated colors, very high brightness operation without damage to the emitters, long lifetimes …


A Relational Diffusion Network Study Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Internet-Based Faculty's Personal Network Exposure Models Related To Discussions About Teaching Online, Dorothy Pick Jan 2006

A Relational Diffusion Network Study Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Internet-Based Faculty's Personal Network Exposure Models Related To Discussions About Teaching Online, Dorothy Pick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many faculty, teaching online represents a new instructional delivery method, requiring the development of new teaching skills. This exploratory investigation builds upon Rogers' (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theory and communication channels to describe the influence of faculty discussions on their perceptions and decisions about teaching and learning. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design, using both sociometric and phenomenological methodologies, guided the exploration of faculty personal network exposure models and social learning opportunities. The study utilized online survey and open-ended interview instruments for the investigation. Faculty from several colleges at the University of Central Florida voluntarily completed the survey instrument …


A Comparison Of Marriage Education And Brief Couples Counseling, Tina Livingston Jan 2006

A Comparison Of Marriage Education And Brief Couples Counseling, Tina Livingston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated marital adjustment for couples participating in one of two treatment groups; the Brief Integrative Couples Counseling model(Young & Long, 1998, 2007); and the PREPARE/ENRICH Empowering Couples marriage education weekend workshop (Olson & Olson,2000). This study examined the following research questions: Do couples show a different level of marital adjustment following Brief Integrative Couples Counseling compared to those who receive a marriage education treatment?; Do couples show greater marital adjustment following Brief Integrative Couples Counseling compared to those who participated in a Marriage Education weekend workshop treatment over time? This article presents an exploration of mean marital adjustment …


A Case Study Of Four Years Documenting The Changes In The Process Of Self-Reporting Academic Program Plans Alongside The Perceptions Of Program Coordinators, Kedar Kulkarni Jan 2006

A Case Study Of Four Years Documenting The Changes In The Process Of Self-Reporting Academic Program Plans Alongside The Perceptions Of Program Coordinators, Kedar Kulkarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Major Advisors: Suzanne Martin, Ph.D., Laura Blasi, Ph.D. Universities in the United States of America are faced with numerous challenges concerning quality assurance such as the quest for Continuous Quality Improvement. Implementation of technology has been a priority of many developing institutions of higher education. A large metropolitan institution of higher education has put into practice a technology based, on-line program quality assessment system, for its academic and administrative programs. This dissertation was a study of the changes reported over four years, 2001-2005, within ten initial teacher preparation undergraduate programs at the College of Education at this institution. Using a …


Synchronization In Advanced Optical Communications, Inwoong Kim Jan 2006

Synchronization In Advanced Optical Communications, Inwoong Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to generate high power ultrashort optical pulses from an all-semiconductor mode-locked laser system. The limitations of semiconductor optical amplifier in high energy, ultrashort pulse amplification are reviewed. A method to overcome the fundamental limit of small stored energy inside semiconductor optical amplifier called "eXtreme Chirped Pulse Amplification (X-CPA)" is proposed and studied theoretically and experimentally. The key benefits of the concept of X-CPA are addressed. Based on theoretical and experimental study, an all-semiconductor mode-locked X-CPA system consisting of a mode-locked master oscillator, an optical pulse pre-stretcher, a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) pulse picker, an …


The Effect Of Cognitive Styles Upon The Completion Of A Visually-Oriented Component Of Online Instruction, Jia-Ling Lee Jan 2006

The Effect Of Cognitive Styles Upon The Completion Of A Visually-Oriented Component Of Online Instruction, Jia-Ling Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine whether a person's prepositioned cognitive style influenced learning achievement in a visually-oriented task for an online learning environment in higher education. Field dependence-independence was used to identify individuals' cognitive styles. A true experimental study was conducted in the fall 2005 term at the University of Central Florida. This researcher followed Dwyer and Moore's research (1991, 2002) and divided learners into three groups (field dependent [FD], field neutral [FN], and the field independent [FI] students). Eighty-three preservice teachers participated in this study; the data from 52 of the FD and the FI participants were analyzed …


Training Wayfinding: Natural Movement In Mixed Reality, Ruthann Savage Jan 2006

Training Wayfinding: Natural Movement In Mixed Reality, Ruthann Savage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Army needs a distributed training environment that can be accessed whenever and wherever required for training and mission rehearsal. This paper describes an exploratory experiment designed to investigate the effectiveness of a prototype of such a system in training a navigation task. A wearable computer, acoustic tracking system, and see-through head mounted display (HMD) were used to wirelessly track users' head position and orientation while presenting a graphic representation of their virtual surroundings, through which the user walked using natural movement. As previous studies have shown that virtual environments can be used to train navigation, the ability to add …


A Study Of Southwest Florida High School Reading Teachers And The Implmentation Of Scientifically Based Reading Research Instruction, Virginia Harper Jan 2006

A Study Of Southwest Florida High School Reading Teachers And The Implmentation Of Scientifically Based Reading Research Instruction, Virginia Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literacy mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) swiftly and directly have an impact on reading teachers. The literacy directives of the act constitute a paradigm shift in reading reform, especially at the secondary level. Literacy directives require state and district level administrator's to focus on secondary reading teacher pre and in service training. Effecive secondary reading teachers must be well versed in the foundation sof Scientifically Based Reading Research. Florida is among the first states to implement six comptencies of professional development that leads to endorsement in the teaching of reading. Florida teachers of secondary reading …


Factors Influencing User-Level Success In Police Informationsharing: An Examination Of Florida's Finder System, Jr Ernest Scott Jan 2006

Factors Influencing User-Level Success In Police Informationsharing: An Examination Of Florida's Finder System, Jr Ernest Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An important post-9/11 objective has been to connect law enforcement agencies so they can share information that is routinely collected by police. This low-level information, gathered from sources such as traffic tickets, calls for service, incident reports and field contacts, is not widely shared but might account for as much as 97% of the data held in police records systems. U.S. policy and law assume that access to this information advances crime control and counterterrorism efforts. The scarcity of functioning systems has limited research opportunities to test this assumption or offer guidance to police leaders considering investments in information sharing. …


Direct Nonlinear Optics Measurements Of Raman Gain In Bulk Glasses And Estimates Of Fiber Performance, Robert Stegeman Jan 2006

Direct Nonlinear Optics Measurements Of Raman Gain In Bulk Glasses And Estimates Of Fiber Performance, Robert Stegeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need for more bandwidth in communications has stimulated the search for new fiberizable materials with properties superior to fused silica which is the current state-of-the-art. One of the key properties is Raman gain by which a pump beam amplifies a signal beam of longer wavelength. An apparatus capable of directly measuring the spectral dependence and absolute magnitude of the material Raman gain coefficient using nonlinear optics techniques has been built. Using radiation from a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser as the pump and from a tunable Optical Parametric Generator and Amplifier as the signal, the Raman gain spectrum was measured …


The Effects Of Gender In Elementary Science Groups, Melissa Parks Jan 2006

The Effects Of Gender In Elementary Science Groups, Melissa Parks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This action research study investigated the effects of gender on same and mixed gender elementary school science groups. Qualitative data for this study was collected using surveys, student focus groups, student journals, and teacher-researcher field notes and observations. Students in this study were eager to participate in science groups and demonstrated a positive attitude toward the study of science. Results also showed the types of interactions between boys and girls varied and those interactions affected their science attitude and participation. Recommendations were made for continued research to examine the long-term effects of gender groupings in the elementary science classroom.


Immediate Versus Delayed Feedback In Simulation Based Training: Matching Feedback Delivery Timing To The Cognitive Demands Of Th, Amy Bolton Jan 2006

Immediate Versus Delayed Feedback In Simulation Based Training: Matching Feedback Delivery Timing To The Cognitive Demands Of Th, Amy Bolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optimal delivery of instruction is both critical and challenging in dynamic, scenario-based training (SBT) computer simulations such as those used by the military. Tasks that human instructors must perform during these sorts of simulated training exercises can impose a heavy burden on them. Partially due to advances in the state-of-the-art in training technology and partially due to the military's desire to reduce the number of personnel required, it may be possible to support functions that overburdened instructors perform by automating much of the SBT process in a computer simulation. Unfortunately though, after more than 50 years of literature documenting research …


Integrated Inp Photonic Switches, Daniel May-Arrioja Jan 2006

Integrated Inp Photonic Switches, Daniel May-Arrioja

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photonic switches are becoming key components in advanced optical networks because of the large variety of applications that they can perform. One of the key advantages of photonic switches is that they redirect or convert light without having to make any optical to electronic conversions and vice versa, thus allowing networking functions to be lowered into the optical layer. InP-based switches are particularly attractive because of their small size, low electrical power consumption, and compatibility with integration of laser sources, photo-detectors, and electronic components. In this dissertation the development of integrated InP photonic switches using an area-selective zinc diffusion process …


The Effect Of Different Presentation Formats Of Hypertext Annotations On Cognitive Load, Learning And Learner Control, Yuanming Yao Jan 2006

The Effect Of Different Presentation Formats Of Hypertext Annotations On Cognitive Load, Learning And Learner Control, Yuanming Yao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation study was intended to verify whether the positive effects of the roll-over annotation presentation format on reducing cognitive load and enhancing vocabulary and comprehension of 5th-grade children (Morrison, 2004) can be extended to college students' learning from a web-delivered text. In order to answer this research question, relevant constructs, such as cognitive load, learner control and learning, have been examined in this experimental study of 149 undergraduate students in a state university at College of Education. No single effect of annotation presentation format on cognitive load was found, but an interaction effect on cognitive load was revealed between …


The Analysis Of The Relationship Between Learning Styles And The Learners' Knowledge Acquisition And Reactions Through The Online Case Study, Rui Zeng Jan 2006

The Analysis Of The Relationship Between Learning Styles And The Learners' Knowledge Acquisition And Reactions Through The Online Case Study, Rui Zeng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between learning styles and student performance on a pre and post test, using an online case study, while also documenting their reactions to the case study. The case studies used in this research contained different storylines that showed multiple perspectives of case scenarios, giving students more choices to see what may happen in real school situations. Working with undergraduate students (N = 138) from the College of Education at a southeastern university, the researcher examined how students learned and responded to an online case study relative to their learning styles. …


Effect Of Germanium Doping On Erbium Sensitization In The Erbium Doped Silicon Rich Silica Material System, Forrest Ruhge Jan 2006

Effect Of Germanium Doping On Erbium Sensitization In The Erbium Doped Silicon Rich Silica Material System, Forrest Ruhge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The continued size reduction in electronic integrated circuits has lead to a demand for on-chip high-bandwidth and low loss communication channels. Optical interconnects are considered an essential addition to the silicon electronics platform. A major challenge in the field of integrated Si photonics is the development of cost effective silicon compatible light sources. This thesis investigates the sensitization of group IV doped silica films emitting at 1.535μm for applications as silicon compatible light sources. Thin erbium-doped silica films containing excess silicon and germanium were deposited using a multi-gun sputter system. The composition of the deposited materials was verified by Rutherford …


The Kiosk Culture: Reconciling The Performance Support Paradox In The Postmodern Age Of Machines, Thomas Cavanagh Jan 2006

The Kiosk Culture: Reconciling The Performance Support Paradox In The Postmodern Age Of Machines, Thomas Cavanagh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Do you remember the first time you used an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)? Or a pay-at-the-pump gas station? Or an airline e-ticket kiosk? How did you know what to do? Although you never received any formal instruction in how to interact with the self-service technology, you were likely able to accomplish your task (e.g., withdrawing or depositing money) as successfully as an experienced user. However, not so long ago, to accomplish that same task, you needed the direct mediation of a service professional who had been trained how to use the required complex technology. What has changed? In short, the …


External Cavity Multiwavelength Semiconductor Mode-Locked Laser Gain Dynamics, Luis Archundia-Berra Jan 2006

External Cavity Multiwavelength Semiconductor Mode-Locked Laser Gain Dynamics, Luis Archundia-Berra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

External cavity semiconductor mode-locked lasers can produce pulses of a few picoseconds. The pulses from these lasers are inherently chirped with a predominant linear chirp component that can be compensated resulting in sub-picosecond pulses. External cavity semiconductor mode-locked lasers can be configured as multiwavelength pulse sources and are good candidates for time and wavelength division multiplexing applications. The gain medium in external cavity semiconductor mode-locked lasers is a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), and passive and hybrid mode-locked operation are achieved by the introduction of a saturable absorber (SA) in the laser cavity. Pump-probe techniques were used to measure the intracavity …


Three-Photon Absorption Process In Organic Dyes Enhanced By Surface Plasmon Resonance, Ion Cohanoschi Jan 2006

Three-Photon Absorption Process In Organic Dyes Enhanced By Surface Plasmon Resonance, Ion Cohanoschi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multi-photon absorption processes have received significant attention from the scientific community during the last decade, mainly because of their potential applications in optical limiting, data storage and biomedical fields. Perhaps, one of the most investigated processes studied so far has been two-photon absorption (2PA). These investigations have resulted in successful applications in all the fields mentioned above. However, 2PA present some limitations in the biomedical field when pumping at typical 2PA wavelengths. In order to overcome these limitations, three-photon absorption (3PA) process has been proposed. However, 3PA in organic molecules has a disadvantage, typical values of σ3' are small (10-81 …