Digital Commons Network^™

Microwave Characterization Of Structured Materials Using A Waveguide Of Square Cross-Section, Ravi Kiran Challa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Going Against The Flow : Making A Case For A Men's Food And Lifestyle Magazine, Garreth C. Blackwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analysis And Design Of Artificial Magnetic Conductors For X-Band Antenna Applications, Gopinath Gampala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Spatial Median Filter For Noise Removal In High Dimensional Images, James Church

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Social Competence Difficulties, Loneliness, And Victimization By Peers As Predictors Of Eating Disturbance In Young Girls: A Longitudinal Investigation, Marissa Deleel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1950s, epidemiological studies have shown a steady increase in the number of children and adolescents with eating disorders (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003). Moreover, Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Sullivan, 1995). Historically, eating disorders were believed to occur predominantly in Caucasian adolescent and adult females from middle to upper socio-economic status (SES). Presently, studies are beginning to include more diversified samples and are discovering the presence of maladaptive eating behaviors. The current longitudinal study utilized a large community sample of girls who were assessed at age 9 and again at age 10. …

Adolescent Males Involvement In Pregnancy Prevention: Deliberate Action To Protect Future Goals, Judy Didion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the process of adolescent male involvement in teen pregnancy prevention. Grounded theory method was used to discover the meaning of pregnancy prevention from the adolescent male perspective. Individual interviews were conducted with eighteen 18-year old boys who were seniors in high school. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed using constant comparison and theoretical sampling techniques. The concepts and constructs which emerged from the data analysis depict the social processes of adolescent male relationships in regards to pregnancy prevention.

The findings revealed that these adolescent boys were very involved in …

Congruency Of Stakeholder Perceptions On The Introduction And Presence Of Leadership Qualities And Characteristics Of A New University President, Leslie Folmer Clinton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of congruence of the leadership qualities and characteristics desired of a new university president among the key university stakeholder groups. This study compares the six stakeholder groups involved in the presidential search--trustees, administrators, staff, faculty, alumni and students at four of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities that have conducted a presidential search within the last three years. The search committee members at the universities participating in this study were only involved in "searching" for a president. The most significant part of the process, the "selection" or naming …

Prison Education Program Participation And Recidivism, Zarona Ismailova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes logistic regression techniques to investigate the effect of prison education program participation on recidivism rates. I tested the hypothesis that inmates who actively participate in educational programs have a lower likelihood of being reconvicted. The purpose of this study is to help identify correctional programs that have a positive impact on recidivism, to then suggest policies that are directed at rehabilitating inmates and, ultimately, to reduce recidivism rates.

I used pre-existing data from reputable sources so I did not have to survey inmates. The initial tests found that there were several variables that had a relationship with …

Between Johannesburg And Jerusalem: A Comparative Analysis Of Non-Violence As A Strategy For Political Change; The Case Of Apartheid South Africa And The Occupied Territories Of Palestine/Israel, Hassan Khannenje

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Non-violence as a mechanism of political change has been applied with differing degrees of success. While such struggles have born fruit in some instances, they have faltered in others. Using Most Similar Systems Design, this study examines factors underpinning the variability in outcomes with the aim of establishing possible constant(s) that are necessary for a successful non-violent campaign, through the application of Schock's analytical framework of unarmed insurrections and Sharp's theoretical requirements for non-violence. Aspects of comparison include: political, economic and systemic factors affecting apartheid South Africa and the Occupied Territories of Israel/Palestine and how their interplay accounted for the …

Interfacial Properties Of Oligo (Ethylene Glycol)-Terminated Self-Assembled Monolayers On Stainless Steel 316l, Kelly Papariella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The implantation of SS316L stento in an artery is associated with a number of problems, including restenosis and thrombosis, due to non-specific protein and cell attachment to the biomaterial. One way to reduce non-specific attachment is to alter the interfacial properties of these materials. This may be done using self-assembled monolayers. Model gold surfaces have been extensively studied and oligo (ethylene glycol) monolayers are the standard for protein and cell mitigation. In this study, self-assembled monolayers were formed on the native oxide surface of stainless steel 316L using synthesized and commercially available phosphonic and carboxylic acids terminated with methyl and …

Examining The Ways And Extent To Which Counselors In Botswana Are Utilizing Indigenous Cultural Practices And Structures, Dan-Bush Bhusumane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and examine the ways in which and the extent to which counselors in Botswana incorporate and utilize indigenous cultural practices and structures in counseling. This applied research involved interviewing 30 counselors from different parts of Botswana. Data collection was through a semi-structured interview guide while audiotaping was the main method of recording the interviews. The study showed that while counselors in Botswana appreciate the need to utilize indigenous cultural practices and structures, they rarely incorporate cultural practices into counseling. In addition, the study revealed that most counselors have limited knowledge …

A Narrative Of Charitable Acknowledgment: Reframing Interpersonal Communication In Intimate Relationships, Cory Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of interpersonal communication conducts many descriptive studies. However, guidance for healthy communication within intimate relationships is more difficult to come by--a condition stemming in part from an emotivist ethical paradigm. MacIntyre (1984) describes "emotivism" as the current state of society where individual preference serves as the ethical decision making compass. Emerging from Enlightenment scholarship (e.g., Hobbes, Rousseau, sociobiology), individual preferences have become main tenets in intimate interpersonal research. In the interpersonal theories of social exchange and goal-orientation, emotivism is encouraged in the emphasis placed on self-interest and technique. This exposes itself metaphorically through descriptions of communication as a …

An Examination Of Time Use Patterns Influence On Academic Achievement Among African American And Hispanic Male High School Stude, Keith Riley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation is to contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of effective time management skills among African American and Hispanic male student athletes and their academic achievement utilizing the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) Base year thru the First follow-up database. The researcher has assessed indicators (socioeconomic status, time use patterns, sports participation, and race) within the construct of academic achievement among African American and Hispanic male high school student athletes. Their contribution to the main effects revealed that statistically significant differences exist between the non-sports participant and sports participant groups. After …

Cloning And Heterologous Expression Of The Napa Gene From Sulfurospirillum Barnesii, Lina Bird

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periplasmic nitrate reductase from Sulfurospirillum barnesii is representative of the distinct branch of epsilonproteobacteria periplasmic nitrate reductases. The gene encoding the active subunit of S. barnesii's periplasmic nitrate reductase (napA) was successfully cloned into the vector pET101/D/TOPO. Constructs were made both with and without the sequence coding for the periplasmic signal sequence. Preliminary expression and purification experiments were performed with limited success. The DNA encoding the periplasmic signal sequence proved necessary for expression. Even with the signal sequence coding region, protein expression was limited. The low levels of expression appeared due to product degradation during cell growth. Purification was incomplete, …

School Counselors Perceptions Of The Importance And Need For Appropriate Training Regarding Preparedness To Deal With Specific Crisis Situations In Schools, Tina Bigante

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School Counselors Perceptions of the Importance and Need for Appropriate Training Regarding Preparedness to Deal with Specific Crisis Situations in Schools, explored differences among and between school counselors who have been trained and school counselors who have not been trained in crisis intervention with regards to specific crisis situations. The subjects were 70 school counselors employed in public school districts of western Pennsylvania. Thirty-five of the school counselors had received training in crisis intervention either through university coursework and/or workshops. The other thirty-five school counselors had no formal training in crisis intervention. All participants completed the Survey of School Counselor …

The Development Of Small Christian Communities In The Catholic And Among The Lugbara People Of Uganda After The Second Vatican Council: A Historical, Theological And Pastoral Investigation, Diego Cadri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation depicted the events in the lives of the Lugbara Ethnic group, who will go down in the history of Uganda, through their actual existence, their deeds, their accomplishments and their contributions, but particularly because of their successful, "small Christian communities," an important segment in all its facets, in the Lugbara Christian life. The new way of being Church that came out of the Second Vatican Council, that is, since the 1960s was the small Christian community. These pages narrated the development, the early struggle, the uncertainty, the needs, the goals, the purposes, the accomplishments and the success of …

The Experience Of Transitioning To The Caregiving Role For A Family Member With Alzheimer's Disease Or A Related Dementia, Kathleen Czekanski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic, debilitating disease that currently affects approximately 5.1 million Americans (Alzheimer's Association 2007). The majority of these individuals are being cared for at home by family caregivers who are known to suffer from more depression and burden than any other group of caregivers. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of transitioning to the role of caregiver for a family member with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. The study followed purposeful sampling and eight women and two men with a mean age of 66.3 participated in the study. These …

The Bloody Truth: A Psychological And Cultural Study Of Menstruation As Lived And Experienced By Women, Carolyn Deforest

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present research explores the negation and affirmation of menstrual life as found in culture, theory, and the concrete experiences of individual women. A phenomenological and hermeneutical thematic analysis is used throughout. In this study, the aspects of culture analyzed include language, humor, art, television, film, literature, print and television advertising, menstrual education, medicine, and some of the historical influences in the perception of women. Additionally, the formal psychological literature is examined as part of the cultural data, as is the researcher's own observations and cultural experiences.

Overall, this research reveals that the experience of menstrual bleeding has been culturally …

Internet Use In Teacher Preparation Programs: The Relationship Between Pedagogy And Practice In The Pennsylvania State System Of Higher Education, Leighann Forbes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) teacher educators' pedagogical beliefs and their use of telecollaborative Internet activities in practice. The goal of this examination was to address the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (April 2002) call for collecting data about how digital content is being used and to make recommendations for action. The study collected data, via a web-based survey, about pedagogical beliefs and practices of PASSHE teacher educators. The analysis of descriptive statistics, rankings, Spearman rho correlations, and ANOVA calculations revealed …

Scientific Evolution, Creation Theologies And African Cosmogonies In Dialogue: Toward A Christian Theology Of Evolution, Ameh Ejeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a dissertation in which the question of cosmic origins is examined from three perspectives, namely, Scientific Theories of Evolution, Christian Theologies of Creation, and African Cosmogonies, respectively. Through the use of comparative-dialogic and dialectic methods, and the application of the models of contact/dialogue and confirmation/integration in ways of relating science with religion, the insights of these three perspectives are examined and analyzed in the formulation of a Theology of Evolution that conceives of evolution as a medium of divine creativity.

The themes of evolutionary process, interconnection, interrelation and interdependence in nature, the mystery and sacredness of nature and …

The Mathematics Behind Speciated Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry, Jingyan Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Speciated Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (SIDMS) allows researchers to measure the concentrations of species -- usually elemental -- in a sample by solving a system of non-linear equations. This thesis explores multiple mathematical methods to solve SIDMS equations, and compares the properties of these solution methods. Simulation analysis is conducted to provide uncertainty estimates.

Effect Of Steroids And Sulfated Steroids On Growth Of The Human Mg-63 Osteoblast-Like Cell Line, Laura Vollmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The importance of estrogen in bone regulation is exemplified by the rapid loss of bone density at the onset of menopause. Post-menopausal women have low levels of estrogens, but high levels of inactive sulfated steroids. These can be converted to active steroids by steroid sulfatase. While it is known that estrogens can stimulate the growth and maintenance of bone cells, it is not known if sulfated steroids can induce a similar response. The purpose of this study was to determine if sulfated steroids can induce proliferation of a human osteoblast-like cell line MG-63, and if steroid sulfatase inhibitors were capable …

Fate Of The Vegetal Yolky Cells In The Direct Developing Frog Eleutherodactylus Coqui, Uma Karadge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Puerto Rican tree frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, is a striking example of a deviation from the indirect mode of development among amphibians. E. coqui does not have an intermediate tadpole stage. It hatches out directly as a free-living froglet, deriving nutrition from the yolky material attached to its intestine. The innermost of the three germ layers, the endoderm, forms the lining of the gut. In the amphibian model Xenopus laevis, the endoderm originates from the vegetal hemisphere. The cells, which are originally present on the vegetal surface of the embryo, end up forming the definitive gut. They, thus, provide nutrition …

Does Success For All Impact Reading Achievement Of Students With Learning Disabilities?, Stacey Smith-Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks an answer to the question: "Will students with learning disabilities who were provided reading instruction through the Success For All reading program demonstrate higher reading achievement on selected reading assessments (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the Qualitative Reading Inventory-3) than the students with learning disabilities who were provided reading instruction through other reading programs?" Determining the impact of the Success For All reading program on reading assessment scores will add to the research about effective reading instruction methods for use with students with learning disabilities. The target population of this study was third grade students with learning …

The Effects Of Increasing Family Involvement On Student Achievement In Scientific Inquiry, Patricia Denoon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that there is a positive correlation with student performance when there are members of the family, primarily a parent, who are actively involved with the student and their education. The following action research plan was designed to determine how increasing parental involvement affected student performance in a scientific inquiry program. This was done by offering "parenting a middle school student" workshops, encouraging family run practices at home, and inviting parents to attend a class with their student. This research was conducted in a large middle school in a central Florida school district with two 7th grade classrooms. …

Retaining Qualified Teachers Through School-Based Induction: A Study Of Elementary Schools In Two Public School Districts In Flo, Junella Handley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher induction strategies and effectiveness at the school level, specifically focusing on how the principal designed and implemented induction activities. It also investigated if the following factors influenced teacher retention: (a) number of instructional staff members, (b) number of first-year teachers, (c) number of second-year teachers, (d) number of third-year teachers, (e) principal's gender, (f) principal's age, (g) principal's highest degree earned, (h) principal's total years in education, (i) principal's years in an instructional position, (j) principal's administrative experience, (k) year the school opened, (l) student enrollment, and (m) free and reduced …

Rural Teacher Satisfaction: An Analysis Of Beliefsand Attitudes Of Rural Teachers' Job Satisfaction, John Huysman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand the beliefs and attitudes of teachers that affect their perceptions of job satisfaction in one small rural Florida school district. Data collected included a self-administered survey of Likert-type items measuring 20 factors for job satisfaction (96% response rate), individual semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Analysis of the data confirmed prior research suggesting that multiple factors influence job satisfaction. Intrinsic satisfaction factors were the best predictors of overall job satisfaction: security, activity, social service, variety, and ability utilization. Extrinsic factors were most likely to predict overall dissatisfaction: recognition, company policies, opportunities for advancement, …

A Descriptive Framework For The Problem-Solving Experiences Of Physics Students, Sherry Savrda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the applicability of a general model of physics students' problem-solving experiences that suggests there are four dynamic factors affecting the problem-solving process: categorization, goal interpretation, resource relevance, and complexity. Furthermore, it suggests an overarching control factor called stabilization, which describes the inter-relatedness of the other factors over the problem-solving process. Think-aloud protocols of problem-solving experiences were used to investigate the model. Results of the study showed that conceptual resources had a significant impact on the success of problem-solving attempts. Participants who exhibited a lack of understanding of physics concepts were less likely to check their work, use …

The Relationship Between The Basic Skills Proficiency Of Counselor Education Master's Level Students And Client Outcome, Lorie Welsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A review of literature on the history of psychology and counseling revealed a limited amount of research on counselor education training programs, specifically basic skills versus client outcome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between counselor educator student's basic skills and the effects these skills had on client outcome. By way of a multiple regression, two independent variables, the Global Scale for Rating Helper Responses (GSRR) and the Counselor Skills and Professional Behavior Scale (CSPBS) were analyzed in relation to the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2). Results indicated that there was no statistical significance between basic skills and …

A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Principals Of Voucher Eligible High Schools In Florida, Robert Bolen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983 has prompted a series of attempts to revise the educational system's outcomes. Legislative and executive reform bills have resulted in Educational Vouchers being a prime source of reform. A case study of the perceptions of public high school principals in Florida that are at Voucher Eligible high schools to those perceptions of principals at schools graded 'A' as of the 2002-03 academic school year was the focus of this study. Four public high school principals from two Florida districts were used in this study. Two schools were identified as Voucher Eligible …