Digital Commons Network^™

On The Oxidative Degradation And Stabilization Of Future Jet Fuels, Li Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is believed that when air saturated jet fuels are subjected to high temperatures, two major fuel decomposition processes occur; thermal oxidation (autoxidation) and pyrolysis. Thermal oxidative degradation occurs when the fuel reacts with the dissolved oxygen present in the fuel and usually starts at temperatures above 120 °C. The deposition process usually occurs from 200-300 °C with deposits stopping after the consumption of the oxygen at about 300 °C. With increasing temperatures (~ 450 °C) the fuel begins to decompose thermally and form pyrolytic deposits.

It is believed that the autoxidation of jet fuel involves a peroxyl radical chain …

Questioning The Rhetorical Eclipse Of Philosophical Leisure: Ad Colloquium Conferendum, Annette M. Holba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human communication in our postmodern era has degenerated into phatic communication. Phatic communication, appropriate in some circumstances, used unreflectively limits the ability for the development of healthy, idea-laden conversation. The phatic nature of communication represents a loss of human interest in human communication. Philosophical leisure can help to recapture the element of human interest in conversation, which recuperates an over-abundance of phaticity in human communication. Recuperation of communication occurs when ideas drive conversation. Philosophical leisure can help human beings to find substance for those ideas. This study considers how philosophical leisure can enrich human communication.

Synthesis Of P-Fe2o3, N-Fe2o3, And Carbon-Modified (Cm)-N-Tio2 And Their Application In Self-Driven Photoelectrochemical Cells: P-Fe2o3/N-Fe2o3, P-Fe2o3/Cm-N-Tio2, And P-Gainp2/Cm-N-Tio2 For Direct Water Photoelectrolysis, William B. Ingler Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My Ph.D. Dissertation describes (1) the influence of metal dopants on the spray pyrolytic synthesis of p-type and n-type iron(III) oxide thin film semiconductors, (2) the fabrication of carbon-modified (CM) n-type titanium dioxide, and (3) various self-driven photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) for water splitting. (1) Stable thin films of Fe2O3 was the first goal pursued in this work. Various metal dopants were investigated to ascertain their viablity as good dopant for iron(III) oxide. These metals included copper, zinc, and magnesium. This was follwed by investigating metals that could improve the conductivity of n-type iron(III) oxide, which included indium, iodine, manganese, and …

Development And Optimization Of Integrated Microwave Enhanced Extraction As A Sample Preparation Technique: Environmental, Clinical And Green Chemistry Applications, Sejal Iyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Authors describe the development of a novel technique, Integrated Microwave Extraction (IME), an enhancement for Microwave Assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE). Solvents are optimized for chemistry and microwave absorption is modified using secondary microwave absorbers enabling traditional solvent applications. The salient features of IME are its equipment integration and secondary heating technology, which are aimed at overcoming deficiencies of MASE. Comparative studies of IME with traditional extraction techniques were carried out. IME will thus prove to be a time saving method with the added advantages of being economical, safe and environmentally friendly process. The data indicates equivalent recoveries for both classes …

The Effects Of Parental Involvement Strategies On Elementary At-Risk Students' Oral Reading Accuracy Levels, Kenneth Leon Jenkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to work with parents who used two different reading interventions at home and find out which parent intervention was more effective in improving their children's oral reading accuracy levels. The total sample size was the parents of 34 elementary at-risk reading students who were taking part in a summer reading and writing program at a state university. Approximately 15 to 20 parents were randomly assigned to both the experimental and main control groups. The main design of this study was an experimental design of parents who were selected randomly by grade level to …

Determinants Of Organizational Commitment Among U.S. Workers, Richard Johns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between organizational commitment, job performance, and several individual and work-related variables. My research proceeds in two steps. First, I replicate the analysis between job performance and the individual and workrelated characteristics found in, Organizational Commitment and Job Performance in the U.S. Labor Force (Research in the Sociology of Work, Volume 5, 1995), by Arne Kalleberg and Peter Marsden. Second, I analyze the relationship between affective, effort, and continuance commitment and the individual and work-related characteristics using both bivariate and multivariate analyses. My findings suggest that autonomy and career advancement are the strongest indicators followed by …

Relationship Between Student Attitude Toward Learning Academics And Instructional Delivery Systems Of Comprehensive Full-Time Career And Technical High Schools, Michael Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

New federal and state regulations and a changing workforce are forcing comprehensive full-time Career and Technical schools (C and T) to examine the academic component of their programs. This study examined the effect of "week about" and "half-day about" instructional delivery systems (IDS) on students' general attitude toward learning academics. In the "week about" IDS, instruction is delivered through rotating weeks of academic and C and T classes. In the "half-day" about IDS, instruction is delivered by providing one-half day of academics and one-half day of C and T instruction.

Juniors and seniors in three C and T schools in …

Middle School Teachers' Beliefs About How They Communicate Caring And Students' Perceptions Of Their Teachers' Caring Behaviors, Cynthia D. Kainaroi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was three-fold: to examine the behaviors middle school teachers use and believe communicate caring and students' perceptions of their caring behaviors; to determine if a discrepancy exists between the two; and to identify the nature of any discrepancies. Participants included 16 eighth grade teachers and 184 eighth grade students. Data were collected through the use of a teacher questionnaire and an anonymous student writing assignment. Teacher and student responses were grouped into emerging themes of caring. The methodology used in this study to analyze the results included calculating and comparing the percentage of teacher and …

The Us Government-Sponsored Graduate-Level Exchange Programs: The Goals Of The Major Stakeholders And The Students' Academic Interests, Ekaterina Kharlamova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A steady increase in student mobility levels has become a widely recognized component of general globalization trends in the modern world. Yet, internationalization of education is not merely a product of bigger globalization processes. Educational exchange, in many instances sponsored and administered by national governments, is an effective tool in governmental foreign policies. The shift of focus in governmental policies towards the political rather than educational purposes of educational international exchange could lead for lack of attention paid to the issues of foreign students' academic interests. At the same time, universities, although prompted by the globalization tendencies to internationalize their …

Religiosity And Attitudes On Intimacy: Implications For The Hiv/Aids Pandemic In Central Uganda, Herbert Ssewagudde Kibuuka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study has been to carry out an exploratory survey study of how religion can be instrumentalized in the fight against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. After years of research, different drugs have been produced; and different methods of combating HIV/AIDS have been used. The pandemic, however, is still on the rise in most of the world. By 2010 for instance, South Africa will have more than two million orphans (of 57 million projected population), and Uganda today has more than 2.5 million orphans (13% of the population). Significant behavior changes across the population can, however, stop and …

The Perceptions Of Beginning Counselor Education Candidates' Multicultural Knowledge And Awareness When Comparing Candidates Who Have Successfully Completed Instruction In Multicultural Counseling With Candidates Who Have Not Completed Instruction In Multicultural Counseling, Evelyn H. Kitchens-Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within this study, the investigator attempts to determine the perceived effectiveness of counselor trainees using multicultural counseling competencies. The investigator measured the perceived degree of multicultural counseling knowledge and awareness among beginning master's level counseling students in a graduate counselor education program located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The primary research question was: Do counselor education candidates who have successfully completed a 3 credit graduate level course in multicultural counseling perceive themselves to be more knowledgeable and aware in cross-cultural counseling settings than trainees who have not completed the course? A 32-item inventory, the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS, Ponterotto …

Kidney Development In Eleutherodactylus Coqui With Relation To Edema Syndrome, Seung Yun Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vertebrates develop embryonic kidneys before the final adult kidney. Particularly for organisms with aquatic larvae such as frogs, the first embryonic kidney, the pronephros is essential for the larvae's survival. Those larvae with defective or without pronephroi exhibited pronounced edema. Edema is severe swelling of a body part as a result of fluid retention. To date, although the embryonic kidneys have been extensively studied in various model organisms, it has not been studied in Eleutherodactylus coqui. E. coqui is a direct developing frog and lacks a tadpole phase in its life cycle. I examined the kidney development in E. coqui …

Effects Of Emotional Intelligence Training On Incarcerated Adult Males Involved In Pre-Release Programming, Holly Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation summarizes a study conducted to explore the effectiveness of emotional intelligence (EI) training for adult male inmates. Acts of crime and violence cause psychological repercussions to crime victims and financial burdens on our society. Historically, those involved in the criminal justice system have strived to gather knowledge about criminal behavior in order to guide interventions. Furthermore, research on potential interventions has been encouraged in order to support evidence-based rehabilitative efforts that may ultimately impact recidivism. Emotional intelligence is a relatively new construct that may be related to social functioning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the …

Kaleidoscope Catechesis: Critique And Response To Missionary Catechesis In Africa With Particular Reference To The Diocese Of Wa In Ghana, Anthony Y. Naaeke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The question about how to appropriately incarnate the Christian message among different cultures is a perennial one. The very first Christian Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15: 1-35) dealt with this issue and throughout the centuries different cultures have continued to battle with the same issue.

Within the African context, the question arises as to how Christianity can truly be Christian and African at the same time. In other words, how can faith become culture in Africa?

The answer to this question must be rhetorical. That is to say, the proclamation (catechesis) of the Christian message must be expressed in a …

A Qualitative Study Of The Professional Development Impact Of National Board Certification, Donna Newcomer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study examined what perceived impact, if any, National Board Certification has had on the classroom practices of seven Nationally Board Certified Teachers. A qualitative design methodology was utilized through a naturalistic inquiry discovery approach. Two separate semi-structured interview instruments were verbally administered by the researcher in a one-on-one setting following an informal classroom observation made by the researcher and the principal present during and immediately following teacher completion of the National Board Certification process. In addition, researcher examination of portfolio artifacts provided evidence to determine congruency between defined board standards of what teachers should know and be able to …

Financial System In Economic Development: The Nature And Role Of A Robust Financial System In The Economic Transformation Of Uganda, Frederick Leo Nkwasibwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Financial System in Economic Development: The Nature and Role of Robust Financial System in the Economic Transformation of Uganda is a thesis that treats the nature and role of the massive network of efficient as opposed to dysfunctional financial institutions and functions in the mobilization and allocation of financial resources for creative investment and economic transformation of Uganda.

The thesis suggests that a market-focused robust financial system utilizing a Rural Reach Refocus Financial Model (the 3-R Financial Model), spurs the entrepreneurial revolution, offers debt and equity financing, and enhances economic transformation. It also highlights the basic conditions for the success …

Edith Stein: Toward An Ethic Of Relationship And Responsibility, Judith Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The philosopher Edith Stein (1891-1942) never set down formally an ethical plan. However, in Stein's professional and personal texts, "ethic" is defined as a harmonious matching of internal thoughts and beliefs with external actions, while always moving toward truth. This dissertation seeks to identify the essential components of Stein's ethic.

A search of Stein's philosophical, personal, and autobiographical works suggests that Edmund Husserl, Max Scheler, Adolf and Anna Reinach, Teresa of Avila, and Thomas Aquinas had profound impact on the formation of Stein's ethical stance that included her use of reason as well as faith. Elements of phenomenology and of …

The Relationship Of Burnout To Contextual Work Factors For Rural Community Mental Health Counselors, Antoinette Petrazzi-Woods

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Burnout is a job-related hazard for human service employees including rural community mental health counselors. Historically, burnout was perceived more as a problem with an individual than a problem with an organization. Contemporary burnout research has recommended expanding the theoretical framework of burnout to include organizational sources of burnout. Consequently, burnout is described as an individual syndrome, consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment, mediated within the work context. The purpose of this survey research was to describe the relationship between burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment), as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey …

Structural And Functional Modifications Of Human Serum Albumin By Lipid Peroxidation By-Products, Amy Pollock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By-products of lipid peroxidation, specifically alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes, are known to modify nucleophilic amino acid residues, including lysine residues, in proteins. The produced alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes are stable enough to migrate from their site of origin, therefore allowing them to come in contact with a wide range of biomolecules in the system. Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant plasma protein. It contains 58 lysine residues that are distributed throughout the sequence and tertiary structure of the protein, several of which are surface exposed. The research presented herein explores the possibility that HSA provides an outlet of consumption for …

A Case Study Of The Impact Of Zero-Based Staffing And The Teacher Selection Process In The Improvement Of Academic Success Indicators In An Underachieving Elementary School In Maryland, David Reeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study examined the process of zero-based staffing as a reform model for improving academic achievement at an underachieving elementary school in a county school system in Maryland. The process of zero-based staffing involved the involuntary transfer of all professional staff from the building. This study examined the zero-based process used to restructure the school, the teacher selection process, and the characteristics of the teachers selected for the school. A qualitative design methodology was employed to examine the processes through a naturalistic inquiry approach. Four semistructured interview instruments were utilized to gather data from the superintendent, principal, teachers, and …

The Role Of The Pseudomonas Aeruginosa 1244 Pilin Glycan In Virulence, Jennifer Roguskie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The pili of P. aeruginosa 1244 are involved in a post-translational modification in which an acidic carbohydrate moiety structurally similar to the lipopolysaccahride (LPS) O-antigen is covalently attached to the pilin protein. It has been shown that this associated glycan is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the pilus. Because of its prime location along the pilus, experiments were conducted to determine if the pilin glycan contributed to the virulence of P. aeruginosa. Initial studies involved the assessment of LD50 values to demonstrate that acquisition of the exoU gene increased the virulence of PA1244. Interestingly, the LD50 studies suggested …

Expresson Of The Endodermal Marker, Ecsox17, During Embryogenesis Of The Direct Developing Frog, Eleutherodactylus Coqui, Srikanth Singamsetty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the model amphibian, Xenopus laevis, the HMG box transcription factor, Sox17, is expressed throughout the vegetal region that forms the endoderm. It is both necessary and sufficient for the endoderm formation. In order to study endoderm formation in the direct developing frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, its Sox17 orthologue EcSox17 was cloned by Sean Willamson. To look at the expression of EcSox17, I designed primers and did RT-PCR on whole embryos. EcSox17 was expressed from cleavage to hatching of free-living froglet. EcSox17 RNA was present in the ovaries, an expression which has not been reported in any other vertebrate. Whole mount …

The Church And The Voice Of The Other: The Growth Of The Faith Community And Dialogue In The Church, John Amankwah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the Second Vatican Council ended over forty years ago, the Catholic Church has been struggling to find a firm ground in a world of ever-advancing technological change and increasing globalization. Prior to the convening of the Council, the church virtually isolated itself from the rest of the world because it considered itself as a societa prefecta. Dialogue as a communicative act of openness to the other with willingness to change did not exist in the Church because of its understanding of communication as uni-directional-- from the hierarchy to the rest of the people.

This study examined the church's communicative …

Occidentalism In Late Nineteenth Century Egypt, Alaa Bayoumi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Occidental discourses of three intellectual leaders of late nineteenth century Egypt, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Qasim Amin, and Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi. It highlights four main factors that shaped the three writers' views of the West. These factors are: the way each writer saw reform as a process, the way each writer viewed the effects of Western foreign policies on the Muslim world, and the attitudes of each writer toward Muslim governments and toward the socially conservative Muslim masses. At the policy level, the study argues that any policy seeking to reform Arabs' perceptions of the US and …

Dialogue As The Labor Of Care: Welcoming A Unity Of Contraries, Marie Baker-Ohler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dialogue as the labor of care unfolds a vision of how the philosophy of dialogue can assist us as human beings to enact care in our daily lives. In the end, caring is a unity of contraries; blessing and burden, joy and suffering, necessity and triumph. The invitation of dialogue into the communicative life of caring requires bravery and courage and thus creates strong and rare natures.

The impetus of this vision comes from the work of Martin Buber whose ideas have changed the way we view communication and enrich the way we view caring. The additional metaphor of labor, …

Moments Of Seeing: Woolf, Lewis, And Modernist Exteriority, Timothy Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study reveals that the critical and creative work of Virginia Woolf and Wyndham Lewis, while standing at opposite ends of some glaring contradictions in the modernist period, explores a similar set of verbal and visual aesthetic problems that foregrounds the role of the exterior in the well-documented modernist "discovery" of the interior and the search for a unifying psychological reality behind human perception. For both Woolf and Lewis, the object, the visual image, or what this study calls exteriority, retains the power to "make it new," a phrase always associated with the modernist project, but with an important difference. …

Migrant Mobilization: Factors Contributing To The Success Of The Coalition Of Immokaleee Workers, Jane Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What factors have facilitated the success of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)? This is the key question that this study attempts to answer. The answer to this question can provide valuable lessons for other farmworker organizations and unions. Social movement literature emphasizes 1) effective leadership; 2) collective identity; 3) the strategic use of various sources of power; 4) conscience constituency involvement; and 5) political opportunities as factors necessary for mobilization. I have used these five factors to analyze the success of the CIW.

The design of this research study includes both participant-observation and in-depth interviews. Subjects for in-person interviews …

Recasting Hegel's Ethical Theory, Theresa Wambui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the contribution of George Wilhelm Hegel to the modern ethical reflection in which the state is understood as an ethical institution. The goal of this study is to recast Hegel's ethical theory in order to enable his ethical thought to contribute to contemporary reflection on global ethical issues. At issue in Hegel's discourse is the problem of individual and community freedom. Hegel's thesis hinges on the notion of the 'truth' as 'the whole.' In Herbert Marcuse's interpretation, the truth and the whole is freedom. Hegel's ethical theory aims to resolve the tension between individual and communal …

Childhood Fire-Setting: A Contextual Understanding, Andrew Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on fire-setting has been either totally theoretical or has been based on limited contact with individuals who set the fires. This dissertation accessed fire-setting through interviews with three male adults who set fires as children. Background information was acquired from the participants to construct the context in which each instance of fire-setting occurred. The purpose of this project was to understand each individual's life as a child in relation to his fire-setting behavior.

The initial goal of this project was to gain access to the actual experience of setting a fire; however, this proved to be an elusive …

Error Bounds Between The Minimum Distance Energy Of An Equilateral Knot And The Mobius Energy Of An Inscribed Smooth Knot, Joseph Worthington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores mathematical knots and energy functions defined for them. Specifically, we explore the question of whether or not the Minimum Distance Energy of an equilateral knot is close to the Mobius Energy of a smooth knot where the smooth knot is inscribed in the equilateral knot in a specific way.