Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 3991 - 4020 of 5166

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Relationship Between Standardized Test Improvement Instruction And Stanford Nine Achievement Test Scores., Teresa R. Marsh Jan 2004

The Relationship Between Standardized Test Improvement Instruction And Stanford Nine Achievement Test Scores., Teresa R. Marsh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the relationship between standardized test instruction programs and Stanford Achievement Test Edition Nine scores. To examine this relationship, total basic skills scores were obtained from a selected high school's class of 2003–2004 as well as total basic skills score means from four other counties' classes of 2003–2004. The data set contained 131 total basic skills scores per grades eight through eleven from the selected high school and a total basic skills score mean from the seventh grade of those students and total basic skills score means from grades 7–11 from the class of 2003–2004 from two high …

Go to article

The Quantitative Accomplishments Of Selected Aspects Of The Educational Process 1960-1990 With An Examination Of The Reading Curricula Concepts In Saudi Arabia., Mohammad Alrobaee Jan 2004

The Quantitative Accomplishments Of Selected Aspects Of The Educational Process 1960-1990 With An Examination Of The Reading Curricula Concepts In Saudi Arabia., Mohammad Alrobaee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to outline some detailed history about some parts of the education process in Saudi Arabia especially about the general, higher, female education with a separate part about the curriculum of reading of education and to learn and spread information about the education development that my country is experiencing. The start of this development and its evolution was very difficult, but it passed through stages up to the current stage. We will see these constant changes proven by figures, statistics, and photographs. The detailing of the specifics related to this inventory is an endeavor to …

Go to article

Surrogate Mothers Use Of Online Messaging: A Study Of Social Support., Shauna Lively Aurelio Jan 2004

Surrogate Mothers Use Of Online Messaging: A Study Of Social Support., Shauna Lively Aurelio

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

People faced with challenging life events, such as pregnancy, need social support for well being. Traditionally, this support has been given via face-to-face contact in communities. It is known that online messaging promotes effective social support among people with disabilities or illnesses, and during life events such as pregnancy and parenting. It has been further suggested that surrogate mothers, women who contract with another person or a couple to bear a child, receive less social support from their families than other mothers. What is not known is how effective online social support is for surrogate mothers and how much they …

Go to article

Optical Properties Of Cadmium Germanium Arsenide., Lihua Bai Jan 2004

Optical Properties Of Cadmium Germanium Arsenide., Lihua Bai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

CdGeAs2 is a nonlinear optical material that can be used in frequency conversion applications in the infrared. In this work, absorption and photoluminescence (PL) experiments were performed on over 200 CdGeAs 2 bulk crystals from 5 K to room temperature. The data can be explained by a model of three defects, including one shallow donor, one shallow acceptor, and one deep acceptor. The samples were grown by the horizontal gradient freeze technique, and as-grown unintentionally doped samples are p-type. An absorption band near 5.5 μm due to an intervalence-band transition is observed in those samples which have enhanced concentration of …

Go to article

An Analysis Of Computer-Mediated Communication Technologies As Tools To Enhance Learning., Ana I. Casanova Jan 2004

An Analysis Of Computer-Mediated Communication Technologies As Tools To Enhance Learning., Ana I. Casanova

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The integration of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies into the higher educational settings have required faculty to change their roles from the direct instructional model to a model based on constructivists' ideas. CMC instructional tools (ITs) have provided a change by shifting a traditional teacher-centered setting into a teacher facilitator environment. Teacher's professional development has become an important task to effectively integrate technology into their courses. Questions concerning the implementation and value of CMC technologies and their impact in higher education are not yet clear. The purpose of this research study was to determine the extent to which CMC technologies promoted …

Go to article

A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Responsibilities And Supports Of Paraeducators In Special Education., Annette M. Conti Jan 2004

A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Responsibilities And Supports Of Paraeducators In Special Education., Annette M. Conti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The role of the paraeducator in providing services to students with special needs has expanded to become part of a complex system of providing special education services. In order to meet the individualized needs of students with disabilities, educational agencies and school districts have increasingly relied on the services of paraeducators to facilitate the specialized instruction needed for students to participate in the least restrictive environment. Case studies were completed with three special education self-contained classrooms. The special education teachers and paraeducators who worked in these settings participated in this study through observations, interviews, and surveys. The study examined the …

Go to article

Internationalizing An Institution: An Emerging Model Of Effective Leadership, Infrastructure And Cultural Factors., Amelia Davis Courts Jan 2004

Internationalizing An Institution: An Emerging Model Of Effective Leadership, Infrastructure And Cultural Factors., Amelia Davis Courts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the United States continues to play a leadership role in the international arena, it depends on the higher education sector to prepare capable leaders who can be guiding forces in the international economic, political, and social environments of the twenty-first century (National Association of State and Land Grant Universities, 2000). This is the ultimate goal of international education. Although current literature clearly describes the benefits of internationalizing higher education, there are few studies that describe how it can be successfully implemented at the institutional level. Using a qualitative, grounded theory approach, this study examined the factors that contributed to …

Go to article

A Microbiological And Clinical Assessment Of Orthodontic Patients With Poor Oral Hygiene., Brett Eckley Jan 2004

A Microbiological And Clinical Assessment Of Orthodontic Patients With Poor Oral Hygiene., Brett Eckley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference between counts of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Bacteroides forsythus, organism morphotypes, and probing depths and plaque scores in orthodontic patients with poor oral hygiene. Thirteen patients were included in the study. Before orthodontic appliances were placed (as baseline) and for four months a BANA test, plaque score, probing depths, and microscopy analysis were performed. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey HSD. Significant differences were found among patients for the BANA and plaque score. Significant differences were found among visits for the BANA, plaque score, and probing depth. There was an increase …

Go to article

Parallel Structures And Binary Oppositions In Andre Gide's "L'Immoraliste" And "La Porte Etroite"., Jennifer Lawrence Jan 2004

Parallel Structures And Binary Oppositions In Andre Gide's "L'Immoraliste" And "La Porte Etroite"., Jennifer Lawrence

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Two of André Gide’s books, L’Immoraliste and La Porte étroite, exemplify the ethical struggles that defined the author’s life through the codependence of their singular message. By submitting these two intrinsically similar works to a structuralist analysis of the binary oppositions that exist between them, the relationship between good and evil becomes solidified through the structures and semiotic codes of the novels, the opposition of the protagonists, and the motifs of geography, personal relationships, nature, and religion.

Go to article

Water Quality Trends In The Blackwater River Watershed, Canaan Valley, West Virginia., Jessica M. Smith Jan 2004

Water Quality Trends In The Blackwater River Watershed, Canaan Valley, West Virginia., Jessica M. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Blackwater River, historically an excellent brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) fishery, has been affected by logging, fires, coal mining, acid rain, and land development. Trends in water quality data from 12 sites in the Blackwater River watershed were examined for a 14-year period (1980–1993) using the information-theoretic method and the seasonal Kendall with correlation correction analysis. For most sites (except Beaver Creek), downward trends in acidity and upward trends in alkalinity, conductivity, and hardness were consistent with decreases in hydrogen ion concentration. Dissolved oxygen trended downward possibly due to natural conditions, but remained above biological thresholds. The seasonal Kendall trend …

Go to article

Ice Hockey Players' Perceived Legitimacy Of Aggression: An Investigation At The Youth, High School, Collegiate, And Professional Levels., Amanda J. Visek Jan 2004

Ice Hockey Players' Perceived Legitimacy Of Aggression: An Investigation At The Youth, High School, Collegiate, And Professional Levels., Amanda J. Visek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent incidents of aggressive and violent behavior in professional ice hockey have caused many in and out of the sport world to again question the utility of such behavior. The purpose of this investigation was to examine male ice hockey players’ (N=85) perceived legitimacy of aggression and professionalization of attitudes across developmental age and competitive level. Results of the investigation indicate as these players increased in age and competitive level, their perceived legitimacy of aggressive, rule-violating behavior increased, and their attitudes about sport became increasingly professionalized. The practical implications of these results are discussed within the context of social learning …

Go to article

Testing The Efficacy Of Children's Health Insurance Program: A Study Of Enrollment History And Disenrollment In West Virginia Children's Health Insurance Program., Charles Walter Jan 2004

Testing The Efficacy Of Children's Health Insurance Program: A Study Of Enrollment History And Disenrollment In West Virginia Children's Health Insurance Program., Charles Walter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this paper, I am providing a descriptive analysis of the children on the rolls of the West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance Program (WV CHIP). The research was guided by four questions: (1) Who are the children from West Virginia that are on the rolls of WV CHIP? (2) What are the reasons why children disenroll from the program? (3) Where do the children come from before WV CHIP and where did the children go to after WV CHIP? (4) What does their enrollment history look like while on WV CHIP? The sample is a total number (N=55,876) of the …

Go to article

Development Of A Standardized Abrasive Scale: An Analysis Of Commercial Prophylaxis Pastes., Karen D. Avey Jan 2004

Development Of A Standardized Abrasive Scale: An Analysis Of Commercial Prophylaxis Pastes., Karen D. Avey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Currently, no standard abrasive scale exists for dental prophylaxis pastes. Manufacturers determine their definition of abrasive grit levels. The purpose of this study was to measure resulting surface roughness on bovine enamel of a representative sample of prophylaxis pastes. The study consisted of a survey of prophylaxis paste manufacturers, a pilot study and an analysis of bovine tooth specimens. Prophylaxis pastes, pumice and toothpaste comprised the sample. Equipment was constructed for applying abrasives to specimens at 2500 rpm for five seconds under a load of 145-grams. Pre and post-test surface roughness readings were recorded. Repeated measures ANOVA determined that the …

Go to article

A Cfd Analysis Of The Download Reduction For The V-22 Osprey Wing., Chris Barnes Jan 2004

A Cfd Analysis Of The Download Reduction For The V-22 Osprey Wing., Chris Barnes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The V-22 tilt rotor aircraft experiences a download in hover mode decreasing the aircraft’s efficiency in this mode. This download is caused by the wing surface obstructing the rotor downwash. The presented research, conducted at West Virginia University (WVU) by the Center for Industrial Research Applications (CIRA), explores the reduction of this download via circulation control. Circulation control is implemented through the use of blowing slots at both the leading and trailing edges of the wing. The analysis was completed using computational fluid dynamics. The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department of West Virginia University, in conjunction with The Center for …

Go to article

Saprophagous Caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Herminiinae): Effect Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Var. Kurstaki Application In Forest And Laboratory Settings., Karen Jeanine Kish Jan 2004

Saprophagous Caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Herminiinae): Effect Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Var. Kurstaki Application In Forest And Laboratory Settings., Karen Jeanine Kish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The larvae of the Herminiinae are macrodecomposers of forest leaf litter. Eight species were studied to determine the effects of aerially applied Btk. Adults were collected weekly by light trap for 7 consecutive seasons. The first 2 years provided baseline information, followed by 2 years of Btk treatment and 3 post-treatment years. Idia aemula (Hübner)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae were collected from control plots and treated with Btk in the laboratory to determine susceptibility. Untreated larvae were reared to adulthood and mated to obtain information on their biology. Differences in light trap counts between years were significant for all 8 species. Forest …

Go to article

Scenic Design For Steve Martin's "Picasso At The Lapin Agile"., Tuesdee Long Jan 2004

Scenic Design For Steve Martin's "Picasso At The Lapin Agile"., Tuesdee Long

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document is a record of the process involved in creating the scenery for West Virginia University’s 2004 production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, by Steve Martin. The project was assigned to serve as partial fulfillment of the requirements of a Master of Fine Arts in Design and Theatre Technology, and this document completes the requirements for that degree. This thesis explains the progress of the design from its research and conceptualization to its realization and the resulting theatrical production on the stage. It includes a synopsis, criticism and history of the original production, and a self-evaluation of the …

Go to article

The Effects Of Positive And Negative Framing On Seven American Newspapers During The Persian Gulf War In 1991 And The Iraq War In 2003., Davin T. White Jan 2004

The Effects Of Positive And Negative Framing On Seven American Newspapers During The Persian Gulf War In 1991 And The Iraq War In 2003., Davin T. White

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study evaluates the positive and negative aspects of major American newspaper coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the war in Iraq in 2003. Embedded coverage in 2003 was presumed to generate more positive coverage than under the press pool system in 1991. However, both the overall coverage of six newspapers in 1991 and six in 2003 were framed positively toward the American missions. When comparing means of positive and negative coverage among the newspapers, no significant differences in overall coverage were found. The coverage of the Persian Gulf War, however, was slightly more positive. There was …

Go to article

A Parametric Study Of In-Line Filter Holders., Glen A. Wilt Jan 2004

A Parametric Study Of In-Line Filter Holders., Glen A. Wilt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With modern diesel engines producing smaller and lighter particulate mass output, the performance of in-line filtering, used to determine emissions of particulate matter (PM), has become less understood. Several factors including filter characteristics, filter holder geometry, exhaust dilution, filter face temperature, and secondary dilution characteristics need to be investigated. This study investigates factors influenced by filter holder geometry. In the past, many loosely designed filter holders were applied to emissions testing. Recently, 40 CFR Part 1065 recommended a standard filter holder design to be used in all emissions tests. However, it is not known if this design is optimal. To …

Go to article

Trinetr: An Intrusion Detection Alert Management And Analysis System., Jinqiao Yu Jan 2004

Trinetr: An Intrusion Detection Alert Management And Analysis System., Jinqiao Yu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Intrusion detection system (IDS) is a software system or hardware device deployed to monitor network and host activities including data flows and information accesses etc. to capture suspicious activities. In recent years, IDS has begun to gain wide acceptance as a necessary and worthwhile investment in security. But current IDS products present many flaws including alert flooding, excessive false alerts, isolated alerts, lack of context awareness and security decision support etc. Many of these problems are severely hindering them from being used more efficiently in practice. To make the use of IDS products more efficient and generated alerts more accurate, …

Go to article

Multiterminal Relay Networks: Performance Bounds, Protocol Design, And Channel Coding Strategies., Bin Zhao Jan 2004

Multiterminal Relay Networks: Performance Bounds, Protocol Design, And Channel Coding Strategies., Bin Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The combination of silicon scaling and energy-efficient multi-terminal packet radio technology will soon allow low power devices to be embedded virtually everywhere, enabling a wide range of revolutionary applications that will radically change the way that people and devices interact with their environments. Given current trends in the advancement of technology, to engineer useful embedded wireless networks with long lifetimes and massive scale required for many applications, new analytical tools and approaches to protocol design that reflect recent perspectives on wireless networking are necessary. The major objective of this dissertation is to characterize the fundamental performance bounds and devise an …

Go to article

A Spatial-Temporal Optimization Approach To Watershed Management: Amd Treatment In The Cheat River Watershed, West Virginia., Xiaobing Zhao Jan 2004

A Spatial-Temporal Optimization Approach To Watershed Management: Amd Treatment In The Cheat River Watershed, West Virginia., Xiaobing Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Most water management studies concentrate on the inter-temporal allocation problem or, more recently, spatial dynamics—but not both. While early spatial-temporal studies focused on the allocation of water quantity, this paper presents an approach to water quality analysis that incorporates both spatial and temporal dynamics in a watershed framework. The model developed is an explicit economic watershed optimization model built upon an underlying water quality model where pollution loads are driven by pollution sources and alternative control strategies. It reflects the spatial aspects of pollution loads and treatment and the way the system reacts over time to management options and natural …

Go to article

Critical Thinking And Web-Based Education In Maryland Community Colleges: How The Medium Promotes Development., George E. Perry Jan 2004

Critical Thinking And Web-Based Education In Maryland Community Colleges: How The Medium Promotes Development., George E. Perry

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Surveys have found that employers want today's community college graduates to be able to work in teams, make decisions, and critically assess job situations. In short they want the students to think critically. Due to the changing demographics, web-based education has become a larger part of college curriculum in the past several years. This research project explored critical thinking in web-based courses offered at Maryland community colleges to determine what courses were being offered by the different academic disciplines, the methods used to promote critical thinking, and the types of critical thinking assessment used in these web-based courses. The content …

Go to article

Years Of Teaching Experience And Descriptions Of Educational Situations, Dana J. Stapleford Dec 2003

Years Of Teaching Experience And Descriptions Of Educational Situations, Dana J. Stapleford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the relationship between years of teaching experience and the type of descriptions given of educational situations. Participants were certified teachers with 1 to 27 years of teaching experience and preservice teachers with 0 years of teaching experience. A coding system was developed as an objective method for extracting participants' descriptions of actions and consequences pertaining to student and teacher behavior. Results did not support the original hypothesis that a relationship would be found between years of teaching experience and the descriptions made. However, several other relationships among certain characteristics of the descriptions were found.;The typical description made …

Go to article

Geologic Feature Prediction Using Roof Bolter Drilling Parameters, Benjamin T. Mirabile Dec 2003

Geologic Feature Prediction Using Roof Bolter Drilling Parameters, Benjamin T. Mirabile

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The design of a safe and efficient roof support system is essential for any underground coal mining operation. All underground coal mines in the United States install roof bolts with a roof bolter as the primary means of supporting the mine roof. Proper application of roof bolting is dependent upon knowledge of the mine roof geology.;Recently developed control and data acquisition technologies allow the drilling performance of these roof bolters to be monitored on a real-time basis. Drilling data collected from these machines can be used to determine geological features present in the mine roof. A J. H. Fletcher & …

Go to article

Relationship Marketing Elements In Radio Station Websites, Mark L. Atkinson Dec 2003

Relationship Marketing Elements In Radio Station Websites, Mark L. Atkinson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not radio station website designers effectively use relationship marketing to achieve the goals of the stations and their websites. The study is a comparison/content analysis of the websites of 150 radio stations, in three different formats, in the top 50 U.S. population centers. This study compared the results of a content analysis with the results of a 2000 Edison/Arbitron survey which asked respondents to rank 14 website features according to what those replying considered important. This study sought to determine whether the more popular features actually appeared on more websites …

Go to article

Characterization Of In-Use Emissions From On-Highway Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines, Mohan Krishnamurthy Dec 2003

Characterization Of In-Use Emissions From On-Highway Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines, Mohan Krishnamurthy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Class-8 trucks with GVWR of 80,000 lbs were tested on different driving routes and in-use brake-specific emissions of NOx and CO2 data were collected using the West Virginia University's Mobile Emissions Measurement System (MEMS). An uncertainty analysis was performed on the MEMS and it was determined the maximum possible error in the measurement of brake-specific emissions of NOx was 8% and CO2 was 6%.;A modal analysis indicated that the cruise mode comprised 70% of the time that the vehicle spent in the Not-to-Exceed (NTE) zone while the acceleration and deceleration modes about 20% and 10% respectively.;In order to reduce the …

Go to article

Evaluation Of Performance Graded Asphalt Binder Equipment And Testing Protocol, Michael E. Pumphrey Dec 2003

Evaluation Of Performance Graded Asphalt Binder Equipment And Testing Protocol, Michael E. Pumphrey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The testing and grading of asphalt cement has progressively changed to meet the demanding needs for quality hot mix asphalt pavements. From October 1987 through March 1993, the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) conducted a {dollar}50 million research effort to improve asphalt pavement technology. The research led to the development of the Superpave(TM) mix design system (Superior Performing Asphalt Pavements) and the Performance Graded (PG) asphalt binder tests and specifications. The Performance Graded asphalt binder specifications were developed to address the shortcomings of the previous asphalt grading systems.;The objective of this research was to critically evaluate the SHRP performance graded …

Go to article

Potential Field Theory And Its Applications To Classical Mechanical Problems, Shannon Rae Stillwagon Dec 2003

Potential Field Theory And Its Applications To Classical Mechanical Problems, Shannon Rae Stillwagon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Advances in many scientific fields are expected to come from work in nanotechnology. Engineering at nano-scales presents novel problems that classical mechanics cannot solve. Many engineers are uncomfortable designing at this level because classical or continuum mechanics does not apply and quantum mechanics is said to apply in a tangible way. There are unique opportunities to contribute to the design, controls, and analysis of systems that are particularly suited to mechanical engineering. Within the derivations of classical mechanics are assumptions that limit its use to bulk engineering. These assumptions are examined to determine what principles can be extended to smaller …

Go to article

Effect Of Rate Of Sumping On Fragmentation Process In Laboratory Rotary Cutting Simulator, Muralidharan Venkataraman Dec 2003

Effect Of Rate Of Sumping On Fragmentation Process In Laboratory Rotary Cutting Simulator, Muralidharan Venkataraman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was done to examine the fragmentation process and to improve sumping. Research has demonstrated that specific energy and specific respirable dust must be kept minimum to produce the optimum parameters of the rock/coal breakage process and to attain maximum sumping. There are three major elements affecting the efficiency of the cutting head namely: (1) Geometry and size of the cutting tool, (2) Geometry of the drum and lacing and arrangements of the tools on the drum and (3) Effect of rate of advance/dynamic impacts. The emphasis is made on the rate of advance utilizing a miniature rotary cutting …

Go to article

Alkaline Durability Tests For E-Glass/Vinyl Ester-Reinforced Polymer With Nanoclay, Shu-Kai Yeh Dec 2003

Alkaline Durability Tests For E-Glass/Vinyl Ester-Reinforced Polymer With Nanoclay, Shu-Kai Yeh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Two kinds of GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastics) composite materials were prepared and used in this study. One was E-glass/vinyl ester glass fiber reinforced polymer (plain GFRP) and the other was nano-GFRP prepared with the addition of 1 wt% of CloisiteRTM 10A nanoclay. These samples were aged in an alkaline solution (pH = 13.2) with 3560N (800-lbs), 2225N (500-lbs) and 885N (200-lbs) of sustained load, which were 50%, 31% and 12.5% of the tensile strength, respectively. Time to failure or tensile strength reduction was measured and used to determine durability of the samples in terms of Aging Index, which was …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last