Digital Commons Network^™

Empathic Embarrassment Responses While Viewing Romantic-Rejection And General Embarrassment Situations, Giuliana Louise Garbini

Master's Theses

Empathic embarrassment occurs when an observer experiences embarrassment while viewing another person in an embarrassing situation. It was hypothesized that the type of embarrassment situation, the prior information provided about an embarrassed protagonist, perceived similarity to an embarrassed protagonist, ability to relate to an embarrassed protagonist, and embarrassability would influence empathic embarrassment responses. Participants (N = 208) either read a vignette containing general or specific information about a female embarrassed protagonist or received no prior information about her. They watched an embarrassment situation (romantic-rejection or general) featuring this protagonist and reported their empathic embarrassment responses. They then rated how similar …

The Body Dysmorphic, Nicholas Grant Goodwin

Master's Theses

The Body Dysmorphic is a book of poetry situated around the absurdity of the human body in a world of fast advancing technologies, or around the body as a machine, a pump primed for sexual exertion in a cycle of life and death that is shit across the following pages while the poet grimaces and writhes in an overwhelming fit of laughter-induced vomiting. The whole gimmick is really to inspire a revolution.

In the vain effort to become another scab on the aging dermis of poetics, the poet here reconstructs life from the dismembered parts of ideologies, memories, and language …

Life History Characteristics Of The Starry Skate, Raja Stellulata, From California Waters, Kelsey James

Master's Theses

The order Rajiformes, or skates, is a morphologically conservative group that exhibits a wide range of life history characteristics. This inter-species variability warrants species-specific research. This study investigates the age, growth, reproduction, and habitat of the Starry Skate, Raja stellulata, which is endemic to the U.S. West Coast. Age and growth parameters were determined using two preparation techniques: gross sectioning and histological sectioning. The assumption that gross sections deposit one band pair a year was indirectly validated with centrum edge analysis and marginal increment ratio. It was not indirectly validated with histological sections. Age estimates from gross sections ranged from …

Examination Of The Relationship Between User Participation And Technology Acceptance In Post-Implementation, Ekta Menghrajani Makhijani

Master's Theses

Implementing information technology (IT) systems to support organizational effectiveness and enhance efficiencies is increasingly costly, challenging, and has a low success rate. Many researchers have explored user technology acceptance as a key to successful implementation of IT systems. Research on characteristics inherent to the implementation process can aid interventions designed to enhance user technology acceptance. User participation is a process characteristic that has been linked to IT system success and user satisfaction before and during implementation.

Using data from 131 survey respondents, the current study investigated the relationship between user participation and technology acceptance in the post-implementation phase of an …

The Manual Flight Skill Of Airline Pilots, Antonio Puentes

Master's Theses

The manual flight ability of commercial airline pilots has been scrutinized

after several aviation disasters in the first decade of the 21st century where pilot error has been a contributing cause. Voluntary pilot incident reports from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) were examined as one method to determine the prevalence of manual flight skill decline among airline pilots. The investigation studied reports from unstabilized approach to landings where the pilots manually controlled the aircraft during descent. An analysis of the ASRS reports from pilots flying traditional flight deck aircraft compared with pilots flying aircraft …

Moderating Role Of Justice Perception In The Relationships Between Stressors And Strains, Jashaswini Rath

Master's Theses

Various studies indicate the workplace to be an important source of stress. Researchers analyzing the relationship between stressors and strains in the workplace have urged for the need to explore various moderators that influence this relationship. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether justice perception (perceived procedural justice and interactional justice) moderates the relationship of role stressors and strains. Role stressors included role overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity. Strains were measured in terms of anxiety, general health, affective commitment, intention to leave, and job satisfaction. One hundred and fifty-five employees from three government-owned organizations in India …

A Survey Of Female Characters As Flâneuses And Their Interactions With Modernity In Early Modern British Literature, Thao Thi Nguyen

Master's Theses

This thesis argues that the flâneuse is present in literature well before the late nineteenth century. Similar to Charles Baudelaire's flâneur figure, the flâneuse herself is an observer of modernity. Through her interactions with the crowd, the flâneuse is able to read the urban landscape. Chapter One focuses on defining the historical context of when the term flâneur appears in critical discourse. Chapter Two introduces the first example of a flâneuse: the narrator of Isabella Whitney's poem "Will and Testament." It focuses on how the narrator offers a reading of London in flux, its attractions as well as its growing …

Emancipatory Pedagogy Through Serialized Heuristic Reflection: Fostering Self-Awareness Of Dental Students' Prejudicial Beliefs, Deborah Narcisso

Master's Theses

This study investigated dental students' prejudicial beliefs towards underserved patient populations as an upstream constituent of provider attitudinal barriers to care. The objectives were to explore the nature of prejudicial beliefs, to assess the value of critical reflection as essential preparation for patient care, and to identify insights that would inform the preclinical curriculum that, ultimately, reduce oral health disparity.

An original reflection assignment was introduced into the preclinical curriculum of first year dental students to journal about the legitimacy of their prejudicial beliefs. Results indicated dental students identified a range of prejudicial beliefs and, through self-direction, experienced awareness and …

Habitat Use Of Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) In The San Francisco Estuary And Its Effect On Total Mercury And Heavy Metal Body Burden Upon Capture, Jonathan Hugh Walsh

Master's Theses

Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) is a nearshore, anadromous fish in the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). A notable aspect of Striped Bass populations in general is yearly migrations, but there has been considerable disagreement over the homogeneity of these movements within the SFE. Additionally, since Striped Bass spend their entire lives in estuarine and nearshore environments, they likely encounter contaminants due to their proximity to anthropogenic pollution sources, a known concern with this species.

The purpose of this study was to clarify habitat use, movements of Striped Bass in the SFE, and potential dangers to Striped Bass and consumers from contaminants …

Developing Criteria And Metrics For Assessing Recycled Water Program Effectiveness, Michelle Arias

Master's Theses

Many U.S. states are currently experiencing or expect to experience water shortages in the next ten years. Recycling water is one strategy states are pursuing to minimize water shortages. Many states, however, have been unable to reach goals for volume of water recycled, and many regional and municipal programs have been ineffective in meeting production goals. Existing literature focuses primarily on how to implement a program and defines success as the ability to establish a program. After several decades of recycled water use in the United States, there is a lack of accepted metrics that allow for a cross comparison …

Land Use Interpretation In Flood Damage Estimation, Sharon Michelle Metzler

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the role of geographic land use interpretation in flood damage estimation. Sample flood data were drawn from the 1998 flood event along San Francisquito Creek in northern Santa Clara County, California. Spatial flood data for the event were collected from the Santa Clara Valley Water District (the District); depth-damage factors and the flood damage equations were both collected from US Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps) publications; and spatial parcel data were collected from the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor's office (the Assessor).

This study computes flood damages per parcel using the Corps' recommended equations. Within that …

Antenna Design: A Crystallographical Approach, Luke Macvicker Snow

Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis was to design a switched beam antenna by applying the principles of crystallography. The main benefit of this approach is that simple design equations can be derived from crystallography and readily applied to the design of a steerable beam antenna. Before using equations from crystallography in an antenna design, the equations are first verified. One of the best known laws of crystallography, namely Bragg's Law, is verified both by software simulation, and experimentally from the radiation patterns of a prototype antenna.

One set of simulations used to verify Bragg's Law involved varying the angles of …

Mixing And Melt Sources In The Miocene Aztec Wash Pluton (Nevada, Usa) As Revealed By Zircon Hf And O And Whole Rock Sr, Nd And Hf Isotopes, Mark Ryan

Master's Theses

The 15.6 Ma Aztec Wash pluton, within the northern Colorado River extensional corridor (Nevada), displays abundant field evidence for open system processes. Previous geochemical studies documented physical and chemical mixing processes that produced a wide spectrum of compositional and textural variants. To better understand the mixing pathways and melt sources, whole rock and zircon isotopes were analyzed from samples that document the range of rock compositions and textural variety and that contain zircons that have trace element variations indicative of large thermal and chemical fluctuations. The new whole rock isotope data show that all rocks are mixtures of Precambrian crust …

Incorporation Of Host Rock Blocks During The Growth Of The Aztec Wash Pluton, Eldorado Mountains, Nevada, Jamie Nicole Smith

Master's Theses

The Miocene Aztec Wash pluton, Eldorado Mountains (NV), has been tilted by regional extension and thus provides a vertical cross-section showing 5 km structural depth. Previous work shows that the Aztec Wash pluton was constructed by vertical accumulation of mafic sheets intruded into granite magma with widespread hybridization. Precambrian orthogneiss and Cretaceous granite host rock xenoliths (1 cm to >20 m long dimension) occur at all structural levels but are heterogeneously distributed (locally varying from 0 to 50% of areal exposure). Their origin and relation to the Aztec Wash pluton are poorly known. Mapping at 1:6000 of a xenolith-rich area …

A Mathematical Approach For Predicting Harbor Seal Haul-Out, Jonathan Daniel Cowles

Master's Theses

Harbor seals haul out in response to various environmental factors such as tide, current, time of day, wind, and surf. Mathematical modeling techniques can be used to determine which of these variables are important and to predict the number of seals that will haul-out in a given set of environmental circumstances. Haul-out counts were recorded every hour for 16 hrs per day over two 14-d tidal cycles at a site in Washington State. Deterministic environmental variables (tide height, current velocity, solar elevation, and time of day) were used to create 37 alternative models, which were then compared to the haul-out …

The Effects Of Mere Exposure On Responses To Foreign-Accented Speech, Lea Grossman

Master's Theses

The present study examined the effects of repeated exposure to the accent (standard American English vs. Asian Indian) of a prospective college professor on participants' cognitive reactions, affective reactions, and passage comprehension. Based on data collected from 115 undergraduate students, results showed that an Asian Indian-accented professor was perceived as being less competent, less likable, but more motivated than a standard American English speaking professor. In addition, the trustworthiness of the Asian Indian-accented professor decreased over time as well as participants' negative opinions of the professor. Finally, the results of the study indicate that when listening to the professor's foreign …

The Order And Significance Of The Sealed Tribes Of Revelation 7:4-8, Michael W. Troxell

Master's Theses

Problem. John’s list of twelve tribes of Israel in Rev 7, representing those who are sealed in the last days, has been the source of much debate through the years. This present study was to determine if there is any theological significance to the composition of the names in John’s list. Of particular interest to this study is the meaning of the inclusion of Levi and Manasseh and the exclusion of Dan and Ephraim. -- Methodology. Intertextual comparisons between John’s list and the many Old Testament lists of Israelite tribes were used to identify any theological significance to the composition …

Detection Of The Sire1 Env-Like Protein, A Potential Retroviral Protein In Soybean, Garen Gaston

Master's Theses

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retroelements are mobile DNAs that are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and include retroviruses, endogenous retroviruses and retrotransposons. Though retrotransposons, which are noninfectious, can make up as much as 80% of plant genomes, no traces of retroviral elements have been confirmed in plants. However, the 2000-copy soybean retrotransposon SIRE1 has an extra open reading frame, that has been described as env-like, because its conceptual translation product is predicted to have features of retroviral envelope proteins, which sponsor infectivity. Demonstrating that this region encodes an envelope protein would extend the range of endogenous retroviruses to plants. Demonstrating also …

Policy Appears Upon The Scene, Hand In Hand With Poverty: An Analysis Of The Moderating Effects Of Teacher Attitude On The Relationship Between Professional Development And Student Achievement., Kristen Beth Adler

Master's Theses

Massive deficits in local, state and national education budgets are forcing schools to adapt their spending to align with these reductions. Rather than merely increasing or decreasing resources, the effectiveness of resource allocation is demanding renewed attention at all levels of educational expenditure. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of teacher professional development across five campuses at Chicago International Charter School. It is the goal of this project to examine how teacher professional development directly impacts student performance, as well as to evaluate whether this relationship is moderated by teacher attitude towards professional development activities. It …

Supporting Introductory Test-Driven Labs With Webide, Thomas C. Dvornik

Master's Theses

WebIDE is a new web-based development environment for entry-level programmers with two primary goals: minimize tool barriers to writing computer programs and introduce software engineering best practices early in a student's educational career. Currently, WebIDE focuses on Test-Driven Learning (TDL) by using small iterative examples and introducing lock-step labs, which prevent the student from moving forward until they finish the current step. An initial set of labs and evaluators were created as examples of how to use WebIDE and were used in a pilot study in a CS0 course where students were split into two groups, one that used WebIDE …

The Effects Of Anti-Price Gouging Legislation On Supply Chain Dynamics, Jason Edward Maynard

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to model the effects of anti-price gouging (APG) legislation on the costs to businesses during the recovery period of a disaster. A system dynamics model of a business’s replenishment procedures is used to simulate the effects of APG legislation on business performance. Economists have published expansive research on the effects of price ceilings on supply and demand, but there is little research evidence on the operational consequences of price ceiling legislation on business costs. APG legislation increases consumer’s forward buying and shortage gaming after a disaster by removing price incentives to be frugal. Forward …

Benchmarks For Transition: Do St. Louis High Schools Promote Graduates That Can Make The Transition To Higher Education?, Kevin Harrman

Master's Theses

Are St. Louis area high schools designed to create graduates that are prepared to enter schools of higher education, or are their graduation requirements structured such that graduates even qualify for entrance to higher education institutions? This study is geared towards answering this question and will do so by comparing two lines of inquiry. First this study will analyze four sets of three randomly picked area high schools (three sets designated by per capita income and one set of private catholic schools). Information will be gathered concerning graduation requirements and how many Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate courses are available. …

The Role Of T-Type Calcium Channels In Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Cycle Regulation, Abigail Prier

Master's Theses

Results from previous experiments have provided evidence for T-type channel expression in adult pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) using electrophysiology and qRT-PCR. Studies have also shown that when T-type channels are blocked, either pharmacological or with small hairpin RNA targeted against T-type channel Cav3.1 subunit, mRNA levels are reduced and cell proliferation is inhibited. These results suggest a connection between T-type calcium channels and cell proliferation. In this thesis, Cav3.1 and its possible interplay with cyclin D, an early marker of the cell cycle, was investigated. The time course of cyclin D's translocation to the nucleus to begin the …

No Little Plans: Envisioning The Bay Area Rapid Transit System And The Renewal Of Rapid Transit In The United States, Jake Coolidge

Master's Theses

Cities across the United States and Canada in the years following the Second World War witnessed reinvigorated efforts to construct rapid transit systems despite a decades-long decline in transit patronage, and central to these efforts was the visionary plan for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. The proponents of these new systems used their initial plans and feasibility studies to articulate a new vision for rapid transit, one that imagined rapid transit not merely as a practical transportation solution, but as a technologically advanced tool for reshaping urban regions. This evolving vision emerges in an examination of …

The Influence Of Neuroticism On Stress Perception And Its Resultant Negative Affect, Irum Saeed Abbasi

Master's Theses

There is contemporary literature reporting the role of the neuroticism (N) personality type in the stress process. People with elevated neuroticism experience more interpersonal stressors, perceive daily events as more negative, and use maladaptive ways to combat stressors. This thesis explores the influence of neuroticism on stress perception and the associated negative affect. In the current study, mood and stress perception of pre-screened college students who scored high and low on the neuroticism subscale were manipulated, with a laboratory psycho-social stressor, after their moods were initially neutralized to their respective base levels. Later, their mood and stress perception were manipulated …

Analysis Of Three Types Of Sources To Determine The Existence Of Native Bees In Historical San Francisco, East Bay Area, Sharon Lee Ordeman

Master's Theses

The arrival of the missionaries in the late eighteenth century began the transformation of the San Francisco East Bay area from wetlands to orchards, grain fields, and grazing lands. This research considers the possibility that European and American newcomers enlarged native bee ranges in the East Bay cities of San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Hayward when imported pollen and nectar-producing flora were planted. Three types of sources are analyzed: journals and diaries of explorers, missionaries, and botanists; native bee and plant specimens collected before the Gold Rush in 1848; and ethnographies of Ohlone Native Americans. Conclusive evidence for the presence …

Body Image And Body Mass Index: An Investigation Of Preadolescent Low-Income, Urban Ethnic Minority Girls, Amanda K. Ward

Master's Theses

Utilizing a sample of low-income, urban preadolescent African American and Latina girls, this study examined ethnic differences in two aspects of body image (i.e., body dissatisfaction and weight descriptions), and determined if this relation varied as a function of age. This study also examined the relation between the body image variables and self-esteem and BMI and self-esteem, and determined if these relations differed depending on age or ethnicity. Participants were recruited from 3rd through 5th grade at five Chicago Public Schools, and completed measures of body dissatisfaction, weight descriptions, self-esteem, and had their anthropometric measurements taken. Results showed that Latina …

Principals Attitudes Toward Inclusion In Dubai Public Schools: Where Do They Stand?, Fouzia Usman

Master's Theses

Inclusion in the UAE has been a concern for many over the years and lately, has gained the attention at national level. Through this study, the researcher confines the research within Dubai only and looks forward to the responses and expects that the results will be used as a guideline to enhance special education services in a fast developing city such as Dubai.

This study discusses the purpose of the study, available literature and research conducted on the topic, sample population, instrumentation, and procedure and data analysis techniques to carry out the research. Based on that, primary research questions are …

The Uses Of Expertise: Science, Medicine And Body/Self-Fashioning, Amanda J. Counts

Master's Theses

This paper draws on empirical evidence collected from pro-anorexia websites and qualitative interviews with dieters to develop an analysis of the uses of medical and scientific expertise in processes of body- and self-fashioning. It builds on previous work by examining how `lay publics' refashion expertise in order to use it for new purposes, sometimes contradictory to the purposes of medicine itself. Four distinct groups are analyzed: Women diagnosed with anorexia; women diagnosed with EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified); dieters using traditional methods of caloric restricting; and dieters using a new method called Primal Dieting. Overall, respondents indicated an ambivalence …

Who Plays? Who Pays?: A Chicago Case Study Of Racism, The Lottery, And Education, Kasey Henricks

Master's Theses

Many Chicagoans are getting shortchanged, particularly when it comes to the money-exchange process between the Illinois Lottery (IL) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In Illinois, a significant portion of lottery-generated revenues is earmarked to finance public education. Because these revenues are not generated equally across Chicago, some communities contribute more to education via the lottery than others. When these revenues are distributed in such a way that transfers money from one community to another, one community's fiscal gain comes at another's expense. So the question stands: Who plays and who pays? To answer this question, I measure …