Digital Commons Network^™

"Through The Keyhole Of His Eye": The Restoration Of Jack Kerouac's Duluoz Legend, Gina Marie Lobianco

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Winning The Un-Winnable In Afghanistan? Counterinsurgency And Ethnic Strife, Joseph P. Bell

Masters Theses

After pursuing military actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States adopted a counterinsurgency policy to properly address these conflicts. After implementing this new strategy, it appears that the United States has been able to succeed against the insurgency, while losing more and more ground in Afghanistan. Upon examination, it was determined that the ethnic fractionalization in Afghanistan presented a unique challenge to the counterinsurgency effort that had not been present in Iraq.

The effects of this ethnic fractionalization were then analyzed on local counterinsurgency tactics and the overall nation building strategy in Afghanistan. Local counterinsurgency tactics had largely …

The Relationship Between Cyberbullying And Depression In Adolescents, Meredith Mcdermott

Masters Theses

The current study examined the relationship between cyberbullying and depression in high school students, and the relationship between help seeking, parental involvement, and depression. One hundred twenty seven high school students, 43% male and 57% female, between I 4 to 18 years of age, completed a self-report survey. Results indicated that the more experiences students had with cyberbullying, the more likely they were to report symptoms of depression. At an alpha level of .01, results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between bullying and depression, r(125) = .42,p

Commercial Construction Supply Chain Management Issues Involving Traveling Contractors, Fred Akers

Masters Theses

Supply chain management (SCM) is an important aspect of running any business. To stay competitive in today's marketplace a supply chain management system must be in place to achieve success in this volatile global environment (Fewings, 2005).

This research differentiates the issues between executing a construction project close to home compared to away from home. Being away from home, there typically is no supplier relationship established. Furthermore, the research intends to document certain issues of the commercial construction industry that develop during the execution of a project. This will be based on the comparison of having or not having an …

Necessary Competencies For Computer-Based Construction Estimating Curriculum: Delphi Study Of An Expert Panel, Ryan Schulz

Masters Theses

Universities are continuously updating curriculum to meet the needs of students entering the work force in an ever competitive environment. The construction industry is not immune to this competition and in need of competent estimators proficient in producing highly detailed estimates with the aid of computer based estimating programs.

This study set out to find necessary competencies for college students learning how to use computer based estimating programs that can be transferred to real world situations upon graduation. Using a modified Delphi technique, a panel of experts was established from the construction industry and academia too accurately obtain a set …

Sickness And Health, Anthony Smith

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The 2011-2012 Caate Site Visitors For Athletic Training Educational Programs In Illinois, Tiffany Louise Green

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze faculty, staff, and students' perception of the site visitors who were involved with the 2011-2012 Athletic Training Educational Program (ATEP) Site Visits in Illinois. The perceptions from multiple universities were compared to determine whether there was perceived site visitor subjectivity during each institution's site visit. The problem that arises is that verification of standards is a very subjective task. Most site visitors think that the program they are affiliated with is the best (Price, 2011 ); therefore, it is difficult to accurately state that personal bias is left at the …

Orthorexia Nervosa: Healthy Eating Or Eating Disorder?, Sonia Mahesh Shah

Masters Theses

A new concept called orthorexia nervosa has recently become more prevalent in scientific journal articles. Orthorexia nervosa has been defined as a fixation on eating only healthy foods, spending hours ruminating on meals, and an obsession with proper nutrition (Bratman, 1997). Several studies have attempted to investigate this concept, establish prevalence rates, and determine whether orthorexia is a disorder. Some studies have found an association between eating disorders, anxiety, and orthorexia as well as posited risk factors such as higher body-mass index, level of education, and sex. The present study examined an individual's scores on measures of orthorexia, anxiety, eating …

Challenges Of Forming A Registered Student Organization For Students With Asperger's Syndrome Or High Functioning Autism, Jennifer L. Smith

Masters Theses

Autism is a complex disorder, affecting a person's ability to socialize, process information, and communicate effectively. Often, persons with autism struggle with sensory system deficits that compound their isolation. As college campuses welcome an increasing number of students with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HF A), student affairs professionals must learn to adapt their skills to challenge and support this population. Student affairs professionals instinctively encourage students to form student organizations (RSO) and to be involved on their campuses to ensure enriching learning experiences. It is important for student affairs professionals to be aware of the effects of …

Comparative Study Of Consumer Attitudes Toward Internet And Tv Advertising, Aneela Sheikh

Masters Theses

Evolution of the Internet has offered a new communication platform to exchange an unlimited amount of data around the world without geographical boundaries. Nicovich, Boller, and Cornwell (2005) indicated that since Internet advertisements are accessible by anyone who has an Internet connection, consumers could get different types of information about products and services by means of a simple click, it could be an important medium for attracting and retaining consumers through advertising.

The research undertaken in this study aims to explore which type of advertising media (TV or Internet) is perceived by consumers as more helpful and influential in making …

Book Production In The Medieval West Midlands: The Case For Organized Bookmaking, Rashelle Spear

Masters Theses

My thesis project, Book Production in the West Midlands: The Case for Organized Bookmaking, takes into consideration the geographical factors of the medieval manuscripts of the West Midlands in England from the mid-fourteenth to the early fifteenth centuries. The medieval manuscript is an artifact: it is a piece of the past that, if examined carefully, will present a narrative about bookmen, bookmaking practices, and the reading public of a specific period and, in this case, a geographical area.

To discover a more coherent picture of bookmaking and the way books were prepared and received in the West Midlands, I closely …

Expanding The Jazz Repertoire: Reimagining Modern Popular Music, Chad Edwin Mathis

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Egg Recognition And Cowbird Egg Ejection Behavior In The American Robin (Turdus Migratorius), Allison Karlien Lang

Masters Theses

American Robins (Turdus migratorius) typically eject parasitic cowbird eggs from their nests. In order to successfully remove parasitic eggs, robins must first be able to differentiate between their own and foreign eggs and then remove the unwanted egg(s). This study addressed these behaviors. A robin's ability to recognize its own eggs was tested by adding artificial cowbird eggs to robin nests at various parasite-tohost egg ratios which created three treatments: (1) a majority of robin eggs in the nest, (2) an equal number of robin and cowbird eggs, and (3) a majority of cowbird eggs. At 89% of nests (51 …

African American Male Student Leaders And Matriculation: A Qualitative Evaluation, Alexandra Leann Finley

Masters Theses

The current study was designed to identify the correlations between leadership, academic success, and matriculation within the African American male community at a predominantly White institution. Within separate one-on-one interviews, six participants were asked a set of pre-determined questions regarding their involvement and educational experiences at their university. Through coding and analyzing participant responses, five themes emerged, including: 1) academic success as an African American male student leader, (2) leadership skills learned and developed, (3) skills obtained for general success as an African American male student leader at a PWI, (4) the importance of mentoring on shaping an African American …

Effects Of Positive Bedtime Routines On Sleep In Toddlers, Mallory Osterloo

Masters Theses

Establishment of a consistent bedtime routine is often recommended to parents of toddlers. Few studies have investigated the efficacy of implementing a bedtime routine, without additional behavioral intervention. Sixty-one parents and their toddler (ages 18- 48 months, n = 61) were given written information regarding a positive bedtime routine to examine the effects on bedtime-resistance and improving parent mood. This study found that institution of a consistent nightly bedtime routine with non sleep-disordered toddlers may improve some aspects of bedtime resistance (i.e., calling out), increase sleep duration during the night, and improve parent's negative mood. However, there was no change …

Comparison Of Silver Carp Population Demographics In An Impounded And A Free Flowing River, Jason G. Stuck

Masters Theses

The silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, is an invasive species that has received increased attention due to the proximity of the population in the Illinois River to the economically important Great Lakes and the species ability to dominate the aquatic biomass of an ecosystem. We sought to assess the population demographics of silver carp on two different river ecosystems, the Illinois River and Wabash River. The Illinois River is channelized and dammed for commercial barges, whereas the Wabash River is the longest free flowing river east of the Mississippi River and is still connected to its natural flood plain. Silver carp …

Exploring Phenyl Embrace Interactions In Trityloxy And Tritylamino Aromatic Compounds, Premnath Basa

Masters Theses

The area of supramolecular chemistry seeks to understand the organization of molecular structures and the interactions that hold such assemblies together by non-covalent interactions such as electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking interactions, and hydrophobic or solvatophobic effects. One such example that comes under supramolecular chemistry is the phenyl embrace interaction. These interactions occur due to the cooperative participation of at least three or more neighboring phenyl groups arranged as an interlocking propeller configuration to give complementary edge-to-face or offset face-to-face interactions. In order to understand the effect of functional groups on the tendencies of organic compounds to form phenyl embrace …

Driver Mandatory Lane Change Behavior: Use Of Governing Gap In Critical Gap Estimation, Srinadh Kandada

Masters Theses

"This study analyzed the driver gap acceptance and rejection behavior during mandatory lane changes on a multilane freeway in congested and uncongested traffic conditions. During a lane change, drivers were more receptive to either the leading or the trailing gaps with vehicles in the target lane which governed the drivers' lane change and is termed as the governing gap. Drivers maneuvered till the governing gap was greater than the critical gap, accepted the gap and made a lane change. In this process, drivers reduced the non-governing gap to increase the length of the governing gap. The drivers as a result …

Experimental Feasibility Study Of A Passive Radio Frequency Identification-Based Distributed Beamforming Framework And Radio Frequency Tag Design For Achieving Dynamic Beamforming, Pratim Shah

Masters Theses

"Passive UHF RFID tags works on the principle of backscattering mechanism. In realistic environment, there are multiple objects and tags that create complex, multipath propagation scenarios with numerous null-points, reduced read range and read rate.

In general, the RF frontend of tags could be controlled such that the negative effects of multipath propagation are reduced or even inverted thus implementing a virtual beamforming. The theoretical framework of beamforming in RFID system, using additional tags as virtual antenna arrays, has been discussed before. The presented study evaluates the feasibility of such beamforming in passive RFID systems. Moreover, it synthesizes an appropriate …

The Effect Of Sulfur On Structure And Conversion Of Bioactive Borate Glasses, Ali Mohammadkhah

Masters Theses

"The effect of sulfur on glass structure and the conversion process of bioactive CaO-LI₂O-B₂O₃ glasses were studied. One glass without and two glasses with different amounts of sulfur were made using conventional melting and dry quenching techniques. These glasses reacted with a phosphate solution and converted to hydroxyapatite. Particles (150-355µm) were reacted in 0.25 and 0.5 molar K₂HPO₄ solutions at 37⁰C for 2 to 96 hours. The weight loss of the particles and the final pH of the solution were measured. The weight loss measurements indicated that the reaction rate increases with …

Transient Growth And Instability Control Using Iteration-Varying Filter Ilc In Flexible Dual Flywheel System, Tong Mu

Masters Theses

"In the field of precision motion control, many industrial systems have flexible modes. This is especially true for very high performance nanopositioning systems where traditional bearing systems are replaced with flexible structures in order to eliminate sliding friction. The precision motion control is difficult in flexible systems because the rapid phase transition around the resonant frequency must be accurately modeled in order to actively control the resonant motion. In order to experimentally study the effectiveness of various control algorithms on flexible systems, a dual-flywheel flexible system is constructed. The mechatronics system design strategy is presented in this thesis. The control …

Development Of A Technique For Testing Of Tensile Properties With Miniature Size Specimens For Metal Additive Manufacturing, Sujitkumar Dongare

Masters Theses

"The study of mechanical properties of metals provides a basis to decide on the capability of a particular metal for a task and also to make predictions about its life. The concepts of stress, strain and strength of materials are employed in practically every engineering discipline. Mechanical properties such as stiffness, yield strength, tensile strength, ductility, toughness, impact resistance, creep resistance, fatigue resistance and others, influence the design, fabrication and service life of equipment. Therefore, more than one property is considered for the material selection process for an application. For complete understanding of any material and its feasibility for a …

Preserving Euskera In A Globalized World: Determining The Long-Term Efficacy Of Multilingual Schools In The Basque Country, Spain, Olivia Destrades Mendoza

Masters Theses

The Basque Country, Spain is a linguistically unique region where the minority indigenous language, Euskera, competes alongside the dominant state language, Castilian, and a lingua franca, English, for prestige and status. Following a history of cultural and linguistic repression and marginalization, the Basque community has, in the past 30 years, begun to reintroduce Euskera into new, multilingual school systems in order to teach, preserve and maintain their heritage language, while simultaneously acquiring English as an important language for global communication. This multimethod, qualitative study takes data from 36 survey respondents and five interview participants from the Basque Country, and triangulates …

Disharmony And Matchless: Interpersonal Deception Theory In Online Dating, Lyndsey Wagner

Masters Theses

In recent years, computer-media dated communication has not only become extremely popular but has also begun to hold an important function in daily social interactions. This qualitative study investigates the communication phenomena of deception as it occurs in the online dating environment. The research study focused on four questions: (1) About what characteristics are online daters deceptive? (2) What motivation do online daters have for their deception of others in the online dating environment? (3) What perceptions do online daters have about other daters' deceit towards them in the online dating environment? (4) How does deception affect the romantic relationships …

Defending Tertullian's Orthodoxy: A Study On Third Century Christianity, Kevin Gift

Masters Theses

Scholars have attempted to place Tertullian into two or three distinct schools of thought. Some, such as Pope Benedict XVI, state that Tertullian turned his back on the church. Others, like Andrew McGowan, posit a more complex timeline. McGowan claims Tertullian left the church only to return at a later date. The reason for such speculation was Tertullian's interest in the Montanist, a second to third century heretical group. The goal of this study is to provide sufficient evidence that Tertullian never made the complete move to Montanism and never separated form the church of Carthage. A careful analysis of …

Severe Grace: An Examination Of The Benevolence Of The God Character In The Ten Plagues In Exodus 7:1-12:32 And In The Book Of Jonah, Paul Faust

Masters Theses

In Exodus 34:6-7, God claims to be "a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty." This claim to coexistent mercy and wrath figures as a central claim regarding the benevolence of the God character in both the Ten Plagues Narrative in Exodus 7:1-12:32 and in the Book of Jonah. This thesis examines the God character's claim to benevolence in those two passages and claims that, based upon the literary data of those primary …

The Maturation Of Pulse: The Rhythmic Evolution From Swing To Bebop, Sam Weber

Masters Theses

The musical style that came to prominence in US in the 1940s, known as bebop, is a style that is remembered and discussed in terms of its harmonic characteristics and its notable soloists. This is the view that is taken in most scholarly writing on the music and also the view that is taught to most students of jazz today. However, there is arguably an equally if not more profound evolution in the rhythmic language of this music which is almost totally un-discussed. By digitally analyzing recordings, tracing musical and personal influence, and by examining related technological developments, it becomes …

Sprouty2 Deficiency In Mice Leads To The Development Of Achalasia, Benjamin Lee Staal

Masters Theses

Sprouty 2 (Spry2), one of the four mammalian Spry family members, is a negative feedback regulator of many receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) signaling including Met. It fine-tunes RTKs signaling through multiple levels of regulations starting from RTK itself to several downstream molecules that are crucial for signal transduction. To understand what role Spry2 might play during developmental processes, we created a Spry2 conventional knockout mouse in which Spry2 expression is replaced by enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter. Spry2 appears to be expressed in mouse embryo and in many adult tissues, and Spry2- deficient mice have smaller body size and …

Pediatric Nurses' Death Anxiety And Level Of Comfort In Approaching Families Of Dying Children, Elizabeth J. Cook

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine how demographics; bereavement education; personal death anxiety; and frequency of interaction with death and dying; impact the level of comfort pediatric nurses have in approaching families of dying children. Watson’s Theory of Human Caring (n.d.) and the Quality Caring Model (Duffy & Hoskins, 2003) provide the theoretical framework for nursing actions and outcomes. The convenience sample of 165 pediatric nurses comes from a metropolitan children’s hospital population of 425 pediatric nurses. Nurses are recruited by a mass e-mail to their work e-mails with a link to the online survey. Nurses’ comfort level …

Murder With A Penknife: Individual Identity Formation In Charles Brockden Brown's Ormond, Patrick Prominski

Masters Theses

Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Ormond (1799) is in many ways a typical Gothic novel. However, stripping away its Gothic trappings reveals a more complex tale than Brown’s European Gothic inspirations. Brown seems to have been keenly aware of the struggle to form a distinctly American identity in the wake of the Revolution. Reading Ormond as an attempt by Brown to outline a potential American identity reveals a complexity far beyond Ormond’s Gothic kin. Furthermore, examining Brown’s works Alcuin (1798) and “Walstein’s School of History” (1799) alongside Ormond exposes the basis for Brown’s position on women in the new Republic …