Digital Commons Network^™

Teachers' Perceptions And Attitudes Regarding Curriculum Mapping, Teresa Ann Truesdale

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Sachu Saharu: Tru Helper. A Melodic Analysis Of Christian Music In Garhwal, North India, Laura Eilders

Masters Theses

This thesis is an ethnomusicological examination of the development of indigenous worship music in Garhwal; a region in Northern India. It focuses on a comparative aspect so as to draw conclusions regarding the elements of music that is identified as Garhwali. It includes a melodic analysis of Garhwali Christian songs written by Rajesh Dongriyal and songs recorded by young women at two Garhwali villages. The theoretical framework is based upon the need of every group of people to have music about Christ in their own language and style of music. The assumption is that this will serve as a powerful …

Using Simulation Techniques To Evaluate Group Technology Heuristics: A Recommended Methodology For Comparison And Optimization, Ashley Nolen Akerman

Masters Theses

Machine cell formation is an important issue in industrial and manufacturing engineering. Properly assigned machine cells can improve manufacturing system efficiencies and decrease unnecessary material movement. To address the need for proper cell formation techniques a myriad of heuristics have been created that attempt to optimize the grouping of machines. Further, much industrial engineering research has been conducted on the application of simulation technology to manufacturing system evaluation.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the combination of traditional machine grouping heuristics with simulation technology and to create a generalized meta-model based upon this evaluation. This investigation analyzes the …

Development And Characterization Of Monoclonal Antibodies Directed Against Tanapox Virus, Michael Franz

Masters Theses

The initial symptoms of a Tanapoxvirus (TPV) infection are indistinguishable from smallpox, which is caused by variola virus (VV). In the post-9/11 area, reagents that can quickly differentiate a TPV infection from smallpox are very desirable, but currently unavailable. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed specifically against TPV can be used for this purpose. Six mAbs were developed and characterized that specifically bind to TPV infected owl monkey kidney (OMK) cells, but not uninfected cells. The apparent molecular mass of the TPV protein(s) recognized by 5 mAbs were calculated using the Western blot technique. One mAb demonstrated no binding using the Western …

Prediction Of Crack Growth Rate And Load Interaction Effects Using Damage Accumulation Model, Virender Goswami

Masters Theses

In damage tolerant designs, it is important to know the crack growth behavior of a material, so that sudden failure of a component can be avoided by determining a safe life. There are numerous models available to predict the crack growth rate. Among them the "crack closure model" is most often used for predicting the crack growth rate for different R-ratios and load interaction effects. However recently, the crack closure model has come under criticism by many authors to be flawed and overrated owing to its inherent drawbacks.

Therefore, a mathematical model for the fatigue crack propagation based on damage …

Tinners And The Stannaries: Law, Life, And Labor In Fourteenth-Century Cornwall, Michael Kurt Deen

Masters Theses

Based on extensive archival research, this thesis analyzes the socio-economic position occupied by fourteenth-century tinners in Cornwall, England. The tinners represented a privileged group of laborers in the later Middle Ages, and the records of their stannary courts provide a unique glimpse into their lives. the evidence from these records show that the stannaries of Cornwall experienced a transformation of the structure of labor after the Black Death out of tin production and into agriculture. The result was a shift from a system overwhelmingly dominated by independent prospectors, dependant on credit for survival, to one which included large-scale operations owned …

Oxidation Of Titanium In Alpha-Calf Serum Solution, Ali Stait Ismailoglu

Masters Theses

Titanium and its alloys have been used extensively in orthopedic implants mainly because of its excellent biocompatibility. This biocompatibility is attributed to its surface oxide film (3-7 nm thickness) that forms immediately upon exposure of titanium to air. In the research, the oxidation of Ti-6Al-4V in alpha-calf serum solution was studied. Four different immersion times were tested. Characterization of surface topography and its chemical composition was examined using Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform-infrared radiation (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AFM results clearly show the gradual change that occurred in the samples topography which is associated with more-rounded …

A Multicomponent Intervention System Using Human Performance Technology Concepts To Improve Performance In Small Service Businesses, Doug Lafleur

Masters Theses

A small business servicing dealerships in the chimney lining industry was responsible for training and resupplying contractors in a propriety chimney lining system. A process was developed for sharing and comparing the dealerships' financial reports and business processes. The process involved a small group of dealers attending regular 6- month meetings called Impact Groups. Dealers took turns hosting the meetings and having the attending dealers analyze their business. A detailed list of problems and solutions was provided to each host business.

Slope Stability Analysis Of A Lake Michigan Coastal Bluff, Gregory Carlton Young

Masters Theses

Bluff failure along the Lake Michigan coast can be produced primarily by increased pore pressure from perched water tables above lacustrine clay deposits. To test this theory, a site in Allegan County, Michigan with alternating layers of sand, clay and glacial till was chosen for bluff failure monitoring. Historically, the site experiences sporadic massive failures as opposed to neighboring sites that show more regular and uniform displacements. Four pole and cable monitoring lines were measured bi-weekly from December 2001 to October 2003. Lake levels were low and no erosion of material at the base of the slope occurred. Slumps above …

Evolution Of Leadership Theories, Ann M. Maslanka

Masters Theses

Evolution of Leadership Theories is a comprehensive study of leadership trends over the years, and in various contexts and theoretical foundations. This study presents the history of dominant leadership theories and research, beginning with the Great man thesis and Trait theory, to the Transformational and Transactional leadership styles to various leadership characteristics. This thesis also offers an example of how a current health care organization utilizes leadership knowledge through an employee satisfaction survey. The researcher took questions from an employee satisfaction survey that directly related to leadership and analyzed how questions as such are beneficial for improving employee job satisfaction. …

Hybrid Or Counterpoise? A Study Of Transitional Trebuchets, Michael J. Basista

Masters Theses

This study investigates the engineering and use of a proposed type of trebuchet in the Middle Ages. A study by a prominent historian has suggested the existence of a type of siege weapon that made use of both human and gravitational forces to fire its projectile. My research will investigate this claim by examining select sources, reviewing the engineering principles involved, and determining the viability of such a machine.

After dealing with this theory I will offer my own new interpretation made from the sources. This interpretation will center on the application of ancient technology to make trebuchets more efficient. …

A Survey Of Lightning Safety Policy In Selected High Schools, Katie Groszek

Masters Theses

Our research will entail a survey of high school certified athletic trainers in the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers' Association (District 4) of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) on lightning safety policy. The NATA has written a position statement (Walsh, 2000) on lightning safety to educate athletic trainers and other individuals on the dangers of lightning and safety guidelines to follow. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) also has lightning safety guidelines for the schools it governs. Despite the recommendations of the NAT A and NCAA, there has been a demonstrated lack of lightning safety policy. The purpose of this …

A Superintendent's Guide To A Successful Bond Proposal, Scott D. Mollenberndt

Masters Theses

For most school districts it has become increasingly difficult to gain voter support for bond referendums. In addition, there is little information available for the superintendent and board of education to reference when considering a bond campaign in their community.

In response to these concerns, "A Superintendent's Guide to a Successful Bond Proposal" was developed to provide campaign strategies, timelines and a sequential list of events for the superintendent to consider. Examples of campaign strategies employed by the Edwardsburg Public Schools, Edwardsburg, Michigan during their successful bond referendum are included as appendices throughout the guidebook.

Through this research, seven essential …

Reinforcement Schedules Modulate Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine And Cocaine, Daniel Kueh

Masters Theses

Drug discrimination is a model used to assess the subjective effects of different psychoactive drugs such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and cocaine. However, results from MDMA discrimination studies across different laboratories have not been consistent. Possible confounds for this inconsistency may include the use of different reinforcement schedules such as the fixed-ratio 20 (FR20) and the variable interval 15 seconds (VI15 s) during discrimination training. Studies examining the effects of these two schedules on the discriminative stimulus properties of MDMA and cocaine have not been conducted. Thus, the present study compared the FR20 and the VI15 s schedules to determine their …

Cross-Layer Design Of A Dynamic Resource Allocation Control For The Next Multimedia Wireless Generation 1xev-Dv Systems, Mohamed Bourouha

Masters Theses

1xEV-DV has been proposed as one of the standards of the next MultimediaWire- less Generation (MWG) systems, which adopts new techniques to enhance wireless data Quality of Service (QoS). Despite the recent research efforts in mapping QoS pa- rameters cross the different layers, there is still no cross layer QoS design that focuses in providing QoS assurances in the 1xEV-DV. Moreover, many possible combinations of resource parameters have been specified in the current standard. However, there are no specifications about the dynamic resource allocation. In this thesis, a suite of Cross Layer Multiuser Diversity Modules are proposed. These modules include …

A Closer Look At Development Of Self-Awareness And Compensatory Strategy Use In Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury, Melissa A. Byrne

Masters Theses

My study investigates the development of self-awareness and use of compensatory strategies in eight adults with traumatic brain injuries using the Awareness Questionnaire (AQ) and three additional questions of descriptive nature. This study also examines whether or not the severity of brain injury (mild, moderate, severe) impacts the development of self-awareness. In addition, the spouses' perceptions of client awareness are compared to the relatives' to determine existence of potential variance.

Results indicate that while there is no significant difference in self-awareness_ between the mild and moderate groups, the severe group significantly varies from both the mild and moderate groups. Also, …

Castles In The Crusader Kingdom Of Valencia, 1257-1276, Marius Nielsen

Masters Theses

For my thesis I proposed to study the registered charters of James I (1208-1276), King of Aragon, to examine how castles were distributed and utilized in the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia for the period 1257-1276. A little over two thousand register charters were issued for Valencia during this period. Around 250 of the two thousand charters mention castles indicating the importance of castles in the administration of the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia. Although there are many works on Western European castles the majority focus on castles in France, Britain and the Crusader States in the Middle East and rely on …

Intersections Of Race, Identity, And Co-Cultural Practices: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of A 'White Black Woman', Tammy Lynn Jeffries

Masters Theses

Notes of a White Black Woman by Judy Scales-Trent (1995) was the text used for this analysis and offered insight to the process of identity development, and the co-cultural communication practices of an African American woman whom others mistake as European American-a 'White Black Woman.' The basis for this body of research was embedded in the premise that co-cultural communication practices are intrinsically linked to the normal communication of the White Black person's identity development negotiation process. The initial exploration of this study began with explaining Kich's (1992) bi-racial identity model from a mono-racial perspective allowing for new interpretations of …

Cultural Encounters: The Peruvian Artifacts Collected By Cristobal Vaca De Castro, Genoveva Garcia-Gallardo Carcedo

Masters Theses

This project examines the collecting activities of Cristobal Vaca de Castro through a comparative analysis of official and private letters, inventories of items he collected, trial records, his judicial review (an appraisal of his activities in office taken after his term ended, known as residencia), and secondary sources. Vaca de Castro was originally sent to Peru to act as a judge to ensure that Francisco Pizarro carried out the royal orders and instructions he had been sent and to establish peace in a Peru struggling with civil wars. The assassination of Francisco Pizarro on the eve of Vaca de …

Denying And Minimizing The Allegations: The Martha Stewart Scandal, Rebecca A. Schmidt

Masters Theses

This thesis studies the crisis management strategies employed by Martha Stewart as she responded to allegations surrounding her sale of ImClone stock in December 2001. Through rhetorical analysis, which utilizes the generic method of criticism, it examines Ms. Stewart's public responses to her crisis that were broadcast on television, printed in newspapers and magazines, and posted on Stewart's website, and found that she used primary strategies of denial and minimization. Finally, this thesis concludes that Ms. Stewart's responses are considered appropriate as they relate to the expectations of her audience as well as her attempt to repair her image and …

Influence Of The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant On Residential Housing Prices, Nicole N. Blodgett

Masters Theses

The controversy over the influence of nuclear power plants on property values is a continual debate among communities (Clark et al. 1997). I will be looking at a sample of 400 residential houses within a twelve-mile radius of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan to see how the location of the plant influences the home sale price. Several structural, neighborhood, and demographic characteristics were complied for the analysis. In addition to these characteristics, distance to the plant, a visibility component, and a dummy variable to indicate all properties within a quarter mile from the Lake Michigan shoreline were …

Current Practices, Preparation, And Demographics Of Music Therapists Working With School-Age Clients Who Have Severe, Profound, And Multiple Impairments, Erin Dalby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) which music therapy techniques may most effectively assist school-age clients with severe, profound, and multiple impairments to achieve certain goals; (b) assess whether music therapists currently feel that they were prepared to adequately serve the target population; and ( c) describe the demographics of music therapists who work with the target population. A researcher-designed questionnaire was completed by music therapists who served school-age clients who have severe/profound and multiple impairments. Results indicated that the use of singing and therapist-composed music were the most effective methods to develop nearly all types of …

Feature Detection Using Linear Structure Modeling And Pca, Kawshif Muhammed Riaz Ahmed

Masters Theses

An algorithm to extract features from digital images such as cracks in concrete bridges for automated inspection is developed. The algorithm is based on the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In general, PCA is used to reduce the dimensionality of a data set that consists of a large number of interrelated variables while retaining the variation present in the original data set. This ability of PCA will be used in this project to identify clusters using two training sets of images. Linear structure modeling is used to emphasize the image features (cracks) prior to applying PCA. Whole images processing …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Recombinant Thrombin Inhibitor, Joel Lwande

Masters Theses

The final step of the blood coagulation cascade is catalyzed by thrombin, a serine protease. Like most enzyme activities, thrombin activity encounters inhibition from both direct and indirect inhibitors. A new thrombin inhibitor peptide named theromin was recently isolated from the leech Theromyzon tessulatum, and it is the most potent thrombin inhibitor isolated to date. Theromin is made up of 67 amino acid residues, out of which 16 are cysteines engaged in 8-disulfide bridges.

We synthesized the theromin gene and expressed the protein in Eschericia coli. We purified the recombinant protein and carried out thrombin inhibition assays that …

Acoustic Wave Based Biosensor, Aditya A. Vijh

Masters Theses

Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) have been widely used for detection of various chemical and biological species in liquid media. In this work an improved binding of Protein A and IgG molecules on QCM biosensors by modifying the gold surface of the quartz crystal with an ultra thin polystyrene film followed by an acidic treatment has been reported. Protein A and IgG immobilizations on quartz crystals with the polystyrene film represented a 65% increase and a 40% increase respectively when compared to immobilization done directly onto the crystals. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been used to investigate and study the biomolecular …

Carbon Nanotube Based Chemical And Biological Sensors, Srikanth Singamaneni

Masters Theses

Carbon nanotubes are among those wonderful molecules man has discovered by chance. Carbon nanotubes are sheets of graphite rolled up to form seamless cylinders. Their outstanding electrical, mechanical and thermal properties form the inspiration behind this work. This work investigates the possible application of carbon nanotubes as biological sensors for the detection of various biomolecules like Streptavidin and Mouse monoclonal Immunoglobulin-G. Electrical conductance changes of Carbon nanotubes for exposure to alcohol vapors were studied. This thesis demonstrates that these quantum wires can form highly sensitive biological and chemical sensors at molecular level. Although the main focus of the-research was chemical …

Comparison Effects Of Tape And The Mcdavid Ultra Brace In Limiting The Amount And Rate Of Ankle Inversion, Leah M. Pataki

Masters Theses

The ankle joint is among one of the most common sites for injury, accounting for 86% of all injuries. Commonly, athletic tape or an ankle brace is used to prevent or protect ankle injuries from occurring and/or re-occurring. The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of athletic tape and the McDavid Ultra brace in limiting the amount and rate of ankle inversion when using dynamic ankle inversion. Subjects (6=Males, 12=Females) completed ten trials on an inversion platform under the following conditions: no-tape (control) and two bracing conditions (athletic tape and McDavid Ultra Brace). A 2 x 3 …

Testing The Relationships Among Depression, Communication Competence, Relational Satisfaction, And Social Support, Rebecca Sue Devries

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to test the relationship between depression, communication competence (CC), and social support. This relationship is rooted in the premise that central to CC is one's ability to solicit and receive social support from interpersonal relationships in terms of 3 dimensions: assertiveness, responsiveness, and cognitive flexibility. It was hypothesized that depression is negatively associated to cognitive flexibility, and in tum the assertiveness and responsiveness CC dimensions are positively related to quality interpersonal relationships and the social support received from such relationships. Bivariate correlation results indicate the data are consistent with the predicted relationships between the …

Examining Restricted And Repetitive Behavior In Children With Autism: A Descriptive Study, Dawn Deann Detweiler

Masters Theses

This exploratory study examined the specific topographies and corresponding demographic information of restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities of children with autism, and evaluated developmental differences between age groups. Previous literature has largely neglected this core feature of autism despite the need, and frequent call for such foundational data (Bodfish et al., 2000; Kennedy et al., 2000; Mercier et al., 2000; Turner, 1999). Participants included primary caregivers of 104 children who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and ranged in age from 3 to 7 years (M = 4. 7). The behaviors reported as occurring …

Microwave Pretreatment Of Corn Stover For Anaerobic Digestion, Abhishek D. Saxena

Masters Theses

Anaerobic digestion is one of the several technologies used for biomass conversion to electricity or heat. This thesis focused on microwave irradiation of corn stover as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion, and studies its impact on methane production.

The first run comprised three sets of stover soaked overnight in water, dilute sulfuric acid and dilute acetic acid, and each treated to three different levels of microwave irradiation. The results indicated a high variability in the data of the water set, which showed that there was no clear impact of microwave pretreatment on methane production. The dilute sulfuric acid and dilute …