Digital Commons Network^™

Neural Characteristics Of Affectionate Communicators: Trait Affection And Asymmetry In The Prefrontal Cortex, Robert Joel Lewis

Theses

Individual differences in thresholds for affectionate communication should be reflected by differences in neurological structure and function. A theoretical schema from several overlapping literatures including evolutionary psychology, social neuroscience, fundamental personality, and communication are examined to make the case that high-affection communicators have greater relative electrical activity in the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) versus the right PFC reflected in asymmetrical baseline EEG recordings. Participants (N=16) reported trait-affection levels using Floyd?s (2002) TAS-G, which measures an individual?s threshold for expressing affection. Participants? baseline electrical activity was then recorded. Asymmetry was operationalized as the difference between microvolt (μV) values of laterally opposed …

Bystander, Paul D. Van Hoy

Theses

My thesis raises existential questions about identity and the construction of meaning using language as a premise and platform to provoke inquiry about the distinction between various classifications of viewer. A reexamination of the term bystander compelled me to create violently themed imagery in order to locate boundaries within viewership roles. Although it shares similarities with the roles of observer, spectator, and witness, in terms of the bystanderʼs visual observance of an event, there are unclear connotations that allude to varying degrees of lucidity and sentience among these roles. The agency of the viewer is evaluated by his/her level of …

Collector, Larissa Cleveland

Theses

This thesis compliments my photographic investigation into an individual and societal preoccupation with collecting and the narrative or symbolic power of objects. My experiences as a child surrounded by my father’s mass collection of civil war artifacts prompted my continued interest in the pursuit of collecting and also to question the nature of hobby versus obsession. In this paper, I consider the personal and social conditions present in Western society that inform an inherent need to possess, create order, gain status, knowledge and to preserve. I discuss the creation of a persona through possession, but also question to what extent …

The Academic English Literacy Acquisition Experiences Of Deaf College Students, Kathryn Schmitz

Theses

The purpose of this dissertation was to describe deaf college students’ perceptions of their experiences learning academic English literacy. The study examined the narrated academic English literacy acquisition experiences and practices of 11 deaf and hard-ofhearing students at a hearing university with a large deaf student population. Through paradigmatic analysis of narrative data, the study located common themes that revealed their perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition. The study was conducted with deaf students attending a college for deaf and hardof- hearing students, which is one of eight colleges at a major northeastern university. Methods employed in the study were …

Visual Agreement Of Spot Color Overprints As Displayed And As Printed, Sri Hemanth Prakhya

Theses

The spot color system has several discrepancies within it, as it lacks the support system and strong fundamental color management system that the process color system has. It has been proven that the display and print reproduction of process colors is predictable; however, for spot colors, the predictability is questionable. The intent of the thesis research is to assess the accuracy of the premedia software tools for a softproofing setup of the spot colors and their overprints. The research experiment is examined on the most available scenarios of softproofing for spot colors, under a streamlined and controlled methodology that provides …

Human Activity Recognition Using Limb Component Extraction, Jamie Boeheim

Theses

in the field of human activity recognition has existed for quite sometime, but has gained popularity in recent years for use in many areas of application. In the security industry, suspicious activities could be detected in high-profile areas. In the medical industry, systems could be trained to detect patterns of motion indicating distress or to detect a lack of motion if a person had fallen and was unable to move. However, algorithms with reliable accuracy are difficult to implement in a real-time environment due to computational complexity. This thesis developed a new way of extracting and using data from a …

Designing For Situations Of Elevated Stress, Minsoo Kim

Theses

This graduate thesis project examined the importance of information design in the context of problems where stressful situations can compromise the function of design solutions to communicate messages clearly and effectively.

The Film Title Sequence As An Influence On The Design Of Print Promotion, Rajat Khullar

Theses

Graphic design solutions for promotional purposes pose a special challenge for designers who must not only make certain that the design is conceptually strong and engaging in itself, but also that it is successful in conveying the worth of a product, a brand, an organization or company to a diverse audience. Promotional design is all about presenting its subject in the most attractive manner possible in order to draw viewer attention to that which is being promoted. Such design solutions aim at creating a need or demand for a specific type of goods or services offered by a client. Alternatively …

Color In Scientific Visualization: Perception And Image-Based Data Display, Hongqin Zhang

Theses

Visualization is the transformation of information into a visual display that enhances users understanding and interpretation of the data. This thesis project has investigated the use of color and human vision modeling for visualization of image-based scientific data. Two preliminary psychophysical experiments were first conducted on uniform color patches to analyze the perception and understanding of different color attributes, which provided psychophysical evidence and guidance for the choice of color space/attributes for color encoding. Perceptual color scales were then designed for univariate and bivariate image data display and their effectiveness was evaluated through three psychophysical experiments. Some general guidelines were …

Political Snapshots: The Undecided Voter’S Perceptions Of Internet Based Imagery During The 2004 Presidential Election Campaign, Joseph Kunz

Theses

In the 2004 election, public perceptions of President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry were shaped through a new medium: the Internet. A survey of 124 registered voters in Monroe County of New York State found a contingent of undecided voters to be significantly smaller than previously thought and that 4.5% of the sample reported being influenced by still imagery viewed on the Internet. Negative images had a greater influence on the respondents than positive images, although the source of the image played a significant role in determining whether an image was deemed positive or negative.

Automatic Image Registration And Defect Identification Of A Class Of Structural Artifacts In Printed Documents, Kartheek Chandu

Theses

The work in this thesis proposes a defect analysis system, which automatically aligns a digitized copy of a printed output to a reference electronic original and highlights image defects. We focus on a class of image defects or artifacts caused by shortfalls in the mechanical or electro-photographic processes that include spots, deletions and debris missing deletions. The algorithm begins with image registration performed using a logpolar transformation and mutual information techniques. A confidence map is then calculated by comparing the contrast and entropy in the neighborhood of each pixel in both the printed document and corresponding electronic original. This results …

Long Driving Hours And Health Of Truck Drivers, Stephen J. Benstowe

Theses

In recent time, the health of truck drivers has become a concern for regulatory agencies and safety professionals all over the world. Fatal and non-fatal injury rates for truck drivers are among the highest of all occupations. Truck driving is an important and tedious job. Driving for long hours, drivers are confined to a small space, sit with static lower and upper extremities posture, mentally focus and absorb vibrations.

This thesis provides an in-depth review of the literature related to the problems of long distance truck drivers and commercial motor vehicle operators. The Literature suggests that continuous exposure of truck …

Comparison Of Linear Parametric Models For Predicting Fmri Response, Parina Gandhi

Theses

In this study, five different linear parametric models including Autoregressive model (ARX), Autoregressive Moving Average Model (ARMAX), Box-Jenkins Model (BJ), Instrument Variable Model (IV) and Prediction Error Model (PEM) were used to predict the fMRI response and their performances compared. Transfer functions were computed for every voxel time series for every subject using all the parametric models. Cross-correlation was subsequently performed between the predicted response and the actual fMRI data to compare the performance of the five models. The consistency of the models and the transfer function was checked by doing a statistical analysis. Among the five models tested, PEM …

Using Wavelet And Template Analysis To Classify Hand Postures In Unsupervised Daily Activities, Soha Hassan Saleh

Theses

This project's goal was to identify determinants that characterize different types of activities an individual do in daily life, knowing the quality of hand function is essential to plan more effective rehabilitation therapies and treatments for upper limb movement disorders. The first part of the project was Jebsen-Taylor study where healthy individuals and individuals with brain injury performed seven activities classified as precision grasp, cylindrical grasp, and palmar grasp while metacarpal joint angles were measured in real time. The data from those seven activities was used to determine parameters that characterize each type of activity and which might be used …

Visuomotor Adaptation With Augmented Feedback, Andrew D. Leblanc

Theses

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The Effects Of Writing About Positive Reminiscence On Happiness With Adolescents, Alison M. Senter

Theses

Much research has been done with adults in the field of positive psychology, reminiscence, and journal writing. Previous findings reveal that reminiscing about positive memories enhances one's happiness, well-being, life satisfaction, and self-continuity. The current study sought to expand this to adolescence. A group of 19 male and female ninth graders from a northeastern, suburban high school were assigned to a positive reminiscence or a daily hassles journal writing group. Analyses revealed significant effects on participants' positive affect; journal writing in general and specifically writing only about positive memories both significantly increased participants' ratings of perceived positive affect. However, no …

The Lord And Giver Of Life: The Person And Work Of The Holy Spirit In The Trinitarian Theology Of Colin E Gunton, Michael D. Stringer

Theses

Colin Gunton was one of the leading figures in a late twentieth century movement which sought to rejuvenate interest in systematic and trinitarian theology. Gunton’s theology was heavily influenced by the trinitarian thought of Karl Barth. As his thought matured, however, he was increasingly drawn to resources found in Irenaeus and the Cappadocian Fathers. Drawing from these patristic sources, Gunton sought to develop a trinitarian theology formulated upon personal and relational categories of thought as a corrective to the over-emphasis upon substantialist conceptuality in the Western tradition. He held that a doctrine of God that desires to remain consistent with …

The Relationships Between Ethical Climates, Ethical Ideology, And Organisational Commitment, Martinus P. Putranta

Theses

A critical problem which faces higher education institutions in Indonesia is that of being able to generate staff’s commitment notwithstanding the inability of the institutions to provide their staff with comparable remuneration. This research sought to ascertain the potential of alternatives to extrinsic rewards in facilitating staff’s commitment in the Indonesian Catholic higher education institutions context. Two ethics-related variables, namely, institutional ethical climates and staff’s ethical ideology were chosen as the possible predictors. The choice was deemed relevant in respect of the endeavours of the institutional leaders to introduce codes of ethics to their institutions. A conceptual model delineating the …

Non-Eea (European Economic Area) Entrepreneurs Face No Additional Barriers Than Their Eu Counterparts, When Starting A Business In Ireland., Anthony Garvey

Theses

Do ethnic minority entrepreneurs (EMEs) seeking to start up a business in Ireland operate on a level playing field with their EU counterparts? Or are there unique barriers that EMEs face and if so, what are they and how do we tackle them?

This dissertation examines all of these questions and reveals whether racism or red tape, lack of finance or language skills is suffocating ethnic entrepreneurship more.

It explores the very latest research papers, and reports and combines both qualitative and quantitative data, with a series of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire aimed squarely at entrepreneurs.

The dissertation discovers …

Art Therapy Student Placement : Challenge And Opportunity?, Niamh Kennedy

Theses

The purpose of this research project is to explore the sector of Student Placement as it forms a significant part of the training programme on the MA in Art Therapy in Cork. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of this part of the educational process for trainees and investigate the impact the Clinical Placement experience has on Student Art Therapists.

By reflecting on the advancement of Art Therapy in our neighbouring isle and exploring the growth of Art Therapy as a profession in the Republic of Ireland, this study aims to chronicle a more recent Irish history of Art …

Guest Satisfaction And Guest Loyalty Study For Hotel Industry, Danijel Carev

Theses

Common perception by practitioners in the hotel industry today that a satisfied guest would become a repeat customer was considered as a major subject of this research. It determined the extent to which satisfaction fostered loyalty. Interviewing guests and demonstrating the expression of visual experience through photography illustrated the guests´ propensity for recommending and returning to the hotel as a repeat customer. Using a provided digital camera, participating guests were asked to photograph whatever caught their eye to illustrate the hotel as being meaningful. In examining factors such as ambience, service, as well as with the guest’s overall satisfaction with …

The Influence Of Health Inquiries On Clinical Governance Systems: A Case Study Of The Douglas Inquiry, Heather Gluyas

Theses

Major failures in patient safety often lead to high profile inquiries set up to establish the facts, and to identify areas of improvement to prevent further failures. In order to learn from inquiries, we need to be able to identify if, and how, the inquiry process influences improvements. Using a case study strategy, this research study examined the perceptions of external stakeholders in regards to the impact or influence of the Douglas Inquiry on KEMH’s clinical governance systems. The research focused on two areas that were highlighted in the final Inquiry report as requiring reform. These systems deal with the …

Research In Aboriginal Contexts: Kimberley Voices, Luke Taaffe

Theses

As a result of the enduring legacy of negative Australian history and culturally inappropriate past research practices, Aboriginal peoples are generally suspicious and mistrusting of research and researchers, particularly non-Indigenous researchers. Poor relations, paternalistic policies, racial discrimination and the inherent unequal power distribution in research relationships has seen many Aboriginal communities exploited, studied as ‘the other’, robbed of intellectual property, sacred artefacts and human remains. The introduction of ethical research guidelines in recent times has since improved contemporary researcher practices; however the lack of grassroots Aboriginal community consultation regarding appropriate, culturally competent research practices led the researcher to ask Aboriginal …

Enmasking Beckett: The Use Of The Commedia Dell'arte In Waiting For Godot, Shaun Sheley

Theses

In Enmasking Beckett: The Use of the Commedia dell'Arte in Waiting for Godot, Shaun Sheley explores how the traditional Italian theatrical form of Commedia dell'Arte can inform and enhance character development and physical expression in Samuel Beckett’s seminal play Waiting for Godot. Drawing on his experience directing a 2007 university production, Sheley demonstrates how the fixed archetypes and physical vocabulary of Commedia dell'Arte can be applied to Beckett’s characters—Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo, and Lucky—to support their stylized, non-naturalistic portrayal and Beckett’s own directive for the play to be performed "balletically."

The thesis contextualizes Waiting for Godot within Beckett’s broader …

Structural Validity Of The Mood And Behavior Rating Scale For Youth – Parent Form (Mbrsy-Pf): A Parent Informant Questionnaire To Assess Bipolar Disorder In Children And Adolescents, Laura A. Nemcek

Theses

Empirically validated techniques to reliably assess for bipolar disorder in children and adolescents are crucial toward timely and effective treatment efforts. Rating scales and behavior checklists are often considered a valuable alternative to the semi-structured interview, as they can provide quantified information regarding symptom experience, and values can be compared to both age and gender norms as a supplement to clinical expertise (Kahana, Youngstrom, Findling, & Calabrese, 2003). Converse to semistructured interviews, rating scales are brief and time efficient, inexpensive, simple to administer, require much less training to deliver and interpret, and can be utilized for screening purpose by a …

Transmute, Joseph Montroy

Theses

Man has an enduring subconscious connection with anthropological imagery and narrative. This association extends to the methods and practices that place importance on certain objects over others. In every culture throughout history the shared understanding of existence has been determined by images, symbols and archetypes. Intuitive logic and shared unconscious knowledge pervaded the daily lives of pre-modern man. Early people maintained a stronger connection with nature, spirituality and the subconscious. Archaic man acknowledged one stone among many as possessing spiritual properties. That stone could become a sacred receptacle that differentiated it from all others and saturated it with meaning and …

Recollection, Erika Tada

Theses

My central thesis meaning is seeking to recollect my authentic experiences and memories, and to encapsulate my emotions and any "small happiness" I encounter. For the concept of preservation of my memories, I intend to document important times and places by recalling my childhood and family history, and to make my memories eternal. During the process of creating my glass art, I can signify my personal experience in relation to my inner life. I am working with my feelings, and I make objects important and of great reverence in my life. Moreover, this process helps me assimilate a new culture …

Vivum Excoriari, Kristina Marie Stafford

Theses

My inspirations for this body of sculpture are implements of torture and antique tools. I am interested in the relationship between historical value and psychological response; the push and pull of the terrible and beautiful. I am exploring the emotive substance of the objects by choosing implements that evoke an emotional and psychological response. I am obsessed with objects that crush, grasp, cut, constrict, and bind such as axes, meat hooks and, most recently, medieval torture devices. I find them simultaneously beautiful and unsettling. These objects express themselves so clearly as a threat through their form, allowing the viewers to …

Teachers’ Knowledge Of English Phonology And Attitudes Toward Reading Instruction As Related To Student Outcomes, Casey L. Lewis

Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers’ knowledge of English phonology and attitudes toward explicit and implicit reading instruction were related to student growth in reading. First-grade teachers completed a knowledge assessment and attitudes survey, and their students were administered reading measures in the spring of kindergarten and first grade. The data were analyzed to determine relationships between teacher variables and student achievement. Moderate correlations emerged between teachers’ knowledge, attitudes toward explicit instruction, and student achievement, but there were no significant correlations between these teacher variables and student reading growth. Teachers with higher levels of knowledge were …

The Use Of Career Assessments In Transition Planning: An Exploratory Study, Annmarie J. Schimmel

Theses

The Self Directed Search (SDS) and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) were administered to a group of college age students who were either School Psychology graduate students or undergraduate students enrolled in a Career Exploration course at a local, private university. It was hypothesized that the SDS and the 16PF profiles for the students would differ between the two groups, showing that the profiles for those enrolled as School Psychology graduate students would be similar to the career summary codes previously identified for their chosen careers. Independent t-tests showed that on the SDS the School Psychology graduate students scored …