Digital Commons Network^™

Relationship Between The Church Involvement And The Self-Esteem In Urban African American Adolescents, Ywinta Jones

Theses

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the level of church involvement and self-esteem in African American adolescents from the area of St. Louis, Missouri. Participants were 58 adolescents who were given two instruments: The Hare Self-esteem Scale and Church Involvement Assessment Scale. The Hare Self-esteem was administered to measure the level of self-esteem. The researcher designed the Church Involvement Assessment Scale to measure the level of involvement in church related activities. The hypothesis was that the adolescents who are more involved in church related activities would tend to have a higher self-esteem than adolescents who are less …

Prescriptions For The Top Five Problem Areas Of Corporate Teams: A Blueprint For Success, James B. Wilson

Theses

This thesis will focus on five top problem areas corporate teams face in regards to effective teamwork and how those areas can be remedied.

Research has revealed five top problem areas: personality conflicts, confused goals, depleted trust, mismatched needs, and leadership failure. These areas consistently challenge those entities where corporate teams are present.

Since the Industrial Revolution work groups, their individual components, and relevant external forces, have been scrutinized by psychologists, sociologists, behaviorists, and business consultants. Many researchers have learned (sometimes by accident) how perception, communication, and commitment can have a direct affect upon teamwork. Through trial and error, corporations …

Social Cognition: The Impact Of Gender And Leadership Surrounding Groupthink In Conjunction With Foreign Policy Decision-Making, Maggie E. Kuehner

Theses

This thesis surrounds social cognition seen within group dynamics. Specifically, focusing on the study of decision - making and the impact gender and leadership styles has upon groups under risk involved decision - making. Th.is type of decision-making is generally seen with corporate committees and members involved in the formation of foreign policy.

Research has attributed to reprehensible historical :fiascoes to faulty group decision - making. Due to this notion, it is imperative to hone in on the cognitive process and the possible factors that act as antecedents to errors in judgement seen in groups.

Many results remain inconclusive when …

The Adult Student In Higher Education And Training, Kathlee Despain-Rogers

Theses

This thesis will focus on the needs of the adult or nontraditional student. An in-depth look at bow non-traditional students came to be and how higher education is accommodating them today and tomorrow.

Before 1944, adult students were not commonplace on college campuses. At that time even high school graduation was a rare achievement. However, The Servicemen's (and women's) Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as "The GI Bill," changed all that. The Act provided many benefits but it is best known for giving former soldiers, both male and female, a chance at a college education or a degree from …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Lung Function And Aerobic Capacity In People With Asthma., Pat Flanagan

Theses

The prevalence of asthma is rapidly increasing throughout the world. Many developed countries have reported a greater incidence and severity of asthma in both adults and children (Woolcock and Peat, 1997). Up to 90% of those diagnosed with asthma will experience some asthma symptoms during or after exercise. This condition is known as Exercise-Induced Asthma (EIA). The severity of the bout of EIA depends mainly on the type, intensity and duration of the exercise session. Environmental conditions, medication and possibly the level of fitness of the individual may also influence EIA (Storms and Joyner, 1999; Guill, 1996; Weiler, 1996).

The …

A Critical Examination Of The Philosophy Of Charles S. Peirce: A Defence Of The Claim That His Pragmatism Is Founded On His Theory Of Categories, Siosifa Ika

Theses

This thesis explores the relation in Peirce’s philosophy between his theory of categories and his pragmatism. My most central claim is that the possibility and validity of metaphysics as a philosophical science depend on the appropriateness of its method. I argue that an appropriate method for metaphysics is possible, and that in Peirce’s pragmatism as founded on his theory of categories we find such a method. In developing this thesis I seek to demonstrate four key propositions: 1. Peirce’s ‘pragmatism’ is fundamentally a form of metaphysical and epistemological realism and in this respect differs from logical positivism and other types …

Some Theological Implications Of Two Catholic Responses In Care And Prevention To The Hiv/Aids Pandemic In Korea And The Philippines, Yong-Seong Roh

Theses

Dialogues with two Catholic institutions in Korea and the Philippines concerned with those suffering from AIDS and working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS highlight the ambiguities and contradictions in both current knowledge and attitudes. Among the general public and church members there is considerable misunderstanding about the issues both the nature of the disease and the Church's moral teaching. Catholic institutions and secular based NGOs reveal the importance of interactive social networks in promoting positive responses in the face of widespread prejudice and stigmatization.

Suffering arising from HIV/AIDS presents a challenge to promote an ethics of relieving the misery …

Narrative, Meaning Making And Personal Development: Teachers' Storied Experience In Montessori, Steiner And Other Primary Classrooms, Gayle C. Ward

Theses

This study explored how narrative was being used to foster meaning-making in Montessori, Steiner, Government and Catholic schools. In-depth interviews of twelve teachers from the four educational settings were used to collect the teachers' stories that comprised the data on narrative use. NUD*IST software was employed to organise data and to focus on emerging concepts through data analysis. A wide spectrum of narrative uses related to meaning making was revealed. These varied understandings support using narrative to foster insight on three levels relating to several theoretical views of narrative and its importance.

Time Travel As An Element Of Literature, Klenya M. Morales Miranda

Theses

The purpose of this culminating project is to compile information about the evolution and development of the idea of time travel in western literature.

This endeavor offers a historical approach tracing the evolution of the idea of time travel in literature, its consideration in science, and the interaction between these two fields to create a new theme of art.

Through the analysis of different works about time travel, we will identify plot, themes, symbols and other elements that are common to this sort of literature. From these elements we will be in the position to infer the meaning that each …

A Global Sensitivity Analysis Of Photochemical Models Used For Predicting Tropospheric Ozone, Daniel Wimer

Theses

The Clean Air Act requires the use of complex photochemical models to predict future ozone concentrations and the impact of current and future regulations. In many instances uncertainty in the data input parameters used to operate these models results in uncertainty in the prediction of future air quality. The degree of this uncertainty is often greater than the degreee of air quality improvements proposed by regulations. This study evaluates the sensitivity of a photochemical model to predict future ozone air quality with respect to the uncertainty of several critical input parameters. These parameters are: Transported ozone (ozone aloft) Biogenic emissions …

Understanding Business Consortium Approaches To Privacy: What Does The Customer Profile Exchange Specification Truly Mean For Personal Privacy?, Joellen Osburn

Theses

Not provided.

Global Dynamic E-Marketplaces, And Their Role In The Internet-Based Economy, Mehdi Rafi

Theses

Collaboration capabilities are what will most probably create the gap between winners and losers in business-to-business (B2B) commerce. In this context, the electronic marketplace (EM) comes as a medium for trade and collaboration, and a common entry point where partners can share business processes and adopt a decentralized business model fuelled by market evolution. The thesis illustrates the advantages of collaborative business and presents the information technologies that support it. The purpose of this thesis is to educate both the author and the reader on the technology and infrastructure that supports collaborative business and to posit that among the three …

Economic Analysis Of The Cost Of Inconsistencies In The Implementation Of Isdn Network Layer Standards, Thomas Bennett

Theses

Case studies depicting ISDN network layer interoperability and standards nonconformance were evaluated, and categorized by type. In each case study the root cause of the interoperability problem was identified, and validated with reference to the applicable ISDN standard. Corrective measures were proposed, and where implemented, the results of the correction were documented. Relative costs associated with the interoperability issue were identified, and recommendation's outlining the best method for avoiding these inconsistencies going forward were presented.

Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (Adsl) An In-Depth Study, John Kernan

Theses

Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is one member of a group of broadband access technologies that uses the existing copper-based local loop of the analog PSTN for high-speed digital data transmission. One feature of ADSL is that it permits analog voice POTS transmissions to continue uninterrupted over the same wiring. Specifically, POTS continues to use the 0 to 4 KHz frequency range of the copper wiring, while ADSL uses bandwidth starting at 25 KHz and extending up to approximately 1.1 MHz for data transmission. The term "asymmetrical" refers to the fact that data rates downstream (to the user) and upstream …

The Future Of Data Communications System Design, Kenneth Kellow

Theses

The Information Technology universe and its data communications subset was created largely due to advances in integrated circuit technology. Primarily focused on layer 2 of the OSI model, silicon integration is a technology upon which much of data communications is constructed. Over the past forty years advances in integrated circuit technology have manifested themselves through shrinking structural dimensions and increases in performance. This combination of shrinking structural dimensions also known as circuit density, and performance increases, also known as circuit speed, have led to long term compound productivity increases and a seemingly never ending menu of data communications applications. Recent …

Evaluation Of The Change On Water Vapor Transmission Rate Of Different Polypropylene Films In Contact With D-Limoneme And The Effect Such Changes Have On The Shelf Life Of Confectionary Products., Anna Romero

Theses

This paper discusses the changes observed in Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) of three plastic films while exposed to different concentrations of d-limoneme. The concentration of d-limoneme on the films was determined by means of Headspace Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry. The Water Vapor Transmission rate of all films was determined by means of a MOCON-Water Vapor Permeation Analysis System Permatran-W 3/31. It was observed that d-limoneme affected the films in two ways: at lower concentrations, the WVTR decreased but, after certain concentration was reached, the WVTR increased. These results explain the shortened shelf-life of candies containing d-limoneme which are …

Campylobacter Spp: A Molecular Investigation Of Transmission Through The Food Chain In Ireland, Brigid Lucey

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of thermophilic Campylobacter infections in Ireland, and to assess antimicrobial resistance among animal isolates and its relevance to human enteric infection with Campylobacter. The first part of the study focused on 84 isolates of human, poultry and porcine origins, isolated between 1996 and 1998 in the Cork region. These isolates were identified to species level using a combination of biochemical and molecular methods. Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) was the predominant organism among human and poultry isolates, whilst all of the porcine isolates examined were identified as C. coli. DNA amplification …

Active Noise Control Using Adaptive And Advanced Control Techniques, Michael O'Brien

Theses

The theory and application of Active Noise Control to remove irritating acoustic pollution from a variety of sources has and continues to receive significant attention from both theoreticians and practitioners.

While a classical acoustic noise problem is the rejection of acoustic tonal disturbances with the most common solution employed being the celebrated filtered-X LMS algorithm, this thesis shows that the presence of non-linearly induced harmonics at multiple frequencies of the original tone often results in poor performance of this algorithm. It is further found that the noise reduction at these problematic harmonics can be improved in a number of ways, …

Adaptive Radio Resource Management For 2.5g Cellular Networks, Ken Murray

Theses

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in demand for mobile communication services and with the introduction of 2.5G services such as general packet radio service, this trend is expected to increase further. These new services will introduce highly dynamic tele-traffic variations due to the inherent variability in resource usage of the new data services. The net effect will be considerable increase in load on the available radio resources. The currently employed fixed channel allocation scheme lacks the flexibility to support such traffic variations. A plethora of dynamic channel allocation schemes have been proposed in the past in an effort …

Extensible Data Storage And Presentation Technology For An Ophthalmology Electronic Patient Record, Markus H. Heinrichs

Theses

The Electronic Patient Record (EPR) is a central element of practice systems used in ophthalmology. It acts as a repository for multi-media patient care data as well as billing information, serving healthcare providers and ultimately their patients. The aim of this thesis is to create both a data structure and a flexible on-screen representation of an EPR for an ophthalmology practice, and to provide an XML-based experimental prototype as a “proof of concept” which could ultimately be used as an replacement for an existing DOS- based solution. The medical background and requirements for this system will be described. The state-of-the-art …

The Evolution Of Cell Colonies In Volvocacean Algae : Investigation By Theoretical Analysis And Computer Simulation., Frank Noe

Theses

This thesis presents a mathematical analysis and computational simulation which is used to investigate the evolution of cell colonies. The evolutionary transition from unicellular to cell colony form is a prerequesite for multicellular life as it exists abundantly on earth. This transition has occured numerous times independently so that we expect a high selective advantage to be associated with it. The photosynthetic green algae order Volvocaceae is an appropriate set of model organisms for the study of the evolution of cell colonies since it comprises living unicellular organisms, cell colonies, and multicellular organisms of different shapes, sizes and levels of …

A Physical Activity Intervention Program, Jackie Ní Mhuircheartaigh

Theses

Physical activity levels decline dramatically during adolescence, particularly among adolescent girls. Data is lacking on ways to tailor physical activity interventions to the needs and interests of young girls to prevent this rapid decline. This study aimed to design and implement a physical activity intervention program aimed at promoting increased participation in physical activity among adolescent girls.

Forty-five transition year female students (mean age 15.65yrs) from two girls secondary schools participated in this study. Schools were assigned to intervention and control conditions. All students participated in focus groups, two questionnaires were utilised in the study and a random sample of …

An Investigation Into The Concepts And Applicability Of Agent Technologies, Anne White

Theses

The software world is one of great richness and diversity

Even though the concept of software agents date back to the days of AI (Artificial Intelligence) work (1970’s) the word “Agent” is currently in vogue in the computing press and computer science communities.

This thesis presents a review of the ongoing evolution of software agents, places agents in context within today’s software domain, and takes a closer look at the ongoing debate of what really constitutes an '"Agenf\ The numerous dimensions of classification are studied and an opinion of the attributes that an agent should encompass is put forward. Leading …

Design And Analysis Of Radio Frequency Deployment Algorithms For Gsm, Mónica Pérez-Carbonell

Theses

Due to the growth of the subscriber base and the introduction of new services, mobile communications networks’ demand for wireless resources is increasing. This has resulted in an increasing need to change the frequency allocation of a network in order to adapt the cellular network to new frequency demands.

Currently, a planning tool generates a new frequency plan, which is. then deployed to cell sites. The deployment should ideally be carried out with minimum disruption to network operation, which makes this deployment process a critical undertaking as any errors during or after the deployment can leave the network with poor …

Diffraction Limited 3d Cell Volume Derivation For Scattering Data Analysis, Monica Barbu-Mcinnis

Theses

Ultrasound speckle carries information about the interrogated scattering microstructure. To effectively analyze this scattering microstructure using a monochromatic signal, a separate transmit and receive crossbeam geometry is implemented. The complex echo signal is represented as a superposition of signals due to all scatterers within an effective resolution cell volume, VE, in the crossbeam geometry. An estimate of such an effective resolution cell volume is required in order to remove system effects when attempting to characterize material using moment analysis. The effective resolution cell volume, VE is defined in terms of the overlapping diffraction beam patterns for the transmit-receive transducers. Given …

The Potential For Public Opinion To Generate Change In Policy Formation, Peter M. Roguszka

Theses

Towards the end of the Twentieth Century there were a number of examples of change to public policy that were not the product of political debate and public consideration. Rather, they appear to have originated in another less visible, and therefore less open to critique manner. It is argued that it is changes to the general thrust of public opinion that have given validity to these policy changes. The ways in which changes to public opinion are caused to change and by whom are investigated and a theory of 'Australian Public Opinion Change' is developed. This theory is applied to …

You Are Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue: How Computer Games Are Consuming Modern Culture, Douglas Alexander

Theses

Computer games represent an area of untapped, unappreciated potential in the human-computer relationship. Having long been considered "low culture" and unworthy of scholarly attention, the focus on games is intensifying as the field of ludology emerges. The first game was created forty years ago, and since then games have branched out from their traditionally young male user base and gained popularity with both adults and females. Violence in and addiction to games remain controversial topics, but the threat posed by games fades a bit in comparison to the fascinating insights they give us into literature, art, and cinema. Their cultural …

A Comparative Study Between Ireland's Economic Model And Jordan's Current Reforms: What Are The Characteristics Jordan Can Emulate?, Yanal Jallad

Theses

Jordan is a beautiful country with a rich assortment of historical, religious and geographical tourist attractions. It is both a modern and moderate nation with a hospitable people. Sandwiched in a turbulent region, Jordan must overcome these challenges while moving its economic transformation forward. Some commentators point out that Jordan can learn a great deal from countries like Ireland, who have successfully transformed their economies into globally competitive ones. By identifying and understanding the fundamental characteristics of the Irish model, Jordan would be in a better position to emulate the Irish model while maintaining its uniqueness and character. This body …

Making Connections: A Study And Application Of Christian Hospitality, Dennis Murphy

Theses

Dewitt Community Church (DCC) and other Christian Churches were examined in the attempt to create a program of hospitality that was not present at DCC. There was a shift in research due to the lack of a similar model elsewhere. Studying the leadership and membership at DCC as well as trying new ideas became the basis for the study. The importance of people spending time together and serving side by side is established. Christian Hospitality is defined and added to secular restaurant management wisdom to create a Hospitality Ministry at DCC. This included a weekly brunch that was new in …

Throughput Control For A Many-To-Many System, Ravi Nareppa

Theses

The main aim of this research was to develop a way of controlling the throughput of an application using M2MP, to monitor this throughput rate, and to implement a way to get real-time feedback using plots.