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An Analysis Of Methodologies & Best Practices For Rapidly Acquiring Technologies To Meet Urgent Warfighter Needs, Charles D. Solomon Mar 2008

An Analysis Of Methodologies & Best Practices For Rapidly Acquiring Technologies To Meet Urgent Warfighter Needs, Charles D. Solomon

Theses and Dissertations

The rapidly changing global security environment that today's military operates within requires an ever-increasing ability to quickly adapt to non-traditional threats. This has forced the United States to re-examine the traditional means of equipping its forces to ensure more agile acquisition practices are available to the Science and Technology (S&T) and acquisition communities. While there have been significant efforts to look towards industry for potential solutions to this problem, the heavily bureaucratic and restrictive government environment has made applying commercial lessons learned difficult. To effectively implement rapid fielding approaches within the government context, research into organizations facing the same or …


Production And Characterization Of Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, David R. Armbruster Mar 2008

Production And Characterization Of Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Air Plasma, David R. Armbruster

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to produce, characterize, and optimize laser induced air plasma as a preliminary step in using the plasma as a source of terahertz radiation. An 800 nanometer, 50 femtosecond, 0.75 Watt, pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser system was used as the source infrared beam. A beam expander was used to expand the beam to a diameter of approximately 6.5 mm, and the beam was focused through a 25 mm focal length achromatic lens to produce laser-induced plasma in ambient air. A 40 kHz ultrasonic transducer was used to detect the plasma. A second harmonic generation crystal was …


Measuring Dispersion In Laser Cavity Mirrors Using White-Light Interferometry, Allison S. Goodspeed Mar 2008

Measuring Dispersion In Laser Cavity Mirrors Using White-Light Interferometry, Allison S. Goodspeed

Theses and Dissertations

Terahertz radiation is an emerging field that has far reaching applications. There is a need for portable and affordable terahertz sources that may be used for detection of structural weaknesses in aerospace composites. One possibility for terahertz generation is a femtosecond Cr:LiSAF laser. However, controlling intracavity dispersion is necessary in order to get the ultrashort pulses needed to generate terahertz radiation. This research measures dispersion of the chirped femtosecond intracavity mirrors by employing white-light interferometry and explains the theory behind the curve-fitting process used to calculate dispersion. To compensate for the narrow reflectivity band of the mirrors, a CaF2 …


Dod Role For Securing United States Cyberspace, Jane J. Griffin Mar 2008

Dod Role For Securing United States Cyberspace, Jane J. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

The cyber attacks on Estonia in late April and the early weeks of May 2007 significantly crippled the country, preventing it from performing banking, communications, news reporting, government transactions and command and control activities. Estonia is considered a “Wired Society”, much like the United States. Both countries rely on the cyberspace infrastructure economically and politically. Estonia sought assistance outside the country to recover from and to address the attacks. The cyber attacks on Estonia focused world-wide attention on the effects that cyberspace attacks could have on countries. If a cyber attack of national significance occurred against the United States, what …


Robust Aircraft Squadron Scheduling In The Face Of Absenteeism, Osman Bahadir Gokcen Mar 2008

Robust Aircraft Squadron Scheduling In The Face Of Absenteeism, Osman Bahadir Gokcen

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force fighter aircraft squadrons the world over share a unique problem. Each requires complex training schedules coupling aircraft to pilots, the duo to missions and airspaces, and then the entire combination to a feasible time slot. Creating daily and weekly flight schedules that include shifts around the clock every day of the year with a set number of pilots is a time consuming job for manual schedulers within a squadron. Complicating matters is absenteeism. If one or more pilots are unable to perform their previously assigned tasks, due to sickness, aircraft failure, or reassignment, those tasks must be performed …


Linking Embeddedness And Macroinvertebrate In Two Southwest Ohio Streams, Jonathan P. Kochersberger Mar 2008

Linking Embeddedness And Macroinvertebrate In Two Southwest Ohio Streams, Jonathan P. Kochersberger

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental managers utilize a variety of tools when assessing lotic systems for stressors attributed to anthropogenic sources. Stream deposited sediment has been recognized as one of the major stressors affecting streams in the U.S. The detrimental effect on aquatic biota of sediment depositing within the interstitial spaces of stream substrate (embeddedness) has been established, yet lacking is an effective in situ method of quantifying embeddedness over short time periods. The goal of this research was to develop a short-term embeddedness (EMB) quantification method that can be linked to benthic macroinvertebrate health. Such a method would be a valuable tool when …


Optimization Of Therapeutic Strategies For Organophosphate Poisoning, Gregory G. Seaman Mar 2008

Optimization Of Therapeutic Strategies For Organophosphate Poisoning, Gregory G. Seaman

Theses and Dissertations

The National Preparedness Vision requires the U.S. be prepared to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards associated with a chemical attack. Results of this study demonstrate that we cannot protect service members and first responders as required following a nerve agent attack. The research presented herein aimed to construct a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model to determine optimal therapeutic strategies for organophosphate (nerve agent) poisoning. The constructed model integrated organophosphates and two antidotes, atropine and oximes. Model results reasonably mirrored literature data and anecdotal observations of organophosphate poisoning. Results suggest a symptoms-based dosing strategy of atropine and …


Oxygenation Of The Root Zone And Tce Remediation: A Plant Model Of Rhizosphere Dynamics, Ian F. Thompson Mar 2008

Oxygenation Of The Root Zone And Tce Remediation: A Plant Model Of Rhizosphere Dynamics, Ian F. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes rhizosphere conditions that enhance the effective aerobic degradation of TCE in wetland bioremediation systems. A plant model was built using Stella 9.0 modeling software and uses numerical integration evaluation; it addresses movement of oxygen through plant vascular and aerenchymal systems, and into the rhizosphere where oxygen and other substrates influence bacteria. Methanotrophs and heterotrophs are assumed to be influential bacteria groups. Variations of humidity-induced-convection, methane, soil carbon, and copper concentrations are evaluated. Varying concentrations and hydraulic loadings of TCE are assessed with respect to TCE consumption rate and TCE treatment efficiency. Soil conditions most directly affected TCE …


Dairy Culture: Industry, Nature And Liminality In The Eighteenth-Century English Ornamental Dairy, Ashlee Whitaker Feb 2008

Dairy Culture: Industry, Nature And Liminality In The Eighteenth-Century English Ornamental Dairy, Ashlee Whitaker

Theses and Dissertations

The vogue for installing dairies, often termed "fancy" or "polite" dairies, within the gardens of wealthy English estates arose during the latter half of the eighteenth century. These polite dairies were functional spaces in which aristocratic women engaged, to varying degrees, in bucolic tasks of skimming milk, churning and molding butter, and preparing creams. As dairy work became a mode of genteel activity, dairies were constructed and renovated in the stylish architectural modes of the day and expanded to serve as spaces of leisure and recreation. Dairies were often lavishly outfitted to create a delicate and clean atmosphere, a fancy …


Sedimentological And Biological Analyses On Hobble Creek Prior To Restoration, Jaron Michael Brown Jan 2008

Sedimentological And Biological Analyses On Hobble Creek Prior To Restoration, Jaron Michael Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Hobble Creek is one of several inflowing streams and rivers into Utah Lake, Utah, USA. Historically, June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a federally listed endemic fish, spawned up all the major inflowing streams and rivers but is now limited to just the Provo River. The State of Utah has recently proposed restoring the lower reaches of Hobble Creek for additional spawning and rearing needs. This restoration effort will likely involve removal of migration barriers, re-aligning the stream, and removing existing levees that prevent floodplain access. These changes have raised several questions that this study aims to answer. First, what are the …


Differences Between Male Perpetrators Of Child Homicide, Isabel Perez-Morina Jan 2008

Differences Between Male Perpetrators Of Child Homicide, Isabel Perez-Morina

Theses and Dissertations

The scientific study of child abuse and infanticide is a relatively young practice in the field of medicine, psychiatry and psychology, and although the role of parents in child homicide has been studied, minimal research has focused on the role of the male paramour, or the child's mother's boyfriend, as the perpetrator of child homicides. This study aimed to examine the differences between male paramours and biological fathers who kill children and hypothesized that biological fathers or step-fathers are significantly more likely than the child's mother's male paramour to kill their children due to relationship factors between the perpetrator and …


Gliotoxin Production In Aspergillus Fumigatus, Susan Musyimi Jan 2008

Gliotoxin Production In Aspergillus Fumigatus, Susan Musyimi

Theses and Dissertations

Aspergillus fumigalus is a ubiquitous fungus that causes an infection called aspergillosis in immune-compromised surgery patients (Latge, 2001, 384; Bok et al. 2006). Aspergillosis cases have increased in the past decade due to the increasing number of patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy and receiving organ transplants (Bok et al. 2006). Although there is still disagreement as to the causative agent of the symptoms accompanying aspergillosis, many scientists suspect that the compound, gliotoxin, plays a major role, hi this study, we compared the amounts of gliotoxin produced from clinical and environmental isolates of A. fumigatus. We hypothesized that the amount of gliotoxin …


Correlation Of Electron Donor Concentrations In Sediments With Sediment Properties: New Providence, Iowa, Bijesh Maharjan Jan 2008

Correlation Of Electron Donor Concentrations In Sediments With Sediment Properties: New Providence, Iowa, Bijesh Maharjan

Theses and Dissertations

The concentrations of electron donors in aquifer sediments are important in understanding the fate and transport of redox-sensitive constituents in ground water, such as nitrate. In this study, 50 sediment samples were collected from below the water table from 11 boreholes at the US Geological Survey Agricultural Chemicals Transport site near New Providence, Iowa. All samples were analyzed for gravel, sand (coarse, medium, and fine), silt, clay, inorganic carbon contents and for the following electron donors: organic carbon, ferrous iron, and inorganic sulfide. A subset of sediment samples was analyzed for organic sulfur, but all of the 14 samples were …


Multi-Channel Digital Receiver Data Acquisition System For The Arecibo Radar System, Ryan Seal Jan 2008

Multi-Channel Digital Receiver Data Acquisition System For The Arecibo Radar System, Ryan Seal

Theses and Dissertations

Digital Receivers are commercially available, cost effective solutions that are becoming commonplace in modern data acquisition systems (MDAS). The digital receiver has the ability to be reconfigured via software, making MDAS flexible for a variety of applications. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a complete MDAS using a general purpose computer (GPC) equipped with a digital receiver card. This system will replace the older DAS (baseband sampling) used by the Space and Atmospheric Science (SAS) group at the Arecibo Observatory (AO). Emphasis is placed on a generic system easily adaptable to a specific application with minimal effort. A …


Model Field Training And Evaluation Program Policy For The Turkish National Police Organization, Erhan Beyhan Jan 2008

Model Field Training And Evaluation Program Policy For The Turkish National Police Organization, Erhan Beyhan

Theses and Dissertations

Police field training and evaluation programs are vital for officer development; although very little research has been conducted in this area. This study aimed to build a field training and evaluation program policy for the Turkish National Police Organization using the framework of corresponding police departments’ programs in the United States. Mission statements, program structure, standard evaluation guidelines, field training officer selection, and recruit termination are the fundamental elements of the FTO programs, which were reviewed in this research.


The Mural As A Teaching Tool In Elementary Education, Mignon Hatton Jan 2008

The Mural As A Teaching Tool In Elementary Education, Mignon Hatton

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the idea that the mural is a valuable tool that teachers should be encouraged to use. The mural project combines co-operative group work, history lessons, review of current events, social changes, and self evaluation. These public art forms are easily accessible because they can be found on the walls of many public buildings as well as on the Internet. The creation of a mural involves cross curricular learning in math, science, and the language arts.


The Rhetoric Of Technical Writing: Applying Social And Verbal Rhetorical Strategies To Prepare New Technical Writers For The Workplace, Melissa Brooke Cavazos Jan 2008

The Rhetoric Of Technical Writing: Applying Social And Verbal Rhetorical Strategies To Prepare New Technical Writers For The Workplace, Melissa Brooke Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations

Technical writers add great value to companies across many industries with their specialized skills. However, there is a problem with writers being undervalued and not having the credibility they deserve. In order to achieve more credibility for individual writers and for the field as a whole, technical writers need more than just writing, editing, and formatting skills when they enter into the workplace. They need to be equipped with social and verbal strategies to be better prepared for a full-time technical writing position. By examining and applying Aristotle's notions of pathos, logos, and ethos to technical writing, technical writers can …


A Journey Through Time, Chance, And Change, Maribeth Chancellor Anders Jan 2008

A Journey Through Time, Chance, And Change, Maribeth Chancellor Anders

Theses and Dissertations

My work from 2004 to 2008 represents and exploration of house and boat forms as a metaphor for human experience in a journey through time, chance, and change. I draw on personal experience, observation, and myth. Concerns over the public education system that are evident in some of the work come from public school teaching experience. In some sculptures there are references to family and friends. Cultural references connect to my life and travels through parts of Europe and Africa from 1972 to 1975. Art history studies and research have facilitated an increased awareness of cultural and historical relationships. The …


Criminal Histories Of Methamphetamine Users: A Rural Analysis, Israt Zohra Jan 2008

Criminal Histories Of Methamphetamine Users: A Rural Analysis, Israt Zohra

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined criminal histories of methamphetamine users in rural counties of Arkansas. More specifically, the study explored the difference between methamphetamine users with and without criminal histories. Although there are plenty of research on demographic characteristics, sociological attributes, and drug dependencies of methamphetamine users, there seems to be a gap in the literature focusing on why certain methamphetamine users have been arrested versus users who have not been arrested. A preliminary analysis of the data indicated 60 percent of the participants in the study had criminal histories, while 40 percent have never been arrested; therefore, this study explored potential …


Art Education In Arkansas: The Organizational History Of The Arkansas Art Educators From 1922 To The Present, Ronda Ramsey May Jan 2008

Art Education In Arkansas: The Organizational History Of The Arkansas Art Educators From 1922 To The Present, Ronda Ramsey May

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my research is to document the changes and advancements in art education in Arkansas through the written history of the art teacher organization, the Arkansas Art Educators (AAE). Chronicling the efforts of AAE's membership to advocate for art education will help preserve the history of AAE and connect it with the broader history of the educational developments in the state between 1922 and the present.


The Effects Of The Partnerships In Comprehensive Literacy Model In Narrowing The Achievement Gap For First Graders In A High Poverty School, Barbara M. Head Jan 2008

The Effects Of The Partnerships In Comprehensive Literacy Model In Narrowing The Achievement Gap For First Graders In A High Poverty School, Barbara M. Head

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of the Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) school improvement model in narrowing the achievement gap for first graders in a high poverty school over a three-year period. The study compared the academic progress of first grade students from a PCL high poverty school with first grade students from a non-PCL high poverty school. A cross sectional study with quantitative data, analyzed with a parametric statistical test (ANOVA), was used to evaluate these factors. The research objectives focused on studying the effects of the Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) model in …


The Ouroboros Father Project, William L. Betz Jan 2008

The Ouroboros Father Project, William L. Betz

Theses and Dissertations

The Ouroboros Father Project is an exploration the author's relationship with his dead father, the authors' reaction to his father's death and the author's dealing with the aftermath of his father's legacy as a child molester. The complex story of this relationship and the author's exploration of his own feelings is told in several different genres. This relationship is told in three poems, an essay, and, finally, a four act play and each piece centers around the ancient symbol of the ouroboros. All of the pieces attempt to construct a healing narrative dealing with the never ending cycle of victim …


A Descriptive Study Of Learning Styles And Multiple Intelligences On Student Creativity Within The Art Classroom, Sharon Boyd-Struthers Jan 2008

A Descriptive Study Of Learning Styles And Multiple Intelligences On Student Creativity Within The Art Classroom, Sharon Boyd-Struthers

Theses and Dissertations

In 2004, a law was enacted in Arkansas that provided art and music to all elementary children, grades first through sixth. Two years after the preliminary thesis began all district elementary schools added certified art teachers. At the end of the 2007/08 school year, these teachers will have been instructing for three years. In 2008/09, a full four years of instructional impact will be assessable through the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) testing scores of second grade students. This thesis considers whether a teacher's receptiveness to student learning differences or teacher methodology affects the level of creativity by either …


A Longitudinal Study Of The Sustained Gains Of Former Discontinued Reading Recovery® Students, Gaynell R. Jamison Jan 2008

A Longitudinal Study Of The Sustained Gains Of Former Discontinued Reading Recovery® Students, Gaynell R. Jamison

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that early intervention is the most effective means of reversing reading failure. Reading Recovery is a highly effective, one to one, short term early intervention developed by Marie Clay. It targets the lowest achieving first graders who are experiencing difficulties with literacy learning and brings them to the average ban of their age cohorts. The study examined the literacy measure performance of 534 students: 413 Discontinued Reading Recovery students and 121 Non-Reading Recovery students in Arkansas Public Schools. Two groups were compared: Discontinued Reading Recovery and Non Reading Recovery students on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills …


Transcriptional Profiling Of Aphid Resistant And Susceptible Melon (Cucumis Melo) Following Cotton -Melon Aphid (Aphis Gossypii) Feeding, Preethi Samuel Jan 2008

Transcriptional Profiling Of Aphid Resistant And Susceptible Melon (Cucumis Melo) Following Cotton -Melon Aphid (Aphis Gossypii) Feeding, Preethi Samuel

Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between phloem feeding aphids Aphis gossypii (cotton-melon aphid) and Cucumis melo (melon) provides an opportunity to elucidate the means by which a host plant defends itself against aphid attack. The relationship is of scientific as well as economic importance since A. gossypii is among the most destructive insects to agriculture in the U.S. and abroad. The resistance to A. gossypii in melon is controlled at the Vat (Virus aphid transmission) locus by a major dominant gene, Vat that has the unique feature of conferring resistance to A. gossypii and resistance to transmission of non-persistent viruses by A. gossypii …


Zinc! By Thunder!: A History Of The Rush Creek Mining District, Marion County, Arkansas 1886 To 1918, Jane-Ellen Ross Jan 2008

Zinc! By Thunder!: A History Of The Rush Creek Mining District, Marion County, Arkansas 1886 To 1918, Jane-Ellen Ross

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the history of the Rush Creek Mining District from 1886 to 1918. The Rush Creek Mining District is located in the southeast corner of Marion County in north central Arkansas. During the 32 year period from 1886 to 1918 approximately 26,000 tons of zinc ore concentrates were mined from the district, making it the largest producer of zinc in northern Arkansas. During these years the community of Rush grew from a tiny mining camp to a town of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people during the height of the mining boom during World War I. A review of …


The Influence Of Professional Learning Communities On Teachers' Levels Of Self-Reflections, Robyn Costantini Jan 2008

The Influence Of Professional Learning Communities On Teachers' Levels Of Self-Reflections, Robyn Costantini

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine how professional learning communities influence the three levels of self-reflections in teachers: procedural or literal, theoretical or conceptual, and moral or ethical. The study used an inductive analysis design with the researcher as the primary instrument of data collection and analysis. Data collection included formal and informal observations, field notes, teacher reflections, teacher quotes, interviews, reflection journals and audiotapes of team meetings. Data were coded using open coding, and a thematic approach for data analysis was employed. The subjects of the study were five first grade teachers who participated in literacy team …


Institutional Processes Intended To Achieve Accreditation: An Investigation Of How The Leadership Approaches Of Deans Of Schools And Colleges Of Education, Organizational Factors, And Environmental Conditions Influence The Process, Donna R. Hunnicutt Jan 2008

Institutional Processes Intended To Achieve Accreditation: An Investigation Of How The Leadership Approaches Of Deans Of Schools And Colleges Of Education, Organizational Factors, And Environmental Conditions Influence The Process, Donna R. Hunnicutt

Theses and Dissertations

The leadership approach of five deans of teacher education from institutions in a southern state were examined using a cross case comparative qualitative analysis to determine how the dean's leadership approach along with organizational factors and environmental conditions influence the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accreditation process within their respective institutions. Five institutional sites were selected for the case studies based upon the institutional head count, number of teacher education candidates, institutional type, and date of the next NCATE accreditation visit. The five institutions included one doctoral intensive, one doctoral extensive, one master's granting, one private, and …


Visual Identity, Ariston Sedrak Jacks Jan 2008

Visual Identity, Ariston Sedrak Jacks

Theses and Dissertations

My artwork addresses issues of identity. As an artist, I feel it is my responsibility to delineate the human condition while encouraging the viewers to recall their own experiences. My paintings attempt to serve as a catalyst to evoke emotional, social, and cultural responses by documenting my idea of significant people or events. To accomplish this visually, I explore the human figure through a formal approach addressing the elements of art. I am influenced by various philosophies that impact my artwork. I experiment with a variety of media adding unique details not defined by skilled rendering or complex abstraction, but …


The Effects Of The Mode Of Homework On The Achievement Of Middle School Spanish Language Students, Sarah Moore Merayo Jan 2008

The Effects Of The Mode Of Homework On The Achievement Of Middle School Spanish Language Students, Sarah Moore Merayo

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the relationship between the mode of homework completion (either via paper and pencil or via the computer) and student performance on a written test. After taking a pretest, students from three classes received computer-based, pencil/paper, or no homework, and then took a unit test to see if the type of homework they completed affected their performance on that test.