Digital Commons Network^™

Market And Organizational Factors Associated With Teaching Hospital Participation In Strategic Hospital Alliances, James D. Bramble

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated market and organizational factors that influence the strategic decisions of teaching hospitals to participate in strategic hospital alliances (SHAs). It described the characteristics of both teaching hospitals and the health care environment in which they operate. This research also examines the association of these factors with the strategic position of teaching hospitals in terms of their dominance in the market or within their organizations.

The theoretical model used two concepts from institutional theory--coercive and normative pressures. It was argued that coercive pressures in the market facilitated the decision to participate in SHAs and gain market and Organizational …

Searching For Green, Santiago Cal

Theses and Dissertations

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Trophic Ecology Of Native And Introduced Catfishes In The Tidal James River, Virginia, Louis Fairfax Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

Species introductions have been linked to the decline of native taxa, and in many cases have resulted in the elimination of native species in both terrestrial and aquatic systems throughout the United States. In aquatic systems, a particular threat is the introduction of large piscivorous fish that may alter the native fish community structure. For example, introductions of large ictalurids such as blue catfish, (lctalurus furcatus), and flathead catfish, (Pylodictus olivaris), into coastal Virginia rivers, including the James River twenty years ago have resulted in the establishment of these large, predatory fishes.

This study described the trophic ecology of four …

Aegis Data Analysis And Reduction (Adar) In Support Of The Aegis Weapon System (Aws), June Bullard Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

The AEGIS Weapons System (AWS), part of the AEGIS Combat System (ACS), is an integral part of the defense system on U.S. Navy AEGIS-class ships. AEGIS Data Analysis and Reduction (ADAR) has been developed to assist in the evaluation of the AWS data. ADAR, along with the AWS and ACS, has evolved through the years to accommodate advances in technology and computer programming languages. Additionally, ADAR has evolved so that users located at sites other than the Naval Surface Warfare System Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Dahlgren, Virginia, can reduce tactical system data and perform data analysis using the reduced data.

This …

The Structural Response And Performance Of General Hospitals In A Managed Care Environment, Denise M. Mccollum

Theses and Dissertations

The study purpose is to link hospital structure, represented by each hospital’s professional contingent, service mix, and inpatient capacity; and its environment, characterized by the penetration of managed care enrollees. The secondary purpose is to test the relationship between hospital structural change and subsequent hospital performance.

The study employs a non-experimental panel design, with a sample of 1882 community hospitals (service type: general medical and surgical). Environmental variables are measured for the base year 1989. Hospital structural variables are measured for 1989 and 1994, with change variables computed. Performance variables are measured for 1989 and 1995, with change computed for …

The Relation Between The Nutritional Status And The Acute Respiratory Infections In Children Younger Than Five Years Of Age In The Indigenous, Black, And Mestizo Ethnic Groups Of The Rural Area In The Imbabura Province, 1998-1999, Sandra Chiles

Theses and Dissertations

The problems of social-economics, culture, politics, and health, among those, are factors that influence both directly and indirectly the style of life of hundreds of thousands of people, due to the lack of economic resources, unemployment, poverty, their own culture can lead to a more serious state of health, consequently causing problems of their nutritional state, such as obesity in its varying degrees of malnutrition, in addition to the presence of preventable illnesses such as acute respiratory disease (IRA), that seriously affect the infant population. Factors, consequences, everything becomes one vicious circle that can be broken thereby preventing more deaths …

Diode Lasers And Their Application For Raman Spectroscopy, Richard Bandell Homard

Theses and Dissertations

Diode lasers are semiconductor devices and as such are small, relatively inexpensive, and modest in power requirements. They are being used more and more in a variety of spectroscopic measurement systems. Diodes can be configured to provide a single wavelength for Raman measurement or be tuned over a 10-20 nm range for absorption studies. Most commercial diode-based Raman systems currently employ lasers with output powers in the 100-1000 mW range. There are obvious strategic and economic advantages associated with low power diode chemical analyzers, especially those being developed for on-line industrial and environmental monitoring. A diode-based Raman measurement system which …

Measuring Fine Aggregate Shape By Digital Imaging, Larry David Klotz

Theses and Dissertations

Fine aggregate shape has been identified as a factor in determining asphalt pavement rutting susceptibility. In an effort to improve test methods for measuring aggregate shape characteristics, a video-based, computer-controlled imaging system was developed. Individual aggregate particles were characterized by shape attributes. A neural network classifier used these attributes to calculate a single number classification index that relates to expected performance in asphalt concrete based on angularity. Expert judges were used to train the neural network classifier by scoring a set of particle outlines. Discrepancies in the expert's scores indicate that considerable uncertainties still exist in the concept of 'angularity'. …

The Social Anxiety Thoughts Questionnaire (Sat) : Test-Retest Reliability And Concurrent Validity, Lori Shaleen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adenosine 3', 5'-Cyclic Monophosphate Activation Of Islet Chloride Channels, Anjali Varandani

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis was to understand the regulation of islet Cl⁻ current by cAMP. This current, known as I_cl,islet flew is the first Cl⁻ channel current characterized in pancreatic �� cells. I_cl,islet has been hypothesized to modulate insulin secretion through changes in islet electrical activity. Both 5 ��M forskolin and 100 ��M IBMX (3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine), agents that increase intracellular cAMP, were shown to activate an outwardly-rectifying ionic current in HIT cells that closely resembled I_cl,islet. The current was blocked when iodide was substituted for external Cl⁻ or when the Cl⁻ channel blocker niflumic acid was …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Individualized Writing Instruction With And Without Phonemic Segmentation On The Standard Spelling Performance Of At-Risk First Graders, Joan Anne Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of individualized writing instruction with and without phonemic segmentation on the standard spelling performance of at-risk first graders. Forty-two students from fifteen non-public elementary school Chapter I programs participated in the study.

Subjects were pretested using the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation to determine their phonemic awareness level. Students were matched in triads and placed in one of two treatment groups or the control group using a constrained random assignment procedure. The Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS) spelling subtest was administered to assess standard spelling performance.

The first treatment group received individualized writing instruction …

The Role Of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors In The Thalamocortical Circuit During Spontaneous Epileptic Activity, Joy Vashisht Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

Spontaneous epileptic activity resembling spike wave discharges (SWD) characteristic of Generalized Absence (GA) epilepsy was induced in rat thalamocortical (TC) slices by incubating the slices in low-Mg^2- artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) Extracellular field potentials were recorded in the cortex and thalamus to determine the effects of the broad spectrum metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist, trans- (1S, 3R)-1-Amino-1, 3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (ACPD), ACPD elicited concentration dependent effects on the duration of SWD. At 1 μM ACPD (n=3) there were no significant changes in duration of activity. At 20 μM, 11 of 13 slices displayed a decrease in duration of activity (mean …

Factors Affecting Social Workers' Political Participation: Resources, Professional Associations And Perceived Efficacy, David Henry Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated that social workers are more politically active than the general public (Wolk, 1981; Parker and Sherraden, 1991), but their effectiveness has been questioned (Mathews, 1982). There are differences among social workers, but explanations of differences between "very active" and "inactive" have relied primarily on practice setting or method. However, research in political science has shown that income, education, involvement in associations, and perceived political efficacy, are significant predictors of who does not participate (Verba, Schlozman, and Brady, 1995).

Five hundred certified social workers were surveyed regarding how often they engaged in political activities (e.g., voting and campaigning) …

The Role Of Protein Folding In Export In Escherichia Coli, Ipsita Mallik

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Fire Science Curriculum Program At The University Of North Dakota, Jamie Lisell

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

We The People, Jan Reisenauer

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Nonprofit Management : A Proposal For A Nonprofit Management Concentration In University Of North Dakota Master Of Public Administration Graduate Program, Shari Doe

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Mormon Humor, Sherlene Hall Bartholomew

Theses and Dissertations

This "Annotated Bibliography of Literary Mormon Humor" includes over five hundred sources, cross-referenced to pertinent commentary and criticism, and divided into seven sections: "Humor in Mormon Fiction," "Humor in Mormon Non-Fiction," "Mormon Criticism Assessing ‘Inside Humor,’" "Gentile Criticism of the Saints' Humor," "Gentile Humor About Mormons," "Mormon Criticism of Gentile Humor," and "Mormon Internet Humor," all made accessible to scholars by a comprehensive index of more than one thousand topics. The author has filed selected photocopied pages of alphabetized, annotated items by author, or chronologically as periodicals, into a twenty-volume Archive of Mormon Humor in Literature, housed at the Center …

Epideictic Rhetoric And The Formation Of Collective Identity: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women In Praise Of Polygamy, Robbyn Thompson Scribner

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will proceed as follows: my first chapter will be a general overview of epideictic rhetoric, focusing on the limitations of how it has traditionally been viewed and understood by theorists. At the end of that chapter I will establish a working definition of epideictic which extends traditional views about how epideictic can function in certain types of writings, focusing on the important role of the speaker in epideictic rhetoric and how it can work in enabling a community to create a collective identity. In the remainder of the thesis, I will analyze two texts in which …

Grand Forks Park District Master Recreation Plan, Marcia Larson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Parent Satisfaction With And Participation In Their Children's Special Education Programs, Marcia C. Gums

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of Marketing Component For A Product Research And Development Course At The University Of North Dakota, Chad Michael Coauette

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sense Of Duration, Lucie Noel Thune

Theses and Dissertations

The following writings contain different segments about the concept of time. To best describe certain feelings and thoughts concerning my ideas and work I have used poetry and short stories in a prosaic manner. I also felt it necessary to include some historic facts about the history of time and its measuring devices.

A Qualitative Study Of Dietetic Students Completing Internship In A Dietetic Technician Program, Sharon Spicer Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the view of dietetic students and their preceptors concerning the supervised practice experience. Guiding questions for this study were: (1) dynamics of learning in the work place setting, (2) dietetic students' technical ability to complete the activities expected of them in the work place, (3) dietetic students' socialization into the field site experience, including how well the students were accepted by other staff, (4) expectations of the preceptor prior to working with student dietetic technicians, (5) students' and preceptors' expectations of the DT program coordinator, (6) students' and preceptors' satisfaction with the …

A Literature Review Of Stratagies And Laws That Shape The Education Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Chere Cross

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Novel Alkylhydroxylation Of Vinylarenes Using Trialkylaluminum In An Oxygen Atmosphere, Jane Marie Babineau

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Feminist Analysis Of Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook, Jo Ann L Miller

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Adrenomedullin In The Natriuretic Response To Acute And Chronic Salt Loading In The Rat, Michelle P. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Microalbuminuria In People With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In The Turtle Mountain Band Of Chippewas, Diana Lafontaine

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Stochastic State Machine Petri Net Based Model For Power Generating System Reliability Evaluation, Tao Li

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.