Digital Commons Network^™

The Linkage Between Hospitals And Nursing Homes: Alternative Approaches To Minimizing Transaction Costs, Herng-Chia Chiu

Theses and Dissertations

Finding more efficient ways to organize and deliver medical care is a major policy and management concern in the United States. High levels of expenditures for administrative and coordinating functions are attributed to the fact that health care systems are not "seamless" and that excessive transaction or friction costs are incurred in the exchanges between providers and purchasers and among providers. Renewed interest in vertical integration as a means to addressed these problems is being explored in the empirical literature, but rigorous theory-based investigations are rare. This study is a theory-based exploration of how hospitals address the "make-or-buy" decision of …

Candido Portinari: Brazilian Artist As Cultural Ambassador: A Re-Examination Of The Library Of Congress Murals, Karen D. Daly

Theses and Dissertations

The artistic contributions of Portinari, and of many other Brazilian and Latin American modern artists, have not been adequately examined as part of the visual history of the twentieth century. Although by no means comprehensive, this study employs an holistic approach to re-examining Portinari's Library of Congress murals in an attempt to understand better not only these distinctive murals, but also the historical significance of this twentieth century artist.

The Impact Of The Tau Mutation On Reproductive Function In The Golden Hamster, Eliza Leake Thomasson

Theses and Dissertations

The tau mutation affects the circadian system of the golden hamster primarily by decreasing the period of the activity cycle from 24 to 20 hours. To study the effect of this mutation on reproductive function in the golden hamster, 3 experiments have been designed. In the first experiment, wild-type and tau female hamsters will be maintained in conditions of 14:10 LD and 11.7:8.3 LD, respectively. Blood samples will be taken and analyzed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) to determine the timing of the proestrus LH surge. In the second experiment, wild-type and tau males will be transferred to shortened photoperiods of 10:14 …

A National Survey Of Occupational Therapists In The Public Schools: An Assessment Of Current Practice, Attitudes, And Training Needs Regarding The Transition Process For Students With Severe Disabilities, Katherine Josephine Inge

Theses and Dissertations

Because occupational therapy involvement in transition planning is a relatively new area. little was known about the characteristics of school-based therapists who serve students in this age group. The purpose of this study was to determine their current level of participation in the transition process, the roles that therapists identified for themselves in this process, their attitudes towards best practices for serving students ages 14 - 22, and occupational therapists’ future training needs if they are to participate fully in the national transition initiative. A survey was mailed to 1,000 therapists on the American Occupational Therapy Associations Direct Mail List …

"Writing A Picture": Adolph Gottlieb's Rolling And Yoshihara Jiro's Red Circle On Black, Ginger Suzanne Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Calligraphy and calligraphic elements in abstract art demonstrate the differences between Japanese and American approaches to abstraction. An examination of the use of calligraphy in Japanese art can reveal how its historic tradition in Japan lends depth and meaning to an image, which is not effectively possible for American artists using the same forms. These differences descend from a Japanese writing system that developed as abstracted images in themselves. Though the Western tradition of Abstract Expressionism art sought to make the experience of painting purely visual without the aid of narrative, explanation, or text, both American and Japanese artists used …

Statistical Methods For Detecting And Characterizing Departures From Additivity In Multi-Dimensional Drug/Chemical Mixtures, Kathryn S. Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

In studies of the effects of multiple drug or chemical combinations, one goal may be to detect and characterize the interactions between the agents. The techniques currently applied to this problem have limitations when the experiments involve more than 2 agents. Certain response-surface techniques require an unrealistic number of observations for studies involving a large number of agents. Current graphical methods are impossible to use in studies of 3 or more agents. In this research two statistical techniques are described that can be applied to studies with an unlimited number of agents. In the first approach, dose combinations are collected …

Prevention As A Component Of Homeless Policy: A Longer-Term Evaluation Of The State Of Virginia's Homeless Intervention Program, Emma Kathleen Flaherty

Theses and Dissertations

A comprehensive homeless policy includes emergency housing, transitional housing, permanent housing, and prevention components. Researchers have determined that all four categories of homeless assistance are essential to address the needs of the diverse groups that comprise the homeless population.

This dissertation focuses on the prevention component which is designed to assist those in marginal economic circumstances who experience an unavoidable housing crisis. Several states have state-sponsored and state-funded homeless prevention programs.

The Commonwealth of Virginia authorized funding for the Homeless Intervention Program (HIP) in FY 1989-90. A Short-Term Study of the first group of participants conducted by Johnson, Brooks, Hambrick, …

An Empirical Examination Of The Major Organizational Dimensions That Influence The Perceived Quality Of Federal Personnel Office Services, John Elton Dunning

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies conducted by oversight agencies show that improvements are needed in Federal personnel office (FPO) operations. The existing literature and research in the field of public personnel administration provides little guidance as to what types of changes or interventions will improve service quality. The purpose of this study is to identify organizational variables that influence FPO service quality.

This study is based on the multiple-constituency model of organizational effectiveness and the body of literature pertaining to service quality research conducted in private sector service industries. The investigator developed a conceptual model of FPO service quality based on the findings …

An Evaluation Of A Program For Incarcerated Mothers: Parenting Training And The Enhancement Of Self-Esteem, Alvin R. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of parenting training on the acquisition of parenting skills and its impact on self-esteem of incarcerated mothers. The program under study is the "Mothers Inside Loving Kids" (M.I.L.K.) program, which is a holistic training/visitation program designed for incarcerated mothers.Study participants included 40 volunteer incarcerated mothers at the Virginia Correctional Center for women. The treatment group consisted of 20 participants who were already involved in the "M.I.L.K." program. The comparison group was made up of 20 mothers who were on the waiting list for the program due to the lack of …

Development Of An English For Gospel Purposes Vocabulary List: The Latter-Day Saint Lexicon As A Second Language, Jennifer H. Burrill

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the non-native English-speaking LDS adult's comprehension of the English LDS lexicon. Stahle (1981) conducted a study of the LDS lexicon which established at least 249 words as "basic" vocabulary. The current study had two foci: it first sought to determine how difficult these words were in both English and Spanish for native Spanish-speaking LDS adults living in the U.S. To assess this, a dual-language vocabulary instrument was administered to 245 subjects from Texas, California, and Utah. Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis was used to calculate difficulty levels of words and these values were plotted two-dimensionally …

Visage: Improving The Ballistic Vulnerability Modeling And Analysis Process, Brett F. Grimes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to improve the process of modeling and analyzing ballistic vulnerability data. This was accomplished by addressing two of the more urgent needs of vulnerability analysts; the ability to display fault tree data and to edit target descriptions. A vulnerability data visualization program called VISAGE was modified to meet these needs. VISAGE was originally created to preview static shotline plots and subsequently grew into a full-featured visualization package for vulnerability target descriptions and analyses data. The next logical step in the programs evolution was to include the needed editing and fault tree display capabilities. The …

Role Of Perceived Competence In The Behavior Of Socially Anxious Persons In Problem-Solving Groups, Scott D. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

Research finds high-shy persons participate minimally in interactions, withhold ideas from their groups, and negatively evaluate their performance. While commonly true, high-shy persons do not always interact less and it has been suggested (Efran & Korn, 1969) that high-shy persons may dominate a discussion if they can find a "safe" topic. The current study examined whether perceptions of perceived competence can produce this effect and increase the performance level of high-shy persons in a problem-solving group above the performance level of low-shy persons.

One hundred and four women, ages 18 to 24, at Virginia Commonwealth University participated. Subjects completed a …

Attachment, Social Support, And Violence In Adolescent Delinquents, James R. Craft

Theses and Dissertations

Attachment relationships between children and their primary caretakers have been hypothesized to contribute to internal working models of subsequent relationships with others. Poor attachment might lead to internal working models which devalue later relationships, making the perpetration of violence against others more likely. One focus of this study was to propose a model which combined parental bonding, adolescent attachment, and perceived family support to predict the severity of violence used against others by adolescent delinquents. A second focus was to test the proposed model in predicting the total number of violent offenses committed by adolescent delinquents. One hundred and forty-five …

Determinants Of Continuity Of Care For Persons Transitioning From State Psychiatric Facilities To Communities, Sarah P. Farrell

Theses and Dissertations

When individuals with serious mental illness are discharged to the community, continuous and coordinated care are both desirable and necessary. A lack of continuity places the individual at risk for becoming lost to further services.

This study explores continuity of care for persons discharged from state psychiatric facilities in Virginia to communities. Continuity of care is defined as the successful initiation and maintenance of face-to-face contact by CSB staff with individuals to be discharged from state hospitals, and the subsequent provision of services post-discharge. This study identifies factors that influence continuity of care, examines the degree to which these factors …

The Role Of Follicular Dendritic Cells In Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pathogenesis, Sonya Lynn Heath

Theses and Dissertations

Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1(HIV) results in a disease process characterized by three stages: an acute phase characterized by viremia, a clinically latent stage with little or no detection of virus in the blood, and the last stage, AIDS, which. is characterized. by marked immunodeficiency. During clinical latency, CD4+ T cells decline over a period lasting from a few to several years. Throughout this period, HIV is found trapped on the surface of follicular dendritic cells(FDC) in the germinal centers of secondary lymphoid tissues and this is the primary site of active viral replication. We hypothesize that FDC, and the …

Depositional Environments And Paleogeography Of The Winnipeg Group (Ordovician), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Jonathan B. Ellingson

Theses and Dissertations

The Winnipeg Group (Upper Ordovician) unconformably overlies the Deadwood Formation (Cambrian - Lower Ordovician) over most of North Dakota, except in the extreme eastern part, where it lies directly on Precambrian basement rocks. The Winnipeg is conformably overlain by the Red River Formation (Upper Ordovician). The Winnipeg reaches a maximum thickness of 448 feet (136.6 m) in the center of the basin, Williams County. The Winnipeg Group consists of three formations, in ascending order, the Black Island, Icebox, and Roughlock Formations. The Black Island Formation is, herein, formally divided into the Hawkeye Valley and the Garland Members.

The Hawkeye Valley …

Depositional History, Environments Of Deposition, And Hydrocarbon Potential Of The Newcastle Formation (Lower Cretaceous) Of Eastern North Dakota, Gerald G. Mccloskey

Theses and Dissertations

The Newcastle Formation (Albian) in North Dakota is composed primarily of fine grained sandstone, mudstone and shale. This study examined the Newcastle within the eastern two thirds of North Dakota, with the goal of determining the various depositional environments, the depositional history, and the hydrocarbon potential of the unit. A total of 2191 geophysical well logs and 21 lithologic cores were examined. Isopach maps of the Newcastle Formation and the Skull Creek Shale were generated, as was a structural top map of the Mowry Shale.

The depositional history of the unit is directly linked to the regression and subsequent transgression …

Prey Selectivity By Naticid Gastropods From Tertiary Sediments Of The United States Coastal Plain, Robert N. Sickler

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have shown that naticid gastropod predators are highly selective of prey species in accordance with the Kitchell et al. (1981) cost-benefit model. In addition, earlier studies have demonstrated selectivity of drillhole siting and intraspecific prey size. This study focuses on prey selectivity by Oligocene naticid gastropods and is used to test Vermeij's (1987) hypothesis of escalation. The hypothesis of escalation states that biologic hazards have increased during the Phanerozoic and that organisms have either had to adapt to these hazards or face possible extinction (Vermeij, 1987). Naticid predation on molluscan assemblages is one of several examples used to …

Salinity, Radon, And Radon Precursors In The Soils Of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, Kevin L. Solie

Theses and Dissertations

High levels of indoor radon have been observed in many areas of the Red River Valley and particularly in Grand Forks County of North Dakota. Data from the University of North Dakota (UND) Radon Monitoring Facility indicated more than 80% of the dwellings tested had radon levels greater than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) action limit of 4 pCi/l. High radon levels may pose a health threat (USEPA, 1986) to valley residents.

A review of existing data indicates that areas of the Red River Valley in North Dakota with elevated soil salinity also exhibit higher equivalent uranium (eU) …

Multicriteria Mission Route Planning Using A Parallel A* Search, Michael S. Gudaitis

Theses and Dissertations

The Mission Route Planning (MRP) Problem falls into the general class of multicriteria path search problems. Multiple criteria are evaluated to select an optimal aircraft mission route through a hostile environment. Criteria for distance travelled and radar exposure are combined into a single cost function for route evaluation. Radar calculations are performed dynamically. The A* search algorithm is applied to the MRP problem, and a parallel implementation is developed and tested. A unique combination of distributed OPEN lists with a global CLOSED list strategy produced fast execution times on the Paragon. Test cases for scenarios with 15 radars took less …

An Analysis Of The News Coverage Preceding The Resignations Of Nine University Presidents., Julie Kay Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this study was to examine and critique the news coverage of one type of educational issue. Because most educational institutions in the United States receive public financial support, and because most of the public receives its information from the news media, it was judged important for educational leaders to understand the media's methods of covering educational issues. As a second objective, this study also attempted to expand the application of W. Lance Bennett's four information biases from political figures to other public but non-elected figures, in this case university presidents.The specific focus of this study was …

Perceptions About Assessing And Evaluating Student Performance, Becky L. Melhus

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Space Modeler: An Expanded, Distributed, Virtual Environment For Space Visualization, John C. Vanderburgh

Theses and Dissertations

The Space Modeler is the first truly immersive virtual environment that models the solar system, models satellites in near-Earth orbit, and can operate in a Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) environment. It increases the capabilities of the 1993 Satellite Modeler by expanding the physical limits of the environment and by implementing a new three-dimensional user interface. Satellite orbits are modeled using NASA two line element sets. The positions of the Sun, Moon and planets are computed using an algorithm based on planetary orbital element sets using a linear polynomial fit. For higher precision, the planetary orbits can be computed using an …

Multipoint Multirate Signal Processing, Roger L. Claypoole Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a fundamentally new, systematic study of multipoint multirate signal processing systems. The multipoint multirate operators are analyzed via equivalent circuits comprised entirely of conventional multirate operators. Interconnections of the operators are demonstrated, and the multipoint noble identities are derived. The multipoint polyphase representation is presented, and the M channel multipoint multirate system with vector length N is presented as an MN channel multipoint polyphase system. The conditions sufficient for perfect reconstruction in the multipoint multirate system are derived. These conditions constrain the multipoint filter banks to be composed of comb filters generated from paraunitary sets of conventional …

Implementation And Demonstration Of A Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation Failure Detection System For The F-16, Peter K. Eide

Theses and Dissertations

A Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation (MMAE) algorithm is implemented with the fully nonlinear six-degree-of-motion, Simulation Rapid-Prototyping Facility (SRF) VISTA F-16 software simulation tool. The algorithm is demonstrated to be capable of identifying flight critical aircraft actuator and sensor failures at a low dynamic pressure (20,000 ft, .4 Mach). Research included single and dual complete failures. Tuning methods for accommodating model mismatch, including addition of discrete dynamics pseudonoise and continuous measurement pseudonoise, are discussed and demonstrated. Scalar residuals within each filter are also examined and characterized for possible use as an additional failure declaration voter. Robustness to sensor failures provided by …

An Integrated Gps-Ins-Baro And Radar Altimeter System For Aircraft Precision Approach Landings, Robert A. Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the commercial airline industry are utilizing the Instrument Landing System (ILS) during aircraft landings for precision approaches. The replacement system for the aging ILS was thought to he the Microwave Landing System (MLS). Instead, use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) is now thought to be a viable replacement for ILS precision approaches. The majority of current precision landing research has exploited 'stand-alone' GPS receiver techniques. This thesis instead explores the possibilities of using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) that integrates an Inertial Navigation System (INS), GPS, Barometric Altimeter, Pseudolite and Radar Altimeter …

Embedology And Neural Estimation For Time Series Prediction, Robert E. Garza

Theses and Dissertations

Time series prediction has widespread application, ranging from predicting the stock market to trying to predict future locations of scud missiles. Recent work by Sauer and Casdagli has developed into the embedology theorem, which sets forth the procedures for state space manipulation and reconstruction for time series prediction. This includes embedding the time series into a higher dimensional space in order to form an attractor, a structure defined by the embedded vectors. Embedology is combined with neural technologies in an effort to create a more accurate prediction algorithm. These algorithms consist of embedology, neural networks, Euclidean space nearest neighbors, and …

Control Of A Large Space Structure Using Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation And Control Techniques, Gordon C. Griffin Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

A moving bank multiple model adaptive estimator-controller (MMAE-MMAC), based on linear system, quadratic cost, and Gaussian noise (LQG) assumptions, is used to quell unwanted vibrations in a large flexible space structure. The structure, known as the SPace Integrated Controls Experiment, or SPICE, exists at Phillips Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM. The structure consists of a large platform and a smaller platform connected by a tripod of flexible legs. The purpose of the control system is to maintain a very precise line-of- sight vector through the center of the spacecraft. Kalman filtering, used to estimate the position and velocity of the bending …

Silicon Based Microactuators For Telerobotic Tactile Stimulation, Britton C. Read Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Silicon based microelectromechanical (MEM) devices using both surface and bulk micromachining have been realized to provide tactile stimulation. The bulk MEM devices utilize the bimorph principle and are fabricated in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process through MOS implementation system (MOSIS). The surface MEM devices utilize the electrostatic principle and are fabricated in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process through MOS implementation system (MOSIS). The surface MEM devices utilize the electrostatic principle and are fabricated in the multi-user MEM process (MUMPS) through MCNC. Eleven major designs are presented and tested to determine if they are suitable to provide …

Advanced Formation Flight Control, Michael J. Veth

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the formation flight control problem is continued from four previous theses. Automatic formation flight involves controlling multiple aircraft equipped with standard Mach-hold, altitude hold, and heading-hold autopilots to maintain a desired distance from a lead aircraft or "rabbit". Changes in the rabbit's states are treated as disturbances to the system and rejected. Previous research is advanced in the following areas: Higher-order aircraft-autopilot models are included into the design and a new feedback control law is employed, resulting in more accurate simulations. An energy tracking scheme is developed and is shown to reduce wing aircraft energy excursions. Finally, …