Digital Commons Network^™

Further Studies On Fire Retardant Polystyrene By Friedel–Crafts Chemistry, Zhitao Wang, David D. Jiang, Charles Wilkie, Jeffery W. Gilman

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

The combination of a copolymer of 4-vinylbenzyl alcohol and styrene with 2-ethylhexyldiphenylphosphate (DPP) and with metal chlorides has been studied by TGA, radiative gasification, Cone Calorimetry, and oxygen index measurements. Evidence is presented in support of a cross-linking reaction with the additives and the copolymer, which proceeds through a Friedel–Crafts mechanism. This approach reduces the peak heat release rate (HRR) by 60% as measured in the Cone Calorimeter. There is a significant reduction in the mass loss rate during the thermal degradation, and evidence of char formation is observed in the radiative gasification experiments.

On-Line Bayesian Tree-Structured Transformation Of Hidden Markov Models For Speaker Adaptation, Shaojun Wang, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents a new recursive Bayesian learning approach for transformation parameter estimation in speaker adaptation. Our goal is to incrementally transform (or adapt) the entire set of HMM parameters for a new speaker or new acoustic enviroment from a small amount of adaptation data. By establishing a clustering tree of HMM Gaussian mixture components, the finest affine transformation parameters for individual HMM Gaussian mixture components can be dynamically searched. The on-line Bayesian learning technique proposed in our recent work is used for recursive maximum a posteriori estimation of affine transformation parameters. Speaker adaptation experiments using a 26-letter English alphabet …

African-American Garden Culture: A Study Of Tradition And Translation, Sally Akers Joachim

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Many studies have been done on cultural gardening practices and their resulting forms: a Japanese meditation garden or the Italian use of water elements are two examples. This research revolved around the assumption that African-Americans have distinct ways of expressing their ethnic history, values, and traditions in their built environments. Studies have been conducted in rural areas with African-American subject gardeners; this study investigates the urban and suburban yards and gardens of African-Americans in San Antonio, Texas to leam how cultural heritage affects the design or arrangement of personal space in the city, and to identify physical elements that could …

Multimode Solution For The Reflection Properties Of An Open-Ended Rectangular Waveguide Radiating Into A Dielectric Half-Space: The Forward And Inverse Problems, R. Zoughi, Aaron D. Benally, Karl Joseph Bois

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Open-ended rectangular waveguides are extensively used in nondestructive dielectric material evaluation. The dielectric properties of an infinite-half space of a material are calculated from the measured reflection properties referenced to the waveguide aperture. This calculation relies on a theoretical and numerical derivation of the reflection coefficient likewise referenced to the waveguide aperture. Most of these derivations assume the dominant mode field distribution across the waveguide aperture. However, when dealing with low permittivity and low loss dielectric materials, there may exist significant errors when calculating the dielectric properties from the measured reflection coefficient. These errors have also shown to be more …

"Bird Study In Shady Valley, Tennessee, 1934-1999", Charles P. Nicholson

The Migrant - Tennessee Ornithological Society

No abstract provided.

Postfledging Behavior Of Golden Eagles, Laura T. O'Toole, Patricia L. Kennedy, Richard L. Knight, Lowell C. Mcewen

Wilson Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Central Southern Region, Robert D. Purrington

North American Birds

No abstract provided.

Consensus Management Model For Families Caring For A Loved One With Dementia, Robert J. Fetsch, Toni Schindler Zimmerman, Clifton F. Barber

Journal of Extension

This article proposes teaching care-giving families a practical, six-step Care-giving Consensus Management Model. Cooperative Extension professionals can teach clientele this model and can reduce caregiver burden by broadening the ownership of caregiver responsibilities among both proximate and distant family members. The model integrates strategic planning, futuring, decision making, effective family communication, task accomplishment, priority setting, and problem solving. It fosters shared responsibility and provides guidelines for effective family meetings and decision making.

Money 2000 Participants: Who Are They?, Barbara O’Neill, Barbara Bristow, Patricia Q. Brennan

Journal of Extension

This study was conducted to determine if there were any statistically significant differences between MONEY participants and others who attended three Extension personal finance conferences. The sample consisted of 124 MONEY 2000 program participants and 101 others. Using chi-square analysis, no significant demographic differences were found between the two groups of respondents. Significant differences were found at the .05 level, however, for action taken and/or planned to invest funds wisely and to set financial goals and objectives. A third significant difference was paying more than the minimum due on credit cards. A more powerful Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test for ordinal data …

Impact "Women's Participation In Public Policy" Seminars On Participants' Knowledge Gain, Practice Change, And Attitude Change, Charlotte Gorman

Journal of Extension

This study measured the impact of a series of seminars titled "Women's Participation in Public Policy" on participants' knowledge gain, levels of participation in public policy affairs, and attitude change. The study used the pre-test/post-test design. The population was limited to those who attended at least five of the seven sessions in the seminar series. Analysis of the data indicated that the seminar series resulted in participants generally: (a) becoming more knowledgeable about decision makers, (b) developing more positive feelings about themselves and their ability to control their own lives and situations, and (c) increasing their participation in public policy …

An Evaluation Of The Potential For Change In The Caste System Of India, Courtney Benjamin

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

A Psychological Investigation Into The Literary Case Study Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson, Umma Khan

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

A Simplified Model Of Wound Healing - Ii: The Critical Size Defect In Two Dimensions, J. S. Arnold, John A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Recently, a one-dimensional model was developed which gives a reasonable explanation for the existence of a Critical Size Defect (CSD) in certain animals [1]. In this paper, we examine the more realistic two-dimensional model of a circular wound of uniform depth to see what modifications are to be found, as compared with the one-dimensional model, in studying the CSD phenomenon. It transpires that the range of CSD sizes for a reasonable estimate of parameter values is 1 mm-1 cm. More realistic estimates await the appropriate experimental data.

Local And Landscape Factors Affecting Nest Site Selection And Nest Success Of Burrowing Owls In Western Nebraska, Rebecca T. Ekstein

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Credit Or Debit? Unauthorized Use And Consumer Liability Under Federal Consumer Protection Legislation, Daniel M. Mroz

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Although debit cards may closely resemble credit cards in appearance, consumer liability for unauthorized use is not similar and the payment transaction initiated through use is very different. In response to the increasing use of debit card products, consumer protection issues concerning liability for unauthorized use have been raised, new legislation has been introduced to Congress and an extremely lucrative debit card market has prospered. Sections I through IV of this comment provide an overview of the federal Truth in Lending Act and of the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act in relation to consumer liability issues concerning the use of …

The Effect Of Dredging On The Plant Community Of A Missouri-River Floodplain Wetland., Lisa Ann Peterson

Student Work

A plant community gradient, consisting of Open-water, bulrush, Grass, and Forest Zones, was evaluated both before (1995) and one-year after (1997) restoration-dredging of a wetland along the Missouri River in east-central Nebraska. Species diversity declined significantly (P ≥ 0.05) in both the Bulrush and Grass Zones (-24 and -30 species) but not elsewhere. The Open-water Zone, which increased the most with dredging (+40 meters), was dominated by duckweed (Lemna minor) (53% canopy cover in 1995 and 45% in 1997) and watermeal (Wolddia columbiana) (53% and 61%) both before and after dredging. Coontail (Ceratophylum demersum) increased significantly (7% to 25%). The …

Stellar Angular Diameters Of Late-Type Giants And Supergiants Measured With The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer, Tyler E. Nordgren, M. E. Germain, J. A. Benson, D. Mozurkewich, Jeffrey J. Sudol, N. M. Elias Ii, Arsen R. Hajian, N. M. White, D. J. Hutter, K. J. Johnston, F. S. Gauss, J. T. Armstrong, T. A. Pauls, L. J. Rickard

Physics & Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Vol. 18, No. 2, December 1999

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Silos Or Spider Webs: Community In The 1990'S, Susan H. Holton

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Cultural Commentary: Millenarian Visions In Spanish Cinema, Leora Lev

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Bridgewater Review, Vol. 18, No. 2, December 1999

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Cart: Research On "The Impact Of Wellness Courses" And On "Brockton-Area Transit"

Bridgewater Review

CART grants enable faculty and librarians to pursue research projects. "The Impact of Wellness-Related Courses on BSC Women" (Pamela J. Russell and Kathleen M. Laquale) and "The Role of Brockton Area Transit in the Welfare to Work Program" (Uma Shama and Philip Klotzbach) are among the projects which were recently awarded CART grants.

Georgia's Public Duty Doctrine: The Supreme Court Held Hostage, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Mercer Law Review

A study published in 1994 sought to determine the single most litigated topic in Georgia local government law over the past thirty years. What legal issue of local government administration had most often confronted Georgia's appellate courts over that recent but considerable span of time? The revealed answer to that inquiry commanded serious consideration-not because of its unexpectedness but rather its unequivocal conclusiveness:

Local government liability for the alleged misconduct of officers and employees dwarfs all other subtopics. For the past thirty years, liability has extracted more time and attention from Georgia's appellate courts than any other subject of local …

Swimming Against The Tide: Educational Late-Blooming In America, William C. Levin

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Whalesong 1999-12-01 (V.21 No.4), N/A N/A

Whalesong

No abstract provided.

Molecular-Dynamics Study Of Phase Transitions In Alkali Azides, M. M. Ossowski, John R. Hardy, Robert W. Smith

Physics Faculty Publications

An account is presented of our studies of the order-disorder phase transitions in KN₃, RbN₃, and CsN₃. These are based on parameter-free interionic potentials based on the Gordon-Kim modified electron-gas formalism extended to molecular ions. We performed static structural relaxations and supercell molecular dynamics and predicted with reasonable accuracy the temperatures for the onset of the transitions. In particular, we address the question of how the N₃^- ions reorient to yield the transitions. We found the existence of NaCl-type high-temperature phases in disordered KN₃ and RbN₃ and argue that this …

The Environment And Working Conditions In Juvenile Boot Camps And Traditional Facilities, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Doris Layton Mackenzie, Angela Gover, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This national study of juvenile correctional facilities compared the correctional environments of 25 juvenile boot camps to those of 22 traditional juvenile facilities. Data on perceived environmental conditions for juveniles and work climate for staff, as well as demographic characteristics, were collected from 1,233 juvenile correctional facility staff. While there was some regional variation, in comparison to staff employed in traditional juvenile correctional facilities, boot camp staff perceived the environmental conditions for juveniles as having significantly more activity, control, justice, structure, caring, and therapeutic programming, and believed that their releases were better prepared for the future. Boot staff also perceived …

Symbolic Politics: Government's War Against The Working Class, Warren Charles Gregory

Dissertations

Symbolism and substance are essential parts of any political system. In our system of government, we typically think of symbolism as serving substantive ends. Using a triangulation of _methods (Participant Observation, Archival Data, and Documentary Evidence), the paper examines two cases (Social Security and criminal justice) and concludes that the mix between substance and symbolism has changed dramatically in recent years with symbolism now assuming the central role.

The current debates over Social Security funding and criminal justice sanctions, for example, are less about the concerns of old-age security or making the public safer as much as they reflect a …

La Santé Et La Sécurité Du Travail Dans Les Supermarchés : La Santé Musculo-Squelettique Des Travailleurs : 4e Rapport, Lina Forcier, Claire Lapointe, Jacques Lemaire, Ilkka Kuorinka, Monique Lortie, Peter Buckle, Sylvie Beaugrand

Rapports de recherche scientifique

No abstract provided.

The Urban Ecology Of Hospital Failure: Hospital Closures In The City Of Chicago, 1970-1991, Gunnar Almgren, Miguel Ferguson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Abstract: Hospital closures occurred nationally with increasing frequency between 1970 and 1990. In particular, large urban areas experienced a dramatic number of closures. Of the 61 general hospitals operating in Chicago in 1970, 22 (36%) had closed by 1991. While a growing body of literature has examined the etiology and determinants of hospital closure over the last two decades, few empirical studies have focused on the neighborhood correlates of closure, and none have examined specific health outcomes associated with hospital failure. This study uses census and Chicago hospital closure data to compare and contrast different conceptual explanations of closure in …