Digital Commons Network^™

The De(Con)Struction Of Butch And Nelly: Participatory Research Regarding Gender Identity And Gender Self-Concept Of Gay Men, Rexton C. Lynn

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Impact Of Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance And Media-Body Images On Women's Concern About Weight, Julianna M. Lyell

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Teachers' Perceived Effectiveness Of Their Evaluation Process At Selected School Districts, Heather Mcdougall

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Capacity Of The Electronics Industry For Closing The Lifecycle Look: Assessing The Infrastucture For The Recovery And Recycling Of Electronics In The Unites States, Patricia Donohue

Theses

This work examined why the electronics industry, specifically producers of commercial and consumer equipment, does not complete the product lifecycle by recapturing valuable materials from products when the products reach the end of their useful life. The electronics industry, it seems, is not capable of fully recovering and recycling its products. It lacks the infrastructure, or the underlying foundation, to enable the industry to take back its products and recycle or reuse the components that make up those products. This research identified and examined the various infrastructure deficiencies, including technical and regulatory factors, causing the recovery and recycling of electronic …

Disclosure In Annual Reports: An Agency Theoretic Perspective In An International Setting, Mohd Ismail Bin Ramli

Plymouth Business School Theses

Over the recent years 'transparency' or better information disclosure has been the buzzword of various corporate governance bodies due to the failures of the system of corporate governance, which arise from an agency relationship. However, there are arguments by 'free market' advocates suggesting that information is voluntarily disclosed. This study discusses and compares the disclosure of information relating to directors' behaviour in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden. These countries were selected because they represent the developed countries with different accounting systems. Furthermore, they are also the board member countries of IASC and OECD. 'Transparency' relating …

Building Dss Using Knowledge Discovery In Database Applied To Admission & Registration Functions, Ahmed Abdel Hameed Hassan El-Ragal

Plymouth Business School Theses

This research investigates the practical issues surrounding the development and implementation of Decision Support Systems (DSS). The research describes the traditional development approaches analyzing their drawbacks and introduces a new DSS development methodology. The proposed DSS methodology is based upon four modules; needs' analysis, data warehouse (DW), knowledge discovery in database (KDD), and a DSS module. The proposed DSS methodology is applied to and evaluated using the admission and registration functions in Egyptian Universities. The research investigates the organizational requirements that are required to underpin these functions in Egyptian Universities. These requirements have been identified following an in-depth survey of …

Desired Absence: A Woman's Perspective, Heather Dominick

Theses

Humans are born either male or female depending on their sexual organs. While there are specific biological functions connected to those organs, it is society that assigns distinct, opposite behavioral standards, mores, and roles for each gender. These are portrayed as outgrowths of biological differences and considered normal. However, gender roles are socially constructed not biologically determined. My thesis work Desired Absence: A Woman's Perspective explores the themes of gender and violence using photography and video. The body of work includes two components; a series of seven silver gelatin mural sized photographs of the human face, and a single channel …

Culinary Arts Competencies In Hospitality Curriculum, Thomas Smyth

Theses

A modified two-round Delphi study of fifteen hospitality educators and fifteen industry managers was used to identify instructional objectives for culinary arts education and to establish the positions of educator and industry relative to these objectives. These professionals confirmed that there does exist a divergent opinion on competencies, while affirming the value of continued dialogue to apprise each other of their needs. Working with culinary arts faculty, the voice of industry speaks to great and immediate challenges, which require an evolving curriculum to prepare future culinarians.

Information Technology Infrastructure Stability, Jeffrey Pankow

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to validate the critical importance of IT infrastructure stability and to determine the factors impacting stability and what IT executives are doing to address these factors.

A Guideline For Initiating An Environmental Management System In Academia, David Turkow

Theses

Managing environmental concerns in an academic environment poses unique challenges to colleges and universities. Many college EHS professionals face an uphill battle to promote environmental improvement in an organized, systematic, and sustainable fashion - an Environmental Management System (EMS) is designed to do just that. Some inherent difficulties encountered in an academic setting include 1) lack of management support and 2) the perception that colleges do not have major environmental compliance issues (contributing factor to #1). By identifying issues unique to academia and differences in perception between EHS professionals and academic senior management, chances for successfully initiating/implementing an EMS are …

Utilizing Re-Engineering Of Competitive Packages To Stimulate Innovative Packaging Development, Jeffrey Gibb

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how the tool of re-engineering can successfully be used to dissect competitive packaging and, in turn, stimulate new, innovative packaging developments. The organizational challenges and hurdles in achieving innovation have changed in recent years. Mergers and acquisitions have resulted in the creation of mega-corporations. The result has been a change in business philosophy from generalization to specialization for maximum profitability. The challenge of specialization is that it stifles creativity, and this includes the development of innovative packaging. One of the ways the packaging engineer can overcome these challenges and drive innovation is …

An Evaluation Of The Influence Of Vibrations Received In The Distribution Environment To The Remaining Eddy Current Probe Lifetime, Edo Picek

Theses

Eddy Current probes are used for the testing of steam generator tubing integrity in nuclear power plants. Their use environment is far more severe than the distribution environment, which includes truck and airplane delivery of small parcels. As each probe has soldered connections susceptible to damage this study was undertaken to investigate a possible influence of vibrations due to transport to a probe lifetime. A sweep vibration test was performed on a product with no packaging. It proved that the probe was able to vibrate in different ways unless restricted by the package. With the packaging solution defined in more …

Optimised Manufacture, Packing And Distribution Of E-Fluted Corrugated Detergent Containers, Enis Kancelir

Theses

E-fluted corrugated containers are widely used on the European markets and other markets world-wide. The production of this type of containers is therefore very important in the area of detergent packing and distribution. It is very important to improve and develop such forms of packing. This paper shows the method of packing which is as effective as the one we have used by now, but which involves significant reduction in the costs of operation. Additional rationalisation has been also defined by adequate ASTM testing methods.

The Effect Of Software Requirements Analysis On Project Success And Product Quality, Vera Berenbaum

Theses

This paper will demonstrate that the general project management principles' regarding requirements analysis also hold true for software development projects. According to conventional project management wisdom, sound requirements analysis and scope definition tends to improve quality planning, thereby reducing project cost and duration, increasing project success and improving the quality of the resulting product. This paper will demonstrate that software development projects tend to challenge this time-proven notion. The paper will also demonstrate that the software development industry pays a high price for these practices by suffering longer project schedules, higher costs and producing poorer quality products by rushing requirements …

Uptake Of Dissolved Organic Selenides By Marine Phytoplankton, Stephen B. Baines, Nicholas S. Fisher, Martina A. Doblin, Gregory A. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

Se is present in multiple oxidation states in nature, each of which has unique chemical and biological reactivities. As a consequence, the rate of Se incorporation into food webs or its role as either a limiting nutrient or a toxic substance is a function of complex biogeochemistry. In particular, little is understood about the accumulation of dissolved organic selenides by phyto- or bacterioplankton. We assessed the bioavailability of dissolved organic selenides to marine and estuarine phytoplankton by presenting various algal species with filtered lysates of the diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, grown on media amended with radiolabeled selenite (⁷⁵Se[IV]). …

The New Social Discipline : A Critical Analysis Of Federal Drug-Free Workplace Legislation And Employee Drug Testing, Matthew T. Lammers

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In this research I contend that the arguments for drug-free workplaces are framed within a narrative of science that lends authenticity to the recurring themes that drug testing promotes the health, safety, and productivity of the American workforce. The sense of authenticity effectively delimits the discourse of drug testing and presents the complexities of drug abuse in binary oppositions that contribute to normalizing the behavior of all individuals, not just those who abuse drugs. I suggest that the process of normalization reproduces the delimitation of discourse and provides justifications for introducing drug testing into areas of society beyond the walls …

Porosity, Percolation Thresholds, And Water Retention Behavior Of Random Fractal Porous Media, Michael C. Sukop

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Fractals are a relatively recent development in mathematics that show promise as a foundation for models of complex systems like natural porous media. One important issue that has not been thoroughly explored is the affect of different algorithms commonly used to generate random fractal porous media on their properties and processes within them. The heterogeneous method can lead to large, uncontrolled variations in porosity. It is proposed that use of the homogeneous algorithm might lead to more reproducible applications. Computer codes that will make it easier for researchers to experiment with fractal models are provided. In Chapter 2, the application …

From Cambodia To The United States: The Disassembly, Reconstruction, And Redefinition Of Khmer Identity, Denise Clark Lewis

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

In this thesis I describe Khmers' negotiations of circumstances surroundingthe disassembly, reconstruction, and redefinition of Khmer identity fromtheir homeland in Cambodia to a traditional Khmer village recreated in theUnited States. Using a framework derived from a constructivist perspective,I have placed processes of negotiation and identity transformation withinthe lived context of Khmers' lives. Thus, a holistic understanding of theinterrelatedness of multiple changes in Khmerness is made possible.Ethnographic data collected between 1997 and 1999, through participantobservationand interviews, inform this study. Findings from this studyreveal three levels of identity transformation as told by members of a smallKhmer village established along the U. S. …

Cyberspace Invades The First Amendment: Where Do We Go From Here?, Dollie Deaton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Long before our nation was created, European Countries acknowledged the importance of freespeech. Despite this, Great Britain later denied this right to the New England Colonies. Over thelast two centuries many battles have been fought to make freedom of speech an inalienable right tobe shared by all. A good portion of these battles have been fought in courtrooms. Judge andSupreme Court justices have dealt with issues ranging from what is a public figure to what isindecent speech. Many of these issues are not found in the original text of the Constitution. This hasforced the judges to devise tests to determine …

Pervaporation Of Solvent Mixtures Using Polymeric And Zeolitic Membranes: Separation Studies And Modeling, Dhaval S. Shah

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The separation characteristics of binary alcohol-water mixtures were studied overa wide range of feed concentration and temperature using polymeric and zeoliticpervaporation membranes. For the hydrophilic PVA membrane, the total flux (at 55 0C)for the ethanol-water system decreased from 0.45 to 0.05 kg/m2/hr as the feed ethanolconcentration was increased from 30 to 95 wt. %. The separation factor (water/ethanol)was found to increase by about 100 times for the same range of concentration. TheUNIQUAC theory was used to predict the activity of binary alcohol-water mixtures in thePVA membrane. The UNIQUAC theory successfully takes into account the nonidealitiespresent in the alcohol/water-PVA membrane system. …

St. Mary Of Egypt In Bl Ms Cotton Otho B. X: New Textual Evidence For An Old English Saint's Life, Linda M. Cantara

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Scholarship of the anonymous Old English prose Life of St. Mary of Egypt ranges from source studies and linguistic analyses to explorations of Anglo-Saxon female sexuality and comparisons to saints' lives translated by the monk Ælfric, but all of these studies have been based on either the text extant in BL MS Cotton Julius E. vii or on W. W. Skeat's edition of the Julius manuscript, Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1881-1900). There is, however, an as yet unedited fragmentary copy of the Old English Mary of Egypt in BL MS Cotton Otho B. x, a manuscript severely damaged by fire …

Frictions As A Constraint On Tax Planning, David M. Schizer

Faculty Scholarship

The government often uses narrow tax reforms to target specific planning strategies. Sometimes the targeted transaction is stopped. But in other cases, taxpayers press on, tweaking the deal just enough to sidestep the reform. The difference often lies in transaction costs, financial accounting, and other 'frictions, " which are constraints on tax planning external to the tax law.

This Article contributes a methodology for determining whether frictions will block end runs, and illustrates the effect of frictions by comparing the constructive sale rule of section 1259 with the constructive ownership rule of section 1260. These reforms use the same statutory …

Nixon V. Shrink Missouri Government Pac: The Beginning Of The End Of The Buckley Era?, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

In Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, the Supreme Court emphatically reaffirmed a key element of the campaign finance doctrine first articulated in Buckley v. Valeo a quarter-century earlier that governments may, consistent with the First Amendment, impose limitations on the size of contributions to election campaigns. Shrink Missouri was significant because the Eighth Circuit decision reversed by the Supreme Court had sought to strengthen the constitutional protection provided to contributions and had invalidated limitations on donations to Missouri state candidates that were actually higher than the limits on donations to federal candidates that the Supreme Court had previously …

Nonlinear Dynamics In Psychology, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

This article provides a survey of the applications of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to substantive problems encountered in the full scope of psychological science. Applications are organized into three topical areas – cognitive science, social and organizational psychology, and personality and clinical psychology. Both theoretical and empirical studies are considered with an emphasis on works that capture the broadest scope of issues that are of substantive interest to psychological theory. A budding literature on the implications of NDS principles in professional practice is reported also.

Moral Pluck: Legal Ethics In Popular Culture, William H. Simon

Faculty Scholarship

Favorable portrayals of lawyers in popular culture tend to adopt a distinctive ethical perspective. This perspective departs radically from the premises of the "Conformist Moralism" exemplified by the official ethics of the American bar and the arguments of the proponents of President Clinton's impeachment. While Conformist Moralism is strongly authoritarian and categorical, popular culture exalts a quality that might be called "Moral Pluck " – a combination of resourcefulness and transgression in the service of basic but informal values. This Essay traces the theme of Moral Pluck through three of the most prominent fictional portrayals of lawyers in recent years …

Photochemically-Induced Fluorescence Properties And Determination Of Flufenamic Acid, A Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug, In Urine And Pharmaceutical Preparation, Lei̇la Bettaieb, J. J. Aaron

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The photochemically-induced fluorescence (PIF) properties of flufenamic acid (FF), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) were investigated in acidic (pH 1.0) aqueous solutions at room temperature. An optimization procedure, including the effects of UV irradiation time, pH and solvent, was established for the determination of FF. A linear logarithmic calibration plot was obtained over a wide concentration range of four orders of magnitude. A low limit of detection of 0.14 ng/mL was found. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 6.6% . The PIF method was applied to the quantitative analysis of FF in urine and in a pharmaceutical preparation with satisfactory …

Oxidation Of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid By N-Bromosuccinimide In Aqueous Alkaline Medium -- A Kinetic Study, S. K. Mavalangi, M. R. Kembhavi, S. T. Nandibewoor

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The kinetics of oxidation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in aqueous alkaline media was investigated at 25°C. Analysis of the results showed the reaction is first -- order with respect to [NBS] and apparently less than unit order each with respect to [EDTA] and [alkali]. The influence of the reaction products, ionic strength, temperature effect and dielectric constant of the medium on the rate of reaction was studied. The proposed mechanism is consistent with the observed kinetics. The reaction constants involved in the mechanism were derived. There is a good agreement between the observed and calculated rate constants …

Electrooxidation Of Methanol And Formic Acid On Platinum Dispersed Polypyrrole Electrodes, İpek Beceri̇k, Fi̇gen Kadirgan

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The present study was performed in order to investigate the electrocatalytic properties of platinum incorporated polypyrrole films for methanol and formic acid oxidations. The behaviour of this modified electrode was characterised in acidic media (0.1M HClO_4). The electrodes exhibited excellent long-term stability in this media. After the modification and optimisation, the electrocatalytic properties of polypyrrole-metal particles and kinetics of the oxidation reactions were interpreted with regard to fuel cell applications.

The Influence Of Transition Metal Ions On The Kinetics Of Ascorbic Acid Oxidation By Methylene Blue In Strongly Acidic Media, M. Nasiruddin Khan, Anila Sarwar

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The kinetics of the oxidation of L-ascorbic acid (H_{2} A) by methylene blue was investigated in strongly acidic media over the temperature range 22-40 ^oC. The kinetic studies were carried out as a function of different variables like concentration, pH, ionic strength and temperature. The rate was found to be a linear relation with [H_{2} A], [M.B.] and [H^{+}]. Ionic strength dependence formation indicated complex formation by monocationic and anionic species in solution. The reaction rate was greatly catalyzed by the presence of trace amounts of copper (II) ion. Possible mechanisms for the catalyzed and uncatalyzed reactions are proposed. Kinetic …

Conductimetric And Potentiometric Titration Of Some Hydroxylated Cinnamic Acids With Tetrabutylammonium Hydroxide In Non-Aqueous Media, A.Hakan Aktaş, Gülsüm Yaşar, Güleren Özkan Alsancak, Şahi̇nde Demi̇rci̇

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

In this study, four hydroxycinnamic acids, namely 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid, 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 4-hydroxy --3- methoxycinnamic acid and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxycinnamic acid, were titrated conductimetrically and potentiometrically using triethylamine and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide in acetonitrile, 2-propanol, and pyridine solvents under a nitrogen atmosphere at 25 ^oC. In conductimetric titration with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide all of the compounds exhibited conventional stoichiometric titration curves in 2-propanol . As is evident from the titration curves, all these compounds gave two well-defined end points. The first end point corresponds to exactly one equivalent and the second one to the two equivalents of the base. In conductimetric titration with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, …