Digital Commons Network^™

Power, Politics, And The Mourning Mother: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Mothers Against Drunk Driving And The Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo, Shelby Lynn Scarpa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the United States (MADD) and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina each formed out of a loss of its children and organized under the identity of the mother in order gain access to the political arena. Transformed into political movements, both groups of mothers were able to effectively bring about changes in public policy, and therefore, society as a whole. Additionally, they were able to transcend traditional cultural norms, by redefining the role and identity of the mother. By exploiting opportunities that propelled them into positions of power, the women fundamentally changed …

Redefining The Pastoral In Contemporary Literature Through The Works Of Flannery O'Connor, Pamelyn. Jongbloed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The pastoral form is one of the oldest in the literary tradition. Historically, the definition of "pastoral" was limited to eclogues and idylls that epitomize a simple way of life, usually with shepherds as their subject. Over time, the pastoral genre has undergone numerous metamorphoses that retain some aspects of a simplistic vision, while contradicting the more complex matters that help to define the human condition. These transformations have allowed for pastoral motifs set in direct opposition to everyday life in order to exemplify human frailties. In Flannery O'Connor's works, the simplicities of natural southern settings are in direct contrast …

Resource Guide For Parents And Classroom Teachers Educating Special Education Students To Increase Appropriate Communication With All Individual Education Program (Iep) Team Members, Amy Thomasson Nast

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Historically, individuals with special needs have been isolated from society and educational opportunities. Though the professional care for these individuals improved in two hundred years, only since the passage of Public Law 94-142, in the past twenty-seven years, have the needs and accomplishments of special needs individuals been made public. Based on ten years in the classroom, one special educator experienced the need for parents and classroom teachers to have a resources reference for educating special needs individuals and to improve the communication among parents, classroom teachers and special educators. Each group should have an understanding of some history of …

Scattering And Response Green's Function Modeling Of A Fluid-Loaded Coated Cylindrical Shell, Carole. Treffot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

An acoustic compliant coating is applied on a fluid-loaded structure to control the radiated pressure, by decoupling the fluid medium from the vibrating surface. In this thesis the problem of an infinite cylindrical shell immersed in a fluid and entirely covered with an acoustic compliant layer, excited either by a ring force or an incident acoustic plane wave is considered. To model this problem two different approaches are used. The first one, which is available in the literature, is based on multi-layer shell theory. In this approach the scalar and the vector potential formulation are used to solve for the …

Soul Bubba: President Clinton's Use Of The Rhetoric Of Inclusion To Ensure The Loyalty Of The Congressional Black Caucus, Sandra Elizabeth Bernard-Bastien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Clinton's success in engendering loyalty in the African-American, despite his failure to deliver socio-economic and political benefits, presents us with an apparent paradox. The contention is that the answer to this paradox could be found in the rhetorical style and strategies habitually employed by Clinton when speaking to African-Americans. What Clinton said to black America is important, but how he said it, is even more so. Through a critical examination of his eight speeches to the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Dinner, using rhetorical theory, this research examines how Clinton said what he said. In utilizing the critical approach that examines …

Software Development Behavior In Small Organizations, Muhammed Zubair Chaudhry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

As the software industry continues to mature, best practices have been defined to improve the quality and productivity of software development. Adoption rates of these practices are better understood for large organizations as compared to small standalone organizations. Based on surveys and interviews, this study analyzes the utilization of software development best practices by small software organizations, and the factors that influence different levels of adoption. The results demonstrate that context is the main determinant of adoption, driven by competitive pressures, organizational incentives, and prior exposure to best practices. Consulting firms were influenced by their contractual relationship with the client, …

Secondary Orality In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" And "The Color Purple", Africa Ragland Fine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The differences between orality and literacy have been explored by theorists who have focused mainly on the differences in the nature of communication once writing is introduced. However, other theorists have challenged the theory that those characteristics are separate and independent, and there is an argument that the relationship between oral and written communication is not a dichotomy, but a continuum when elements of both can coexist. This idea leads to theory of secondary orality, which describes communication that encompasses both oral and literate elements. Two modern novels, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Alice Walker's The …

Soil-Geosynthetic Reinforcement Interaction For Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Wall Systems, Fernando Manuel Navarrete

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The dissertation is an experimental and analytical investigation of the long term performance of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls with geosynthetics, with particular focus on rational methods to enable the determination of the applicable factors for use in Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD). An overview of current issues concerning MSE walls is followed by an extensive literature review addressing MSE walls, pullout strength, creep and creep rupture, durability and degradation, design methodology, analytical prediction, and field evaluation of MSE walls. The experimental tasks comprise: (i) creep and creep rupture, (ii) durability and degradation, (iii) small scale testing of MSE walls …

Study On Bluetooth And Mobile Ip/Cdpd Technologies: Performance Considerations And Emi/Rfi Implications, Jesada. Sivaraks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

What have been envisaged and focused in the research as deliberated in this dissertation, refer to certain state-of-the-art perspectives of modern wireless telecommunications. Specifically, the objectives and scope of the research efforts carried out include systematic analyses of two major wireless technologies, namely, the Bluetooth(TM) and the CDPD system. The relevant tasks undertaken refer to analytical modeling, experimental studies and simulations pertinent to the performance considerations of the test systems subjected to EMI/RFI influences. The following can be enumerated as the specific research endeavors pursued and completed: (1) Identification of performance implications in the Bluetooth(TM) and CDPD wireless transmissions subjected …

Statistical Analysis Of Dynamic Interdependence Patterns In The Cortex, Wilson A. Truccolo-Filho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This dissertation is an investigation of the sources of commonly observed event-related transients in statistical measures of interdependence: variance, cross-correlation, power spectrum density and coherence spectrum density time functions. These measures are often employed in the analysis of spatio-temporal interdependence patterns in neural activity. In order to understand the phenomenon, the origins of the variability of event-related responses are revisited. The time series of single trial cortical event-related potentials typically have a random appearance, and their trial-to-trial variability is commonly explained by the classic signal-plus-noise model, in which random ongoing background noise activity is linearly combined with a stereotyped evoked …

Testing An Integrated Model Of Crime: Traditional And General Strain, Differential Association, And Control Theories, Michael K. Ostrowsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Theories of criminal behavior have been tested individually and in integrated models incorporating multiple theories. Using data from the National Youth Survey Wave VII (1987), an integrated model incorporating traditional strain, differential association, and control theories is tested. Results show that each theory alone is a significant predictor of criminal behavior. Also, the integrated model enhances explanatory power of criminal behavior, over that of each individual theory. General strain theory (GST) variables are then added into the integrated model. In fact, this thesis is the first study, using young adults, that tests for the effects of multiple GST variables on …

Thermal And Stress Analysis Of Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor, Jose Fernando Rivero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The objective of this work is to perform the current induce thermal stress analysis of heterojunction bipolar transistor and to determine the implications of the variation of the thermal shunt thickness. A thesis presented on multi-physics using finite element analysis, covering fluid, thermal and stress with fatigue life analysis of a microelectronic heterojunction bipolar transistor.

Using Color Image Processing Techniques To Improve The Performance Of Content-Based Image Retrieval Systems, Fabio Morais Costa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) system is a mechanism intended to retrieve a particular image from a large image repository without resorting to any additional information about the image. Query-by-example (QBE) is a technique used by CBIR systems where an image is retrieved from the database based on an example given by the user. The effectiveness of a CBIR system can be measured by two main indicators: how close the retrieved results are to the desired image and how fast we got those results. In this thesis, we implement some classical image processing operations in order to improve the average …

War On Two Fronts: Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" And Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line", Tibe Patrick Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

In 1998 Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line debuted in theatres and critics in the popular press were quick to discuss the revival of the World War Two film and to classify both films within this genre. Through an examination of genre, art cinema, the styles of the Steven Spielberg and Terrence Malick, and a close textual analysis of both films, this thesis argues that Saving Private Ryan, although updating generic conventions of violence through its opening segment, quickly turns traditional in its depiction of plot, character, masculinity, and nation. The Thin Red Line, however, combines conventions of …

Wavelet-Based Detector For Underwater Communication, Branko. Petljanski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The need for reliable underwater communication at Florida Atlantic University is critical in transmitting data to and from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and remote sensors. Since a received signal is corrupted with ambient ocean noise, the nature of such noise is investigated. Furthermore, we establish connection between ambient ocean noise and fractal noise. Since the matched filter is designed under the assumption that noise is white, performance degradation of the matched filter due non-white noise is investigated. We show empirical results that the wavelet transform provides an approximate Karhunen-Loeve expansion for 1/f-type noise. Since whitening can improve only broadband signals, …

Zealots. Five Radicals: Saints Or Sinners, Richard Morton Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The Zealots were an alliance of five United States Senators and Representatives who led the radical wing of the Republican Party from the years 1860 to 1868. They clashed with President Lincoln over emancipation and how the Civil War was conducted, overcame the hostility of President Johnson and finally imposed on the South, a reconstruction plan of their own. Chronicled here is how the five radical leaders by aggressively working in concert became the driving Congressional force in the prosecution of the War.

William A. Dunning Revisited: The Mind Or Malice Of Reconstruction?, Kathleen P. Barsalou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Historian William A. Dunning was responsible for the first scholarly treatment of the Reconstruction era. The terms which his contemporaries used to describe him differ strikingly from those historians may choose today. Since the 1930s, American historiography has reflected the new emphasis on sociology and psychology with a radical shift in subject matter away from the traditional political focus. Surely, certain truths are known to the modern historian which were not known to those who lived earlier. However, to discard the insights of one generation of historians is, perhaps, to ignore some of history's most important resources.

Faculty Perceptions Of Competencies In The Nursing Profession, Debra A. Filer

Theses and Dissertations

In order to respond to the needs of a rapidly changing health care environment, nursing educators must redefine the competencies needed by the beginning registered nurse. The study was designed to assess nursing faculty members' perceptions of competencies used by the beginning registered nurse in practice and their perceptions of the degree to which those same nursing competencies were presented in the nursing curriculum. Faculty members' perceptions were compared also to the results of a previous study which included a survey of beginning nurses to identify their perceptions of such competencies.

Nursing faculty members who teach in professional nursing programs …

Potential Nrm Structures For Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

All other publications

A discussion paper to scope and present options for regional Natural Resources Management (NRM) structures suited to Western Australia’s South West agricultural division.

The Tower Clock 2001, Tower Clock

Tower Clock Yearbooks

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Fine Sediment On Stream Macroinvertebrates In Urban And Rural Oregon Streams, Raymond S. Hoy

Dissertations and Theses

Urbanization, often characterized by high impervious surface area, can result in excessive inputs of fine sediments into urban streams. Excessive fine sediments can blanket the stream bed filling the interstitial space in the substratum, which may have adverse effects on stream biota. A field survey was conducted in Oregon urban and non-urban basins to investigate the relationship between fine sediments and stream macroinvertebrates. Physical, chemical, and biological data were collected from 59 stream sites in two urban and two rural streams. The stream sites fulfilled a continuous sediment gradient, which ranged from a low of 2% of fine sediment in …

Factors Of Team Success : A Study Of North Dakota State University Extension Service Professionals In A Volunteer Setting, Michael E. Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of A 185-Mill Deduct As An Equalization Factor In The North Dakota Foundation Aid Formula, Michael A. Bitz

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Farming Systems To Manage Salinity. Farmer Directed Research, Development And Extension. Research Results 2001, Richard Olive

Natural resources published reports

More and more of Western Australia's agnicultural lands are becoming saline. Currently it is estimated that about 18 milliion ha of land are affected to a greater or lesser degree by salinity causing production losses estimated at about $70 million a year.

Unless ways are found to halt and reverse the salinisation of land it is estimated that another 4.4 million ha could become saline over the next 50 years.

Grain growers and the Federal Government, through the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). are investing $12 4 million in R&D across Australia to develop productive solutions to the salinity …

Converging Numbers: Harmonization Of Accounting Standards With The Context Of The Role Of The Auditor In Corporate Governance, Poonam Puri

All Papers

The recent financial collapse of Enron and other corporate powerhouses as well as the demise of accounting firm Arthur Andersen brings into question the credibility of the auditor’s role in corporate governance. This article comments on the harmonization of accounting standards within the context of the role of the auditor in corporate governance.

Keeping The Government's Hands Off Our Bodies: Mapping A Feminist Legal Theory Approach To Privacy In Cross-Gender Prison Searches, Teresa A. Miller

Journal Articles

The power of privacy is diminishing in the prison setting, and yet privacy is the legal theory prisoners rely upon most to resist searches by correctional officers. Incarcerated women in particular rely upon privacy to shield them from the kind of physical contact that male guards have been known to abuse. The kind of privacy that protects prisoners from searches by guards of the opposite sex derives from several sources, depending on the factual circumstances. Although some form of bodily privacy is embodied in the First, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, prisoners challenging the constitutionality of cross-gender searches most commonly …

Data Wars: How Superseding Forsham V. Harris Impacts The Federal Grant Award Process, Elizabeth G. Adelman

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Moving Toward A First-Best World: Minnesota's Position On Multiethnic Adoptions, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

The best world allows a child to grow to adulthood with biological parents, or at least one parent, who love the child unconditionally and who have resources to support the child. A second-best world allows the child to permanently and completely become part of an extended family that loves him or her and has the resources for supporting and meeting the child's needs. Hopefully this process costs little in terms of time or emotional or physical harm to the child. In traditional third-party adoptions, the child permanently moves and becomes part of (hopefully, at low cost) a family that will …

On Castles And Commerce: Zoning Law And The Home Business Dilemma, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Journal Articles

Most zoning laws severely restrict residents' ability to work from home. Some prohibit it outright. These regulations serve the ostensible purpose of protecting neighbors from externalities that might be generated by home businesses. But, home occupation restrictions also reflect in a particularly sharp way the central motivating ideology underlying all zoning laws - namely, that the good life requires the careful segregation of work and home. Today, home business regulations are being challenged by both planning theory and economic reality. At the same time that many in the academy and planning professions are calling into question zoning's pervasive segregation of …

Troxel And The Limits Of Community, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

The Troxel grandparent-visitation case that frames this symposium, the Washington statute included in Troxel, the mercifully completed odyssey of Cuban-born Elian Gonzalez, and the "right to die" case of Hugh Finn all illustrate both the fervor with which the broader community justifies its involvement with families and the extremes to which this involvement can spread. Using constitutional language, advocates point out the rights of extended family members to continue or strengthen ties to children, whether adult or minor. On the other side, parents and spouses claim their own rights not to have outsiders second-guess or interfere with their decisions.

Though …