Digital Commons Network^™

On-Chip Timing Measurement, Tian Xia

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, we propose an on-chip timing measurement technique. We design a TVC (time-to-voltage converter) circuit and demonstrate its application to on-chip phase locked loop jitter measurement and high-speed signal timing characterization. The core components of the TVC are a comparator with hysteresis, a capacitor, a binary counter and a charge pump. The charge pump consists of a current source and a current sink. During the measurement, a low frequency reference clock signal is used to control the current source to charge the capacitor with certain voltage offset, and the signal under measurement is used to control the current …

Thyroidal Regulation Of Stomach Development And Toxicity Of Pcb 126 In Metamorphosing Summer Flounder, Bruno Soffientino

Open Access Dissertations

The overarching theme of this thesis work is the development of the stomach in summer flounder, which occurs during metamorphosis. During normal development, proliferation of the gastric epithelium increases in early metamorphosis when incipient gastric glands first appear, and declines at late metamorphosis when gastric glands are completely developed. Inhibiting thyroid hormone prevents the increase in proliferation and the differentiation of glands, while high levels of thyroid hormone accelerate gastric gland differentiation but also inhibit proliferation. The hormone is necessary to cause cell proliferation, but at high doses it appears to selectively stimulate differentiation, suggesting that the steady increase in …

Nurses' Experiences Of Moving From Cure-Oriented To Comfort-Oriented Care In The Medical Intensive Care Unit Setting, James Mark Badger

Open Access Dissertations

Medical intensive care unit (MICU) nurses often struggle to balance technological competence, task proficiency, and attention to the psychosocial needs of patients. They routinely are involved in negotiations to maintain or withdraw life-support. Knowledge is limited, however, on how nurses move from aggressively attempting to extend life to letting life end. The purpose of this qualitative research investigation was to explore nurses' experiences of moving from cure-oriented to comfort-oriented care in the MICU setting. The use of a descriptive qualitative research design with brief selective participant observation and focus group interviews was used to capture the nurses' experiences. The study …

Personalizing The School Environment: Teacher-Based Advisory Programs That Support Student Adjustment And Academic Outcomes, Caroline Johnson Caswell

Open Access Dissertations

This study attempts to look at middle school teacher-based advisory programs in sixteen states across the nation. Over 200 schools were surveyed with analyses from administrator, teacher, and student responses. Regression analyses were conducted on a hierarchical basis with respect to school location, advisory structure (length and duration of advisory programs), advisory practices (academic and career issues, parental contact, individual meetings with students, study hall projects, linkages to guidance and health, leadership, and adjustment and health issues), teacher attitudes (job role strain, job satisfaction, parental contact, burnout total, and school climate), and student experiences (anxiety, depression, recognition, school transition, teacher …

Behavioral Modeling And Simulations Of Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits With Process Variations And Physical Defects, Yu-Yau Guo

Open Access Dissertations

During fabrication process, mixed analog and digital integrated circuits (ICs) are more susceptible to process variations and physical defects than pure digital ICs. Therefore, it is beneficial to simulate the effects of process variations and defects on mixed-signal designs even before the design goes into production. Simulations of ICs having process variations are performed with Monte Carlo simulations. And, simulations of ICs having physical defects are called fault simulations. However, both simulation schemes require large numbers of instances. Consequently, simulation times can be extremely long, e.g. hours or days. In this System-on-a-Chip (SoC) era, mixed-signal designs are becoming more complex …

Free And Forced Convection In Earth's Upper Mantle, Paul S. Hall

Open Access Dissertations

Convective motion within Earth's upper mantle occurs as a combination of two primary modes: (1) buoyant upwelling due to the formation of gravitational instabilities at thermochemical boundary layers, and (2) passive flow associated with the divergence of lithospheric plates at mid-ocean ridges and their re-entry into the mantle at subduction zones. The first mode is driven by variations in density and is therefore classified as 'free' convection. Examples of free convection within the Earth include the diapiric flow of hydrous and/or partially molten mantle at subduction zones and mantle plumes. The second mode, while ultimately driven by density on a …

Attribute-Level Interactivity, Satisfaction, And Loyalty In The Online Environment, Miao Zhao

Open Access Dissertations

Websites are a composite of multiple attributes, each of which has certain characteristics. One such characteristic is interactivity. This dissertation research focused on the impacts of a website's attribute-level interactivity on users' satisfaction with and loyalty to the website. Although some researchers have addressed interactivity of overall websites, there is little research focusing on interactivity of attributes within a website and the consequences on users' satisfaction with and loyalty to the site. This dissertation research examined the impacts of website attribute-level interactivity on user satisfaction with and loyalty to the site from different perspectives. First, this research tested the effects …

Asanti Daughter Of Zion: The Life And Memory Of Harriet Tubman, Katherine Clifford Larson

Doctoral Dissertations

We all believe that we know Harriet Tubman (1820--1913): slave, famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, abolitionist, spy, nurse, and suffragist. Her successful, secret journeys into the slave states to rescue bondwomen, men, and children have immortalized her in the minds of Americans for over one hundred and thirty years. One of the most famous women in our nation's history, we have come to know the narrative of her life only through juvenile biographies. These stories made Tubman's life a legendary one by reconstituting her into a historical and cultural icon suitable for mass consumption as the "Mother of her …

The Relationships Between Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness, Student Reading Performance And Comprehension Strategy Instruction, Diane Elliott Kern

Open Access Dissertations

This study examined relationships between comprehension strategy instruction, reading comprehension, and metacomprehension awareness. The study occurred in four phases. In Phase 1, third grade teachers participating in the Rhode Island Reading Excellence program (REA) administered pre- and posttests of the Metacomprehension Strategy Index (MSI) (Schmitt, 1990). Teacher groups were determined as "high gains" or "less gains" based on MSI results. In Phase 2, teachers were observed. In Phase 3, "high gains" teachers completed structured interviews. In Phase 4, third grade students (N = 414) completed pre- and post testing of the MSI. Findings suggest the MSI may help to identify …

Performing Texts; Playing With Jazz Aesthetics, Richard (Rick) Walters

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite all the critical attention jazz has received in recent years from scholars in other fields---literature, history, political science, cultural studies---very little headway has been made in understanding what jazz aesthetics are and how they might inform other forms of cultural and artistic expression. Part of the difficulty lies in the time-bound, performative nature of the artform and the fact that it is primarily a non-discursive means of expression; that is to say, jazz does not translate well.

This dissertation attempts to evoke and inhabit jazz aesthetics rather than trying to define, categorize or delineate them. Alternating between close reading, …

Law Enforcement Dilemmas In The Investigation Of Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors, Melissa Wells

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines dilemmas associated with the investigation of Internet sex crimes against minors. Data collected from a national sample of law enforcement agents provide insights into complications of three types of cases: (1) Internet crimes against identified victims, (2) Internet solicitations to undercover law enforcement, and (3) Internet child pornography crimes.

A mail survey of United States law enforcement agencies identified two samples of Internet sex crimes against minors. The first sample consisted of 464 investigations in which an arrest was made, and the second sample included 68 cases in which no arrest was made. Telephone surveys were used …

Impact Of Assistance Programs In The Adjustment Of Refugees Resettlement Fleeing Situations Of Duress To The United States: Three Family Profiles From Sierra Leone, Iraq And Bosnia, Faridha Adel Salama

All Volumes (2001-2008)

In the year 2002, the borders of countries are becoming blurred as people are forced to migrate due to internal and boundary wars that affect entire regions. Refugees are people who have fled their homes with minimal or no personal possessions due a fear of persecution by the situations occurring in their home countries. Over 20 million people have been classified as refugees.
The areas to which these people first flee for refuge are neighboring poor countries. Hence, the living conditions in refugee camps lack prospects for a future with any semblance of normalcy. Less than one percent of refugees …

Pterodactyls: Directing The Move From Page To Stage, Shawn Lenoble

All Volumes (2001-2008)

The process for producing Pterodactyls (Nov. 2001) started one and a half years prior to an audience member even contemplating stepping into the Robinson Theatre to see a production of a play by the award-winning playwright Nicky Silver. I knew for a long time that I wanted to direct a play, but Pterodactyls was not always my choice. Initially, I had thought of doing Christopher Durang's, Beyond Therapy, but a simple reading of a monologue changed all that.

Self-Esteem, Sex Differences, And Self-Disclosure: A Study Of The Closeness Of Relationships, Christien Marie Seamon

All Volumes (2001-2008)

It was hypothesized that self-esteem, sex, and relationship closeness would affect self-disclosure. Participants imagined either a best friend or a casual acquaintance while completing a modified version of the Marital Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (MSDQ; Waring, Holden, & Wesley, 1998). The MSDQ measured four facets of self-disclosure: relationship, sex, money, and imbalance. Self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965). In general, self-disclosure was greater for females than for males and in close relationships than in distant relationships. There were no differences in self-disclosure between high and low self-esteem individuals. In close relationships, females disclosed more than did males; in distant …

The People Of The Buses, Alexander Diaz

All Volumes (2001-2008)

This past summer I traveled for a month by bus through four Central American countries. During my month long journey, I traveled for over 70 hours and across 1,800 miles on local buses. My trip started in Belize, from there I made my way to Guatemala, through El Salvador and
Honduras then back to Guatemala, finally ending my trip where I began: Belize.
This trip manifested itself in my mind as a result of previous trips I made to Central America. During my prior travels to this region of the world, I became fascinated with the people and culture of …

The Attitudes Of Spain's Political Parties Toward The European Union And The Integration Of The Euro, Meghan Miller

All Volumes (2001-2008)

This research endeavors to determine the ramifications of this new, grandiose, international order on a micro-political level through the study of four political parties in Spain. The parties include the People's Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE), both with a national base, and Convergence and Union (CiU) of Catalonia and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which are two of the most influential nationalist parties. The following analysis thoroughly examines the attitudes of these parties towards European Union as well as the recent introduction of the euro. This paper will explain how the European and monetary union has …

Health-Related Quality Of Life As Predictor Of Adherence With Antiretroviral Medication, Rakesh Joshi

Open Access Master's Theses

Title of the Study: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as predictor of medication adherence in patients infected with Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV).

Summary: Quality of life (QoL) is a broad term which involves evaluation of all aspects of life including, health, education, family life, housing, friendship, marriage, standard of living, and work. Health is one of the domains that affect our quality of life. The measurement of HRQoL is becoming an increasingly common activity in healthcare systems around the world. Health-related quality of life or biological outcome of treatment might predict adherence to HIV medication. This research is …

Self-Concept, Self-Monitoring And The Relationship Of Human Social Interaction, Crystal Rose Fonseca

Open Access Master's Theses

Self-monitoring research has developed into a significant literature that spans across disciplines. However, little research has examined the influence of self-monitoring on the development of the self-concept, which sets the stage for the current research endeavor. In the first study, it was hypothesized that directional questions “Are you extraverted?” would influence a self-concept of self-monitors to a greater extent, as they would be more likely to generate supporting thoughts which would mediate this effect. Findings generally supported the end effect of the hypothesis, but not the mediating process with high self-monitors reported a greater change in self-ratings after receiving a …

Making The Grade: Academic Literacies And First-Generation College Students In A Highly Selective Liberal Arts College, Theresa Perri Ammirati

Open Access Dissertations

Previous research on first-generation college students has concentrated largely on students enrolled in community colleges or universities. This study examines first generation students at a single, highly selective, four-year, liberal arts college, and uses an academic literacies approach to understand the relationship between first-generation status and written and oral literacies as illustrated in academic papers and classroom performance. Twelve first-generation college students were interviewed extensively about their early literacy experiences, family background, relationship to family and home community, high school preparation, selection of and transition into a highly selective college, and written and oral literacy experiences at that institution. Writing …

The Rhetoric Of Colin Powell, Scott Dauenhauer

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the rhetoric of Colin Powell, while further examining his background and the forces impacting his rhetoric. The situation in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine is examined along with Powell's role in attempting to resolve the conflict. This study employs the Neo-Aristotelian method of rhetorical criticism to analyze his address, "Remarks at the 24th Annual National Leadership Conference of the Anti-Defamation League," given on May 6, 2002, along with portions of Powell's other rhetorical works. An interview was conducted Larry Wilkerson, Chief of Staff U. S. Department of State.

Subversion, Demystification, And Hegemony: Fight Club As A Postmodern Cultural Text, Matthew Ortoleva

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis questions whether the film Fight Club, as a postmodern text, reaches a rhetorical goal of critical subversion, and if so, how does it reach this goal? Using a method of postmodern critical theory, this thesis argues that Fight Club does reach a goal of critical subversion by parodically installing and subverting modern hegemonic assumptions and challenging hegemonic cultural practices.

Longitudinal Study Of The Acquisition Of Locomotion, Motor Activity, And Infant Development, Janette Baird

Open Access Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between the age of development of 5 locomotor behaviors, the level of infant activity for the locomotor behaviors, and the performance of the sample of infants on standardized indices of infant development (Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence, FTII; Bayley Scales of Infant Development, BSID-II). A total of 157 infants were assessed at 6, 9, and 12 months for their activity levels on the 5 locomotor behaviors of interest, and the age at which each locomotor behavior occurred was obtained through records maintained by each infants' caregiver. The results of the regression path analysis indicates that …

Constance Cary Harrison, Refugitta Of Richmond : A Nineteenth-Century Southern Woman Writer's Critically Intriguing Antislavery Narrative Strategy, Gaillynn Marie Bowman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Although often maligned by literary scholars, Constance Cary Harrison, nineteenth-century novelist, journalist, essayist, and short-story author, achieved popular success with her subtle, but often radical, explorations of gender, and slavery during the antebellum and post-Civil War years. Furthermore, Harrison developed innovative characterizations of African-Americans while seeking nineteenth-century southern and northern readership through conciliatory prose. In particular, Harrison characterized a slave who gained his freedom and maintained a successful, independent life, without white assistance. This unique perspective for a Southern writer of her era stemmed from the war time destruction of her homestead, Vaucluse, which compelled Harrison to recreate an idealized …

Stock Structure Of Yellowtail Flounder Off The Northeastern United States, Steven Xavier Cadrin

Open Access Dissertations

An interdisciplinary study incorporating geographic patterns of abundance, geographic variation in growth and maturity, morphometry, and genetics suggests that yellowtail flounder Limanda ferruginea on the principal U.S. fishing grounds should be managed as separate stocks despite genetic homogeneity. Significantly different patterns of abundance and biomass over time suggest two harvest stocks of yellowtail flounder with a boundary on southwest Georges Bank. Geographic patterns of size and proportion mature at age indicate two phenotypic stocks of yellowtail flounder, with a boundary on northern Georges Bank. With respect to current U.S. management units, southern New England yellowtail form a separate harvest stock …

Specializations Of Whist Tournament Designs, Stephanie Anne Costa

Open Access Dissertations

In the 1970's the existence of whist tournaments on 4n and 4n + 1 players for any positive integer n was established. Since the early 1990's, mathematicians have been interested in studying specializations of whist tournament designs. This study considers some of these specializations including directed whist tournaments, ordered whist tournaments, and triplewhist tournaments. In addition a new specialization of whist tournament design called a directed-ordered whist tournament is introduced. An existence result for ordered and directed-ordered whist tournaments as well as the existence of many new classes of Z-cyclic triplewhist tournaments is established.

Relationship Of Early Intervention Service Coordination Model To Quality Of Transition And Family Empowerment, Candace Adams

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship that variability in early intervention service coordination model has with the quality of transition from early intervention to preschool special education services and with the degree to which families feel empowered to advocate for their child and families' needs. Eighty-five service coordinator and family pairs in the state of New York were recruited for the study based on their adherence to one of two service coordination models: (1) dedicated service coordination or (2) service coordination plus provision of other developmental services (dual role model). Both service coordinators and families rated …

The Personalization Of The School Environment: The Relationship Of Students' Access To Support From An Adult With Student Adjustment Outcomes And Experiences Of School Climate, Arthur William Lisi Jr.

Open Access Dissertations

Although personalizing the school environment is increasingly at the center of many calls for school reform, there has been little empirical data actually provided to substantiate claims that having an adult in the school who knows a child well--often the operational definition for such personalized communities--are actually associated with or have a positive impact on students' views of their schooling, their own feelings of self-worth and adjustment, and academic performance. The current study sought to examine the critical role an adult in the school can have in providing such instrumental and affective support. Data were collected from 27,604 middle school …

Globalization Of Innovations: A Multilevel-Multimethod Framework To Explain Diffusion And Adoption Of The Internet, Nir B. Kshetri

Open Access Dissertations

Little research has been conducted to understand the factors influencing the global diffusion of information and communications technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet. Moreover, the existing literature has a severe lack of studies dealing with the diffusion of ICTs in developing countries. The developing countries' increasingly important roles in international relations and global e-commerce make research focusing on Internet diffusion in these countries still more important. A focus on the developing world--home to 80% of humanity--is also an antidote to the tendency in the field of consumer research of becoming "increasingly isolated and of marginal relevance". To fill these research …

Parenting The Child With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Sandra Ruth Mott

Open Access Dissertations

What is it like to parent a child born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)? Until recently these children did not live beyond infancy so the question was mute. With the advent of new technologies and care these infants are surviving and thriving. However, they require intense care during their first few years of life. A literature search revealed many publications related to the infant's physical care before, during and between surgeries but little that addressed parenting expectations or concerns. To discover what it was like to be the parent of a child, who was living with a reconstructed heart, …

Self-Organization, Hierarchy, And Task Structure In Workgroups: An Empirical Study Of Complexity Theory, Matthew G. Paldy

Open Access Dissertations

Complexity theorists argue that an optimal organizational form results from the interactions of individual agents in the absence of an imposed management hierarchy (Anderson, 1999; Begun, 1994; Berreby, 1998; Coveney & Highfield, 1995; Guastello, 2002). There have been few empirical studies to support this claim. This research investigated the effects of self-organization and task interdependence types on group effectiveness and member satisfaction. Results show that groups allowed to self-organize had greater member satisfaction in sequential and reciprocal task structures, shorter task completion times in sequential task structures, and lower satisfaction in pooled task structures versus comparable groups with hierarchy imposed. …