Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Of Life Dimensions For Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Kathleen Sheppard-Jones

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Quality of life is a phrase that most people are familiar with, regardless of whether or not they can define it. Much research has been conducted across disciplines in an effort to explain the construct. As human service programs become more focused on outcomes, there is greater interest in measuring quality of life as an indicator of service quality and success. This study was designed to test whether or not quality of life differences exist between adults with developmental disabilities and the general population at an item, scale, and composite level. The quality of life dimensions that were tested included …

Evaluation Of Fire-Fighting Helmet Surface Technology For High Radiant Heat Applications, David L. Barnett

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Protective helmets used by fire-fighters must be designed to minimize the amount of heat transferred to the users head while providing durability, comfort, and affordable costs. This thesis highlights the evaluation of new helmet technology specifically tailored to high radiant heat environments to advance the state-of-the-art in head protection for this application. The research focused on the assessment of the outer shells of helmets and the properties of the surfaces. The development included the evaluation of radiation heat transfer, in a laboratory environment, to various helmet shell surface constructions. Industry standards were considered, and critiqued. Experiments were designed to isolate …

Characterization Of An Electron Gun Controlled Multiple Spatial Region Piezoelectric Thin Film, Benjamin Tyler Macke

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Piezoelectric bimorph thin films may hold solutions for many future applications, such as lightweight deployable mirrors and inflatable struts. Non-contact actuation by an electron gun has shown promise in preventing issues that arise from attaching many wire leads to a thin film surface. This study investigates piezoelectric bimorph thin film response to electron gun actuation when covered with multiple spatial regions of control. Desired parameter ranges are found that will lead to predictable control under certain circumstances. Under such circumstances, film response is influenced almost solely by the primary electrons incident on the film, and secondary electrons have negligible effect. …

Analysis And Application Of Capacitive Displacement Sensors To Curved Surfaces, Philip T. Smith Jr.

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Capacitive displacement sensors have many applications where non-contact, high precision measurement of a surface is required. Because of their non-contact nature they can easily measure conductive surfaces that are flexible or otherwise unable to be measured using a contact probe. Since the output of the capacitance gage is electrical, data points can be collected quickly and averaged to improve statistics. It is often necessary for capacitive displacement sensors to gage the distance from a curved (non-flat) surface. Although displacements can easily be detected, the calibration of this output can vary considerably from the flat case. Since a capacitance gage is …

Who Is Andrea Yates? A Short Story About Insanity, Deborah W. Denno

Faculty Scholarship

On June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her four children in a bathtub. At Andrea’s trial, in Harris County, Texas, the prosecution’s star expert, Patrick Dietz, appeared particularly adept at persuading the jury to accept the prosecution’s assertion that Andrea was sane and acting intentionally when she killed her children. This Article analyzes the problematic aspects of Dietz's testimony in an effort to contribute some balance to the Andrea Yates story. Despite the long history of expert witnesses in criminal trials, the justice system should question the fairness and efficacy of such an unregulated storytelling process. Part I of this …

Development Of An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle For Low-Cost Remote Sensing And Aerial Photography, Andrew David Simpson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The paper describes major features of an unmanned aerial vehicle, designed undersafety and performance requirements for missions of aerial photography and remotesensing in precision agriculture. Unmanned aerial vehicles have vast potential asobservation and data gathering platforms for a wide variety of applications. The goalof the project was to develop a small, low cost, electrically powered, unmanned aerialvehicle designed in conjunction with a payload of imaging equipment to obtainremote sensing images of agricultural fields. The results indicate that this conceptwas feasible in obtaining high quality aerial images.

Design Of A Lorentz, Slotless Self-Bearing Motor For Space Applications, Barrett Alan Steele

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The harsh conditions of space, the stringent requirements for orbiting devices, and the increasing precision pointing requirements of many space applications demand an actuator that can provide necessary force while using less space and power than its predecessors. Ideally, this actuator would be able to isolate vibrations and never fail due to mechanical wear, while pointing with unprecedented accuracy. This actuator has many space applications from satellite optical communications and satellite appendage positioning to orbiting telescopes. This thesis presents the method of design of such an actuator a self-bearing motor. The actuator uses Lorentz forces to generate both torque and …

Understanding Ethnicity: The Relation Among Ethnic Identity, Collectivism, And Individualism In African Americans And European Americans, Ignacio David Acevedo

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This study examined the relation among ethnic group membership, ethnic identity, collectivism and individualism in a sample of European American and African American college students. Findings suggest that African Americans are more collectivist than European Americans only in reference to their ethnic group. There were no significant differences between ethnic groups in collectivism toward friends, family, strangers or colleagues. Contrary to findings of previous research, there was no significant moderating effect of gender on collectivism differences between ethnic groups. In congruence with previous research, ethnic identity mediated the relation between ethnic group membership and collectivism toward the ethnic group. African …

Expanding Our Boundaries With Technology, Kate F. Nevins

The Christian Librarian

"When Kate first came to speak at the ACL Conference at Lee University, I think I'm not exaggerating by saying we fell in love with her and she fell in love with us. We enjoyed her and her enthusiasm and she enjoyed us. I was trying to figure out what I was going to plan for another general session at this year's conference and about that time Steve Preston sent me a note saying, 'Just got a note from Kate, and she is so excited that ACL was coming back here and she wanted to come to the conference. Was …

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Fighting Censorship In America, Who Are The Real Censors?, Dennis Ingolfsland

The Christian Librarian

During the last half of the 20'11 century, the American Library Association- through the Office of Intellectual Freedom, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the Intellectual Freedom Action Network (ALAs Office 1995, 13) has emerged as one of America's leading opponents of censorship and advocates of free speech. The American Library Association's opposition to censorship is so absolute that it stands firmly against any library restrictions on access to books, magazines or internet sites even by children (Intellectual 1996, 84-94; cf. Berry 1998, 6; Mason 1997, I 04). There is some evidence, however, to suggest that there is a gap …

Annual Reports Of The Town Of Seabrook, New Hampshire For The Year Ending December 31st, 2002 As Compiled By The Town Officers., Seabrook Town Representatives

Seabrook, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Crafting A Research Paper, Ronan Fitzpatrick, Kevin O'Donnell

Conference papers

Writing research papers presents numerous different challenges, which vary from how to layout the various pages and format the text to what to include in the different sections that make up the paper. In order to clarify these issues this paper sets out guidelines and best practice approaches and demonstrates their use in the style of this paper.

An Investigation Into The Effectiveness Of Pdf/X Premedia Workflows, Nicholas E. Doyle

Theses

PDF/X technology was introduced in the mid 90's with the intentions of improving and automating the prepress workflows. Standards committees such as CGATS (Committee for Graphic Arts Technical Standards) and DDAP (Digital Distribution of Advertisers for Publications) started to draft and implement a plan of action to succeed the current file formats being used in premedia workflows. Previous file submissions that were handed off from advertising and design agencies became too time-consuming to prepare them for the final run. Top-tier printing and publishing companies such as RR Donnelley, Quad Graphics, Vertis, and Time Inc, started to invest in new technology …

Human-Intoface: The Face As Communication Technology, Troy Bennett

Theses

Not Included

Filter Selection For Spectral Estimation Using A Trichrmatic Camera, David C. Day

Theses

Current imaging practices are based on exploiting metamerism to record and reproduce images. As a result, the data obtained in these images are dependent on the viewing conditions and the observer. While these methods produce acceptable results for day to day use, they often do not exhibit the type of accuracy and control required for scientific purposes such as art conservation. As a solution, many research institutions are now advocating the use of multispectral imaging to record the objects fundamental spectral properties to remove the data's dependency on the observer and viewing environment. The research described in this thesis involved …

Near-Lossless Bitonal Image Compression System, Jeremy Pyle

Theses

The main purpose of this thesis is to develop an efficient near-lossless bitonal compression algorithm and to implement that algorithm on a hardware platform. The current methods for compression of bitonal images include the JBIG and JBIG2 algorithms, however both JBIG and JBIG2 have their disadvantages. Both of these algorithms are covered by patents filed by IBM, making them costly to implement commercially. Also, JBIG only provides means for lossless compression while JBIG2 provides lossy methods only for document-type images. For these reasons a new method for introducing loss and controlling this loss to sustain quality is developed. The lossless …

Sources Of Sediment Found In Sea Ice From The Western Arctic Ocean, New Insights Into Processes Of Entrainment And Drift Patterns, Dennis A. Darby

OES Faculty Publications

The geochemical fingerprint of entrained Fe oxide mineral grains in Arctic Ocean sea ice is used to determine precise sources of this sediment. This approach substantiates the importance of the Laptev Sea as a source of sea ice and even the presence of Russian ice in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. Fe oxide grains from the Laptev Sea were found in floes in the Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Borderland, and central Arctic Ocean, demonstrating the importance of sea ice in distributing itself throughout the Arctic Ocean and the potential of transporting sediment from Russian rivers to North American shelves. Banks Island …

The Efficiacy Of The Mmpi-2 Lees-Haley Fake Bad Scale (Fbs) For Differentiating Neurocognitive And Psychiatric Feigners, Victoria Louise Vagnini

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The FBS (Lees-Haley, 1992) is a relatively new validity scale for the MMPI-2 designed specifically to detect feigned neurocognitive deficit. The aim of the present study was to examine the FBSs efficacy in differentiating psychiatric and neurocognitive feigners using a known-groups design. Malingering tests were administered to 180 individuals undergoing forensic neuropsychiatric evaluations. Based on the malingering test results, participants were classified as honest responders, psychiatric feigners, neurocognitive feigners, or feigning both psychiatric and neurocognitive deficits. The FBS significantly differentiated the 3 feigning groups from the honest group, but it did not discriminate effectively between neurocognitive and psychiatric feigners.

Extracellular Enzyme Activity And Uptake Of Carbon And Nitrogen Along An Estuarine Salinity And Nutrient Gradient, Margaret R. Mulholland, Cindy Lee, Patricia M. Gilbert

OES Faculty Publications

Amino acid oxidation (AAO) and peptide hydrolysis (PH) are processes affecting the recycling of organic material and nutrients. We compared extracellular AAO and PH rates to C and N uptake rates along estuarine gradients of salinity, nutrients and productivity in the Pocomoke River, a subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay. This estuary is seasonally depleted in inorganic N, and rich in dissolved organic material (DOM) throughout the year. AAO, PH, and N uptake rates measured in 1999 and 2000 were not limited to particular size fractions measured, or to auto- or heterotrophic groups of organisms. At a station near the turbidity …

The Role Of Physical, Chemical, And Microbial Heterogeneity On The Field-Scale Transport And Attachment Of Bacteria, Brian J. Mailloux, Mark E. Fuller, Tullis C. Onstott, James Hall, Hailiang Dong, Mary F. Deflaun, Sheryl H. Streger, Randi K. Rothmel, Maria Green, Donald J. P. Swift, Jon Radke

OES Faculty Publications

A field-scale bacterial transport experiment was conducted at the Narrow Channel Focus Area of the South Oyster field site located in Oyster, Virginia. The goal of the field experiment was to determine the relative influence of subsurface heterogeneity and microbial population parameters on flow direction, velocity, and attachment of bacteria at the field scale. The field results were compared with results from laboratory-scale column experiments to develop a method for predicting field-scale bacterial transport. The field site is a shallow, sandy, unconfined, aerobic aquifer that has been characterized by geophysical, sedimentological, and hydrogeological methods. Comamonas sp. strain DA001 and a …

Effective Packaging-Related Specification Management Software For A Packaging Documentation System, Gregory Cullen

Theses

An extreme amount of time and money is lost when a company utilizes an inadequate packaging documentation system. Problems such as confusion, decreased productivity, inaccurate information, and inefficient time to market arise. Having the right tool (in this case specific software) for the job will successfully provide needed information to flow throughout a packaging documentation system. In investigating the importance of this tool, Duracell will be the company focused on as part of this case study. Duracell's current packaging documentation system consists of a series of internal electronic transfers and physical distribution of packaging specifications. Relevant information is distributed among …

The Independent Rep As A Source Of Competitive Advantage: An Actionable Scale For Rep Selection, Kathleen H. Gruben, Barbara J. Coe

Marketing: Faculty Publications

This study develops a scale that offers an actionable approach for suppliers’ use in selecting their reps. Rep selection is the critical first step suppliers take in developing profitable, long-term relationships with retailers. Retailers’ loyalties are often bestowed on the rep, rather than the supplier. As identified in the study, the rep needs to be professional, accommodating, ethical, sensitive, and compassionate to satisfy the retailer. The scale provides suppliers a technique for measuring these characteristics. Prior to this scale, no instrument was available to measure these characteristics, which increase the retailer’s likelihood of developing loyalty.

Trading Agents Competing: Performance, Progress And Market Effectiveness, Michael P. Wellman, Shih-Fen Cheng, Daniel M. Reeves, Kevin M. Lochner

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The annual trading agent competition offers agent designers a forum for evaluating programmed trading techniques in a challenging market scenario. TAC aims to spur research by enabling researchers to compare techniques on a common problem and build on each other's ideas. A fixed set of assumptions and environment settings facilitates communication of methods and results. As a multiyear event, TAC lets researchers observe trading agents' progress over time, in effect accelerating the evolution of an adapted population of traders. Given all the participant effort invested, it is incumbent on us to learn as much from the experience as possible. After …

Life Values In Youth Sport: A Qualitative Analysis, Carla J. Schmitt

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

A qualitative analysis was used to examine the life values gained and enhanced through participation in youth soccer from the player, coach, and parent perspectives. Nine players, nine coaches, and nine parents were interviewed for this study. Participants were placed in groups according to classification and availability, and participants not available for the group times, were individually interviewed. The interview guides consisted of 11 questions, and two separate guides were used, one for players and one for coaches and parents. All interviews were hand, audio, and video recorded. Triangulation, involving the primary researcher and two additional researchers familiar with qualitative …

A Study Of Elementary Teachers' Abilities, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Problem Solving, Nancy Mullins Brown

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Problem solving has been alternately viewed as the justification for the study of mathematics or as the impetus and means for studying mathematics. This study examines characteristics—attitudes toward problem solving, beliefs about problem solving, and abilities to solve problems—of elementary teachers of grades three, four, and five that relate to problem solving.

Participants completed a two-part survey to quantify their attitudes and beliefs and a problem-solving activity which quantified their problem-solving abilities. Four participants were subsequently interviewed. Analyses showed that these teachers had generally positive attitudes toward problem solving, generally positive beliefs about problem solving, and generally poor problem-solving abilities. …

Advances In Mobile Commerce Technologies, Ee Peng Lim, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

No abstract provided.

Risk Factors Associated With The Mucociliary Apparatus In Intensive Care Patients, Ross James Kay

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Initially, there were two principal aims of this investigation. A laboratory based project studying the effect of elevated fraction of inspired oxygen on the ciliary coverage of rat trachea in culture and a clinically based investigation of the ciliary coverage and frequency of ciliary ultrastructural abnormalities in the bronchus of intensive care unit patients. The mucociliary apparatus is the main airway defence mechanism protecting the lungs from respiratory infections. It is vital in intubated patients, as they lack the back up clearance mechanism normally provided by the cough reflex. Ciliary coverage and ultrastructural integrity are two key components of effective …

Campaign Spending In The Local Government Elections Of 1999, Kenneth Benoit, Michael Marsh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

For the first time in Irish electoral history, the 1999 local elections required candidates to publicly declare their campaign expenditures. Drawing on these data, we explore patterns in campaign spending and assess their impact, both on candidate success and on turnout. First, examining the elections contested by 1,838 candidates from 180 local constituencies and 34 councils, we identify both partisan and geographic spending patterns, and examine how well these can be explained as a function of political and demographic variables. Second, we model and estimate the effects of expenditure on individual electoral outcomes. The findings clearly indicate that even at …

Islam, Democracy And Civil Society, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What is the relationship between Islam, democracy, and civil society? This is thequestion which supplies the topic of this essay, Its purpose, more particularly, is to explore theplace of Islam in the modern world-a world which contemporary writers increasingly try tounderstand by invoking the notions of democracy and civil society. But the occasion for thisexploitation has a more precise origin still. The issue of the place of Islam in the modernworld is raised, more often than not, by writers and commentators for whom Islam is, aboveall, a danger, in geo-political terms, it is a danger to the West; in world-historical …