Digital Commons Network^™

Print Media's Treatment Of Corporate-Named Stadiums Vs. Historically-Named Stadiums In Major-League Baseball Game Stories., Donald Ray Armstrong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the use of historical names vs. corporate names of stadiums by newspapers in Major League Baseball game stories. The study includes a sample of stories from seven major league teams from the first season that each team played in a corporate-named stadium after playing the preceding year in a historically-named park. A content analysis of 725 newspaper articles was performed. The hypotheses and exploratory questions tested the frequency of use comparing the corporate name to the historical name and also examined where in the sports section the names were appearing and where the names were being used …

2004 Fall Commencement, Harding University

Commencement Programs

Program for the Commencement on December 18.

Commencement Speaker: Don England

Equity And Adequacy: A Funding Crisis In The Tennessee Education System., Scott F. Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tennessee is experiencing a budget crisis related to the dollar amount per-pupil expended on kindergarten- through 12th-grade education when compared to other states. Public schools across America are operating in a time of increased expectations. Recent legislative initiatives at both the state and federal level have created new systems of testing and performance standards that will hold schools and teachers accountable for students' achievement. Given the rapid changes that are being made, many state policymakers have noted the importance of designing better financial schemes for public schools with sufficient resources to meet the demand for better education; however, funding and …

Maldi-Tof Ms Data Processing Using Wavelets, Splines And Clustering Techniques., Shuo Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mass Spectrometry, especially matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time of flight (TOF), is emerging as a leading technique in the proteomics revolution. It can be used to find disease-related protein patterns in mixtures of proteins derived from easily obtained samples. In this paper, a novel algorithm for MALDI-TOF MS data processing is developed. The software design includes the application of splines for data smoothing and baseline correction, wavelets for adaptive denoising, multivariable statistics techniques such as clustering analysis, and signal processing techniques to evaluate the complicated biological signals. A MatLab implementation shows the processing steps consecutively including step-interval unification, adaptive …

Marijuana Use By Juveniles: The Effects Of Peers, Parents Race, & Drug Abuse Resistance Education., Daniel J. Moeser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that affect the use of marijuana by juveniles and how outside influences such as peer pressure, race, parental influence, and prevention programs such as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) contribute to the use of marijuana by juveniles. All of the variables used in this study came from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) data collected by Esbensen and Osgood (1999). The analysis indicated that juveniles are most influenced by their peers such as friends, that African American juveniles would be less likely than Whites and Hispanics to become …

2004 Winter Boise State University Commencement Program

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Using Tort Law To Secure Patient Dignity, Robin Fretwell Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

The practice of using anesthetized patients to teach pelvic exams on female patients in university hospitals has been well documented for years. A 1992 study showed that 37 percent of U.S. and Canadian medical schools allowed students to use anesthetized women without their consent to learn how to perform pelvic exams. Anecdotal accounts in the U.S. confirm that men are not immune from such indignities. Although patients have been unable, thus, far to enforce their own interests and protect their dignity, the tort system may yet succeed in securing the right of patients to decide who touches their bodies and …

Pittsburg State University Annual Commencement, Dec 2004, Pittsburg State University

Commencement, 1903-Present

Program of undergraduate and graduate commencement exercises at Pittsburg State University on December of 2004

Examining The Health Care Safety Net In The Portland Area, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

Access To Care: A Hospice Model Of Access To Care For The Homeless, Mary Ann Bridget Kinney

Theses and Graduate Projects

Access to Hospice for the terminally ill patient is a monumental problem for the disenfranchised person. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) in Washington D.C. there is an estimate of 3.5 million people who experience homelessness in a year (2003). The homeless face many health care service gaps including the vital service of end- of- life nursing care, which allows for death with dignity. The following paper will discuss the author's experience with the homeless, the need of access to Hospice Care for the homeless, and a review of literature regarding access to Hospice for the homeless. …

2004 Fall Commencement Program: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University Fall 2004 commencement program. Commencement was on Friday, December 17, 2004.

Algorithms And Data Structures For Automated Change Detection And Classification Of Sidescan Sonar Imagery, Marlin Gendron

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

During Mine Warfare (MIW) operations, MIW analysts perform change detection by visually comparing historical sidescan sonar imagery (SSI) collected by a sidescan sonar with recently collected SSI in an attempt to identify objects (which might be explosive mines) placed at sea since the last time the area was surveyed. This dissertation presents a data structure and three algorithms, developed by the author, that are part of an automated change detection and classification (ACDC) system. MIW analysts at the Naval Oceanographic Office, to reduce the amount of time to perform change detection, are currently using ACDC. The dissertation introductory chapter gives …

University Of Nebraska At Omaha, December Commencement 2004, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Quest For Making A Difference One Life At A Time, Tracie Farner Dempsey

Digitized Theses and Dissertations (prior to 2008)

A Portfolio Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Kennesaw State University In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION IN ADOLESCENT EDUCATION- Science

In Vitro Metabolism Study Of Brevetoxins By Lc-Esi-Ms, Weiqun Wang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Brevetoxins are natural neurotoxins that are produced by "red tide" algae. In this study, brevetoxin-1 and brevetoxin-2 were incubated with rat liver hepatocytes and rat liver microsomes, respectively. After clean-up steps, samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-MS). For the incubation sample of brevetoxin- 1, two metabolites were found: brevetoxin-1-M1 and brevetoxin- 1-M2. The tandem mass spectrometry study of the [brevetoxin-1- M1+H]+ led to the conclusion that it was formed by converting one double bond in the E or F ring of brevetoxin-1 into a diol. The second metabolite (brevetoxin-1-M2) is proposed to be …

Short-Term, Long-Term, And Efficiency Impacts Of Recent Mergers And Acquisitions In The U.S. Banking Industry, Adel Al-Sharkas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the wealth effects of bank mergers on bidder, target, and combined firm shareholders for a sample of 785 mergers during the period 1980-2000. The dissertation employs two unique bank event study methodologies to calculate abnormal returns for bidder, target and combined firms. The first methodology is a modified market model that controls for shocks common to the banking industry. The second is an EGARCH (1,1) model that adjusts for the violated regression assumptions of the traditional market model event study. Namely, it controls for the linearity assumption, heteroskedasticity, and the correlation in the error term. The results …

Boeing-Airbus Subsidy Dispute: A Sequel, Robert J. Carbaugh, John Olienyk

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

After intensifying in the 1980s and 1990s, the longstanding dispute between Europe and the United States over government subsidies for the commercial jetliner industry again heated up in 2004. This time, however, the stakes were higher because both nations sued each other at the World Trade Organization over government subsidies paid to their respective commercial jetliner companies. The dispute over subsidies has heightened trade tensions between the United States and Europe, as both companies spar for dominance in the highly competitive industry of commercial aircraft.

This paper provides a sequel to "Boeing-Airbus Subsidy Dispute: An Economic and Trade Perspective," a …

Genetics And Sex Expression In Alaskan Populations Of Silene Acaulis, Amber Klaas

Biological Sciences

Gynodioecy, the coexistence of hermaphrodites and females within plant populations, is often caused by an interaction between maternally-inherited cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) genes and nuclear male fertility restorer genes. Previous population studies have found cytoplasmic alleles associated with femaleness. We analyzed the spatial distributions of mitochondrial and chloroplast alleles and the sexual phenotype of individuals within five Alaskan populations of Silene acaulis. Sex ratios were variable between two mountain ranges in this study, possibly due to differences in the frequencies of CMS genes. Clustering of mitochondrial alleles, but not sex, was found within two populations at a scale <̲ 2 m. This result may be because maternally-inherited mitochondrial genes are locally spread through seed, but nuclear restorers are spread through pollen and seed. We also investigated sex ratios and CMS genes temporally and did not find patterns of changing sex ratios or mitotypes across size classes. This does not support the theory that females and the mitotypes they carry have been selected against over time, implying that female clusters were not broken-up due to pollen limitation. Patterns of mitochondrial and chloroplast alleles suggest either non-maternal inheritance of cytoplasmic markers or multiple reversals in the evolutionary history of cytoplasmic markers.

Murray Ledger And Times, December 17, 2004, Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Non-Linear Dynamics Of Marine Ecosystem Models, Georgina Anne Gibson

Marine Biology

Despite a rapid trend towards more realistic Nutrient-Phytoplankton-Zooplankton (NPZ) models, in which zooplankton are presented with multiple nutritional resources, investigations into the fundamental dynamics of these newer models have been limited. The objective of this dissertation was to explore the dynamical behavior of such NPZ models parameterized for the coastal Gulf of Alaska. With alternative stationary forcing regimes and zooplankton grazing functions, the dynamics of one-dimensional NPZ models were investigated for a range of specific predation rates (h) and predation exponents (q), which together define the form of the predation (model closure) function. Oscillations in state variables are shown to …

A System-On-Programmable-Chip Approach For Mimo Lattice Decoder, Vipul Hiralal Patel

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The past decade has shown distinct advances in the theory of multiple input multi output techniques for wireless communication systems. Now, the time has come to demonstrate this progress in terms of applications. This thesis introduces implementation of Schnorr- Euchner strategy based decoding algorithm applied on Altera system-on-chip (Stratix EP1S10F780C6) with Nios embedded processor. The lattice decoder is developed on FPGA using VHDL. The preprocessing part of algorithm is targeted for Nios embedded processor using C language. A controller is also designed to interface and communicate between the Nios embedded processor and lattice decoder.

Summary Of Banks V. Sunrise Hospital, 120 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 89, Beth Rosenblum

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Maturation Of Walleye Pollock, Theragra Chalcogramma, In The Eastern Bering Sea In Relation To Temporal And Spatial Factors, Jennifer Paige Stahl

Fisheries

Walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, are both ecologically and commercially important in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS). Maturity is a critical parameter in the stock assessment to set annual total allowable catch. Pollock maturity has not been examined in the EBS since 1976, and possible interannual and geographic variation has not been studied to date. Our goal is to estimate correct maturity schedules for EBS pollock. Maturity data, fish lengths and macroscopic maturity stages were collected aboard pollock trawlers during winter 2002 and 2003 across the EBS from 10,197 pollock. Similar data were collected by NMFS scientists during hydroacoustic surveys from …

Foraging Ecology Of Yellow-Rumped Warblers In An Alaskan Boreal Forest Following A Spruce Beetle Outbreak, Kristen Bartecchi Rozell

Biological Sciences

I examined the foraging ecology of the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) several years after an outbreak of spruce beetles (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in the Copper River Basin, Alaska. With increased beetle-induced mortality of white spruce (Picea glauca), a preferred foraging substrate, we predicted warblers would respond through: (1) decreased overall use of white spruce, (2) increased selectivity of live white spruce that remained, and (3) reduced foraging efficiency, reflected by a greater proportion of time spent foraging and lower prey attack rates. We examined warbler foraging behavior and arthropod biomass on commonly used foraging substrates, and in stands with low-moderate ( …

King Eider Wing Molt: Inferences From Stable Isotope Analyses, Michael J. Knoche

Biological Sciences

The western North American population of the king eider is thought to have declined by over 50% between 1974 and 1996 without an apparent cause. The non-breeding period of king eiders consists of 80-100% of their annual cycle if not impossible by observation. I used stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of feathers and muscle to examine the wing molt and migration ecology of king eiders in 2003. Eider primary feathers were isotopically homogenous along the length of the feather, implying invariable diets during wing molt. Captive eiders in their hatch-year did not fractionate nitrogen isotopes, potentially indicating preferential protein …

The Effect Of Varying Active Layer And Soil Climate On Net Nitrogen Mineralization And Foliar Nitrogen In A Boreal Watershed, Jennifer K. Rohrs-Richey

Biological Sciences

In the Alaskan boreal forest, black spruce (Picea mariana) is the forest type most severely limited by nitrogen mineralization. Nitrogen cycling in upland black spruce forests of the Interior is affected by the interactions between permafrost, soil climate, and litter quality. Permafrost and soil climate also play a significant role in nitrogen acquisition of shrubs, which are important for biomass turnover and element cycling in the understory. This study took place in a boreal watershed and addressed the question of how variation in soil climate and active layer between north and south-facing aspects affected 1) net nitrogen mineralization rate and …

Governing The Globalization Of Public Health, Allyn L. Taylor

Faculty Scholarship

There is growing awareness that contemporary globalization has led to the proliferation of cross border determinants of health status and is undermining the capacity of nation states to protect health through domestic action alone. Consequently, globalization is creating a heightened need for new global health governance structures to promote coordinated intergovernmental action. This article seeks to contribute to the emerging discussion on global health governance by examining how globalization and the rising need for new global health governance structures is a driving force behind the expansion of conventional international health law. The article considers whether the present international institutional framework …

Mechanistic Study Of Pollutant Degradation, Weixi Zheng

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Environmental pollution has been a serious concern worldwide. Many degradation methods have been developed to clean sites contaminated with pollutants. More knowledge and better understanding in this field will help to protect our environment. The goal of the research in this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of organic pollutant degradation in Fenton reactions and sonochemical reactions. Fenton degradation uses hydroxyl radical to oxidize organic compounds. The radical is produced by catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide with Fe(II). Further research has found that addition of cyclodextrins can enhance degradation efficiency of hydrophobic organic pollutants. To study …

Identification And Characterization Of Ps-Gap As A Novel Regulator Of Caspase-Activated Pak-2, Mark A. Koeppel, Corine C. Mccarthy, Erin Moertl, Rolf Jakobi

Faculty and Staff Publications

p21-activated protein kinase (PAK)-2 is a member of the PAK family of serine/threonine kinases. PAKs are activated by the p21 G-proteins Rac and Cdc42 in response to a variety of extracellular signals and act in pathways controlling cell growth, shape, motility, survival, and death. PAK-2 is unique among the PAK family members because it is also activated through proteolytic cleavage by caspase-3 or similar proteases to generate the constitutively active PAK-2p34 fragment. Activation of full-length PAK-2 by Rac or Cdc42 stimulates cell survival and protects cells from cell death, whereas caspase-activated PAK-2p34 induces a cell death response. Caspase-activated PAK-2p34 is …

Estimating Percentile-Specific Causal Effects: A Case Study Of Micronutrient Supplementation, Birth Weight, And Infant Mortality, Francesca Dominici, Scott L. Zeger, Giovanni Parmigiani, Joanne Katz, Parul Christian

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Biostatistics Working Papers

In developing countries, higher infant mortality is partially caused by poor maternal and fetal nutrition. Clinical trials of micronutrient supplementation are aimed at reducing the risk of infant mortality by increasing birth weight. Because infant mortality is greatest among the low birth weight infants (LBW) (• 2500 grams), an effective intervention may need to increase the birth weight among the smallest babies. Although it has been demonstrated that supplementation increases the birth weight in a trial conducted in Nepal, there is inconclusive evidence that the supplementation improves their survival. It has been hypothesized that a potential benefit of the treatment …