Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing A Structuration Perspective To Examine Perceptions Of Labor Market Opportunities & Constraints In A Distressed Urban Neighborhood, Sharon M. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand how members of an urban extreme poverty neighborhood experience the labor market and how they perceive the role of social policies and institutions that attempt to facilitate or mediate employment opportunities.

Residents of extreme poverty neighborhoods have been the subject of numerous public policy efforts designed to ameliorate the geographic concentration of poverty as well as strategies to promote work participation based on existing theoretical models of how work participation can be induced. It is argued that the predominant theoretical models that shape inquiry and the development of policy recommendations are incomplete …

Emotional Recogition Ability Among Incarcerated Youth, Aubrey S. Elmore

Theses

The purpose of this study was to consider emotional recognition ability among incarcerated youth. Specifically, thirty-eight inmates who were eligible for a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) under New York State law participated in the study. Participants were administered Ekman's facial discrimination task (1976), the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form (SRM-SF; Gibbs, Basinger, &Fuller, 1992), and an Emotional Intelligence Survey (Schutte et al., 1998). Results showed the incarcerated youth were less accurate in identifying emotions from facial expressions than were non-incarcerated young adults. Further, incarcerated youth with identified learning disabilities were even less accurate in their ability to recognize emotions than …

Unbidden Pilgrimage, Naomi Hart

Theses

This thesis explores how the author expresses in a body of artwork her journey through grief after the loss of her son. In a series of prints and multimedia pieces, she develops the theme of a spiritual pilgrimage through loss to renewed hope and faith. The thesis includes reproductions of works by other artists.

Running Head: Trademark Law And Keyword Advertising, Elizabeth Warner

Theses

The growth of the Internet as a commercial medium has brought about new concerns in terms of the future of intellectual property law. The newest form of advertising, keyword advertising, has created much controversy within the legal system. In the latest case, Google, Inc. v. American Wallpaper and Blind Factory, Google has requested that courts make a decision as to what constitutes infringement in terms of the sale of keywords for advertising on the Internet. The case is still in pending process. Through an economic analysis of trademarks and advertising on the Internet, this paper seeks to demonstrate that the …

The Doubtful Hero: An Artist's Journey, Heather N. Falks

Theses and Dissertations

THE DOUBTFUL HERO: AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY

By Heather N. Falks, MFA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015

Director: Noreen Barnes

Graduate Studies Director, Department of Theatre

This thesis documents my role as director of Time Tells, an ensemble based, multi-media, devised theatre piece. I address my specific responsibilities when leading an ensemble to create new work and produce it for the public. I identify the problems the ensemble faced and account how I mediated when dealing with conflict. …

Documentary Editing, Volume 26, Number 4, Winter 2004--Front Matter

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

Cover--Photo of State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN--Title page--Publication information--Contents--Contributors

Presidential Address--I Dreamed Of Editing, Esther Katz

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

Presidential address delivered at the 26th annual meeting of the Association for Documentary Editing Indianapolis, Indiana, 13 November 2004

The Editor As Biographer, John P. Kaminski

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

Editors are really biographers of sorts almost all the time when editing ~ the papers of their subjects. All meaningful characters who appear in documentary editions are usually identified in footnotes and head notes, biographical directories, introductions, and sometimes even in indexes. No one knows the subject-the person being studied-as well as the documentary editor. Day in and day out editors pore over their documents intently, attempting to make sense of the interrelationships among all the historical participants. As part of their responsibility, editors explain the intricacies and uncertainties in these relationships.

Documentary Editing, Volume 26, Number 4, Winter 2004--Index

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

No abstract provided.

Ade 26th Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, 12-14 November 2004, Session Summaries

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

Connection and Education: Editors and the Web--Editing Native American Materials--Editing Around Blank Spaces: Dealing with Classified, Suppressed, and Limited Access Materials--Alarums and Excursions in Literary Editing--Editors and Biography--Bombs, but Bonnets Too: Military History Projects as Sources for Social History

Refill System For Laundry Detergent, Sani Seesuchart

Theses

Not Included

Luminescence In Zno, Jin Xu

Theses and Dissertations

As a wide band semiconductor with a large binding energy (about 60meV), ZnO is a promising candidate semiconductor material for the next generation of optoelectronic , light emission or high power and high frequency devices. In order to make electrical device from ZnO, it is necessary to investigate optical properties of ZnO.In this thesis, PL setup and the properties of ZnO are introduced briefly and the optical properties of ZnO are investigated in detail. Temperature dependence of PL spectra of ZnO are measured and analyzed. Sharp emission line of PL spectra of rare earth (RE) doped ZnO are also investigated.

Overbite Correction And Smile Esthetics, Shannon Michelle Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Achievement of optimum smile esthetics during orthodontic treatment has recently been the focus of several published articles in the orthodontic literature. Authors speculate that overbite correction, specifically maxillary incisor intrusion, will lead to flattening of the smile arc and consequently reduce smile attractiveness. The purpose of this prospective clinical study was to investigate differences in outcomes from two common treatment modalities used to reduce deep overbite: maxillary incisor intrusion using an intrusion arch and posterior tooth eruption using an anterior bite plate. Pre-treatment and post-overbite correction records were gathered from 20 patients who presented with deep overbite malocclusions to the …

Childhood Exposure To Interparental Conflict: Memory Biases And Intergenerational Patterns Of Conflict In Romantic Relationships, Christine A. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Testing a model that explains the ways in which interparental conflict shapes later intimate relationships was the goal of the present study. Participants were 94 college students at Virginia Commonwealth University, a large state university with a diverse student body. The study found that violence occurs with alarming frequency in the dating relationships of university students. Analyses also revealed an intergenerational pattern of violence in which individuals from high conflict homes were more likely to use violent conflict resolution strategies in their own adult romantic relationships. Specifically, young adults from homes characterized by high levels of verbal conflict and minor …

Influence Of A 3-Step Disinfection Procedure On Dentin Bond Strength, Maria Pappas

Theses and Dissertations

Statement of problem. Clinicians have used disinfection materials to remove surface contaminants during cavity preparation. It has been postulated that disinfection materials may negatively affect shear bond strength of restorative materials. If so, large numbers of restorations may be predestined for early failure with the use of a disinfection protocol.Purpose. To determine whether there is a difference in the bond strength between dentin and composite resin with a 3-step disinfection technique compared to a conventional bonding technique without the additional disinfection protocol.Material and Methods. Sixty human molar teeth were sectioned parallel to the occlusal surface to expose mid-coronal dentin and …

Memory Matters Ii: Predictors Of Self-Care Behaviors In Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes, Sari A. Soutor

Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes and associated hypoglycemia can result in verbal memory difficulties, yet the role of memory in daily diabetes self-care has not been evaluated for young adults. Subtests from two well-standardized memory measures were administered to 34 young adults with type 1 diabetes, aged 18-29, in this pilot study. Self-care behaviors were assessed through 24-hour diabetes care interviews, while HbAlc indicated metabolic control. Verbal associative memory uniquely accounted for 12% of the variance in blood glucose testing frequency (p p p p = .06. Single-trial verbal memory uniquely predicted 10% of the variance in metabolic control (p p < .05. Importantly, memory was the only significant predictor in each model, which indicates memory, rather than overall cognitive capacity or financial/educational resources, relates to self-care behaviors/health status. Memory, a novel factor not previously evaluated in the quest to better understand daily disease management for young adults with diabetes, is significantly related to central self-care behaviors and metabolic control. Memory predictors likely warrant additional research and clinical attention such that eventually, intervention studies might identify strategies or compensatory aids that could improve young adults' self-care behaviors and health status through facilitating better memory functioning.

High Quality Zno Epitaxial Grown By Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Yun Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Described in this thesis are the growth and characterization of high quality ZnO epitaxy layers.Zinc oxide (ZnO) epitaxy layers were grown on sapphire and epi-GaN substrates respectively, using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) . Various growth conditions, such as growth temperature, II/VI ratio, and buffer layers, were employed to optimize the quality of the ZnO film. The subsequent characterization of the films was carried out to evaluate the surface, optical and crystalline properties of the film, using AFM, SEM, PL and XRD techniques. It was found out that the high quality of the ZnO film was grown on epi-GaN …

Narrating Friendship: The Reciprocal Relationship Between J.B. Childers And Myself, James Thomas Engelmann

Theses and Dissertations

For the past ten months I have explored the life of a deceased artist named Joseph Barley "J.B." Childers. In the graduate catalog Gregory Volk summarizes Childers as, "an alienated Korean War Veteran, who took up painting as a refuge from his troubles, and who also doesn't exist. Childers who is naturally right-handed, painted everything left-handed because of a war wound, and so Engelmann, who is left-handed, painted with his right hand, which is quite a limitation." Of course, there's more to the story than that and the writings that follow will explain many of my reasons for pursuing this …

Effects Of Emphysema And Chronic Hypoxemia On Skeletal Muscle Oxygen Supply And Demand, John D. Lowman Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal muscle dysfunction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a condition in which peripheral skeletal muscle undergoes myopathic changes which impair muscle function, limit physical performance, and can lead to significant disability. While the etiology of the dysfunction is unknown, this study was conducted to test the hypothesis that chronic hypoxemia leads to alterations in oxygen transport and muscle function. A primary objective was to validate elastase-induced emphysema in rats as an animal model of skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD.Arterial blood gases were used to determine the severity of hypoxemia and sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used …

Is Number Of Pregnancies A Risk Factor For Heart Attack In Women?, Pavan Kumar Irukulla

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Studies regarding number of pregnancies and coronary heart disease have shown inconsistent results. In the present study, we assessed the association between number of pregnancies and heart attack (HA) in women.Methods: Using data from NHANES III a cross sectional data analysis of 10634 women aged 17 and above was conducted. We considered socio-demographic factors and other potential risk factors including physical activity, smoking, alcohol, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, BMI, age, and family history of heart attack. We conducted Bivariate analysis to determine prevalence and crude odds ratios. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for confounding variables using SPSS. …

Evaluating A Day Treatment Program For Children With Serious Emotional Disorders, Nicole Lynn Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The current study used a longitudinal design to evaluate a day treatment program for children with serious emotional disorder located in Richmond, Virginia (N = 101). Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (Hodges, 1984, 1999) results were analyzed from children who had attended the program for at least six months. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance tests indicated that children attending YDT for nine months improved their overall functioning F(2, 217) = 26.23, p = .01 as well as their functioning at school F(3,279)= 10.822, p =.01, home F(3, 244) = 6.120, p = .01, and in the community F(3, 238) …

Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Investigative Analysis Of Their Access To Dental Care, Chad Wallace Ellsworth

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the utilization of dental services for children with autism spectrum disorders and identify barriers these children face when accessing dental services in the state of Virginia. Methods: A survey was mailed to families in the state of Virginia that care for at least one child with the neuro-developmental disorder on the autism spectrum scale. The mailing list was obtained from "The Autism Program of Virginia." This list contains the names of families/guardians of children with autism spectrum disorders. These individuals live throughout the State of Virginia. This project analyzed survey questions …

Explaining Retention In Community-Based Movement Organizations, Sarah Kathryn Diehl

Theses and Dissertations

An individual's initial acceptance of a recruitment pitch from a community-based social movement organization is usually based upon minimal information about the group and its efforts. It is only during the subsequent period of orientation that new members begin to learn more about the organization. During this period, the retention of new members is dependent on the successful alignment of individual and organizational frames. The failure to achieve such an alignment is likely to result in the new member's departure from the organization. This study explores the frame alignment process during early orientation to community-based SMOs. Using nineteen qualitative interviews …

Incorporation Of Tetracycline Hydrochloride Into Electrospun Fibrinogen: A Study Of Mechanical Properties And Time Release, Charles Dudley Anderson Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Electrospinning has the capacity to create fibers of natural or synthetic polymers with dimensions that are similar to analogous fibers in native tissue. Mats consisting of fibers of these sub-micron dimensions have shown promise in provoking little immune response and in offering a habitable environment for cell proliferation. Fibrinogen is a natural protein capable of being electrospun and offers the benefit of existing as part of the natural coagulation cascade. Mats of fibrinogen could be utilized as possible hemostatic dressings or as an early scaffold for cell migration for either wound repair or tissue engineering. The addition of antibiotic into …

Gan Epitaxy On Melt Grown Thermally Prepared Bulk Zno Substrates, Xing Gu

Theses and Dissertations

Different methods were developed for the preparation of bulk ZnO substrates. Remarkable improvement on the surface, optical and crystalline quality of the bulk ZnO substrate was achieved. ZnO substrates with an atomically flat surface exhibiting terrace-like features were used as a substrate for GaN grown by MBE. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and low temperature PL results show that similar high quality GaN layers can be achieved on both annealed O-face and Zn-face ZnO substrates. The prospect of the device applications of GaN epitaxy on ZnO, including AlGaN/GaN MODFET structure on ZnO and GAN/ZnO based p-n junction were discussed.

Pcr Detection Of Streptococcus Mutans And Streptococcus Sobrinus In Dental Plaque Samples From Low, Moderate, And High Caries Risk Children, Ajit A. Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to correlate the presence of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus with the incidence of dental caries in children as detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Methods: Subjects between the ages 2 to 16 years of age were used in this study. After the subjects received a dental examination, dental plaque samples were collected by rubbing a toothpick on the buccal surface of the most posterior tooth in each quadrant of the mouth. Children were grouped into low, moderate, and high caries risk categories by two different Caries Risk Assessment Tools (CAT 1 and …

Interorganizational Collaboration: An Examination Of Factors That Influence The Motivation For Participation In A Collaborative Partnership Of Homeless Service Providers, Jan Marva Ivery

Theses and Dissertations

This project was a mixed methods study that examined the collaboration dimensions of Homeward's planning process and the factors that motivate organizations to participate. The study examined the collaborative strategy used by an organization called Homeward located in Richmond, Virginia. Homeward is a broker organization (Chaskin, Brown, Venkatesh, & Vidal, 2001) that was created in 1998 to mediate and nurture relationships among partnering organizations in order to facilitate the collaborative process required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive Continuum of Care funding. During the quantitative component of the study, a survey was sent …

Torsional Testing Of Race, K3 And Profile Nickel Titanium Endodontic Files, Sean D. Fessenden

Theses and Dissertations

Rotary endodontic instruments have different cross sectional designs that may effect their resistance to torsional stress. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the static torsional properties of two nickel titanium files that have recently been introduced for use in endodontics and compare them to the same size Profile instruments. Ten new files of each brand and size were tested. The files tested were: RaCe 25 tip 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 taper, K3 and Profile 25 and 40 tip in 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06 taper. The diameter of each file was measured at 3mm from tip. The last three millimeters …

Iii-Nitride Semiconductors Grown By Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Lei He

Theses and Dissertations

III-nitride semiconductors are of great interest owing to their commercial and military applications due to their optoelectronic and mechanical properties. They have been synthesized successfully by many growth methods. Among them, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a promising epitaxial growth method owing to precise control of growth parameters, which significantly affect the film properties, composition, and thickness. However, the understanding of growth mechanism of III-nitride materials grown in this growth regime is far from being complete.In this dissertation, GaN and AIGaN growth mechanism under metal-rich conditions were investigated. The Ga surface desorption behavior during the growth was investigated systematically using …

The Psychometric Properties Of The Inner Strength Questionnaire For Women With Chronic Health Conditions, Kristi Leanne Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and test an instrument to measure or quantify the construct of inner strength. Inner strength was synthesized into a theory based on twelve years of qualitative data from direct participant quotes, defined by Roux et al. (2002) as a central human resource that promotes well-being and healing. The inner strength questionnaire (ISQ) has undergone extensive psychometric evaluation which resulted in several versions. The third version had 37-items and was believed to have four subscales that mirrored the theoretical themes that emerged through the qualitative data. The sample was composed of 281 women …