Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Marine Biotoxins Using Analytical Techniques Based On Mass Spectrometry, Mónica Fernández Amandi

Theses

The impact of phycotoxins on human and animal health is of important concern for worldwide authorities and the scientific community. Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin produced by phytoplankton {Pseudonitzchia spp.). It enters the food chain through the consumption of shellfish that feed on toxic diatoms. DA has been responsible for several outbreaks affecting humans and animals all around the world. Yessotoxin (YTX) is produced by dinoflagellate species {Protoceratiuni reticulatum) which are globally distributed. Its toxicity is low when ingested orally. However, the co-extraction of YTX with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins, derives false positives when the mouse bioassay is …

Characterisation, Modelling And Performance Evaluation Of Cmos Integrated Rf-Mems Multielectrode Tunable Capacitor, Zbigniew Olszewski

Theses

The circuits used in telecommunications are made of two types of components; active integrated circuits that have continuously been improved together with the evolution of the Si technology and off-chip and on-chip passive components. The latter did not profit from much development and now constitute the bottleneck for further integration of RF (Radio Frequency) integrated circuits. MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) is rapidly emerging as an enabling technology to yield a new generation of high performance components to replace off-chip (not integrated) and on-chip (poor performance) counterparts. The RF components (RF-MEMS) that can be fabricated with MEMS technology are mainly the resonator, …

Controller Design And Web-Based Simulation For A Pasteurisation Process, Luis Torres

Theses

The basic PID controller remains the most commonly used automatic feedback control technique in industry. Many tuning techniques exist for this controller and the use of tuning rules remains very popular, both in industry and academia. This thesis is concerned with the practical evaluation of a selected number of PID tuning rules. The rules were to be evaluated on an industrial pilot-scale milk pasteurisation process. However, most of these rules could not be tested on the real plant as the industrial distributed control system was quite inflexible and did not permit many of the more advanced PID structures e.g. two-degree …

A Case For Constructivism In Workplace Education : Substantiated With The Design, Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Collaborative And Resource-Based Web Learning Environment, Carmel Burke

Theses

This thesis addresses the role of constructivism in workplace education, where organisations are currently going through a time of great change. The study starts with questioning the suitability of information and communication technology in current web based learning in the workplace. Organisations increasingly require professionals to possess knowledge in a dynamic way in order to deal with change and just-in-time demands. The research is firmly anchored in learning theories as they apply to workplace education and particularly as they apply to collaborative and resource-based web learning. An extensive literature review is produced in order to establish a theoretical starting point …

Robust Colour Segmentation Under Dynamic Lighting Conditions, Noreen Mary Looney

Theses

Traditionally, the issue of colour constancy has limited the success of colour image segmentation algorithms. Numerous methods exist to achieve colour constancy for different applications. The principal contribution of this thesis is the investigation of a suitable technique for the problem of robust colour based object detection.

Appropriate colour models are investigated and analysed in order to assess their ability to enhance the isolation process. Models that possess suitable colour constancy characteristics are chosen for use with image segmentation algorithms. Reviews of existing sur\'eys of image segmentation algorithms are appraised for the emergence of a suitable colour image segmentation technique. …

Employee Retention And Customer Relationships In Services Industry, Aileen O'Connell

Theses

The business environment of the 1990s has seen a shift in firms’ emphasis away from recruiting new customers, towards nurturing and retaining those that they currently have (Palmer, 1996). The marketing emphasis has moved from customer acquisition to customer retention. Reicheld, (1996a) has identified a link between customer and employee retention, but this link has not been extrapolated by many researchers. For the purpose of this study, the researcher proposes to examine this link.

A large number of people who work for organisations are no longer what would be termed “traditional” employees of those organisations, i.e. employees for life. These …

Opening Words: Making Writing Matter, Kia Jane Richmond

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

The Text Of Life, Leah C. Vetne

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Peer Review Matters: Creating Effective Peer Review, M. Kilian Mccurrie

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Singin' In The Rain: The Rewards Of National Board Certification For Language Arts Teachers, Andrea Burke

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Trading Spaces With Tom Walker: Moving The Devil Out Of Fourth Hour, Brian White, Jennifer A. Haberling

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Alice In Wonderland Meets The U.S. Patent System, Jay Dratler

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Among the joys of being a professor, as distinguished from practicing law, are the leisure and incentive to think and write about the big picture. Another joy is being able to say what you really think. We professors don't have to focus on attracting clients or maintaining an impression of studied understatement and moderation for judges and juries.

In this talk, I'm going to exercise both of these prerogatives. I've been thinking about the big picture in patents for over a quarter century, and I'm more worried than I've ever been.

Let me begin by making my usual (and truthful) …

Methods For Marine Ecosystems Research Through The Use Of Pdas With Preservice Teachers, Antoinette P. Bruciati, Maria Lizano-Dimare

Education Faculty Publications

Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings.

It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for …

Why Is Elder Abuse Overlooked? : Media And Ageism, Skye N. Folkert

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Creative Undergraduate Theses "Back To Health", Sara Michelle Hallberg

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

A Duet With The Piano : Where The Child And The Artist Meet, Nile Alexis Lewis Spicer

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Design And Implementation Of A Phonological Assessment Toolkit, Scott Johnson

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Learning The Abc's: Family Involvement In Kindergarten Literacy, Rebecca Lynn England

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated home literacy environments established through reading with children, engaging in literacy activities, and having literacy materials provided, along with families' participation in literacy-related school events. One hundred one kindergarten children and their families from five classrooms in two inner-city urban elementary schools were invited to participate in the "Learning the ABCs" project. A total of 68 families gave consent. Participation in the project included receiving 15 weeks of Home Literacy Bags. The 68 participating children were randomly assigned into two intervention groups using cluster sampling of the five classes. Group One received weekly bags with four …

Factors That Influence The Utilization Of Fitness/Recreation Facilities By Individuals With Physical Disabilities, Brenda Finley, Kristen Lindstrom, Jennifer Lorengo, Brandi Muir

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

This research project was designed to provide well ness/fitness facilities, particularly the upcoming Wellness Center at the University of North Dakota (UND), with useful information to make facilities more accommodating to all individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence participation in physical activity among people with physical disabilities and to investigate the types of accommodations and modifications that fitness facilities have in place.

Six individuals with physical disabilities participated in the focused interview portion of this study. Participants suggested modifications concerning physical activity for staffing, additional equipment, and other specific adaptations. The majority of …

Proceedings Of The One Hundred Sixth Annual Meeting Of The North Dakota State Bar Association

North Dakota Law Review

No abstract provided.

Factors That Influence Mammography Use Of Community Health Workers, Cynthia M. Kratzke

Health Services Research Dissertations

Community health worker (CHW) interventions promote early detection of breast cancer and mammography use to help eliminate health disparities for minority and low-income women. Data trends show lower mammography use among this population although CHW interventions have been shown to promote mammography use. However, CHW interventions have not been tested sufficiently to examine the factors that influence mammography use of CHWs.

This cross-sectional study examined the factors that influence mammography use of CHWs and the relationship of self-efficacy, social norms, and mammography use of CHWs. The PRECEDE model served as the framework combining social factors, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and accessibility …

Undergraduate Catalog 2005-2006, University Of North Florida

UNF Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Graduate Catalog 2005-2006, University Of North Florida

UNF Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Technology Competition And Optimal Investment Timing: A Real Options Perspective, Robert J. Kauffman, X. Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Companies often choose to defer irreversible investments to maintain valuable managerial flexibility in an uncertain world. For some technology-intensive projects, technology uncertainty plays a dominant role in affecting investment timing. This article analyzes the investment timing strategy for a firm that is deciding about whether to adopt one or the other of two incompatible and competing technologies.We develop a continuous-time stochastic model that aids in the determination of optimal timing for managerial adoption within the framework of real options theory. The model captures the elements of the decision-making process in such a way so as to provide managerial guidance in …

The Effects Of Shilling On Final Bid Prices In Online Auctions, Robert J. Kauffman, Charles A. Wood

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An increasing number of reports of online auction fraud are of growing concern to auction operators and participants. In this research, we discuss reserve price shilling, where a bidder shills in order to avoid paying auction house fees, rather than to drive up the price of the final bid. We examine the effect that premium bids have upon the final selling price, since they are linked with reserve price shill bids. We use 10,260 eBay auctions during April 2001, and identify 919 auctions involving 322 sellers and 1583 bidders involved in concurrent auctions for the exact same item. We find …

Collaborative Global Software Development And Education, Xiaoqing Frank Liu

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this position paper, challenges and issues with collaborative global software development and education are discussed. Suggestions are made to improve and strengthen software engineering education to adapt to it.

Tuning In (Or Out) The Big Voice Of Arundhati Roy Following The God Of Small Things, Geoffrey Kain

Publications

Arundhati Roy made a great splash in 1997 with publication of The God of Small Things, receiving the Brooker Prize for her first and to date only novel and thereby stepping suddenly and quite flamboyantly into the spotlight of international literary notoriety. Not surprisingly, most who have read her highly acclaimed novel have waited for another novel to follow in its wake. After nine years, a second novel has not yet followed. Roy has said she will write another novel when and if she feels ready and has a story that needs to be told, but some impatience among …

Consistency Management Among Replicas In Peer-To-Peer Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Sanjay Kumar Madria, Takahiro Hara

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent advances in wireless communication along with peer-to-peer (P2P) paradigm have led to increasing interest in P2P mobile ad hoc networks. In this paper, we assume an environment where each mobile peer accesses data items held by other peers which are connected by a mobile ad hoc network. Since peers' mobility causes frequent network partitions, replicas of a data item may be inconsistent due to write operations performed by mobile peers. In such an environment, the global consistency of data items is not desirable by many applications. Thus, new consistency maintenance based on local conditions such as location and time …

Quality Management In Higher Education, Andrea Luxton

All Books

Higher education institutions have traditionally vied for renown for quality education, with external measurements such as achievement levels of graduating students and later graduate success as two evidences of that quality. In some countries external monitoring of final examinations has provided a measuring rod of institutional success; in others, other performance indicators have been used. In more recent years, however, significant focus has shifted internationally not just to evidence of institutional outcomes, but the internal processes by which quality is assured. Coupled with this has been an increased emphasis on the more formative elements of achieving quality, not just in …

Strategic Planning In Higher Education, Andrea Luxton

All Books

Texts on strategic planning are numerous, particularly in relation to the business sector, and higher education has often largely employed a business model in its own approaches to developing strategy. However, in more recent years writers have focused on the specific needs of the higher education environment in planning. This booklet seeks to capture the essence of the debates on strategy in planning, in order to provide a framework for higher education planning that will meet the best standards of practice internationally.