Digital Commons Network^™

'Persistent Heterogeneity' V. 'State Dependence': A Cross-Sectional Test Of Gottfredson And Hirschi's Low Self-Control Stability Hypothesis, Sandra Medlicott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

In A General Theory Of Crime Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) suggest that "low self-control" is an enduring individual characteristic that is the product of inadequate child-rearing. Sampson and Laub's (1993) Crime In the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life somewhat supports this contention. However, the latter authors also suggest that later life experiences might change the direction of the life path (and self-control). This thesis examines whether adequate child-rearing is the key causal determinant of low self-control in later life. It further tests whether later life-course transitions might alter and/or impact low self-control. The results suggest that the impact …

Photosynthetic Pigment Ratios In Relation To Photic Flux, Cidya S. Grant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The molar and weight ratios of the photosynthetic pigments of ten algal species were analyzed in an attempt to determine if knowledge of the light field could be used to give better ratios for estimating the chlorophyll a contributed from each algal division to total chlorophyll a or biomass. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is one of the tools used in pigment-based chemotaxonomy for estimating the biomass of algal communities by determining the concentrations of the various chlorophylls and carotenoids. Stable ratios of chlorophyll a: marker pigment are used as multiplying factors for calculating the amount of chlorophyll a contributed …

Prgmdh Algorithm For Neural Network Development And Its Applications, Chetan. Tangadpelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The existing Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) algorithm has characteristics that are ideal for neural network design. This thesis introduces a new algorithm that applies some of the best characteristics of GMDH to neural network design and develops a Pruning based Regenerated Network by discarding the neurons in a layer which don't contribute for the creation of neurons in next layer. Unlike other conventional algorithms, which generate a network which is a black box, the new algorithm provides visualization of the network displaying all the neurons in the network. The algorithm is general enough that it will accept any …

Qos Driven Communication Backbone For Noc Based Embedded Systems, Ankur Agarwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

With the increasing complexity of the system design, it has become very critical to enhance system design productivity to meet with the time-to-market demands. Real Time embedded system designers are facing extreme challenges in underlying architectural design selection. It involves the selection of a programmable, concurrent, heterogeneous multiprocessor architecture platform. Such a multiprocessor system on chip (MPSoC) platform has set new innovative trends for the real-time systems and system on Chip (SoC) designers. The consequences of this trend imply the shift in concern from computation and sequential algorithms to modeling concurrency, synchronization and communication in every aspect of hardware and …

Primary And Secondary Compression Behavior Of Florida Organic Soils, Kristopher W. Riedy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A comprehensive laboratory investigation was conducted to evaluate the primary and secondary compression behavior of undisturbed organic silts and peats obtained from 11 locations along SR 15/US 98 in Palm Beach County, Florida. A total of 43 consolidation tests were performed. The primary objectives were as follows: (i) to conduct a series of standard consolidation tests to determine the Compression Index, Cc, and the Coefficient of Consolidation, cnu; (ii) to determine the Secondary Compression Index, Calpha, at stress levels (sigmanu'/sigmap') ranging from 0.30 to 1.15; and (iii) to employ the well-known Time-Stress-Compressibility concept to establish a unique relationship between C …

Range Assignment Problem And Security In Wireless Networks, Mohammad O. Pervaiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This thesis considers two important issues in wireless networks. In first part, we address Energy-Efficient Range Assignment in Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks (HRA) and in second part, we present a survey on security attacks in ad hoc wireless networks. We address the HRA problem by selecting the transmission range for each energy-constraint sensor node such that a multi-hop communication path exists between each sensor' node and a resource-rich supernode while maximum power required is minimized. This is the first work to address this problem. We propose several solutions: an Integer Programming approach, a distributed greedy protocol, and a minimum spanning …

Privatization As An Administrative Reform: The Case Of Bangladesh, Md. Rafiqul Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Privatization has been a major policy and administrative reform all over the world for the last twenty-five years. Public bureaucracy is one of the first institutions of government to be affected by privatization as a reform. The major purpose of this dissertation was to examine the perception of the civil servants of Bangladesh towards privatization with respect to national development. In order to examine the perception of Bangladeshi civil servants, this dissertation has examined the answers to the question: "What are the perceptions of civil servants in Bangladesh towards privatization with respect to national development?" It has also examined the …

Residue, Susan L. Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This creative thesis contains 19 poems exploring and examining the association of residues, primarily through that of memory and memories, through a process of defining and (re)defining those associations of memory (the residues) that attach themselves to memory and the actions of and upon memory. This thematic thread is woven throughout with narrative prose and verse, traditional and free verse, and the melding of each in an effort to exemplify the relationships between memory and its residual associations through structure, form, and language. Speakers are most often characters who represent the roles of memory and the associate value of the …

Quorum Based Ip Autoconfiguration In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Tinghui. Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

IP address autoconfiguration poses a challenge for mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) because it has to be done to ensure correct routing. An IP autoconfiguration protocol that is based on quorum voting is proposed. Nodes are distributed configured when a write quorum can be collected. Making the compromise between message overhead and data consistency, quorum voting enforces data consistency by ensuring fresh read on every access so that each node is configured with a unique IP address. The protocol is scalable since the configuration information is maintained locally and no central server is involved. Extensive experiments are carried out comparing the …

Readability Analysis Of Elementary-Level Science Textbooks, Robyn Trainer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Given both the unprecedented attention to the importance of providing children with the best possible science textbooks and the overwhelming evidence that students in the United States are severely lacking the most basic science knowledge, the decline in the number of students pursuing science degrees is alarming. In spite of all the efforts being made, a disparity still exists between (1) the wealth of science information available, (2) the apparent ease of access to scientific information, and (3) the lack of scientific academic progress being made in classrooms across the United States. A literature review was conducted which included the …

Hetch Hetchy: To Drain Or Not To Drain, Brian E. Gray

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Community And The Meal: A Rhetorical Investigation, Richard J. Mills Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From ancient Greece to post modernity, the meal as a focal point of community life and a cultural practice, and the meaning of eating, have been the focus for numerous scholarly studies and their rhetorical significance. This dissertation will define how interpersonal communication and the enactment of the meal are rhetorical partners within a community. Cultural differences, communication style, and values affect one's perception of the culture's narrative structure, inclusion and exclusion, private and public space, and civility and incivility practices in relationship to the community. These differences impact the meal, food choices, tastes, and communication style and ultimately shape …

An Analysis Of Perfusion Technology Preadmission Factors On Academic Success And American Board Of Cardiovascular Perfusion Certification Achievement, David Palmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the contribution of grade point average (GPA) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) practical scores toward predicting perfusion academic success, career placement as a clinical perfusionist, and certification success or failure. The files of 95 students enrolled in the perfusion technology program at Carlow University-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center School of Cardiovascular Perfusion (CARLOW-UPMC) from 1995 through 2005 were reviewed to obtain admission and academic data. The independent variables used were WAIS-R practical results for the picture completion (PC), picture arrangement (PA), block design (BD), object assembly (OA) and digit symbol (DS) …

Detection And Management Of Elder Abuse: Nurse Practitioner Self-Perceptions Of Barriers And Strategies, Catherine Pearsall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elder abuse is a serious and growing phenomenon, yet it is one of the most under-diagnosed and under-reported problems in the United States. Nurse Practitioners are uniquely positioned to identify, diagnose, and report elder abuse. Quantitative methodology underpinned by the theoretical framework of Carper's Patterns of Knowing was utilized to assess the self-perception of nurse practitioners related to the barriers of detection and strategies for management of elder abuse. Two hundred potential participants were randomly selected from the AANP membership database yielding a 54.5% response rate (n=88). Nurse practitioners identified the following barriers as fairly or very important: resistance to …

Legal Limitations On Genetic Research And The Commercialization Of Its Results, Radhika Rao, Michael J. Malinowski

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

When Wombs Became Weapons: Women, Policy, And Propaganda In The Third Reich, Melanie Predis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Nazi State used visual forms of propaganda in order to convey certain gender-specific policy aims to women living in the Third Reich. This will be accomplished by using the novel scholarly approach (referred to as the New Intentionalist approach) that these policy aims were not only fulfilling a State-centered need, but they also were reflecting a desire and a voice of agreement within the German population of women. In other words, while these policies were certainly driven by the immediate political needs of the National Socialists, such policies could not …

Nietzsche's Dialogic Ethic After Illusion: Rhetoric And Difference, John Prellwitz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is the nature of the relationship between communication ethics and rhetoric? How may study of the interplay between dialogue as a communication ethic and ground of rhetoric contribute to greater understanding and constructive meeting of the narrative and virtue contention that characterizes the contemporary postmodern historical moment? A prominent alleged source of postmodern value contention and a neglected source for advancing the study of the interpenetration of ethics and rhetoric, Friedrich Nietzsche, as a novel hermeneutic entry to engage these questions and demarcates the fields of inquiry this study addresses.

The present work begins with meeting the contemporary historical …

A Comparison Of Quality Of Life In Adult Patients With Heart Failure In Two Medical Settings: A Heart Failure Clinic And A Physician Practice, Janet Bischof

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heart Failure (HF), a major chronic disease that affects 4.8 million Americans, traditionally is medically managed by a primary care physician, with acute treatment at hospital emergency rooms often followed by inpatient admission. Ongoing support (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, intervention, symptom management, and end of life care), education, and intervention over the continuum are important to manage HF. The Modeling Role Modeling theory (Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain), is the study's conceptual framework. When an individual knows about their illness, they mobilize internal/external resources to gain, maintain, or promote equilibrium. These resources affect daily activities. The purpose of this descriptive study is …

Kantian Meadows: A Just Nursing Home Grounded In The Categorical Imperative, Faith Bjalobok

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the structures of contemporary nursing homes and argues that the structure is conducive to the objectification (treatment of a human being as a non-person) of nursing home residents. In order to eliminate the potential for objectification, this project employs the Kantian categorical imperative as its theoretical framework. Based on that framework Kantian Meadows is created as an example of a just nursing home.

Advanced Image Processing Methods For Automated Quantitative Microstructural Analysis, Jonathan Chambers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optimization of material properties can be aided by the studying its microstructural behavior. To obtain meaningful information about any given material, a large number of grain boundaries on the order of thousands of grains is required. However, current datasets of grain boundaries are often very limited due to the large amount of human effort required to delineate grain boundaries. Previous attempts to automate the grain boundary detection process using standard image processing techniques required images that were highly optimized for these algorithms. This work seeks to improve previous results by using newer, advanced mathematical methods for image processing. The automated …

Sustaining Child Outcomes From The Early Childhood Initiative Project: Evaluation Of School Age Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Amy Crans-Stafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that high quality early childcare can provide positive changes in children's academic, social, and behavioral development. These positive early experiences are essential for children who are at developmental risk. Unfortunately, the positive outcomes from early education programs often diminish or disappear over time. Research has clearly shown the benefits of developmentally appropriate, high quality early childhood intervention. However, limited research has been conducted on the influence of developmentally appropriate practices on child outcomes during the early elementary school years. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcome of DAP from children who were enrolled in …

Disenfranchising The Black Other: A Critique Of American Drug Laws, Heather Dorsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, approximately 4.7 million Americans are unable to vote, a population which is disproportionately black and stripped of their civic rights because of their status as present or former felons. I propose that unequal drug laws which provide different sentences for crack cocaine, used more often by poor blacks because of its cheapness and availability in poor neighborhoods, and powder cocaine, used more often by upper class whites, punish blacks for their status as Other. Disproportionately punishing them for a habit in which people of all races participate has created a class without the ability to participate in the system …

The Lived Experience Of Lebanese Oncology Patients Receiving Palliative Care, Myrna Doumit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the lived experience of Lebanese oncology patients receiving palliative care. The study design was based on the Utrecht School of phenomenology based on the Dutch school of phenomenology. This study followed purposeful sampling in which ten participants six women and four men with a mean age of 54.4 years were selected. The proposed research was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the American University of Beirut and Duquesne University. In-depth semi-structured interviews along with observation-field notes were used as the source for data collection. Data were analyzed using the hermeneutic phenomenological …

The Impact Of "Parents Feeling Capable" Treatment On The Self-Efficacy Of Low Socio-Economic Parents, L. Robert Furman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement in a student's life has been a topic that has inspired much research in the past and continues to be a major research focus in the field of both psychology and education. Many studies exist confirming the lack of parental involvement of low socio-economic persons due to their low self-efficacy as it relates to their ability to help their children with schoolwork. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of parent workshops (Parents Feeling Capable) specifically designed to enhance the self-efficacy of parents of preadolescent children identified as being of low socio-economic status. To perform …

Quo Vadis: An Integrated Direction For Catholic Media Technology Engagement, Eugene M. Gan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, the Catholic Church has explored issues of media technology and how it relates to education. At the same time, a number of profound, modern Catholic thinkers have wrestled with the nature of media technology and how it affects the human condition. These two threads have been independent of each other. An effective conceptual understanding of the role and meaning of media technology in Catholic education requires us to weave these two threads together to craft an integrated and coherent synthesis. The question I raise is: in a culture that promulgates the digital lifestyle as the standard and …

The Experience Of Being A Full-Time Nursing Faculty Member In A Baccalaureate Nursing Education Program, Elizabeth A. Gazza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the experience of being a full-time nursing faculty member in a baccalaureate nursing program, from the perspective of those having the experience. Upon receiving approval from the Duquesne University Institutional Review Board, informants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Sample size was guided by data saturation. Eight female informants, with an average of 6.1 years of experience in a full-time faculty position, shared their experiences through in-depth personal interviews. Each informant participated in a second interview to clarify data from the initial interview and to verify themes identified …

The Role Of Christian Faith In Public Moral Discourse: A Comparison Of Selected Works From H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Stanley Hauerwas, And Richard A. Mccormick, Andrew William Getz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation asks, "What is the proper role of the Christian and the Christian community in the ethical arena of a pluralistic society?" The inherently social nature of human beings means that all ethical judgments regarding right and wrong and the good of the human person have social implications. This is also true of ethical judgments of a religious or theological nature. This dissertation examines how faith "in-formed" ethical judgments function in a society of diverse faith commitments by examining some of the different understandings of the role of faith in the ethics H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Stanley Hauerwas, and …

Interpreting Interpretation In Psychoanalysis: Freud, Klein, And Lacan, Lynn Christine Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This theoretical dissertation examines psychoanalytic interpretation through a critical textual analysis of primary texts by Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, and Jacques Lacan. Chapter One presents Freud's The interpretation of dreams (1900) as initiating a new psychoanalytic hermeneutic/interpretive epistemology, methodology, and method; explores Freud's subsequent epistemological revisions and evolving methodology; investigates the role of personal history/the past and the reconstruction (or construction) of missing memories as part of analytic interpretation; looks at the relationship between fantasy (psychic reality) and interpretation; and briefly examines the relationship between transference and interpretation. Chapters Two and Three explore interpretation as presented by Klein and Lacan, …

Federal Policy Responses To The 9/11 Attacks: An Assessment Of The Policy Making Process Since September 11, 2001, Ian J. Harlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Directly following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States government initiated a self study to determine how it could better prevent, prepare for, and respond to terrorist attacks within its boarders. After only a short time, the public policy response began to occur. The main question that this research attempted to address was if the United States government's public policy response, through public laws, was adequate and appropriate to address the threat of a terrorist attack on the United States involving nuclear weapons.

The research first addressed and categorized the types of threats that involved nuclear terrorism and its …

The Effects Of Women's Health And Life Experiences On Surgical Intervention, Debra Jeanne Hastings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that violence against women is a significant public health problem that has reached catastrophic levels. Women who are abused use health care services at higher rates than those who are not abused and continue to experience health problems long after the original trauma. Few studies have examined the association between women's history of victimization and numbers and types of surgical interventions over the life course.

A triangulated study using quantitative and qualitative approaches was designed. The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted through use of a survey of 156 women who were scheduled for elective surgery. The qualitative methodology, …