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Black Hole: The Role Of Black Aesthetics In Science Fiction, Thomas Leo Johnson

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The main purpose of this thesis is to answer the question of why the genre of science fiction permits African-American authors to expand their themes beyond African-American concerns and characters. This thesis puts forward the argument that science fiction provides African-American writers with the capacity to craft their works' central conflicts to include or exclude issues that affect the Black community. This thesis answers the question in four points, the first being a brief historical overview of the debate within the Black literary community on the prevalence of Black aesthetics. The overview also gives a summary of the debate over …

Core Content Teachers' Prepardeness And Perception Of Inclusive Education In Central Ohio Schools, Christine Ann Crumbacher

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The purpose of this study was to survey core content teachers' (CCTs) perceptions of working with children with disabilities in the subject areas of English, math, science and social studies in two school districts (referred to as school district 1 and 2). The survey consisted of 3 subscales: internal, external and social and were formatted in a Likert-type scale. The research questions in this study are: 1.) Do CCTs feel prepared to teach students with disabilities across districts and buildings based on the internal subscale? 2.) Do schools prepare CCTs to teach students with disabilities across districts and buildings based …

Effect Of Variable Feedback Delay On Visual Target-Acquisition Performance, Julio Christian Mateo

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Traditionally, private communication channels with stable characteristics have been used in teleoperation situations. However, recently there have been a few attempts at using public communication channels such as the Internet. In spite of their convenience, very little is known about the effect of the variable delays inherent in this type of channel on motor performance. In this thesis, we provide empirical data on the impact of variable feedback delays on a 3D visual target-acquisition task performed in a virtual environment. Target size, distance between targets, mean feedback delay, and feedback-delay variability were manipulated and the number of errors and movement …

The False Promise Of International Financial Institutions In Building Stable Democracies In Third World Countries, Foday Sulimani

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The available literature on the democratic process in third world countries shows that there is a strong correlation between the strength of a country's economic and social infrastructure and the successful promotion of democratic principles. It is my assumption that democracy can not be established without strong economic and social infrastructures. Furthermore, the current aid programs as operated by international financial institutions (IFIs) like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) give false hope to third world countries that fail to develop sound socioeconomic policies and yet want to establish …

Investigation Of Cylindrically-Conformed Four-Arm Spiral Antennas, Douglas J. Glass

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A four-arm spiral antenna offers broadband frequency response, wide beamwidths, reduced size compared to other antenna designs, and the ability to determine the relative direction of an incident signal with appropriate mode-forming. The reduced overall area projection of the four-arm spiral antenna compared to other antenna designs and the ability to be manufactured in a planar format allows the antenna to reside within an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) fuselage. This thesis investigates the effects of cylindrically-conforming two different designs of a four-arm spiral antenna to reside within the fuselage of a medium-sized UAV. Theoretical predictions of antenna performance were created …

Parameterizable Channelized Wideband Digital Receiver For High Update Rate, Peter E. Buxa

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Wideband digital receivers are important components used prevalently by the United States Air Force for many modern electronic warfare systems. Currently, many digital receiver architectures are designed for a specific mission requirement and are not parameterizable, modular, or reusable for varying mission requirements. Also, many designs are technology, platform, and vendor dependent which make upgrading existing fielded systems costly and difficult. Additionally, current wideband FFT-based digital receivers must wait until a number of samples equal to the size of the FFT are collected before spectral information can be updated. Achieving a high spectral update rate is important for the accurate …

Design And Performance Evaluation Of 1 Giga Hertz Wideband Digital Receiver, Kiranraj George

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The lack of a priori knowledge about the waveform of interest, the multitudes of signals the receiver might receive, and the noise energy that occupies the same portion of the frequency spectrum as the signal makes the design of a modern wideband receiver very challenging. Especially, the receiver must be able to detect a weak signal in the presence of a strong one, which requires a high two-signal instantaneous dynamic range (IDR). To fulfill this requirement, the receiver must detect genuine weak signals and avoid the detection of strong signals' sidelobes and noise and spurs generated from the receiver system. …

The Value Of Deliberative Democratic Practices To Civic Education, Brooke M. Shannon

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The causal relationship between measures of deliberative democratic practices and quality of citizen participation were examined using selected variables from the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement's (IEA) 1999 Civic Education Study (CivEd). Logit regression for survey data was used to analyze whether a causal relationship existed between two indicators of deliberative democratic practices and a total of four measures of both current and expected student participation using data from three countries, the United States, England, and Australia. One independent variable, the degree to which students believed their teachers encouraged discussion of controversial political or social issues, had …

Minute Doping Of Pulsed Laser Deposition Processed Y123 Thin Films With Tb, Ce, And Pr, Joseph William Kell

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Three rare earth elements (Tb, Ce, and Pr) were chosen for the investigation into whether adding minute quantities (≤1 at%) of dopants could improve the film quality of YBa₂C ₃O_7-δ(Y123) thin films. The compositions studied are (Y_1-x,Re_x)Ba₂Cu₃O_7-δ (RE=Tb, Ce, Pr; x=0.1, 0.01, 0.001). Good quality thin films were produced by PLD and showed significant improvement to properties when exposed to a magnetic field. Ce and Pr (x=0.001) doped films showed modest improvement. However, the Tb doped system showed substantial improvement to J_c(H), with a …

Moving On: A Novel, Brian P. Leingang

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Hank Fossett had the perfect life with his girlfriend, Liz: a steady job, a promising career as a local artist, a healthy relationship with a wonderful woman, all while living in the cosmopolitan city of Blophton. But Hank was just dumped and didn't see it coming. Now, after four years with his girlfriend, he's alone and must figure out how to get over the girl who broke his heart. Turns to his friends to help him try to get Liz back. Instead, they help Hank get over Liz in a series of twelve steps crafted by Hank's old friend and …

Distribution Of Ground-Layer Plant Species In A Fragmented Landscape In The Corozal District, Belize, Central America, Divan Catzim

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In this study, I specifically looked at three major issues regarding 36 target plant species in a fragmented landscape in the Corozal district, Belize: 1) Determine woodlot characteristics that tend to favor the target species. 2) Determine plant characteristics that tend to favor the target species. 3) Determine whether age and size of a woodlot favors the presence of the target species. The study area was divided into three areas and each area had woodlots varying in sizes and ages. 36 plant species were sampled in all woodlots upon which woodlot characteristics and species characteristics were associated with the number …

Investigation Of Interactions Between Rev And Microtubules: Purification Of Wild-Type And Mutant Rev Protein And Optimization Of Microtubule Depolymerization Assays, Miller, Kelly Robbins

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As a logical pharmaceutical target for antiviral drugs, HIV-1 Rev is a regulatory protein essential for viral infection (Hope, 1999). The development of antiviral drugs that target Rev has been hindered by the lack of high-resolution structural information due to the protein's tendency to aggregate in solution. While searching for solution conditions rendering Rev amenable to crystallographic analyses, Watts et al., (2000) discovered a novel in vitro interaction between Rev and microtubules (MTs) whereby addition of equimolar Rev and tubulin forms bilayered rings called Rev-tubulin toroidal complexes (RTTs). RTTs are similar to those seen when MTs are mixed with certain …

Analysis Of Sex Reversal And Tra-2 Nucleotide Variation In Tropical And Temperate Clades Of Caenorhabditis Briggsae, Irene Zelepuhin

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Reproductive isolation results when members of the same species cannot reproduce due to either prezygotic or postzygotic mechanisms, therefore restricting gene flow between populations. A leading model describing reproductive isolation developed by J.B. Haldane (1922) states, "When offspring from two different animal species have one sex that is rare, absent, or sterile, that sex is the heterozygous (XO) or heterogametic (XY) sex". Haldane's rule is illustrated among various animal taxa regardless of which sex is heterogametic. To date, Caenorhabditis mating tests are the only example of Haldane's rule that is caused by sexual transformation and not gender specific lethality or …

The Demise Of Industrial Education For African Americans: | |Revisiting The Industrial Curriculum In Higher Education, William L. Allen

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The purpose of this study was to examine the causes that led African Americans to resist industrial education higher education, which ended industrial training programs in predominantly Black colleges and universities during the 1920s.

Three key factors helped create this reform movement: 1) the death of Booker T. Washington; 2) the improved educational levels of African Americans; and 3) the rise in aspirations of African Americans to expand the benefits of higher education. The loss of the Civil War caused a reorientation of southern and economic conditions.

Newly freed slaves had to be granted citizenship. Southern Whites were more concerned …

Impact Of Land Use On Water Quality In The Indian Lake Watershed: An Integrated Geographic Information Systems Approach, Michael Belke

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Geology and land use and land cover are the most important factors that influence water quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate how these factors operate in a rural watershed. Specifically, this thesis tests the feasibility of a proposed formula to relate how land use affects surface water quality and to infer hydrogeochemical reactions that control water chemistry through hydrogeochemical speciation and mineral stability relationships. Samples were collected from Indian Lake and its watershed in West-Central Ohio. BASINS, produced by the USEPA, was then used to delineate sub-watersheds and find the land use areas of these watersheds. The …

Cross-Cultural Differences Between Korean And American College Students' Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment In Conversational Appropriateness, Yunekyong Chae

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The purpose of this study was to compare the cross-cultural differences of Korean and American college students' perceptions of their experiences with sexual harassment and how it impacts their thoughts and feelings. This study extends the sexual harassment literature to include Koreans' experiences with this important topic. Therefore, this study addresses four research questions: RQ1: Are there cultural differences between Korean and American students' perceptions of sexual harassment in conversational appropriateness? RQ2: Are there gender differences between Korean and American students' perceptions of sexual harassment in conversational appropriateness? RQ3: Will American students report perceptions of sexually harassing conversations more frequently …

Characteristics Of A Foamy Virus-Derived Vector That Allow For Safe Autologous Gene Therapy To Correct Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Type 1, Ryan Matthew Mcnichol

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The hematopoeitic stem cell is a prime target for gene therapy in the attempt to correct a number of single gene inherited genetic defects that affect the immune system. In persons affected by leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD-1) the gene for the Beta-2 subunit of the integrin molecule is mutated. This autosomal recessive gene defect yields a phenotype with little or no beta-2 integrin expression on leukocytes. Beta-2 integrin expression is essential for leukocytes to travel from the blood to the tissues to fight infection. Persons with this disease have lowered leukocyte counts in the tissues and as a …

Hsv-1 Infection Of C3h Central Nervous System Cell Lines, Lauren Kay Van Buren

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Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) can infect the nervous system, resulting in a disease known as herpes encephalitis (HSE). Herpes encephalitis affects thousands of people each year; many cases are fatal or permanently debilitating. Approximately two thousand known cases occur in the United States each year alone (Neuroland online source). Acyclovir has been the drug of choice used to treat herpes encephalitis. Even after the administration of acyclovir, permanent neurological damage and/or death often results. Thousands of individuals would benefit by the discovery of drugs that are more effective at preventing lasting HSE damage and death. Knowledge concerning HSE …

Fpga Based Hardware Implementation Of Advanced Encryption Standard, Sowrirajan Sampath

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On October, 2, 2000, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced Rijndael as the new Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The other competing algorithms were Mars, RC6, Serpent and Two-fish. The Predecessor to the AES was Data Encryption Standard (DES) which is considered to be insecure because of its vulnerability to brute force attacks. DES was a standard from 1977 and stayed until the mid 1990's. However, by the mid 1990s, it was clear that the DES's 56-bit key was no longer big enough to prevent attacks mounted on contemporary computers, which were thousands of times more powerful than …

The Effects Of Representational Format And Discourse Principles On The Comprehension And Production Of Temporal Order, Louise J. Rasmussen

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In the present study I examined the role physical representations play in supporting distributed planning and scheduling. Specifically, I investigated the implications of different representational formats for the production of discourse as well as the later comprehension of text relating to temporal order. In the first part of the study, pairs of participants created schedules for constructing a house with the aid of either a numeric, list format, or a graphical, Gantt chart format. Participants completed the task in a non-collocated fashion, without shared visual access. In the second part of the study, after completing their schedule, the same participants …

The Role Of Popular Culture In Language Borrowing Between French And English, Marianne Elizabeth Broadwater

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This thesis proposes that popular culture often derives from the privileged upper classes and that popular culture established by the elite has played an important role in linguistic exchange throughout history between French and English. Focusing on the time periods 1066 AD to 1500 AD and the twentieth and twenty first centuries, it describes the manner of exchange and development of French and English lexicons and analyzes in detail the histories of one French word and one English word. Additionally, the examples given in this thesis illustrate the flow of popular culture from the high-ranking and powerful members of society …

Gpu-Assisted Rendering Of Large Tree-Shaped Data Sets, Pallavi Ramachandra Mangalvedkar

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Due to their complexity, medical data sets can easily comprise of several gigabytes in size. For example, geometric representations of a coronary arterial tree spanning vessels from the large proximal coronary arteries down to the capillary level consist of 6 gigabytes or more of geometry data, depending on the accuracy of the geometric representation. Visualization of such large data sets using the CPU alone can be inefficient and time consuming since they require special out-of-core techniques due to the size of the data set. The usage of the GPU can help render such data sets faster compared to CPU-based implementations …

Library / It Mergers In Ohio's Public Two-Year Colleges: An Exploratory Study, Douglas Kaylor

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Ohio's public two-year community colleges were surveyed to determine how many have merged their libraries and information technology operations. A merger scale developed by Bolin was used as a measure of degree of merger. Results of telephone interviews with librarians at fifteen institutions showed that less than 25% of the subject colleges had some form of merged operation. This figure was similar to reports in the literature. Those Ohio colleges reporting merged operations were all large or very large institutions. This finding did not fit with the literature, which associated merged operations with small institutions. Librarians were also asked about …

The Processing Of Β-Endorphin In Morphine Treated Rats Using Seldi-Tof Mass Spectrometry, Jennifer Y. Edwards

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Endocrine glands secrete peptide hormones that bind to specific receptors, and elicit a response. In the pituitary, prohormone convertases (PC) PC1/3 and PC2 convert inactive prohormones into biologically active peptide hormones. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is a precursor molecule that proteolytically cleaves at paired basic residue sites, and produces smaller biologically active peptides, such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and β-endorphin. β-endorphin is an endogenous opioid peptide hormone that plays a vital role in the body's physiological response to stress, fear, and anxiety. Morphine is an exogenous opioid, used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain and competes …

Non-Cooperative Modulation Recognition Via Exploitation Of Cyclic Statistics, Eric C. Like

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This research proposes and evaluates a feature based modulation classification system designed to discriminate between AM, BFSK, OFDM, DS-CDMA, 4-ASK, 8-ASK, BPSK, QPSK, 8-PSK, 16- PSK, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM signals without a priori knowledge of critical signal parameters, including carrier frequency, symbol rate, or phase offset, among others. The classifier is based on the principles of cyclostationarity and leverages cyclic statistics to make its classification decision. The classification process is performed in a hierarchical process in order to exploit the lower variance of lower order cyclic statistics before making use of the higher order cyclic statistics. The initial classification is …

High Spurious-Free Dynamic Range Digital Wideband Receiver For Multiple Signal Detection And Tracking, Vivek Sarathy

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The advent of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) has provided an excellent platform to market prototyping of full receiver-on-chip designs in a short time. The design of multi-tone wideband receiver has always been a challenge because of the difficulty to detect weak signals in the presence of noise in the frequency spectrum and also the presence of general spurs generated by the receiver. In this research, architecture for a FPGA-based 2.56-GSPS digital wideband receiver with multi-tone signal detection and tracking is designed to demonstrate the capability of replacing more expensive analog components into their cheaper digital design counterparts. Novel hardware implementations …

Particle Based Plasma Simulation For An Ion Engine Discharge Chamber, Sudhakar Mahalingam

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Design of the next generation of ion engines can benefit from detailed computer simulations of the plasma in the discharge chamber. In this work a complete particle based approach has been taken to model the discharge chamber plasma.This is the first time that simplifying continuum assumptions on the particle motion have not been made in a discharge chamber model. Because of the long mean free paths of the particles in the discharge chamber continuum models are questionable. The PIC-MCC model developed in this work tracks following particles: neutrals, singly charged ions, doubly charged ions, secondary electrons, and primary electrons. The …

A Hybrid Approach To Retrieving Web Documents And Semantic Web Data, Trivikram Immaneni

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The Semantic Web has been evolving into a property-linked web of RDF data, conceptually divorced from (but physically housed in) the World Wide Web of hyperlinked documents. Data Retrieval techniques are typically used to retrieve data from the Semantic Web while Information Retrieval techniques are used to retrieve documents from the Hypertext Web. Conceptually unifying the two webs enables the exploitation of their interconnections resulting in benefits to both data and document retrieval. Towards this end, we present the Unified Web model that integrates the two webs and formalizes the structure and the semantics of their interconnections. We present a …

Bibliography Tools In The Context Of Www And Latex, Munushree Thummala

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Preparation of academic papers involves not only the creative processes but also the more mechanical tasks such as adjusting the form and style to suit the demands of the publishing journal or conference. Among several packages that help in these rather tedious mechanical tasks, the TEX + LATEX + BibTEX combination is extremely popular. This thesis is about tools that help in the necessary task of citing related work accurately. It focuses on three aspects of this larger bibliography frame work: (i) a survey of existing bibliography formats and tools, (ii) a database view of BibTEX files and functionality that …

Results From The Dc-8 Inlet Characterization Experiment (Dice): Airborne Versus Surface Sampling Of Mineral Dust And Sea Salt Aerosols, Cameron S. Mcnaughton, Antony D. Clarke, Steven G. Howell, Mitchell Pinkerton, Bruce Anderson, Lee Thornhill, Charlie Hudgins, Edward Winstead, Jack E. Dibb, Eric Scheuer, Hal Maring

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

During May and June of 2003 NASA conducted the DC-8 Inlet Characterization Experiment (DICE). The study was undertaken to quantify the performance of three passive, solid diffuser inlets used aboard the DC-8 aircraft to sample optically effective aerosol sizes. Aerosol optical properties measured behind the University of Hawai’i (UH) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) inlets were within 10% of the ground based measurements whereas the NASA Langley (LaRC) inlet reduced scattering values for supermicrometer dust by approximately 50%. Based on the DICE results the aerodynamic 50% passing efficiency of the inlets and transport plumbing is determined to be …