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Low African-American Student Enrollment In The Post Secondary Vocational Education Step Ii Program: A Study Of Motivational Factors, Victor Goldstein

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A purposive literature review was used in this study to develop a knowledge base on motivational factors impacting enrollment of African-American students in postsecondary vocational education program specifically in the STEP II program. This study examined books, articles, reports, and data from student interviews to understand what motivational factors influence decisions. It was found that low enrollment of African- American students in post-secondary vocational education is not only dependent on motivational factors emanating from the students themselves, but also stem from the institutions that offer training programs.

Data Mining And Analysis On Multiple Time Series Object Data, Chunyu Jiang

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Huge amount of data is available in our society and the need for turning such data into useful information and knowledge is urgent. Data mining is an important field addressing that need and significant progress has been achieved in the last decade. In several important application areas, data arises in the format of Multiple Time Series Object (MTSO) data, where each data object is an array of time series over a large set of features and each has an associated class or state. Very little research has been conducted towards this kind of data. Examples include computational toxicology, where each …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Computational Methods For The Objective Review Of Forensic Dna Testing Results, Jason R. Gilder

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Since the advent of criminal investigations, investigators have sought a "gold standard" for the evaluation of forensic evidence. Currently, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology is the most reliable method of identification. Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA genotyping has the potential for impressive match statistics, but the methodology not infallible. The condition of an evidentiary sample and potential issues with the handling and testing of a sample can lead to significant issues with the interpretation of DNA testing results. Forensic DNA interpretation standards are determined by laboratory validation studies that often involve small sample sizes. This dissertation presents novel methodologies to address …

Acute Toxicity And Immunotoxicity Testing Of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons In Aquatic And Terrestrial Organisms, Andrea Renee Handy

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The acute toxicity and immunotoxicity of JP-8 jet fuel on Chironomus tentans, Hyallela azteca, Lactuca sativa, Eisenia foetida, and Lumbricus terrestris was assessed using standard USEPA acute toxicity and static renewal toxicity tests. Three methods of spiking test soil with jet fuel were evaluated. In one method acetone was utilized as a carrier and the soil was dried in the fume hood; in another the soil was spiked directly with jet fuel and also was dried; and in the last the soil was spiked directly without drying. There was low survival in C. tentans in all treatments, including controls. There …

The Relationship Between Burnout And Engagement: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Gene Michael Alarcon

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Researchers have purported that burnout and engagement measure the same three latent constructs, energy, identification, and efficacy at work, but few have actually researched the theory (Maslach & Leiter, 1997; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Burnout has been consistently related to workplace demands such as emotional labor (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002; Brotheridge & Lee, 2002). The current study investigated whether burnout and engagement are comprised of energy, identification, and efficacy in a sample with high demands for emotional labor. A confirmatory factor analysis suggested that burnout and engagement might in fact be separate second order latent constructs comprised of only two …

Seasonal Variation In The Redox Zones And Biogeochemical Processes Within The Constructed Wetland, Yussuf Mohamud

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This research investigation focuses on the vertical distribution of dissolved inorganic species in the pore-water affected by redox processes and seasonal changes within a small constructed wetland located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This is a follow up study to an earlier investigation (Lach, 2004) at this site in 2003. Water samples were collected from influent, effluent and three layers of the constructed wetland through a network of nested piezometers in the vertical flow wetland from June 2005 to June 2006. Onsite analysis of temperature, pH and conductivity were carried out onsite. Major anions and cations were measured by …

Angiotensin At1 Receptor Blockade Protects The Brain From Ischemic Damage, Madhuri Penchikala

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Angiotensin (Ang) AT1 receptors are considered to play an important role in ischemic stroke via degenerative processes leading to cell death. Recent clinical and basic studies show that systemic blockade of Ang AT1 receptors reduces brain lesion in ischemic stroke. In this study we evaluated whether blockade of central Ang AT1 receptors protects the brain from ischemia and inflammation during ischemic stroke. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups for chronic intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of a selective Ang AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan (Los, n=18, 2 ug/hr) or isotonic saline (Con, n=20) using osmotic minipump. Twelve days post infusion, …

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 …

Neurodegeneration And Neuroinflammation In A Mouse Model Of Sarin Exposure, Molly Elizabeth Davidson

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Sarin is an organophosphorus (OP) ester chemical warfare agent (CWA) that has been used in past terrorist attacks. It remains a threat today because of its ease of manufacture and dispersal. Sarin acts by irreversibly inactivating acetylcholinesterase and interfering with neurotransmission by allowing acetylcholine to build up at neuro-effector junctions, where it continuously elicits a response. Symptoms of sarin toxicity include seizures, hypersecretions, respiratory distress and death in extreme cases. Previous studies on OP poisoning indicate that sarin exposure causes neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in conjunction with seizure activity. In order to determine the mode of neuronal death and the extent …

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 …

Immunological And Developmental Effects Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (Pbdes) And 2,3,7,8-Tetrachloro-P-Dioxin (Tcdd) In Birds, Randy T. Stetzer

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This thesis contains two separate and distinct research projects with a common overall theme - the study of immunotoxicity associated with the developmental exposure of young birds to halogenated chemicals posing environmental concern. These chemicals share many chemical characteristics, including environmental ubiquity and longevity, one has been studied extensively since the 1970s, and one is a relatively new environmental contaminant with few studies pertaining to toxicological affects on humans or wildlife. Specific summaries of each study begin each project chapter. The first study was entitled Developmental and Immunological Effects of a Commercial Mixture of PBDE Flame Retardants in Chicken Embryos. …

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 …

Work-Nonwork Goal Conflict: A Self-Regulatory Expansion Of Work Life Conflict, John Michael Mckee

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Current conceptualizations of work-life conflict (WLC) fail to account for additional life domains beyond that already measured for by traditional work-family conflict (WFC) measures. When conceptualized from a self-regulatory perspective, WFC can be thought of as a person's work goals conflicting with his or her family goals. This goal-based conceptualization of WLC was used within the current study in order to explore the relationship between work-nonwork goal conflict and worker well-being. Participants were guided through an on-line personal project analysis, in which they elicited goals within work and nonwork domains and then provided ratings of conflict between all work and …

Role Of Angiotensin Converting Enzymes Ace And Ace2 In Diabetes Induced Cardiovascular Dysfunction, Keerthy Kanakamedala

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Cardiovascular disease is a long term complication of diabetes, which remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. There is recent evidence for activation of the Renin angiotensin system (RAS) in diabetic animals and humans. Emerging evidence shows that the vasoconstrictor actions of Ang II may be opposed by formation of the vasodilator, Ang (1-7). There is limited data on blood pressure in murine models of type 2 diabetes. The aim is to study the role of angiotensin converting enzymes ACE and ACE2 in diabetes induced cardiovascular dysfunction using type 2 diabetic murine mouse models (db/db mice). Both db/db mice …

Design Of A Controller To Control Light Level In A Commercial Office, Saeid Javidbakht

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Proper amount of light in a business office is important for health and productivity of the employees. On a sunny day, there may be more than enough light entering the office from outside to carry out the necessary tasks. Presently, the main source of light in most offices is the fluorescent lamp. Thus, It is possible to save energy by dimming the fluorescent lamp. Dimming of the fluorescent lamp is possible by changing the frequency of the sinusoidal voltage or current. Hence, there is a need of a control system to adjust the light from the fixtures based on the …

Modulation Of The 3'Igh Regulatory Region (3'Igh Rr), A Prospective In Vitro Screening Tool For Identifying Potential Immunotoxicants, Rebecca Anne Henseler

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The immune system is critical to human survival. However, assessing alterations of immune function by potential immunotoxicants is complicated by the diffuse nature of the immune system, which is composed of various effector cells each with differing effector functions. Current immunotoxicity testing is limited to animal studies. We have developed a model, which may provide an in vitro alternative to animal studies in identifying immunotoxicants that specifically target B cell function (i.e., alteration of immunoglobulin (Ig) or expression and antibody secretion). This model consists of a well-characterized B cell line, CH12.LX, which appears to appropriately model primary B cell function. …

Oral Ld50 Of Botulinum Toxin Serotype A In Guinea Pigs, Christina Marie Wilhelm

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As a disease, botulism is a neuroparalytic illness resulting from the action of a potent neurotoxin produced by C. Botulinum. Of the seven distinct C. Botulinum neurotoxin serotypes: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, only serotypes A, B, E and F cause human disease. The duration of action of the seven toxin serotypes varies with serotype A having the most sustained action (i.e. months vs. days in serotype E). This study was performed due to recently identified critical gaps in our food safety procedures. The goal of this study was to assess whether fresh 2% milk provided protective …

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 …

Functional Interplay Between Subthreshold Ion Channels In Preautonomic Neurons Of The Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus In Health And Disease Conditions, Patrick M. Sonner

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Under normal conditions, blood pressure is tightly regulated through autonomic tonic and reflex mechanisms. However, when the set-point for blood pressure is chronically elevated, hypertension occurs. Hypertension if untreated can lead to further complications including heart failure, stroke and kidney failure. Elevated sympathetic outflow is known to contribute to the development and/or maintenance of hypertension, and while the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a preautonomic center, has been implicated in the elevation of sympathetic activity during hypertension, the precise pathophysiological mechanisms underlying sympathoexcitation remain unclear. Subthreshold ion channels, including the A-type K ⁺(I _A) and the T-type Ca ^{2+ …}

Fabrication And Testing Of Scaffolds For Cell Growth From Ionic Liquid Solubilized Fibroin, Maneesh Kumar Gupta

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The advent of tissue engineering has spurred research into developing materials to act as scaffolds for tissue growth. These scaffolds require materials capable of mimicking the in vivo conditions so that tissues can be grown effectively in vitro. Silk is an attractive biomaterial for use in tissue engineering applications because of its slow degradation, excellent mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. The major objective of the research in this thesis is to demonstrate a simple method to cast films directly from silk fibroin dissolved in an ionic liquid. The films cast from the silk ionic liquid solution were found to support normal …

Building As An Instrument, Catherine Irene Grottenthaler

Theses and Dissertations

The proposal of this thesis project is an exploration of the relationship between music and the built space. The space chosen for design is the first two floors of the Lady Byrd Hat factory located at 140 Virginia St. in the Shockoe Slip area of Richmond, VA. This project proposes the design of the building for the purposes of a music center that will benefit the community by providing music therapy, music and vocal classes, a performance space, and a café. It is to be used as an instrument for communication, health, and education. The main users of the space …

Determinants Of Obesity: Racial Differences, Nikkia L. Goforth

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major public health problem. Studies have shown that there are racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of obesity. However, there is limited research that examines the effects of sedentary and poor lifestyle behaviors and obesity among different racial and ethnic groups. Furthermore, most studies focus on the problem of obesity among children. This study was conducted to examine racial differences in determinants of obesity in adults in the United States. METHODS: Data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used for this analysis. Demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and existence of chronic diseases were assessed. …

On The Intellectual Sources Of Laïcité: Rousseau, Constant, And The Debates About A National Religion, Helena Rosenblatt

Publications and Research

That French Protestants gave strong support to laïcité is by now well established. In recent work, Patrick Cabanel has even made a compelling case for the Protestant sources of laïcité, placing particular emphasis on the Protestant entourage of Jules Ferry (1832-1893) and stressing the inspiration provided by the pro-Protestant intellectual, Edgar Quinet (1803-1875.)

This article suggests that we look even earlier in time for the intellectual sources of laïcité. Seminal ideas can be found in the writings of two liberal Protestants, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Benjamin Constant (1767-1830.) Rousseau is usually counted among the opponents, and not the …

Modeling Annual Extreme Precipitation In China Using The Generalized Extreme Value Distribution, Song Feng, Saralees Nadarajah, Qi Hu

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Extreme precipitation events are the major causes of severe floods in China. In this study, four time series of daily, 2-day, 5-day, and 10-day annual maximum precipitation from 1951 to 2000 at 651 weather stations in China were analyzed. The generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution was used, to model the annual extreme precipitation events at each station. The GEV distribution was also modified to explore the linear temporal trends in the extreme events. The results showed that more than 12% of the stations have significant (p-value < 0.10) linear trends. Decreasing trends are mainly observed in northern China, and increasing trends are observed in the Yangtze River basin and northwestern China. The return periods of extreme participation have changed stations with significant temporal trends. The 50-year event observed in parts of the Yangtze River basin, and northwestern China during the 1951-60, has become a more frequent 25-year event in the 1990s. The spatial distribution of the return levels of the 651 stations are closely related to the climatic mean precipitation, and are influenced by the East Asian summer monsoon system (return levels are measures of extremity – for example, a 10 year return level is the value that can be expected to be exceeded on average once in every 10 years). The return period of extreme precipitation, that caused the 1998 severe floods in the Yangtze River basin, was also evaluated from a probabilistic perspective.

The Arrival Of The "Have-Nots" In International Arbitration, Catherine A. Rogers

Faculty Scholarship

Much has been written about the have-nots in domestic litigation and domestic arbitration, with an apparent assumption that their fate was mainly a domestic affair. In recent years, however, internet commerce has brought consumers to the international market, an increasingly globalized workforce has generated a class of international employees, and the link between international trade and human rights has revealed a host of victims. The arrival of these 'have-nots' in international arbitration means that previously latent questions about international arbitration's integrity as a system and role as a mechanism for transnational regulatory governance have been brought to the fore.

Using …

Motivating Enforcement: Institutional Culture And The Clean Water Act Fourth Iucn Academy Of Environmental Law Worldwide Colloquium: Implementing Environmental Legislation: The Critical Role Of Enforcement And Compliance, William L. Andreen

Articles

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