Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2008

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 24661 - 24690 of 25234

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Self-Determination Theory And Applications To Physical Education And Coaching, Eric Wayne Crandall Jan 2008

Self-Determination Theory And Applications To Physical Education And Coaching, Eric Wayne Crandall

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.


Nonlinear Random Response Of Large-Scale Sparse Finite Element Plate Bending Problems, Swati Chokshi Jan 2008

Nonlinear Random Response Of Large-Scale Sparse Finite Element Plate Bending Problems, Swati Chokshi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Acoustic fatigue is one of the major design considerations for skin panels exposed to high levels of random pressure at subsonic/supersonic/hypersonic speeds. The nonlinear large deflection random response of the single-bay panels aerospace structures subjected to random excitations at various sound pressure levels (SPLs) is investigated. The nonlinear responses of plate analyses are limited to determine the root-mean-square displacement under uniformly distributed pressure random loads. Efficient computational technologies like sparse storage schemes and parallel computation are proposed and incorporated to solve large-scale, nonlinear large deflection random vibration problems for both types of loading cases: (1) synchronized in time and (2) …


Social-Cognitive Biases In Simulated Airline Luggage Screening, Jeremy R. Brown Jan 2008

Social-Cognitive Biases In Simulated Airline Luggage Screening, Jeremy R. Brown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examined the role that social-cognitive biases play in decision making processes during airline luggage screening, Participants (n = 96) performed a computer simulated task where they tried to detect hidden weapons in 200 x-ray images of passenger luggage. Participants saw each luggage image for either two seconds (high time pressure) or six seconds (low time pressure). In addition, on each trial, participants observed the pictures of the "passenger" to whom the luggage purportedly belongs. The "pre-anchor group" answered questions about the passenger before the luggage image appears, the "post-anchor" group answered questions after the luggage appears, and the …


School District Budgeting In The Era Of Increased Accountability And No Child Left Behind: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of School District Budgeting Processes And The Correlation To Student Achievement, Scott Alan Burckbuchler Jan 2008

School District Budgeting In The Era Of Increased Accountability And No Child Left Behind: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of School District Budgeting Processes And The Correlation To Student Achievement, Scott Alan Burckbuchler

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

School district budgeting decisions take on added significance in light of fulfilling the objectives of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). If NCLB's goal of 100% student proficiency by 2014 is to be realized, school districts, as part of their improvement plans, need to focus on how to ensure that appropriate resources are available to fund proven instructional strategies which produce results. Budgeting merges resources and results. This study examines school district budgeting processes in light of NCLB. Overall, it appears that, in the school districts represented, budgeting practices have changed since the introduction of NCLB. More specifically, there has …


Effects Of Leader Relationship Quality (Lmx), Supervisor Support, And Upward Influence In National Science Foundation Industry /University Cooperative Research Centers, Janet L. Bryant Jan 2008

Effects Of Leader Relationship Quality (Lmx), Supervisor Support, And Upward Influence In National Science Foundation Industry /University Cooperative Research Centers, Janet L. Bryant

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) is a type of partnership between industries and universities supported by the National Science Foundation. These partnerships enable the transfer of leading-edge technology developed in universities to industrial firms. Leadership plays a powerful role in the success of these research partnerships by creating an environment that is conducive to innovation. Directors of I/UCRCs must be able to successfully lead upward, that is, develop and maintain strong relationships with the university administrators to whom they report, to obtain the necessary support to sustain the center and foster innovation. This study uses leader-member exchange (LMX) theory …


Design Of A High-Speed Architecture For Stabilization Of Video Captured Under Non-Uniform Lighting Conditions, Ming Zhu Zhang Jan 2008

Design Of A High-Speed Architecture For Stabilization Of Video Captured Under Non-Uniform Lighting Conditions, Ming Zhu Zhang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Video captured in shaky conditions may lead to vibrations. A robust algorithm to immobilize the video by compensating for the vibrations from physical settings of the camera is presented in this dissertation. A very high performance hardware architecture on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology is also developed for the implementation of the stabilization system. Stabilization of video sequences captured under non-uniform lighting conditions begins with a nonlinear enhancement process. This improves the visibility of the scene captured from physical sensing devices which have limited dynamic range. This physical limitation causes the saturated region of the image to shadow out …


Aging Effects On The Transcription Of Differentially Impaired Dysarthric Speech, Molly Anne Duggan Jan 2008

Aging Effects On The Transcription Of Differentially Impaired Dysarthric Speech, Molly Anne Duggan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Thirty participants transcribed 60 words and 30 sentences spoken by persons with dysarthria. Participants, all aged 65 and older were divided into three age groups: Young-Old, Middle-Old, and Old-Old. Each group was comprised of 10 participants. Stimuli were recorded by two male speakers with differing severity levels of dysarthria. Results suggested age did affect the transcription scores, as the Young-Old participants were able to transcribe words and sentences with greater accuracy than the Old-Old participants. The severity of the dysarthric speaker also affected the accuracy of participants in transcribing their words and sentences. Utterances produced by the speaker with mild …


Western Images In African Media: A Semiotic Investigation Of Three Nigerian-Made Films, Terence Ebi Ekiseh Jan 2008

Western Images In African Media: A Semiotic Investigation Of Three Nigerian-Made Films, Terence Ebi Ekiseh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study makes a critical analysis of the portrayal of Western images in African-made films as represented in three selected Nigerian home-made movies. In other words, the study seeks to find out how images of Western European and North American cultures are portrayed in African films. The three films selected for the study are Spirit cf Love, Market Seller, and One Dollar. The films were selected on the basis of their popularity among Nigerian film audiences. They were also selected because they are recent, and are produced by renowned Nigerian filmmakers. The study utilized qualitative method to achieve its objective. …


Development Of A Data Acquisition And Interface Module For A Fuel Cell Power Station, Kenan Baltaci Jan 2008

Development Of A Data Acquisition And Interface Module For A Fuel Cell Power Station, Kenan Baltaci

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Fuel cell stacks containing hundreds of individual cells are capable of generating high voltage and current values needed for transportation, commercial, residential, portable and industrial power applications. Although majority of hydrogen produced today comes from reformulated natural gas generated through a process that creates a significant amount of carbon dioxide, fuel cell is still a viable energy source for the future electrical power applications. One of the hard cases of the fuel-cell power systems is proper monitoring, instrumentation and data acquisition of system parameters such as fuel flow into the system, AC and DC voltage values, load current, humidity, power, …


Comparing The Effects Of Sung Versus Spoken Lyrics On Speech And Language Acquisition In Late-Talking Toddlers, Chelsea Ki Sook Clock Bell Jan 2008

Comparing The Effects Of Sung Versus Spoken Lyrics On Speech And Language Acquisition In Late-Talking Toddlers, Chelsea Ki Sook Clock Bell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of two intervention approaches with children who are delayed in their development of expressive language (i.e. "late talkers"). Identification and intervention for late talkers is often controversial. This study examined whether music therapy has an equal or greater effect on speech and language acquisition in two toddlers with late-developing speech and expressive language when compared to a literacy-based intervention involving storybook reading. The use of storybook reading in speech and language therapy has been examined and found successful when used with children with communication disorders. However additional research is needed …


Academic Success: A Qualitative Case Study Of Student Perspectives, Heather Marie Bentley Jan 2008

Academic Success: A Qualitative Case Study Of Student Perspectives, Heather Marie Bentley

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over the past eight years of teaching high school, I have noticed more and more high school students seem to be apathetic about their school work and academic success. I wanted to explore why students appeared to care less about their academic success. After consulting the literature, I realized the student voice was missing from most of the current studies; therefore, I wanted my qualitative study to focus on student views. In order to do so, I created two surveys: one for students and another for teachers, and I also interviewed a small sample of students after completion of the …


Respiratory Kinematics Of Adult Males During Graded Listening Tasks, Laura Lerette Gingrich Jan 2008

Respiratory Kinematics Of Adult Males During Graded Listening Tasks, Laura Lerette Gingrich

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Covert speech movements have been observed to increase with linguistic complexity during listening tasks. This study investigated the presence of covert respiratory movements during listening tasks of increasing complexity to answer the following research questions: 1. Do normal adult male listeners aged fifty and above without central nervous system injury change from rest breathing patterns to speech breathing patterns while listening to passages of increasing complexity; 2. Is there a greater shift towards speech breathing while listening to passages of greater complexity? Chest wall kinematics often male participants were obtained and analyzed for significant changes from rest breathing during four …


Specification And Automatic Code Generation Of The Data Layer For Data-Intensive Web-Based Applications, Sergei Golitsinski Jan 2008

Specification And Automatic Code Generation Of The Data Layer For Data-Intensive Web-Based Applications, Sergei Golitsinski

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In this thesis I propose a new code generation approach to developing data-intensive web-based applications. I hypothesize that it is possible to build a code generator which will significantly improve development of data-intensive web-based applications by generating at least 50% of the data access code based on a specification of the application's data model. My main argument is that the application's data model is sufficient for deriving most of the data access functionality. To test this hypothesis I designed a data definition language, came up with a set of rules for deriving data access operations from the application's data model, …


Relationships Among Physical Activity Knowledge, Perceived Importance Of Physical Activity, And Physical Activity Behaviors Of College Students, Trent W. Tangen Jan 2008

Relationships Among Physical Activity Knowledge, Perceived Importance Of Physical Activity, And Physical Activity Behaviors Of College Students, Trent W. Tangen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge of physical activity guidelines, the perceived importance of physical activity, and the actual physical activity behaviors among college students. Comparisons according to gender, class standing, academic major, and completion of a required personal wellness course were also made. In addition, a secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between knowledge of physical activity guidelines, perceived importance of physical activity, and actual physical activity behavior. A questionnaire developed by Morrow, Jackson, Bazzarre, Milne, and Blair (1999) was used to determine if participants knew the appropriate frequency, intensity, …


Population Based Estimates Of Medial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury, Samantha Lynne Sweet Jan 2008

Population Based Estimates Of Medial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury, Samantha Lynne Sweet

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Injuries to the elbow are common among overhead throwers, especially in baseball players. There has been speculation that medial ulnar collateral ligament (MUCL) injuries have been increasing over the past fifteen years, however, population based estimates of MUCL injuries currently do not exist. The purpose of this study was to determine MUCL injury incidence rates derived from the National Center for Health Statistics over a three-year period. Non-identifiable, aggregate data provided by the National Center for Health Statistics were used in this study. The two main databases utilized were the NAMCS and the NHAMCS. Injury data from 2003 - 2005 …


The Roles Of Coaches And Teachers : Fostering A Climate For Motivation In An Age Of Accountability, Jocelyn Hays Jan 2008

The Roles Of Coaches And Teachers : Fostering A Climate For Motivation In An Age Of Accountability, Jocelyn Hays

Graduate Research Papers

This paper examines the difference between how a coach motivates an athlete or fosters a climate for motivation versus how a teacher motivates a student or fosters a climate for motivation. One way to examine how coaches and teachers motivate their athletes and students is to examine the roles of coaches and teachers as motivators. Examining the roles of coaches and teachers as motivators and the subsequent discussion of how the roles of coaches as motivators could inform the roles of teachers as motivators seeks to satisfy society's call for teacher accountability.


Student Led Video Production Projects In The Classroom, Slade Hovick Jan 2008

Student Led Video Production Projects In The Classroom, Slade Hovick

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to review the literature on using video production projects in educational settings, and second, to evaluate their effectiveness. Specifically, the issues of student motivation and student retention, and what effects student-led video production projects have on these areas, are considered closely.


Surface Temperature Mapping Of The University Of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imageries, Alexander Savelyev, Ramanathan Sugumaran Jan 2008

Surface Temperature Mapping Of The University Of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imageries, Alexander Savelyev, Ramanathan Sugumaran

Faculty Work

The goal of this project was to map the surface temperature of the University of Northern Iowa campus using high-resolution thermal infrared aerial imageries. A thermal camera with a spectral bandwidth of 3.0-5.0 µm was flown at the average altitude of 600 m, achieving ground resolution of 29 cm. Ground control data was used to construct the pixelto-temperature conversion model, which was later used to produce temperature maps of the entire campus and also for validation of the model. The temperature map then was used to assess the building rooftop conditions and steam line faults in the study area. Assessment …


Validation Of Physical Activity As A Measure Of Shoulder Dysfunction, Lindsey Kae Alderson Jan 2008

Validation Of Physical Activity As A Measure Of Shoulder Dysfunction, Lindsey Kae Alderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The use of physical activity measures has been used in a variety of populations with various diseases and disabilities. The use of physical activity measures has shown known-group differences in populations with neurological disease, stroke patients, and lower extremity dysfunction. Physical activity measures have been used to show health differences, recovery, and disease progression and regression. The purpose of this project was to examine if physical activity are affected by isolated upper extremity shoulder injuries which then may be used as a functional outcome measure. This study was a non-experimental, observational, matched-pair design. A total of fourteen participants composed two …


Hypersonic Boundary Layer Receptivity To Acoustic Disturbances Over Cones, Kursat Kara Jan 2008

Hypersonic Boundary Layer Receptivity To Acoustic Disturbances Over Cones, Kursat Kara

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The receptivity mechanisms of hypersonic boundary layers to free stream acoustic disturbances are studied using both linear stability theory (LST) and direct numerical simulations (DNS). A computational code is developed for numerical simulation of steady and unsteady hypersonic flow over cones by combining a fifth-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme with third-order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) Runge-Kutta method. Hypersonic boundary layer receptivity to free-stream acoustic disturbances in slow and fast modes over 5-degree, half-angle blunt cones and wedges are numerically investigated. The free-stream Mach number is 6.0, and the unit Reynolds number is 7.8×106/ft. Both the steady and unsteady solutions are obtained …


Experimental Investigation Of Active Control Of Bluff Body Vortex Shedding, Ilteris Koc Jan 2008

Experimental Investigation Of Active Control Of Bluff Body Vortex Shedding, Ilteris Koc

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Mean and fluctuating forces acting on a body are strongly related to vortex shedding generated behind it. Therefore, it is possible to obtain substantial reductions of at least the unsteady forces if vortex shedding is controlled or its regularity is reduced. While conventional active flow control methods are mainly concerned with direct interaction with, and alteration of, the mean flow about a body, modern techniques involve altering existing flow instabilities using relatively small inputs to obtain large-scale changes of mean flows. Aerodynamic flow control may be intended to delay or suppress boundary layer separation through creation of a boundary layer …


The Relationships Among Age, Physical Activity, And Working Memory, Ellen M. Carpenter Jan 2008

The Relationships Among Age, Physical Activity, And Working Memory, Ellen M. Carpenter

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

As our population ages, determining exogenous factors that may offset cognitive decline become increasingly important. The primary goal of the present study was to determine whether older individuals who engage in regular physical activity demonstrate superior working memory performance relative to older sedentary individuals. Forty young (20 active, 20 sedentary) and forty older (20 active, 20 sedentary) individuals engaged in cognitive measures of information processing speed, inhibitory function, and verbal and visuospatial working memory. Age differences in recall were found for verbal and visuospatial span tasks, as well as for recall reaction time on verbal and visuospatial n-back tasks, and …


The Effects Of Parental Involvement On Early Reading Acquisition Among Kindergarten Students, Erin Vander Velde Jan 2008

The Effects Of Parental Involvement On Early Reading Acquisition Among Kindergarten Students, Erin Vander Velde

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Children begin to develop literacy skills long before they enter formal education. It has been found that parental involvement in the early literacy process through both formal and informal activities at home can help to improve a child's reading abilities, even when risk factors are present. Providing skills to parents may help them to bolster their child's reading acquisition. This study sought to determine the impact of parental on the reading skills of kindergarten students, as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Parents of three students receiving Title I services in reading attended a reading seminar. Children of parents attending …


"Stand And Unfold Yourself": The Subjectivity Of Interpretation In Hamlet, Josh Mahoney Jan 2008

"Stand And Unfold Yourself": The Subjectivity Of Interpretation In Hamlet, Josh Mahoney

Student Writing Awards

Critical interpretations of Hamlet are largely dependent upon the cultural zeitgeist that provides the cognitive paradigm through which critics formulate their ideas. The zeitgeist also influences which text of Hamlet to consider, since no single authoritative manuscript of the play exists. Critics must also consider Hamlet beyond a simple textual reading, since the competing documents of Q1, Q2 and F1—among later additions—only serve as the basis for theatrical representations. The inherent fluidity of performance is apparent to anyone who has ever been to the theater, even a modern one. Actors embodying characters on stage in front of an audience make …


Chief Judges: The Limits Of Attitudinal Theory And Possible Paradox Of Managerial Judging, Tracey E. George, Albert H. Yoon Jan 2008

Chief Judges: The Limits Of Attitudinal Theory And Possible Paradox Of Managerial Judging, Tracey E. George, Albert H. Yoon

Vanderbilt Law Review

Grutter v. Bollinger is familiar to American lawyers, academics, and law students as the Supreme Court decision allowing the consideration of race in law school admissions.1 Grutter's procedural history is nearly as noteworthy as its substantive holding. The University of Michigan Law School, after losing in federal district court, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Three Democratic appointees were assigned to the panel: Judges Karen Nelson Moore and Martha Craig Daughtrey, who had heard an earlier interlocutory appeal, and Chief Judge Boyce Martin, who replaced the designated district judge from the earlier panel. The white …


Web Citation Availability: A Follow-Up Study, Mary F. Casserly, James E. Bird Jan 2008

Web Citation Availability: A Follow-Up Study, Mary F. Casserly, James E. Bird

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The researchers report on a study to examine the persistence of Web-based content. In 2002, a sample of 500 citations to Internet resources from articles published in library and information science journals in 1999 and 2000 were analyzed by citation characteristics and searched to determine cited content persistence, availability on the Web, and availability in the Internet Archive. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify citation characteristics associated with availability. The sample URLs were searched again between August 2005 and June 2006 to determine persistence, availability on the Web, and in the Internet Archive. As in the original study, the researchers …


Creating Preservation-Ready Web Resources, Joan A. Smith, Michael L. Nelson Jan 2008

Creating Preservation-Ready Web Resources, Joan A. Smith, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

There are innumerable departmental, community, and personal web sites worthy of long-term preservation but proportionally fewer archivists available to properly prepare and process such sites. We propose a simple model for such everyday web sites which takes advantage of the web server itself to help prepare the site's resources for preservation. This is accomplished by having metadata utilities analyze the resource at the time of dissemination. The web server responds to the archiving repository crawler by sending both the resource and the just-in-time generated metadata as a straight-forward XML-formatted response. We call this complex object (resource + metadata) a CRATE. …


Efficient Corona Training Protocols For Sensor Networks, Alan A. Bertossi, Stephan Olariu, Cristina M. Pinotti Jan 2008

Efficient Corona Training Protocols For Sensor Networks, Alan A. Bertossi, Stephan Olariu, Cristina M. Pinotti

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Phenomenal advances in nano-technology and packaging have made it possible to develop miniaturized low-power devices that integrate sensing, special-purpose computing, and wireless communications capabilities. It is expected that these small devices, referred to as sensors, will be mass-produced and deployed, making their production cost negligible. Due to their small form factor and modest non-renewable energy budget, individual sensors are not expected to be GPS-enabled. Moreover, in most applications, exact geographic location is not necessary, and all that the individual sensors need is a coarse-grain location awareness. The task of acquiring such a coarse-grain location awareness is referred to as training. …


The Role Of Pax7 In The Formation Of The Superior Colliculus And The Vertebrate Visual System, Jennifer A. Thompson Jan 2008

The Role Of Pax7 In The Formation Of The Superior Colliculus And The Vertebrate Visual System, Jennifer A. Thompson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis has explored the role of Pax7 in formation and maturation of the mouse superior colliculus, an important brain region associated with topographic visual input and the capacity to evoke appropriate visuomotor responses to environmental stimuli. The research performed was explicitly targeted at understanding the relationship between Pax7 expression and the formation of the topography of the superior colliculus, including neuron specification and differentiation, boundary formation, polarisation and retinocollicular mapping. By employing histochemical, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent techniques, together with quantification utilising Optimas Digital Image Analysis, this project assessed Pax7 expression in diverse mutant and wildtype mice …


A Study Of Compliance In Aged Care Facilities With Regards To Australian Standards 1851:2006 Maintenance Of Fire Protection Systems And Equipment Section 17, Robert Doleman Jan 2008

A Study Of Compliance In Aged Care Facilities With Regards To Australian Standards 1851:2006 Maintenance Of Fire Protection Systems And Equipment Section 17, Robert Doleman

Theses : Honours

The management of risk within a nursing home environment is widely viewed as an undertaking perfom1ed by the owners or managers of nursing homes. The residents of these homes are reliant upon the owners and managers to keep them safe, due in part to a traditional belief that they are the experts and have a greater understanding of risk. To establish risk it is first a requirement to have an understanding of levels of risk and risk management techniques. Risk appreciation is often influenced by heuristic representativeness, as well as social and cultural influences. The higher level of risk within …