Digital Commons Network^™

Mother-Daughter Communication And Media Influence On Self-Esteem And Body Image, Tori Austin

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Societal norms based on media venues influence the perception young females have of themselves; however, some literature indicates the mother daughter relationship can help minimize the possible negative effects. Young women are more susceptible to desire distorted media images of glamorous and thin women. As they make social comparisons with mediated images of womanhood, they may become disappointed in their own body image and possess lower self-esteem. The previous research has gaps when discussing mother daughter relationships, media's influence, and the impact on adolescent girls' self-esteem and body image. To determine predictors to young women's self-esteem and body image, 119 …

Corpulent Counter-Publics: Radical Cheerleading And Resignification Of The Fat Body, Emily Dianne Cram

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis investigates the power of language, discourse, and symbols in the dominant construction of corpulence, and how it simultaneously constricts subjectivity and offers avenues of resistance and revolt. I focus my analysis on the public protest actions of San Francisco's radical cheerleading troupe The Bod Squad. I argue that The Bod Squad's protest constitutes a counter-public sphere in its rhetorical functions of positive self-representation and public confrontation. Through their protest actions, The Bod Squad stretches dominant ideologies of corpulence to create discursive space for alternative articulations of identities, interests, and needs. This thesis challenges traditional counter-public sphere theory and …

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 …

Virtual Prototyping With Surface Reconstruction And Freeform Geometric Modeling Using Level-Set Method, Weihan Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"More and more products with complex geometries are being designed and manufactured by computer aided design (CAD) and rapid prototyping (RP) technologies. Freeform surface is a geometrical feature widely used in modern products like car bodies, airfoils and turbine blades as well as in aesthetic artifacts. How to efficiently design and generate digital prototypes with freeform surfaces is an important issue in CAD. This paper presents the development of a Virtual Sculpting system and addresses the issues of surface reconstruction from dexel data structures and freeform geometric modeling using the level-set method from distance field structure. Our virtual sculpting method …

Characterization And Synthesis Of Nanoscale Materials, Jinfeng Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation focuses on the systematic study of techniques for characterization and synthesis of nanoscale materials. We have achieved several goals. Firstly, high number density uniform zinc oxide nanostructure growth has been achieved using thermal evaporation, through control of experimental parameters that include source material temperature, substrate temperature, substrate material, gas flow rate, and choice of catalyst. Aligned zinc oxide nanowires, randomly oriented zinc oxide nanowires, zinc oxide container-shaped structures, and zinc oxide nanobelts have been synthesized with high yield. Secondly, using a one parameter family of lattice fringe geometry curves, we show how to examine the epitaxial relationship between …

Design And Evaluation Of A Virtual Reality Training System For New Underground Rockbolters, David Nutakor

Doctoral Dissertations

"The need for development of better training techniques for underground rock bolters is signified by the fact that a large number of experienced miners (Baby Boomers) will be retiring soon. This means that there will be very little interface time between the new miners and the experienced miners, which could have been used for training the new inexperienced miners. A new generation of workers (Nexters), who have grown up with computers and video games will replace the Baby Boomers, and the most efficient way to introduce them to the safety and health issues of the mining industry is to use …

Synthesis And Characterization Of New Luminescent Late Transition Metal Complexes Containing The Tridentate 1,3-Di(N-Pyrazolyl)-4,6-Dimethyl Benzene Ligand, Brian Christopher Gruver

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The tridentate 1,3-di(N-pyrazolyl) benzene L 1 was synthesized from dibromobenzene and pyrazole. When reacted with K2PtC14 and IrCl3 the asymmetric complexes (µ-Cl)2(PtL1 )2 and (µ-Cl)2[lr L12]2 were obtained. The tridentate l ,3- dimethyl-4,6-(di-N-pyrazolyl) benzene ligand L2 , was synthesized from di-bromo-mxylene and pyrazole. The ligand was reacted with K2PtC14 to give L2 PtCl. Further reaction with phenylacetylene led to the air sensitive acetylide complex L2 PtC=C(C6H5). L2 PtCl could also be reacted with AgOTf in acetonitrile to give [L2 PtN=CCH3] OTf. Reaction with other late transition metals led to the di-chloro bridged iridium dimer (µ-Cl)2[L 2IrCl]2 and the square planar …

Energy Efficient Clustering And Secure Data Aggregation In Wireless Sensor Networks, Julia Albath

Doctoral Dissertations

"Communication consumes the majority of a wireless sensor network's limited energy. There are several ways to reduce the communication cost. Two approaches used in this work are clustering and in-network aggregation. The choice of a cluster head within each cluster is important because cluster heads use additional energy for their responsibilities and that burden needs to be carefully distributed. We introduce the energy constrained minimum dominating set (ECDS) to model the problem of optimally choosing cluster heads in the presence of energy constraints. We show its applicability to sensor networks and give an approximation algorithm of O(log n) for solving …

Energy Efficient Wireless Sensor Network Protocols For Monitoring And Prognostics Of Large Scale Systems, James W. Fonda

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this work, energy-efficient protocols for wireless sensor networks (WSN) with applications to prognostics are investigated. Both analytical methods and verification are shown for the proposed methods via either hardware experiments or simulation. This work is presented in five papers. Energy-efficiency methods for WSN include distributed algorithms for i) optimal routing, ii) adaptive scheduling, iii) adaptive transmission power and data-rate control"--Abstract, page iv.

The Effect Of Free Chlorine And Monochloramine On Lead In Drinking Water And Epitaxial Electrodeposition Of Tin Sulfide, Sansanee Boonsalee

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electrochemical deposition is utilized in various electronic and photovoltaic applications and in the protective coating industries. This dissertation primarily addresses the environmental aspects of electrochemical deposition. In the first part of this study, Pb dissolution in drinking water was investigated in the presence of two disinfectants: free chlorine (in the form of HOCI/OCr) and monochloramine (NH₂Cl). In the second part of this study, epitaxial SnS nanodisks were electrodeposited onto a Au(100) substrate. Water utility systems use either free chlorine or monochloramine in their disinfection program. Whereas free chlorine reacts with natural organic matter in the water to produce halogenated organic …

Uncertainty Analysis And Sensitivity Analysis For Multidisciplinary Systems Design, Jia Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The objective of this research is to quantify the impact of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties on performances of multidisciplinary systems. Aleatory uncertainty comes from the inherent uncertain nature and epistemic uncertainty comes from the lack of knowledge. Although intensive research has been conducted on aleatory uncertainty, few studies on epistemic uncertainty have been reported. In this work, the two types of uncertainty are analyzed. Aleatory uncertainty is modeled by probability distributions while epistemic uncertainty is modeled by intervals. Probabilistic analysis (PA) and interval analysis (IA) are integrated to capture the effect of the two types of uncertainty. The First …

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 …

Give ‘Em Hill: The Fighter Persona In Hillary Clinton’S 2008 Presidential Campaign, Rebecca Diane Buel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Hillary Clinton announced her intentions to form a presidential exploratory committee on January 20, 2007. The campaign that followed this announcement was complicated by the many existing images created by Hillary Clinton's many years in the public eye. Throughout these many years, Hillary Clinton struggled to establish voter identification, and was frequently the subject of public criticism, rendering many existing images negative. Furthermore, she served in a variety of roles: governor's wife, first lady, senator, and most recently presidential candidate. Because of the conflicting data resulting from Hillary Clinton's negative publicity and her many roles, her presidential campaign faced a …

School Counselors' Perceptions Of The Needs Of Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Sarah Wakefield

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Children of incarcerated parents are a population that have specialized needs. While previous research has explored the effects of parental incarceration on children and their needs, the current study evaluated schools' awareness of such effects and the resources they have to meet those needs. Because the majority of children attend school, schools are an appropriate setting for such interventions and services. The current study showed that school counselors are not aware of all of the students affected by parental incarceration, they need additional information concerning specific issues and needs associated with parental incarceration, and they believe their schools lack the …

Allergies In University Of Northern Iowa College Students, Lisa Krausman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Allergies diseases, comprising of asthma and allergies, in some direct or indirect way affect most American families as more than 40 to 60 million or one in four Americans suffer from allergic diseases. Allergic diseases are a widespread problem that has a great monetary cost to society and a negative impact on the quality of life for those afflicted. This research was based on an analytical cross-sectional study design with a convenience sample of young adults in a college population. The paper based survey consisted of 55 questions asking various questions throughout various periods of life including the topics of …

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 …

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, …

Guidelines For Deploying Wireless Sensor Network In Manufacturing: Star Topology Study Using The Rssi To Test The Network Performance, A. Hameed Madwar

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are varying in kinds and can be used for many purposes. It can be extensively used in monitoring, reporting, and decision routines. Therefore, WSNs are very important to integrate with manufacturing since they can help not only in monitoring and decision making but also they can increase productivity and decrease the wiring costs. However, WSNs are facing some challenges in manufacturing as they need to resist the interferences that could be generated by the electrical and mechanical fields created during the manufacturing processes. Some of these interferences could be due to the high temperatures, blocks of …

Low Power Energy Harvesting And Storage Techniques From Ambient Human Powered Energy Sources, Faruk Yildiz

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Conventional electrochemical batteries power most of the portable and wireless electronic devices that are operated by electric power. In the past few years, electrochemical batteries and energy storage devices have improved significantly. However, this progress has not been able to keep up with the development of microprocessors, memory storage, and sensors of electronic applications. Battery weight, lifespan and reliability often limit the abilities and the range of such applications of battery powered devices. These conventional devices were designed to be powered with batteries as required, but did not allow scavenging of ambient energy as a power source. In contrast, development …

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

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The goal of this study was to produce and analyze a heat loss map of the University of the Northern Iowa campus using thermal infrared remote sensing data. Aerial data with the spatial resolution of 0.29m and radiometric resolution of 14 bit was collected. A model for the pixel to radiance and temperature conversion was developed with its parameters estimated with an R² of 0.78. Temperature imagery was shown to be consistent over the time of the survey and accurate to within 12°C. The temperature map then was used to assess the conditions of the rooftops and steam pipelines …

Lex Naturalis And Jus Naturale, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

After the air attacks of September 11, 2001 the United States government decided to fortify all public government buildings and spaces of importance in Washington, D.C. that might be targets of future attacks. The expenditures for these projects ran to millions of dollars and included the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. These extensive fortifications were inspired by widespread fear at all levels of the American government that extreme measures were needed to protect themselves and government buildings. This culture of fear quickly became an accepted part of American political discourse. Fear was no longer cowardly; it became a …

Understanding The Absence Of A Duty To Reasonably Rescue In American Tort Law, Marin Roger Scordato

Scholarly Articles

The absence in American tort law of a duty to reasonably aid a stranger in peril is perplexing. It is an odd gap in the otherwise nearly pervasive presence of a duty of reasonable care in the modern law of negligence. It utterly fails to accurately articulate our conventional sense of morality and appropriate social behavior. It stands in stark contrast to the treatment of this issue throughout the rest of the world. It is a rule of tort law for which very few commentators have had a kind word.

This Article sets forth a spirited defense of the traditional …

Of Panjandrums, Pooh Bahs, Parvenus, And Prophets: Law, Religion, And Medical Science, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

This Monograph derives from a Lecture, under the same title, given in Sydney, Australia, honoring Michael D. Kirby, AC, CMG, Justice of The High Court of Australia. The first part of the Monograph analyses the significant contributions that Justice Kirby has made as a compassionate champion of human rights and acknowledges what is styled as the Kirby Ethic which, in turn, is seen as the foundation for the body of work of the Justice as well as the moving force in his private life as well. Building upon a theory of transcendent idealism which interprets God's purpose as safeguarding the …

‘Slender Knowledge’: Sovereignty, Madness, And The Self In Shakespeare’S King Lear, A.G. Harmon

Scholarly Articles

In King Lear, the English law of madness, especially the aspects of testamentary devises, royal accession, waste, and plunder, is thematized in such a way that the conflict between civil order and savage nature is brought to the foreground. This dynamic overshadows, and to some extent disguises what truly lies at the heart of ancient Britain’s woes: a deficit of ontological self-inquiry on the part of the sovereign and his royal retainer, Gloucester, from which all of the other complications ensue.

God, Gold, Or Glory: Norman Piety And The First Crusade, Samuel Andrew Bartlett

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent trends in crusade historiography depict the Frankish participants of the First Crusade as acting out of piety, while their Norman counterparts remain as impious opportunists. This thesis challenges this prevailing point of view, arguing that the Norman crusaders met the same standard of piety as the Franks. To support my theory, I looked at four different facets on the question of Norman piety, dividing them up into chapters of my thesis. In the first chapter, there is a brief discussion of the current portrayal of the Normans in modem crusade historiography. In the next chapter, I established what piety …

Modeling And Synergy Testing Of Drug Combination Data: A Pharmacokinetic Analysis, Jacy Rebecca Crosby

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, we present and implement a method to assess the mathematical synergy of two-drug combinations based on a stochastic model. The drugs in question are two isomers that are applied to the human eye via a liquid eye drop. Techniques applied to the data in this paper can be applied to other two-drug combination studies.

We derive the mean and the variance terms of the drug combination "effects" in closed form using Ito's method of stochastic differential equations. The model fit of the data to the individual subject is examined by both statistical and graphical methods. Two estimation …

All For One: A Review Of Victim-Centric Justifications For Criminal Punishment, Adam J. Macleod

Scholarly Articles

Disparate understandings of the primary justification for criminal punishment have in recent years divided along new lines. Retributivists and consequentialists have long debated whether a community ought to punish violators of legal norms primarily because the violator has usurped communal standards (the retributivist view), or rather merely as a means toward some end such as rehabilitation or deterrence (the consequentialist view). The competing answers to this question have demarcated for some time the primary boundary in criminal jurisprudential thought. A new fault line appears to have opened between those who maintain the historical view that criminal punishment promotes the common …

From Heteronormative To Strategic Ambiguity: Crafting A Scholarly Sexual Persona, Kelsey Anne Harr

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

All of the choices scholars make, from what to study to how to study it, are political and moral choices, and they speak as loudly about the scholar as they do about the text. Although scholars often engage in discussions about how their sex, race, class, and gender interact with their scholarly work, very few of them seem to spend time and space thematizing their sexual orientations. Using rhetorical methods, I identify three ways that scholars thematize sexual orientation in scholarly writing. First, an overt persona is demonstrated by scholars who explicitly state their sexual orientations. This option removes any …

Predicting And Reducing Warranty Costs By Considering Customer Expectation And Product Performance, Naresh Kumar Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation develops from quality loss function to warranty loss function in which customer expectation is also considered to be a variable. First, Taguchi's quality loss function for the larger-the-better case, which is different from the smaller-the better and nominal-the-best cases, has been assimilated into the other two by introducing a term called the target-mean ratio. Further topics addressed include the implications of a finite target on the classification of LTB characteristics, a new concept of a "Complementary Characteristic", operating window, complexity, and SN ratio based on complexity. A warranty is a buyer's confidence owing to the seller's assurance to …

An Examination Of Intercultural Communication Training Programs For U.S. Sojourners In Denominational And Non-Denominational Organizations, Stuart L. Holsing

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Whether for business or personal pleasure, service projects or military service, each year millions travel to destinations very different from their own culture. The preparation of the sojourner for effective interaction in their host culture will largely determine success or failure in meeting the mutual objectives all parties involved. My experiences both as a participant and leader of seven different teams of volunteers with Christian agencies led me to investigate what training is given to equip sojourners for the challenges they will face in navigating the unfamiliar territory of cultural differences in the course of performing their mission. How is …