Digital Commons Network^™

Applying The Isotope Pairing Technique To Evaluate How Water Temperature And Habitat Type Influence Denitrification Estimates In Breton Sound, Louisiana, Peter L. Lenaker

LSU Master's Theses

The upper Breton Sound estuary was hydrologically reconnected to the Mississippi River via the Caernarvon freshwater diversion structure in 1991. The Caernarvon structure can provide controlled freshwater pulses to the upper Breton Sound estuarine ecosystem, replicating historic freshwater pulsed events, although the original authorization was to control salinity isohalines at specific locations in the estuary. However, unlike historic freshwater pulsed events prior to the construction of levees, the current freshwater pulse contains an unprecedented amount of inorganic nitrogen, predominately as nitrate (annual average 71.4 µM NO3-). Denitrification is a microbial process, which can potentially remove excess nitrate entering coastal Louisiana …

The Aerodynamics Of The Knuckleball Pitch: An Experimental Investigation Into The Effects That The Seam And Slow Rotation Have On A Baseball, Michael Patrick Morrissey

Master's Theses (2009 -)

There has been plenty of research on the fluid dynamic effects on different spheres, including sports balls, such as baseballs. Baseball pitches have different velocities, rotation rates and orientations which will cause the baseball to move in different directions. There has also been plenty of research on the aerodynamics of curveballs, but not nearly as much on knuckleballs. The difference between the two is that the knuckleball has a much slower rotation rate and a different initial orientation. This causes the baseball to "knuckle," or moving erratically. This pitch in baseball is one of the hardest to pitch, hit, catch, …

Perfection In Paul: Snapshot Of A Stand-Off, Kent Yinger

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Following a review of scholarship on ‘perfection’ in Pauline soteriology, this paper will document the current stand-off among Pauline scholars as to whether Paul requires (or thinks Jewish soteriology requires) perfect Law-keeping -- often connected with post-Sanders’ debates over 1st century Jewish soteriology. Along the way it will reflect on the meaning of perfection language in the various corpora. The paper will then suggest that resolving this issue remains crucial for unraveling Pauline soteriology.

Homeotic Mutants And The Assimilation Of Developmental Genetics Into The Evolutionary Synthesis, Michael Dietrich, Gregory K. Davis, David K. Jacobs

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Excited Delirium: Consideration Of Selected Medical And Psychiatric Issues, Edith Samuel, Robert B. Williams, Richard B. Richard B Ferrell

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Lung Cancer In A U.S. Population With Low To Moderate Arsenic Exposure, Julia Heck

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Raps Sheet, January 2009, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Past Tense, 2009, Retired Association Of Portland State

Past Tense columns of the RAPS Sheet

January, 2009 "Epler's legacy: 'Friday Night Lite' on the plains"

February, 2009 "ESL program booms at Portland State"

March, 2009 "'The Portland Review' is founded in 1956"

April, 2009 "Gordon Solie begins long career in 1960"

May, 2009 "School of Social Work established in 1960"

June, 2009 "Speech and Hearing gets its start in 1956"

September, 2009 "A Winning Tradition Ends"

November, 2009 "Sheridan Ends on a High Note"

December, 2009 "President Joseph C. Blumel"

A Hypergraph Regularity Method For Linear Hypergraphs, Shoaib Amjad Khan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Szemerédi's Regularity Lemma is powerful tool in Graph Theory, yielding many applications in areas such as Extremal Graph Theory, Combinatorial Number Theory and Theoretical Computer Science. Strong hypergraph extensions of graph regularity techniques were recently given by Nagle, Rödl, Schacht and Skokan, by W.T. Gowers, and subsequently, by T. Tao. These extensions have yielded quite a few non-trivial applications to Extremal Hypergraph Theory, Combinatorial Number Theory and Theoretical Computer Science. A main drawback to the hypergraph regularity techniques above is that they are highly technical. In this thesis, we consider a less technical version of hypergraph regularity which more directly …

Finding Confucianism In Scientology: A Comparative Analysis, John Albert Kieffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientology holds considerable interest for scholars of new religious movements. As such, this study aims to contribute new data and insight to ongoing theoretical work within this area of religious studies scholarship. Engaged in this inquiry are the similarities between Scientology, the new religious movement founded in 1951 by L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), and the Chinese religion, Confucianism, which originates with the teachings of Confucius (551-479 BCE). Though Hubbard admits being influenced by eastern thinking such as Buddhism and Daoism in shaping his worldview, he specifically discounts Confucius as relevant in this regard. However, through comparisons between Scientology and Confucianism, …

Optical Detection Of Co And H2 Based On Surface Plasmon Resonance With Ag-Ysz, Au And Ag-Cu Nanoparticle Films, Denis Kitenge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silver, gold, and copper metallic nanoparticle films have been utilized in various MEMS devices due to not only their electrical but also their optical properties. The focus of this research is to study the detection at room temperature of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) via Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) phenomenon of silver-embedded Yttrium Stabilized Zirconium (Ag-YSZ) nanocomposite film, gold (Au) nanoparticle film, and an alloy film of silver-copper (Ag-Cu) , grown by the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). To determine the appropriate film materials for quick and accurate CO and H2 detection at room temperature with the PLD technique, the …

Operational Evaluation Of Advanced Safety Enhancement Devices: Rearview Video System, Achilleas Kourtellis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the creation of the automobile, there has been an effort to create and implement mechanical and electronic devices that would improve vehicle safety. In recent years, electronic technologies have become more efficient and cost effective, therefore creating a great spike in widespread implementation. These safety related devices have to be tested for their reliability and amount of help they provide the driver with. The end user (the driver) has to be involved for a successful device. This research presents the methodology used to evaluate the effectiveness of the rearview video system (RVS) used in vehicles, especially in large commercial …

Intervention In Painting By Marlene Dumas With Titles Of Engagement: Ryman's Brides, Reinhardt's Daughter And Stern, Susan King Klinkenberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marlene Dumas is known for her portraits and figurative paintings and drawings. This study focuses on three paintings by Dumas that reference male icons of art: Stern (2004), Ryman's Brides (1997), and Reinhardt's Daughter (1994). In referencing Ad Reinhardt, Robert Ryman and in the case of Stern, Gerhard Richter, Dumas engages with each artist and the history of painting in specific ways. As this thesis title indicates, I argue that Dumas uses artistic allusion pervasively throughout her oeuvre to conduct an intervention in painting. I propose that this interposition is a way to navigate and question the canon, while strengthening …

First-Principles Studies Of Shock-Induced Phenomena In Energetic Materials, Aaron Christopher Landerville

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An understanding of the atomic-scale features of chemical and physical processes taking place behind the shockwave front will help in addressing some of the major challenges in energetic materials research. The high pressure shockwave environment can be simulated using computational techniques to predict mechanical and chemical properties of a shocked material. Density functional theory calculations were performed to investigate uniaxial compressions of diamond and both hydrostatic and uniaxial compressions of TATB and NEST-1. For diamond, we calculated shear stresses for uniaxial compressions in the , , and directions and discovered the anomalous elastic regime which is responsible for the significant …

Shadows Fall On Main Street: Film Noir Travels Out Of The City, Anthony Laporte

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After World War II, film audiences of American crime dramas, later termed film noirs, witnessed the relocation of several film narratives to settings outside of the traditional urban environment. These films began to defy the conventional notion that crime only exists in densely populated cities and began to incorporate alternative spaces, like suburban communities, small towns, and the open road, to tell their stories. This thesis examines how social and geographical spaces contribute to, rather than oppose, a noir sensibility by employing an intertextual analysis of three film noirs set in locations out of the city: Fallen Angel, The Stranger, …

“You‟Re Going To Hollywood!”: Gender And Race Surveillance And Accountability In American Idol Contestant‟S Performances, Amanda Leblanc

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how the reality competition television program American Idol serves to reinforce gendered, racialized and heteronormative stereotypes, particularly for female contestants. Through its "democratic" style of public audience voting, those competitors who not only sing well, but also perform their gender and race to standards which have been deemed by the judges to be appropriate mainstream American culture, prove to be the most successful on the program. Through a content analysis of the show's first four seasons, I find that those female contestants who begin their tenure in the contest by fitting into categories which would be considered …

Social Network Web Sites And Intra-Organizational Relationships: Using Facebook To Build Employee Relationships At Serena Software, Rianna K. Lee Sing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the use of Facebook as a tool to build relationships at work among employees of global technology company Serena Software. Email interviews with 13 Serena Software employees demonstrated that the social network site is in fact building relationships among them. Participants attributed information sharing as the element that most helped them to build relationships with each other. The interviews revealed evidence of the characteristics of relationship quality: trust, commitment and satisfaction. However, participants expressed a different definition of the fourth characteristic - control mutuality - in their Facebook relationships. The results showed that participants did not define …

Numerical Heat Transfer During Partially–Confined, Confined, And Free Liquid Jet Impingement With Rotation And Chemical Mechanical Planarization Process Modeling, Jorge C. Lallave-Cortes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Investigation Into The Rate-Determining Step Of Mammalian Heme Biosynthesis: Molecular Recognition And Catalysis In 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase, Thomas Lendrihas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biosynthesis of tetrapyrolles in eukaryotes and the alpha-subclass of purple photosynthetic bacteria is controlled by the pyridoxal 5?-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme, 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS). Aminolevulinate, the universal building block of these macromolecules, is produced together with Coenzyme A (CoA) and carbon dioxide from the condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA. The three-dimensional structures of Rhodobacter capsulatus ALAS reveal a conserved active site serine that moves to within hydrogen bonding distance of the phenolic oxygen of the PLP cofactor in the closed, substrate-bound enzyme conformation, and simultaneously to within 3-4 angstroms of the thioester sulfur atom of bound succinyl-CoA. To elucidate the …

Afro-Colombian Welfare: An Application Of Amartya Sen’S Capability Approach Using Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes Modeling – Mimic, Paula Lezama

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzes welfare conditions of Afro-Colombians vis-à-vis non Afro-Colombians using Amartya Sen's Capability Approach as the theoretical framework, and the latent variable modeling as the empirical method. Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) models are estimated using data from the Colombian Quality of Life Survey, 2003. Two latent constructs, namely, 'knowledge' and 'being adequately sheltered', represent the two 'Capability' dimensions to be analyzed. Ethnic background appears to have a consistently negative influence after controlling statistically by a set of relevant variables (e.g. being poor, area, marital status, age and gender, among others) included in the models as exogenous "causes" or …

Initial Identity Level And Cooperation In Face-To-Face And Computer-Mediated Contexts, Matthew C. Lineberry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations today are increasingly encouraging employees to engage in pro-social behaviors at work, though this effort may be hindered by the increasing reliance on computers to mediate workplace interpersonal interactions. While much research has been directed at computer-mediated teams performing highly interdependent tasks, there is a need to examine the effect of computer mediation on individual vs. collective identification and cooperation for employees in less overtly interdependent tasks. This study examined the role of group members' conscious and non-conscious identity level in the relationship between physical context and cooperation with a work group. 50 groups of 4 participants each worked …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Novel Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Composites Using Copper-4, 4’- Trimethylenedipyridine Metal-Organic Framework As Fillers, Shisi Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel Poly (methyl methacrylate) Composites using Copper-4, 4'- Trimethylenedipyridine Metal-Organic Framework as Fillers (CTMOF) had been synthesized and analyzed. The CTMOF structure had been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The thermal and mechanical properties of CTMOF-PMMA composites had been examined via optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), microhardness, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results showed the increase of Glass transition temperatures and the improvement of mechanical properties of the PMMA composites as the concentration of CBMOF loading increased.

Maternal Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices And Health Outcomes Of Their Preschool-Age Children In Urban And Rural Karnataka, India, Angela Lloyd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional, community-based study was designed to compare the health outcomes of 2 - 5 year-old children in different types of preschools. The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), run by the government of India, created a system of preschools, called anganwadis, to combat malnutrition, provide health education for mothers, and preschool for children 2 - 6 years old in 1975. Many children attend their local anganwadis, while others attend private schools, and others do not attend school at all. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to interview 125 urban and 130 rural mothers regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and practices about acute …

Character Strengths And Virtues Of Young Internationally Adopted Chinese Children: A Longitudinal Study From Preschool To School Age, Troy Loker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Shifting from traditional deficit-based psychological research, the current study aimed to broaden the understanding of post-adoption development through a strength-based approach and further explore the recently developed Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Character Strengths among a particularly resilient population of young children-internationally adopted Chinese children. Archival longitudinal data of parents' descriptions about their adopted Chinese children's positive characteristics were analyzed from two time points two years apart. Data on 179 children ages 4 - 5 years old (M = 59.67 months SD = 6.60 months) in Time 1 from 172 families were analyzed with content analysis coding procedures.

Overall, …

Condition | Recondition: Reconstruction Of The City And Its Collective Memory, C Lopez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide, dense urban spaces have been organized and transformed by cultural values. However, in many cases, changes in economic and social conditions have resulted in fragmentation of neighborhood typologies, in terms of their physical characteristics and uses. Such spaces are a manifestation of development, expansion, dislocation and marginalization; a condition that can be improved through an architectural and urban strategy which inscribes emerging forces into the neglected zones of marginal territories. The contemporary context calls for a re-evaluation of public space. To fully engage the people, it is a necessary function of public space to blur landscape, architecture and infrastructure, …

Multiple Approaches To The Validation Of The Scores From The Study Anxiety Inventory, George Douglas Lunsford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Study Anxiety Inventory (SAI), consisting of the factors of worry and emotionality, was developed to measure college students' self-reported levels of anxiety while studying for an exam. Data from 2002 undergraduate students from four colleges (Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business, and Education) at a southeastern state university were used to evaluate the validity of the scores from the 16-item Study Anxiety Inventory. Results of confirmatory factor analyses for the two factor model, conducted separately for each college, indicated marginally acceptable fit for the data (median fit measures across the four colleges: CFI =.915, SRMR=.049, RMSEA=.098), a pattern that was …

The Neoconservative War On Modernity: The Bush Doctrine And Its Resistance To Legitimation, Ben Luongo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bush Doctrine represents a paradigm shift in international security policy. Never had a foreign policy demonstrated such will through unilateralism, preemptive militarism, and a sense of exceptionalism. I argue that this shift in policy resists modern international order in an attempt to reestablish ancient modes of power and control. The international system maintains order through rules and institutions which are perceived to be legitimate because they have the consent of the governed. An example of this would be the UN, where member states engage in a democratic deliberation geared towards reaching understanding and consensus. However, order breaks down when …

Mixture Distributions With Application To Microarray Data Analysis, O'Neil Lynch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal in analyzing microarray data is to determine the genes that are differentially expressed across two types of tissue samples or samples obtained under two experimental conditions. In this dissertation we proposed two methods to determine differentially expressed genes. For the penalized normal mixture model (PMMM) to determine genes that are differentially expressed, we penalized both the variance and the mixing proportion parameters simultaneously. The variance parameter was penalized so that the log-likelihood will be bounded, while the mixing proportion parameter was penalized so that its estimates are not on the boundary of its parametric space. The null …

Architecture Of Materialism: A Study Of Craft In Design Culture, Process, And Product, Logan Mahaffey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated ten thousand hours of experience are required to master any given process (Sennett 20). Whether it is wood joinery, music, culinary arts or weaving, it is about making something that can be seen, heard, touched, and/or used. Society seems to be losing an appreciation for craft as an idea. Especially in the US, materialism has reduced quality and craftsmanship to merely a luxury to those that can afford a $10,000 Maloof chair or an $8000 Amish table. Developers build for maximum profit while buyers seek maximum square footage. Yet it seems while mainstream society continues to "progress", …

Photography’S Creative Influence On Lewis Carroll’S Alice’S Adventures In Wonderland And Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There, Bridget Mahoney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There share many characteristics with the author's photographs. Both Carroll's portraits and literature utilize dreamlike imagery to move beyond the present time and space into a dream world. The similar imagery demonstrates an important creative link between Carroll's novels and photographs. The creation of Carroll's masterpiece, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, creatively depended on the photographic images Carroll produced. Utilizing the four step process of creativity generally accepted by psychologists, Carroll's photographs are …