Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Of Reading Methods And Learning Styles To Taiwanese 12th Grade Male Students' Reading Comprehension In English, Yachi Teng

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Gender Dynamics In Peer Interaction And Their Influence On Second Language Learning In The English-As-A-Second Language Classroom, Xiulian Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

In Search Of Music Equity In An Urban Middle School, John Calloway

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Demystifying Success : Critical Reflections Of African-American California Community College Students About Factors Leading To Scholastic Success During The First Year, Robert Lee Snowden

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Latino Students' Experiences In Comprehensive And Continuation High Schools, Maria Rosa Navarro

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

African American Males' Perceptions Of Factors That Contribute To High School Completion, Samantha Marilyn Rainer

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Home And Identity In Cambodia : Implications Of The Revolution And Internal Turmoil Of The 1970s On Children's Right To Education, Nadine Agosta

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Survival Of The Fittest : Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of California's Btsa Induction Program, Marilys Delong Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Worlds Of Difference Revealed Through College Students' International Service : A Narrative Inquiry In Identity, Leadership, And Ethical Action, Faith Kazmi

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Organizational Change And Strategic Schooling For English Language Learners : A Case Study, Silvia Ramirez

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Students', Teachers', And Parents' Perspectives Of An African Centered Program : Þle Omode, Tiffany S. Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

A Reality Check : The Expectations High School Seniors Have About Their First Year Of College, Brian R. Harke

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Oxidative Stress, Calcium Homeostasis, And Altered Gene Expression In Human Lung Epithelial Cells Exposed To Zno Nanoparticles, Chuan-Chin Huang

Masters Theses

"The influence of 20 nm ZnO nanoparticles on oxidative stress, intracellular calcium homeostasis, and gene expression was studied in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). ZnO caused a concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxicity while elevating oxidative stress and causing membrane damage (cellular LDH release). There was a remarkably steep relationship between concentration and toxicity at concentrations from 5 to 10 μg/ml. Exposure to ZnO increased intracellular calcium levels in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Treatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine prevented cell loss and diminished the increase in intracellular calcium concentration, suggesting oxidative stress mediated cytotoxicity. Exposure to a sublethal concentration of ZnO …

Emi Chip-To-Tem Cell Coupling For A Microcontroller And Emi Coupling Resulting From Via Transition And Reference Plane Change, Hemant Bishnoi

Masters Theses

"The work presented in this thesis can be broadly categorized under two main headings, estimation of electromagnetic interference (EMI) performance and characterization of EMI performance.

A numerical model of capacitive coupling between two orthogonally crossing double stripline was developed earlier by Kenji Araki and Yoshio Kami at the University of Electro-Communications, Japan. Their model was shown to be accurate up to 3GHz. A verification of their numerical model with full wave simulations is presented here.

In another work done by Shaohua Li, dynamic currents in the power pins of a microcontroller were predicted by using an IC model. The ultimate …

Environmental Geochemistry Of Metal Contaminated Sediments From The Big River System Of Southeastern Missouri, Helen Carrie Bender

Masters Theses

"Geochemical analysis of stream sediments from the Big River Watershed of southeastern Missouri indicates that they contain elevated concentrations of contaminant metals such as Pb. Zn, Cu. Co, Ni and Cd. The elevated concentrations are derived from natural exposures of metal enriched strata and the numerous mine tailings piles and water seeps created as a result of about 300 years of lead-zinc mining in the “Old Lead Belt”. Galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), and pyrite (FeS₂) are the primary sulfides found in the tailings piles and Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis of individual metallic sediment particles collected at intervals downstream …

Friction Stir Processing Of Magnesium Alloys, Gaurav Bhargava

Masters Theses

"Magnesium alloys have been fast catching up their attention in applications where both lightweight and exceptional strength is desired. But magnesium alloys suffer formability issues which limit their use to cast applications when designing complicated shapes. Friction stir processing (FSP) is technique for, imparting a fine-grained, homogeneous microstructure by which both strength and ductility can be enhanced. The results from the first part of present work showed that AZ31 alloy when employed the use of FSP, yielded significant strength and ductility gains but on the cost of anisotropy. The cause of anisotropy was investigated to be correlated to texture evolution …

Synthesis Of Surface Composites Using Friction Stir Processing, Bharat Gattu

Masters Theses

"Composite materials have an edge over monolithic materials due to higher strength/stiffness - to - density ratios, improved fatigue and wear resistance and better high temperature properties. Surface composites provide improved tribological properties such as wear resistance, friction coefficient and corrosion resistance. Friction stir processing (FSP) which originated from friction stir welding (FSW - a method for joining aluminum alloys) is a solid state technique to modify the microstructure of the alloys. During FSP the frictional heat generated at the tool - work piece interface plasticizes the material allowing it to flow around the pin. The combined effect of the …

Anchorage And Bond Characteristics Of Externally Bonded Frp Laminates Used For Shear Strengthening Of Rc And Pc Girders, Carlos Andres Ortega Ordonez

Masters Theses

"In the last three decades, the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials to strengthen structures externally has emerged as one of the most promising technologies in materials and structural engineering, and these materials have been gaining popularity in the civil engineering community. Externally bonded FRP sheets and laminates have been used successfully to increase flexural and shear capacity. The overall performance of the strengthened system depends heavily on the quality of the bond between the concrete and the FRP laminate. Low bond strength can cause delamination at the fiber-matrix interface and at the FRP laminate-concrete interface. As a result, …

In-Plane Behavior Of Strengthened Unreinforced Masonry Infill Walls With Alternative Wood-Fiber Fly Ash Material, Yosuke Tanizawa

Masters Theses

"This research investigates the potential for an alternative masonry product to use in masonry infill wall systems. The study also investigates the effects of an external fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening system on in-plane behavior of the alternative unreinforced masonry (URM) walls. The alternative masonry product is produced in a solid unit configuration and utilizes recycled white oak wood-fibers and an ASTM Class-C fly ash as its raw materials. The external strengthening system investigated consists of an elastomeric polyurea surface coating with and without integrated discrete chopped E-glass fibers which is directly sprayed on the URM wall surfaces. The alternative …

The Development And Application Of The Complete Time-Domain Trl Calibration Technique, Hongxia Ning

Masters Theses

"The first paper in the thesis discussed the development of a complete time-domain THRU-REFLECT-LINE (t-TRL) calibration technique. To validate the error correction technique, two stripline TRL test fixtures are designed and measured by two TDR instruments respectively. The t-TRL calibration is implemented to the recorded TDR/TDT waveforms and the comparison of the magnitude and phase results of S-parameters obtained by t-TRL and VNA TRL shows excellent agreement up to 25GHz.

In the second paper, the application of t-TRL calibration technique to the Root Impulse Energy (RIE) loss calculation is discussed. The RIE loss is theoretically derived for the matched network …

An Evolutionary Algorithm Approach To Actuated Signal Timing Optimization Under Lane-By-Lane Detection Condition, Eric G. Strack

Masters Theses

"Motivated by the need to reduce congestion on the nation's roadway network, this research seeks to determine when a new detection scheme at actuated signalized intersections may help. This new detection scheme is called lane-by-lane detection. It "looks" at traffic in all lanes individually to determine the traffic volume on the roadway. Specifically, the problems addressed are investigating alternate signal timings and investigating the traffic volume's effect on performance of the detection scheme. For the alternate signal timings, an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) was employed to identify the optimal signal timing. This algorithm creates signal timings and tests them in the …

Het-Cam For The Identification Of Ocular Irritancy In Seawater/Salt Water Sources, Alexander Clovis Winters

Masters Theses

"The Hens Egg Test on the Chorionallantoic Membrane (HET-CAM) is an ocular irritation test proposed to replace tradition ocular investigations such as the Draize eye test that has been criticized because of its use of animals. In this study, the ocular irritation potential of seawater and saltwater sources dosed with different disinfectants has been evaluated using the HET-CAM. The seawater and salt water tested was taken from the main show pools from three aquatic theme parks (San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando). The three disinfectants considered were sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), calcium hypochlorite (Ca(OCl)₂), and ozone (O₃).

Three different HET-CAM methods …

Applications Of Swarm, Evolutionary And Quantum Algorithms In System Identification And Digital Filter Design, Bipul Luitel

Masters Theses

"The thesis focuses on the application of computational intelligence (CI) techniques for two problems - system identification and digital filter design. In system identification, different case studies have been carried out with equal or reduced number of orders as the original system and also in identifying a blackbox model. Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass and Bandstop FIR and Lowpass IIR filters have been designed using three algorithms using two different fitness functions. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Differential Evolution based PSO (DEPSO) and PSO with Quantum Infusion (PSO-QI) algorithms have been applied in this work"--Abstract, page iii.

The Effects Of Technology On Literacy(S), Thomas Glen Petersen

Masters Theses

"One of the challenges when measuring the effects of technology on literacy(s) is finding a control group where technology; does not play a major role in the culture. The Amish successfully live in a Technocracy where mechanical/electronic tools are used only when absolutely necessary; the Amish are not dependent on them for survival. The crux of the Amish philosophy is humility, serving the community and serving God. Ironically, they have suffered tremendous repercussions for adopting a wholesome, selfless lifestyle which is contrary to most popular world views, regardless of religious or spiritual views"--Purpose, page 40.

Information Flow Properties For Cyber-Physical Systems, Rav Akella

Masters Theses

"In cyber-physical systems, which are the integrations of computational and physical processes, security properties are difficult to enforce. Fundamentally, physically observable behavior leads to violations of confidentiality. This work analyzes certain noninterference based security properties to ensure that interactions between the cyber and physical processes preserve confidentiality. A considerable barrier to this analysis is the representation of physical system interactions at the cyber-level. This thesis presents encoding of these physical system properties into a discrete event system and represents the cyber-physical system using Security Process Algebra (SPA). The model checker, Checker of Persistent Security (CoPS) shows Bisimulation based NonDeducibility on …

Decision-Based Design Under Uncertainty With Intervals, Sashank Vasireddy

Masters Theses

"Design requires a series of decisions, and one of the major challenges engineering designers face is making decisions under uncertainty. The engineering designer must choose the best design among various alternatives. This work evaluates the use of utility functions to make decisions under uncertainty with both random and interval variables. Uncertainty cannot be eliminated completely, but it can be reduced. Most current methods treat only aleatory uncertainty. Here, however, both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties are addressed in the context of engineering design. Methods such as moment matching method and worst case analysis are used to incorporate uncertainty into design problems"--Abstract, …

Continuous Control Of Lunar Orbits Via Electric Propulsion, Sunil Aggarwal

Masters Theses

"To find definite answers for the presence of water on the poles of Moon, to facilitate selection of future lunar landing sites and aid in construction of architectural bases, to assist proper lunar resource utilization and to improve lunar gravity models there is a great interest and need for highly accurate, reliable and efficient lunar surface mapping and communication. This thesis is intended to aid in proper selection of orbits for future lunar missions by demonstrating the impact of using electric propulsion on the search space of feasible and useful lunar orbits. The requirements for future lunar mapping and communication …

Verifying Module Heuristics For Large Scale Products, Rachel Marie Day

Masters Theses

"Decreasing time and costs is a major objective in many businesses today. Including modularity in the early design phases can effectively decrease time spent on and costs associated with a project. The task of identifying modules within a product early in the design process (when decisions are less expensive) is made less daunting by using the techniques of functional modeling and module heuristics. The two papers that form this thesis discuss the results of the efforts to verify the module heuristics on large products. Observations on needed modifications to the functional modeling technique and original module heuristics are reported along …

Modeling And Simulation Of Electrochemical Magneto Hydro Dynamics, Debamoy Sen

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on how the electrochemical magneto hydro dynamic problem is solved through numerical simulation for a two dimensional millielectrode electrochemical cell and a three dimensional microelectrode array cell. Electrochemical processes are enhanced by magnetic fields through the introduction of body forces such as Lorentz force. Through modeling and numerical simulations, experimental results can be integrated with theory. Such simulations will aid in the prediction of mass transfer limited currents and visualization of flow profiles in an electrochemical cell. The numerical solution of the equation system is made possible by the finite volume method used in the FLUENT Computational …

Electricity Generation And Ethanol Production Using Iron-Reducing, Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria, Varun Paul

Masters Theses

"Microbial life in extreme environments has been studied primarily for their metabolic activities. Very few commercial or industrial applications have been known from these systems. In this study, the metabolic pathways and properties of bacteria from a haloalkaliphilic environment of Soap Lake, Washington were employed in two research applications related to energy production. In the first study, the bacterial cultures that were known to reduce iron (III) were used in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) reactor. Iron reducing bacteria have shown to shunt their electrons on to the surface of a carbon electrode of an MFC, and the electrons can …