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2011

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Regulation Of Rapid Signaling At The Cone Ribbon Synapse Via Distinct Pre- And Postsynaptic Mechanisms, Matthew Jm Rowan Jan 2011

Regulation Of Rapid Signaling At The Cone Ribbon Synapse Via Distinct Pre- And Postsynaptic Mechanisms, Matthew Jm Rowan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Background: Light-adaptation is a multifaceted process in the retina that helps adjust the visual system to changing illumination levels. Many studies are focused on the photochemical mechanism of light-adaptation. Neural network adaptation mechanisms at the photoreceptor synapse are largely unknown. We find that large, spontaneous Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter (EAATs) activity in cone terminals may contribute to cone synaptic adaptation, specifically with respect to how these signals change in differing conditions of light. EAATs in neurons quickly transport glutamate from the synaptic cleft, and also elicit large thermodynamically uncoupled Cl- currents when activated. We recorded synaptic EAAT currents from cones …

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Relationship Of Self Transcendance, Social Interest, And Spirituality To Well-Being In Hiv-Aids Adults, Jonathan J. Sperry Jan 2011

Relationship Of Self Transcendance, Social Interest, And Spirituality To Well-Being In Hiv-Aids Adults, Jonathan J. Sperry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study investigates the relationship of three protective factors : self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. It is the first study to explore the relationships of these protective factors to well-being. A convenience sample of 115 adults living with HIV or AIDS completed the Self-Transcendance Scale, the Social Interest Index- Short Form-Revised, the Spiritual Perspective Scale, and the Index of Well-Being. The participants were adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS residing in a large southeastern U.S. city. Data were analyzed with correlational and multiple regression methods. Statistically significant positive moderate to …

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Rifles, Residents, And Runaways, Brian Thomas Dunne Jan 2011

Rifles, Residents, And Runaways, Brian Thomas Dunne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In the fall of 1864, Maryland became the first Border State to abolish slavery with the adoption of a new state constitution. In order to best understand the evolution of this event, the purpose of this study was to examine the civil-military relations of Maryland during the Civil War and how these relations affected the institution of slavery in the state. Therefore, the main argument is that the conflict between military and civil authorities in Maryland during the war revealed two points: first, that the federal government maintained a faithful vigilance over the state during the war and second, that …

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Role Of Middle Childhood Attachment Styles In Peer Liking And Target-Specific Aggression, Alexzandria. May Jan 2011

Role Of Middle Childhood Attachment Styles In Peer Liking And Target-Specific Aggression, Alexzandria. May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Attachment, a vital part of human life, is defined as a strong emotional bond with a caregiver that is formed through repetitions of behaviors that children adjust to accordingly. One forms a view on relationships that transfers from parents to peers as a result of their internal working model (IWM). A secure attachment can form a healthy model while an insecure one may form an unhealthy, negative model. The present study assesses preadolescents' attachment styles toward their friends and examines whether their attachment styles interact with peers' attachment styles to predict liking of the peers and aggression toward the peers.

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Self-Reported Use Of Metacognitive Reading Strategies Of Community College Students, Sophia. Munro Jan 2011

Self-Reported Use Of Metacognitive Reading Strategies Of Community College Students, Sophia. Munro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

College requires students to read strategically in order to be academically successful (Caverly, Nicholson, & Radcliffe, 2004). Strategic readers utilize a variety of strategies, including metacognitive reading strategies (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). However, not all students use the same strategies when reading academic text. The purpose of this study was to explore whether students enrolled in a developmental reading course report using different metacognitive reading strategies than students who are enrolled in a college-level English course. The Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (Mokhatari & Reichard, 2002) was administered to 423 students at a community college …

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Short Sea Shipping Cost Benefit Analysis Using Mathematical Modeling, Alvaro. Galletebeitia Jan 2011

Short Sea Shipping Cost Benefit Analysis Using Mathematical Modeling, Alvaro. Galletebeitia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

With congestion, environmental Impact, and the price of oil becoming topics that influence businesses and individuals in a daily basis, measures need to be undertaken in order to accommodate the growing demand for freight transportation. By directing many of the trucks travelling along the National Highways Systems to the Marine Highway corridors developed by the U.S. Maritime Administrations, many of the problems can be addressed in the Short and Medium terms. In order to do so, Short Sea Shipping, through the use of Ro/Ro (Roll-on/Roll-off) Vessels, needs to be implemented. Although the environmental and congestion reducing benefits are considerable, the …

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Simulations And Feedback Control Of Nonlinear Coupled Electromechanical Oscillators For Energy Conversion Applications, Dimitrios. Psarrou Jan 2011

Simulations And Feedback Control Of Nonlinear Coupled Electromechanical Oscillators For Energy Conversion Applications, Dimitrios. Psarrou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis discusses the coupling of a mechanical and electrical oscillator, an arrangement that is often encountered in mechatronics actuators and sensors. The dynamics of this coupled system is mathematically modeled and a low pass equivalent model is presented. Numerical simulations are then performed, for various input signals to characterize the nonlinear relationship between the electrical current and the displacement of the mass. Lastly a framework is proposed to estimate the mass position without the use of a position sensor, enabling the sensorless control of the coupled system and additionally providing the ability for the system to act as an …

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Sizing Up The Principalship, Mark J. Kaplan Jan 2011

Sizing Up The Principalship, Mark J. Kaplan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study examined the issue of school size and the potential impact that school size has on the leadership behaviors of principals. Contextual factors were also considered as potential moderators of the relationship between transformational/ transactional/laissez-faire leadership behavior and school size. Data were collected and analyzed using quantitative methods. A survey was conducted based on a chosen model to gather the data. Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) surveys were distributed electronically to school staff in elementary and middle schools in Sunshine County, Florida for input regarding their principal's behavior. Using one-way and two-way analysis of variance tests for the main and …

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Statistical Broadcast Protocol Design For Vanet, Michael J. Slavik Jan 2011

Statistical Broadcast Protocol Design For Vanet, Michael J. Slavik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This work presents the development of the Statistical Location-Assisted Broadcast (SLAB) protocol, a multi-hop wireless broadcast protocol designed for vehicular ad-hoc networking (VANET). Vehicular networking is an important emerging application of wireless communications. Data dissemination applications using VANET promote the ability for vehicles to share information with each other and the wide-area network with the goal of improving navigation, fuel consumption, public safety, and entertainment. A critical component of these data dissemination schemes is the multi-hop wireless broadcast protocol. Multi-hop broadcast protocols for these schemes must reliably deliver broadcast packets to vehicles in a geographically bounded region while consuming as …

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Stochastic Optimization Of Energy For Multi-User Wireless Networks Over Fading Channels, Di Wang Jan 2011

Stochastic Optimization Of Energy For Multi-User Wireless Networks Over Fading Channels, Di Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Wireless devices in wireless networks are powered typically by small batteries that are not replaceable nor recharged in a convenient way. To prolong the operating lifetime of networks, energy efficiency is indicated as a critical issue and energy-efficient resource allocation designs have been extensively developed. We investigated energy-efficient schemes that prolong network operating lifetime in wireless sensor networks and in wireless relay networks. In Chapter 2, the energy-efficient resource allocation that minimizes a general cost function of average user powers for small- or medium-scale wireless sensor networks, where the simple time-division multiple-access (TDMA) is adopted as the multiple access scheme. …

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Source Speed Estimation Using A Pilot Tone In A High-Frequency Acoustic Modem, Poorani. Kathiroli Jan 2011

Source Speed Estimation Using A Pilot Tone In A High-Frequency Acoustic Modem, Poorani. Kathiroli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis proposes to estimate the speed of a moving acoustic source by either linear or non linear processing of the resulting Doppler shift present in a high-frequency pilot tone. The source is an acoustic modem (Hermes) which currently uses moving average to estimate and compensate for Doppler shift. A new auto regressive approach to Doppler estimation (labeled IIR method in the text) promises to give a better estimate. The results for a simulated peak velocity of 2 m/s in the presence of additive noise showed an RMSE of 0.23 m/s using moving average vs. 0.00018 m/s for the auto …

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Study On Neural Conduction As In Myelinated Structure Under Pathological Conditions, George J. Morales Jan 2011

Study On Neural Conduction As In Myelinated Structure Under Pathological Conditions, George J. Morales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A method for modeling and simulating neural action potential (AP) propagation along the length of an axon containing a number of Ranvier nodes is proposed in this dissertation. A system identification approach is adopted to represent node of Ranvier (NR) response to current pulse stimulus in the form of transfer function representations for NR excitability. Segments of myelinated internodal (IN) and NR regions are cascaded, representing the remaining downstream axon after a site-of-stimulus introduction of an external current pulse. This cascading network is used to simulate "cable" properties and signal propagation along the length of the axon. This work proposes …

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Studied Girlhoods, Regina. Dilgen Jan 2011

Studied Girlhoods, Regina. Dilgen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Dorothy Allison's Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, Mary Karr's The Liars' Club, and Barbara Robinette Moss's Change Me into Zeus's Daughter are memoirs published in the 1990s of girlhoods in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This dissertation uses and expands upon the approaches of the multi-disciplinary Girls' Studies in analyzing how these memoirists theorize their own girlhoods. Each memoirist represents her experience in a culture that attempts to marginalize, silence, and define her. An application of the foundational work on girlhood in developmental psychology provides for an analysis of each memoirist's depiction of girlhood as a …

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Synchronization Of Coupled Semiconductor Lasers, Michael S. London Jan 2011

Synchronization Of Coupled Semiconductor Lasers, Michael S. London

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The synchronization of coupled semiconductor lasers with delay is investigated by numerical simulations of the nonlinear dynamic models complemented by a stability analysis of the linearized system. The equations used in the dissertation are based on the well known "Lang-Kobayashi" model modified to include unidirectional and bidirectional coupling. Stability diagrams are calculated and supplemented by numerically integrated time series. Synchronization is determined and quantified by computing the cross-correlation function. It is found that synchronized states are achievable for a wide range of coupling constants and delay times. These findings have implications for experiment and technological applications, notably in cryptography.

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System Identification Methodology For A Wave Adaptive Modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Janine L. Mask Jan 2011

System Identification Methodology For A Wave Adaptive Modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Janine L. Mask

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The design, implementation, and testing of an experimental setup intended to evaluate the dynamic maneuvering performance of the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V) class USV12, a 3.7 meter unmanned surface vehicle (USV) is described. A comprehensive sensor package was designed, fabricated and assembled to record the vehicle's dynamic response to various control inputs. All subsystems were fabricated and installed on a test vehicle, GUSS, and full system, open-loop maneuvering tests were conducted to show validity of data collection technique. Simulations were performed using model parameters found in the literature to create a "simulated experimental" data set, upon which system identification …

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Technology And Fifth Grade Teaching, Debbie. Beaudry Jan 2011

Technology And Fifth Grade Teaching, Debbie. Beaudry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This mixed methods study investigated 5th-grade teachers' reported use of computer technology and variables that have been identified by researchers as affecting teachers' use of technology, including professional development activities, physical access to computer technology, and technical and instructional support provided for teachers. Quantitative data were collected from 80 5th-grade teachers from a Florida public school district through an online survey in which teachers reported how frequently they used and had their students use computer technology for 27 different purposes. The teachers also reported the amount of emphasis those 27 different topics received during their technology-related professional development experiences, the …

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Third Age Adult English Language Learners In Informal Library Settings, Mary Anne Cassell Jan 2011

Third Age Adult English Language Learners In Informal Library Settings, Mary Anne Cassell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

There is little research-based and theoretical literature about adult education or English literacy classes in nonformal settings such as library literacy programs in the community (Mathews-Aydinli, 2008; McCook & Barber, 2002b). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the motivation, learning supports, learning barriers, and program change recommendations of Third Age Learners in a nonformal library ESOL setting. This study provides insight into the demographic variable of linguistically-isolated Third Age English Language Learners (ELLs) participating in a library conversationally-based ESOL program. The results can guide libraries offering services, as well as those considering offering services to these …

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Transcending Political Party Constraints, Cara. Poplak Jan 2011

Transcending Political Party Constraints, Cara. Poplak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis analyzes how the American political system presents specific rhetorical constraints for independent and third party candidates who are "othered" by the system. To better understand how independent candidates overcome these constraints, the rhetoric of two such recent candidates, Charlie Crist and Joe Lieberman, is analyzed using ideographic criticism. These two candidates were originally affiliated with one of the two major political parties, but changed their party affiliation to run as Independent candidates. To facilitate their transition to independent candidates, both politicians used popular American political ideographs such as "the people," "freedom," and "unity" to maintain their allegiance to …

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Uncovering The Role Of The Rodent Dorsal Hippocampus In Spatial And Object Memory Retrieval, Lisa Rios Jan 2011

Uncovering The Role Of The Rodent Dorsal Hippocampus In Spatial And Object Memory Retrieval, Lisa Rios

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Male C7BL/6J mice were implanted with bilateral dorsal CA1 guide cannulae. After confirming that intrahippocampal microinfusion of muscimol impaired hippocampal function, demonstrated by impaired performance in the Morris water maze, the influence of intrahippocampal muscimol was tested in the Novel Object Recognition paradigm. During a test session 24 h after the last habituation/sample session, mice were presented with one familiar object and one novel object. Successful retention of object memory was inferred if mice spent more time exploring the novel object than the familiar object. Results demonstrate that muscimol infused into dorsal CA1 region prior to the test session eliminates …

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Understanding Group Emotional Intelligence In The Public Sector, Umar. Ghuman Jan 2011

Understanding Group Emotional Intelligence In The Public Sector, Umar. Ghuman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In recent years behaviroal management literature has created and utilized the concept of group emotional intelligence in work groups and work teams. This dissertation is a re-conceptualization and an empirical analysis of group emotional intelligence in the context of public administration work groups. This dissertation proposes a new conceptualization of GEI and utilizes it for the empirical measurement of GEI. By critically reviewing previous theoretical and empirical literature on group level phenomena and their measurement, this dissertation offers a re-conceptualization of group emotional intelligence. it also defines group emotional intelligence (GEI), creates a model for GEI, provides an empirical means …

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University Educational Leadership Technology Course Syllabi Alignment With State And National Technology Standards, Angela M. Iudica Jan 2011

University Educational Leadership Technology Course Syllabi Alignment With State And National Technology Standards, Angela M. Iudica

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of alignment to national and state standards in public and private university educational leadership certification programs in the state of Florida. The standards used were the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) and the Florida Principal Leadership Standard for Technology (FPLST). A total of 16 university technology leadership course syllabi were examined. Nine syllabi were obtained from 11 public universities and seven were obtained from 11 private universities in Florida. Syllabi were examined using rubrics and assigned to one of three categories: definitely aligned, somewhat aligned and not aligned. …

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Towards A Feminist Funny, Lauren. Walleser Jan 2011

Towards A Feminist Funny, Lauren. Walleser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Chelsea Handler is a comedian and host of the TV show Chelsea Lately. She has been successful in the late night comedy talk show genre to a degree that no woman has before. While she represents the most significant advancement for women in the genre, she also plays to patriarchal themes in order to maintain her foothold. In my thesis, I locate Handler within the history of women's stand-up comedy, analyzing her appeal via the figure of "The Unruly Woman" and other image types. I apply a mythic analysis as I look for Handler's manifestation of mythic types, including archetypal …

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Very High Frequency Mimo Underwater Acoustic Communications In Ports And Shallow Waters, Gaultier. Real Jan 2011

Very High Frequency Mimo Underwater Acoustic Communications In Ports And Shallow Waters, Gaultier. Real

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis presents the development of a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) capable high bit rate acoustic modem operating at high frequencies. A MIMO channel estimation technique based on Least-Squares (LS) estimation is developed here. Channel deconvolution is completed using a Minimum Mean-Square Error (MMSE) Linear Equalizer (LE). An Interference Cancellation Linear Equalizer (ICLE) is used to provide the theoretical limit of the MIMO deconvolution process. The RMSE of the channel estimation process was 1.83 % and 6.1810 %, respectively for simulated and experimental data. Using experimental data, the RMSE before MIMO deconvolution process was 141.3 % and dropped down to 60.224 …

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Web-Based Automated Classification System For Nursing Language Based On Nursing Theory, Subhomoy D. Dass Jan 2011

Web-Based Automated Classification System For Nursing Language Based On Nursing Theory, Subhomoy D. Dass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Health care systems consist of various individuals and organizations that aim to meet the health care needs of people and provide a complete and responsive health care solution. One of the important aspects of a health care delivery system is nursing. The use of technology is a vital aspect for delivering an optimum and complete nursing care to individuals; and also for improving the quality and delivery mechanism of nursing care. The model proposed in this thesis for Nursing Knowledge Management System is a novel knowledge-based decision support system for nurses to capture and manage nursing practice, and further, to …

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Web-Based Wireless Sensor Network Monitoring Using Smartphones, Anthony M. Marcus Jan 2011

Web-Based Wireless Sensor Network Monitoring Using Smartphones, Anthony M. Marcus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis consists of the development of a web based wireless sensor network (WSN) monitoring system using smartphones. Typical WSNs consist of networks of wireless sensor nodes dispersed over predetermined areas to acquire, process, and transmit data from these locations. Often it is the case that the WSNs are located in areas too hazardous or inaccessible to humans. We focused on the need for access to this sensed data remotely and present our reference architecture to solve this problem. We developed this architecture for web-based wireless sensor network monitoring and have implemented a prototype that uses Crossbow Mica sensors and …

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Administrative Change, Randy J. Kozel, Jeffrey A. Pojanowski Jan 2011

Administrative Change, Randy J. Kozel, Jeffrey A. Pojanowski

Journal Articles

Determining the standard of review for administrative actions has commanded judicial and scholarly interest like few other topics. Notwithstanding the extensive debates, far less consideration has been given to the unique features of agencies’ deviations from their own precedents. In this article we examine this puzzle of administrative change. By change, we mean a reversal of the agency’s former views about the best way to implement and interpret its regulatory mandate. We trace the lineage of administrative change at the Supreme Court and analyze features that distinguish agency reversals from other administrative actions. In particular, we contend that because administrative …

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A Functional Approach To Memory-Safe Operating Systems, Rebekah Leslie Jan 2011

A Functional Approach To Memory-Safe Operating Systems, Rebekah Leslie

Dissertations and Theses

Purely functional languages--with static type systems and dynamic memory management using garbage collection--are a known tool for helping programmers to reduce the number of memory errors in programs. By using such languages, we can establish correctness properties relating to memory-safety through our choice of implementation language alone. Unfortunately, the language characteristics that make purely functional languages safe also make them more difficult to apply in a low-level domain like operating systems construction. The low-level features that support the kinds of hardware manipulations required by operating systems are not typically available in memory-safe languages with garbage collection. Those that are provided …

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Flying High : An Aviation Education Curriculum For Middle And High School Students, Martin Rottler Jan 2011

Flying High : An Aviation Education Curriculum For Middle And High School Students, Martin Rottler

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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The Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Of Two Main Belt Asteroids, 152 Atala And 245 Vera, Eric R. O'Dea Jan 2011

The Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Of Two Main Belt Asteroids, 152 Atala And 245 Vera, Eric R. O'Dea

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Accuracy Of Dna Barcoding Identification Of Striacosta Albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) And Other Noctuids Of The Midwest, Matthew J. Flom Jan 2011

Accuracy Of Dna Barcoding Identification Of Striacosta Albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) And Other Noctuids Of The Midwest, Matthew J. Flom

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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