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2011

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Institution
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Mimetic, Coercive, And Normative Influences In Institutionalization Of Organizational Practices, Kristi D. Caravella Jan 2011

Mimetic, Coercive, And Normative Influences In Institutionalization Of Organizational Practices, Kristi D. Caravella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this study, DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) institutional model of isomorphic change is hypothesized to explain the changes witnessed in educational organizations with regard to the acceptance, implementation and institutionalization of distance learning. In order to show the power of institutional theory in explaining organizational change over time, a comparative qualitative case study methodology is utilized. Document analysis and interviews are used to explore the utility of this isomorphic change model. Each research question seeks to explore different influences of institutional isomorphism, coercive, normative, and mimetic. DiMaggio and Powell (1983) suggest organizations converge on similar practices and behaviors and appear …

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Minimization Of Overall Person Delay At Light Rail Transit Crossings On Congested Urban Arterials, Nikola Mitrovic Jan 2011

Minimization Of Overall Person Delay At Light Rail Transit Crossings On Congested Urban Arterials, Nikola Mitrovic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study describes analytical model as one innovative way to simulate Light Rail Transit (LRT) operations and calculate vehicular, transit and person delays at LRT crossings through Microsoft Excel. Analytical model emulates LRT trajectories from field and use these trajectories to clearly define train and car phases through Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) logic, which is part of analytical model. Simulation of train trajectories and calculations of delays were done for different LRT strategies and estimated roadway condition, Testing and validation of analytical model were performed in one case study in Salt Lake City (UT). Results show that analytical model …

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Multivariate Finite Operator Calculus Applied To Counting Ballot Paths Containing Patterns [Electronic Resource], Shaun Sullivan Jan 2011

Multivariate Finite Operator Calculus Applied To Counting Ballot Paths Containing Patterns [Electronic Resource], Shaun Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Counting lattice paths where the number of occurrences of a given pattern is monitored requires a careful analysis of the pattern. Not the length, but the characteristics of the pattern are responsible for the difficulties in finding explicit solutions. Certain features, like overlap and difference in number of ! and " steps determine the recursion formula. In the case of ballot paths, that is paths the stay weakly above the line y = x, the solutions to the recursions are typically polynomial sequences. The objects of Finite Operator Calculus are polynomial sequences, thus the theory can be used to solve …

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Nato And The West - The Discursive Myths Of Salvation And Conspiracy, Daniela. Popescu Jan 2011

Nato And The West - The Discursive Myths Of Salvation And Conspiracy, Daniela. Popescu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis provides a critical cultural analysis of the discursive myths of salvation and conspiracy, using as a case study the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the transition period in Romania, from 1989 to 2007. The study offers an answer to the questions: how do NATO myths change? Why and with what discursive implications for the Romanian audience? The thesis uses a combination of methodological tools from three different disciplines - history, mythology, and rhetoric - with the intent of showing how the Romanians' public attitudes toward NATO change in four different political contexts: during the integration period until …

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Neuropeptidergic And Neuromorphological Adaptations Induced By Behavioral Sensitization To Nicotine In A Rodent Model Of Vulnerability To Nicotine Relapse, Cigdem. Aydin Jan 2011

Neuropeptidergic And Neuromorphological Adaptations Induced By Behavioral Sensitization To Nicotine In A Rodent Model Of Vulnerability To Nicotine Relapse, Cigdem. Aydin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A rat model of novelty-seeking phenotype predicts vulnerability to nicotine relapse where locomotor reactivity to novelty is used to rank high (HR) versus low (LR) responders. This dissertation examines the neuropeptidergic and structural substrates of the expression of locomotor sensitization to a low dose nicotine challenge and associated social anxiety-like behavior following chronic intermittent nicotine exposure during adolescence in the LRHR phenotype. Data show the long-lasting nature of behavioral sensitization to nicotine and abstinence-related social anxiety-like behavior in nicotine pre-trained HRs compared to saline pre-trained controls. Moreover, this behavior is accompanied by an imbalance between the brain antistress/antianxiety, i.e., neuropeptide …

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Nonlinear Resonance, Carey. Witkov Jan 2011

Nonlinear Resonance, Carey. Witkov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Sustained resonance in a linear oscillator is achievable with a drive whose constant frequency matches the resonant frequency of the oscillator. In oscillators with nonlinear restoring forces, i.e., Dung-type oscillators, resonant frequency changes with amplitude, so a constant frequency drive generates a beat oscillation instead of sustained resonance. Dung-type oscillators can be driven into sustained resonance, called autoresonance (AR), when drive frequency is swept in time to match the changing resonant frequency of the oscillator. It is found that near-optimal drive linear sweep rates for autoresonance can be estimated from the beat oscillation resulting from constant frequency excitation. Specically, a …

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Novel Nn Paradigm For The Prediction Of Hematocrit Value During Blood Transfusion, Jay. Thakkar Jan 2011

Novel Nn Paradigm For The Prediction Of Hematocrit Value During Blood Transfusion, Jay. Thakkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

During the Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) process used to treat patients suffering from acute Ulcerative Colitis, medical practitioners have to continuously monitor the Hematocrit (Ht) level in the blood to ensure it is within the acceptable range. The work done, as a part of this thesis, attempts to create an early warning system that can be used to predict if and when the Ht values will deviate from the acceptable range. To do this we have developed an algorithm based on the Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) and compared it to other Neural Network algorithms, in particular the Multi Layer Perceptron …

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Numerical Simulation And Prediction Of Loads In Marine Current Turbine Full-Scale Rotor Blades, Junior. Senat Jan 2011

Numerical Simulation And Prediction Of Loads In Marine Current Turbine Full-Scale Rotor Blades, Junior. Senat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Marine current turbines are submerged structures and subjected to loading conditions from both the currents and wave effects. The associated phenomena posed significant challenge to the analyses of the loading response of the rotor blades and practical limitations in terms of device location and operational envelopes. The effect of waves on marine current turbines can contribute to the change of flow field and pressure field around the rotor and hence changes the fluid forces on the rotor. However, the effect of the waves on the rotor depends on the magnitude and direction of flow velocity that is induced by the …

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Olive Schreiner On "Times And Seasons", Mellissa M. Carr Jan 2011

Olive Schreiner On "Times And Seasons", Mellissa M. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Olive Schreine'rs novel, The Story of an African Farm, and nonfiction work, Woman and Labor, have compelled critics to apply the term New Woman to her main character, Lyndall, who speaks out for change against the established gender roles. The thesis proposes that by placing Lyndall in a colonial context, Schreiner creates a plot where place and language embody the possibilities for change. Considering that Schreiner's life consisted of a life in the colonies, first as a governess, later as a wife, one sees Schreiner's personal interest in change. Analyzing Schreiner's style of representing Lyndall's relationship with nature and other …

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Pathogenesis Of Idiopathic Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, Yuejin Li Jan 2011

Pathogenesis Of Idiopathic Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, Yuejin Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is a heart muscle disease, characterized by diastolic dysfunction. The present dissertation is to understand the mechanisms underlyijng the initiation of diastolic dysfunction and the fast disease progression to early death in a RCM mouse model, the transgenic cTnI193His mouse... These data showed that myocardial ischemia occurred after diastolic dysfunction and before systolic dysfunction which proceeded congestive heart failure. The results demonstrate that myocardial ischemia causing cardiomycete death is a link between the initial diastolic dysfunction and late-stage systolic dysfunction, and accelerates the disease progression to fatal heart failure in the early age.

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Permutation-Based Data Compression, Amalya Mihnea Jan 2011

Permutation-Based Data Compression, Amalya Mihnea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The use of permutations in data compression is an aspect that is worthy of further exploration. The work that has been done in video compression based on permutations was primarily oriented towards lossless algorithms. The study of previous algorithms has led to a new algorithm that could be either lossless or lossy, for which the amount of compression and the quality of the output can be controlled. The lossless version of our algorithm performs close to lossy versions of H.264 and it improves on them for the majority of the videos that we analyzed. Our algorithm could be used in …

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Pitting Potential Of High Performance Duplex Stainless Steels Reinforcements, Erika Maria Sanchez Jan 2011

Pitting Potential Of High Performance Duplex Stainless Steels Reinforcements, Erika Maria Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A cyclic polarization procedure was designed to evaluate the pitting potentials of high performance stainless steels in synthetic concrete pore water at different chloride concentrations. Cyclic polarization scans were performed on high performance stainless steel reinforcements, S32201, S32305 and S32205. Pitting initiation was observed below the oxygen evolution potential for high chloride concentrations. S32201 and S32304 showed the presence of metastable pitting before reaching its pitting potential. Pitting resistance performance, based on cyclic polarization, was consistent with each material's respective Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN) value. For S32201 and S32304, pitting potential decreased as the chloride concentration increased, whereas S32205 …

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Prairie And The Pampas, David. Budinger Jan 2011

Prairie And The Pampas, David. Budinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis will examine the governmental settlement policies in two similar topographical areas, the North American prairie and the South American pampas. Specifically, three novels by Willa Cather, will be included: My Antonia, O Pioneers!, and A Lost Lady. They will be discussed in relation to the development of Nebraska as afforded by the Homestead Act of 1862 and compared to the very different land settlement policies of Argentina as conveyed through the Argentinian national epic poem El Gaucho Martin Fierro by Josâe Hernâandez. Particular attention will be made to the influence of the land and its creatures as a …

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Predictors Of Scientific Understanding Of Middle School Students, Joshua Matthew Strate Jan 2011

Predictors Of Scientific Understanding Of Middle School Students, Joshua Matthew Strate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school student scientific understanding could be predicted by the variables: standardized 5th grade score in science, standardized 5th grade score in mathematics, standardized 5th grade score in reading, student attitude towards science, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. The areas of the comprehensive literature review were trends in science learning and teaching, research in the K-12 science education arena, what factors have influenced K-12 science education, scientific understanding, what research has been done on K-12 scientific understanding, and what factors have influenced science understanding in the K-12 arenas. Based on the …

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Preschoolers' Use Of Intentionality In Understanding Causal Structure Of Objects During Imitation Learning, Amy K. Gardiner Jan 2011

Preschoolers' Use Of Intentionality In Understanding Causal Structure Of Objects During Imitation Learning, Amy K. Gardiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Object use is a ubiquitous characteristic of the human species, and learning how objects function is a fundamental part of human development. This research examines the role that intentionality plays in children's understanding of causal relationships during imitation learning of object use. In Studies 1, 2, and 3, 2- to 5-year-olds observed demonstrations in which causally irrelevant and causally relevant actions were performed to achieve a desired goal of retrieving toys from within containers. Irrelevant actions were performed either intentionally ("There!") or accidentally ("Whoops! I didn't mean to do that!"). Study 1 found that 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, but not …

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President Of The United States As Charismatic Leader, Randye. Shanfeld Jan 2011

President Of The United States As Charismatic Leader, Randye. Shanfeld

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The proposed study intended to identify the public education agenda and the success of implementation of this agenda of four Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William Clinton, and George W. Bush. In addition, the study aimed to indentify if any of the above listed Presidents can be categorized as charismatic leaders as defined by Charismatic Leadership Theory and if this categorization can be linked to the determined success or failure of the agenda implementation. This was done using two research methods, document and content analysis, on such documents as presidential speeches and writings, speeches and writings of the Secretary …

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Protective Mechanism Of Sulindac Against Animal Model Of Ischemic Stroke, Jigar P. Modi Jan 2011

Protective Mechanism Of Sulindac Against Animal Model Of Ischemic Stroke, Jigar P. Modi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The Effect of Sulindac was studied on an animal model of ischemic stroke. Sulindac, a non steroid anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) could protect cell death due to hypoxia/reoxygenation. This drug was given 2 days before and 24 hrs after ischemia until animals were sacrificed on 3rd or 11th day. Infarct size was measured for these animals. Sulindac induced Hsp 27 in ischemic penumbra and core on Day 3 & 11 with uncoated nylon suture which shows its cell-survival and anti-apoptotic activity. Also, it increased expression of cell survival markers such as Akt, Bcl2 & Grp 78 in ischemic penumbra and …

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Queer World, Jessica. Pitts Jan 2011

Queer World, Jessica. Pitts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

If queer is an applicable label for that which aims to subvert or counteract normativity, then Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Wife of Bath's tale, and her Prologue are each, in their own ways, queer texts. I examine the ways in which the feminine presences of Morgan le Fay and the Loathly Lady influence and challenge the heteronormative, homosocial space of Arthur and his knights. The two knights in each respective tale journey away from their heteronormative spaces, in which a complex system of homosociality and chivalric patriarchy dominate, to a queer space where each must go against …

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Reconfiguring The Classic Narrative Of Pulp Fiction, Alexandria S. Gray Jan 2011

Reconfiguring The Classic Narrative Of Pulp Fiction, Alexandria S. Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This project considers four writers that have used postmodern narrative strategies to reconfigure classic pulp science fiction tropes. The primary texts are Catherine L. Moore's "Shambleau," Eleanor Arnason's "The Warlord of Saturn's Moons", Robert Heinlein's "The Rolling Stones", and Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin". Each experiments with narrative voices or uses a story-within-a-story structure. These strategies enable the authors to engage and comment on the process of how traditional tropes and narratives are brought into a new context through appropriation and reconstruction.

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Revisiting Leisure Activities And The Risk Of Dementia In The Elderly With Special Focus On Dancing, Carrie. Stevens Jan 2011

Revisiting Leisure Activities And The Risk Of Dementia In The Elderly With Special Focus On Dancing, Carrie. Stevens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Data was provided by researchers of the Einstein Aging Study (EAS) of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University whom statistically analyzed data from the Bronx Aging Study cohort, concluding that participation in cognitive leisure activities and one physical activity, dancing, were associated with a reduced risk of dementia [1]. We explore data from a second (the EAS) cohort, utilizing Cox Proportional-Hazards and extended Cox regression [13]. Cognitive leisure activities in general, and particularly doing crossword puzzles, reading books, watching television, and emailing are associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Doing aerobics, learning computer programming, babysitting, dancing, jogging …

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Risk-Evaluation In Clinical Diagnostic Studies, Alice Norm Dupont Jan 2011

Risk-Evaluation In Clinical Diagnostic Studies, Alice Norm Dupont

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The efforts addressed in this thesis refer to applying nonlinear risk predictive techniques based on logistic regression to medical diagnostic test data. This study is motivated and pursued to address the following: 1. To extend logistic regression model of biostatistics to medical informatics 2. Computational preemptive and predictive testing to determine the probability of occurrence (p) of an event by fitting a data set to a (logit function) logistic curve: Finding upper and lower bounds on p based on stochastical considerations 3. Using the model developed on available (clinical) data to illustrate the bounds-limited performance of the prediction. Relevant analytical …

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Self-Relevant Familiarity Effects On Object Recognition, Evangelie. Daskagianni Jan 2011

Self-Relevant Familiarity Effects On Object Recognition, Evangelie. Daskagianni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Recent research in visual object recognition has shown that context can facilitate object recognition. This study assessed the effect of self-relevant familiarity of context in object recognition. Participants performed a task in which they had to recognize degraded objects shown under varying levels of contextual information. The level of degradation at which they could successfully recognize the target object was used as a measure of performance. There were five contextual conditions: (1) no context, (2) context, (3) context and size, (4) context and location, (5) context, size and location. Within each contextual condition, we compared the performance of "Expert" participants …

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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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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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Statistical Correlation Between Economic Activity And Dmsp-Ols Night Light Images In Florida, Dolores J. Forbes Jan 2011

Statistical Correlation Between Economic Activity And Dmsp-Ols Night Light Images In Florida, Dolores J. Forbes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Optical Line Scan (OLS) instruments collect data from an altitude of approximately 830km above the surface of the Earth. The night light data from these instruments has been shown to correlate by lit area with national level Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and to correlate with GDP at the State level by total radiance value. Very strong correlation is found between the night light data at a new, larger scale, the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) within the state of Florida. Additional statistical analysis was performed to determine which industries within each MSA explain the greatest …

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Stability Analysis Of Feature Selection Approaches With Low Quality Data, Wilker. Altidor Jan 2011

Stability Analysis Of Feature Selection Approaches With Low Quality Data, Wilker. Altidor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

One of the greatest challenges to data mining is erroneous or noisy data. Several studies have noted the weak performance of classification models trained from low quality data. This dissertation shows that low quality data can also impact the effectiveness of feature selection, and considers the effect of class noise on various feature ranking techniques. It presents a novel approach to feature ranking based on ensemble learning and assesses these ensemble feature selection techniques in terms of their robustness to class noise. It presents a noise-based stability analysis that measures the degree of agreement between a feature ranking techniques output …

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Strength And Toughness Of Hdpe Fiber Reinforced Aggregate Concrete As A Sustainable Construction Material, Roody. Numa Jan 2011

Strength And Toughness Of Hdpe Fiber Reinforced Aggregate Concrete As A Sustainable Construction Material, Roody. Numa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

An experimental study was conducted on the strength and toughness characteristics of concrete made from recycled aggregate, cement and fly ash reinforced with reclaimed high density polyethylene plastic (HDPE) fibers. The objectives of the investigation were: (1) to evaluate the performance of a sustainable concrete containing up to 90% recycled materials; (2) to determine the variation of strength and toughness with a Fiber Factor incorporating length, width and amount of HDPE fibers; (3) to identify the best performing mix design based on tensile strength and toughness and (4) to provide some guidelines for the use of this sustainable composite in …

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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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Surface Pressure Fluctuations Due To An Impinging Underexpanded Supersonic Jet, Binu. Pundir Jan 2011

Surface Pressure Fluctuations Due To An Impinging Underexpanded Supersonic Jet, Binu. Pundir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The impingement of supersonic jets on surfaces is of interest because of its important application to jet blast deflectors (JBD), and short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL) during hover. Typically, on an aircraft carrier deck, the impingement of the jet blast on the deflector generates impingement tones, and structural vibrations, not only on the JBD but also on the ship deck. Therefore, apart from direct transmission of jet noise to the gallery level, there is a component of noise transmitted due to the impingement of the jet on the JBD. The objectives of this work are to study the …

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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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