Digital Commons Network^™

Efficacy Of An Expectancy Challenge To Reduce Non-Prescribed Use Of Stimulant Medications Among College Students, Allison Kathryn Labbe

Psychology - Dissertations

Non-prescribed use of stimulant medications among college students, such as Ritalin®, and Adderall®, has become a public health concern. Expectancies, which are beliefs that individuals hold regarding the consequences of engaging in a particular behavior, are known to play a prominent role in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol and drug use. This study had two aims: (1) to determine if an expectancy challenge could reduce participants' academic performance expectancies related to non-prescribed use of stimulant mediations, and (2) to determine if change in expectancies mediates consumption of the drug. Seventy-eight undergraduate students were randomized to either the expectancy challenge …

The Rhetoric Of Mom Blogs: A Study Of Mothering Made Public, Madeline Yonker

Writing Program – Dissertations

This dissertation examines the phenomenon of mom blogs to determine their handling of conventional motherhood and the rhetorical nature of their discourse. Unlike other prior studies of blogs and specifically of mom blogs, the dissertation examines both the blog entries themselves and the many comments such entries generate from readers.

In addition, it seeks to determine the values and rhetorical practices of any community that might be established through such blog commenting. To accomplish these aims, the dissertation focuses on the entries and comments from three particular blogs chosen to represent the network of mom bloggers.

The commonplaces or ideals …

The Effect Of Design Teams On Preservice Teachers' Technology Integration, Laurene Johnson

Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation - Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a specific instructional approach called design teams on preservice teachers' attitudes toward technology, their technology skills, and their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). In a design teams approach, participants work in collaborative teams to design solutions to solve real-world problems. This quasi-experimental study explored the efficacy of an educational technology course implemented with a design teams approach compared to the same course that utilized a standard instructional approach. The sample included 53 preservice teachers from one university majoring in either Early Childhood Inclusive or Elementary Inclusive Education. Preservice teachers in the treatment condition worked …

Dynamic Thermal Management For Microprocessors, Yang Ge

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Dissertations

In deep submicron era, thermal hot spots and large temperature gradients significantly impact system reliability, performance, cost and leakage power. Dynamic thermal management techniques are designed to tackle the problems and control the chip temperature as well as power consumption. They refer to those techniques which enable the chip to autonomously modify the task execution and power dissipation characteristics so that lower-cost cooling solutions could be adopted while still guaranteeing safe temperature regulation. As long as the temperature is regulated, the system reliability can be improved, leakage power can be reduced and cooling system lifetime can be extended significantly.

Multimedia …

From Practice To Theory: An Exploratory Research Study Of The Relevance Of Museum Studies Curriculum To Museum Professionals, Redell Renetta Hearn

Dissertations - Open Access

This exploratory study provides a comprehensive description of the museum profession and focuses particularly on museum studies curriculum. The purpose of this research is to investigate museum studies curriculum and its relevance to the museum profession in order to determine whether or not museum studies curriculum is capable of providing the foundation of a standard academic discipline for museum professionals. A survey of museum professionals assessed their attitudes about museum studies curriculum and the extent to which museum studies curriculum "matters" to continuing education for current museum professionals and as an academic discipline for prospective museum professionals.

Title Page, North Carolina Law Review

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gps Tracking Out Of Fourth Amendment Dead Ends: United States V. Jones And The Katz Conundrum, Fabio Arcila Jr.

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Women's Use Of Violence: An Ecological Systems Model, Sara Byczek

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Estimating Water Flux And Storage Using Displacement Measurements In Saprolite At Depth, Clay Freeman

All Theses

Water storage in the soil is important for many hydrologic problems, but measuring how the storage changes at an appropriate scale remains a challenge. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of estimating change in water content in soil by measuring vertical displacement in underlying soils. This approach is appealing because the averaging volume of the displacement scales with the depth at which the measurements are taken. This should result in measurements of changes in soil moisture that are averaged over regions 10s to 100s of meters across, a measurement scale that is much larger than that …

Against Employer Dumpster-Diving For Email, Michael Z. Green

Faculty Scholarship

Recent attorney client-privilege cases ojfer a modern understanding of reasonable expectations of employee privacy in the digital age. Today employees are sending an increasing number of electronic mail communications to their attorneys via employer-provided computers or other digital devices with an expectation of privacy and confidentiality. Historically, courts summarily dispensed with these matters by finding that an employer policy establishing employer ownership of any communications made through employer-provided devices eliminated any employee expectation of privacy in the communications and waived any viable privacy challenges to employer review of those communications. Nevertheless, within the last couple of years, several cases involving …

Swift Follow-Up Observations Of Candidate Gravitational-Wave Transient Events, P. A. Evans, J. K. Fridriksson, N. Gehrels, J. Homan, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their 2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network of GW detectors (within less than 10 minutes) and their candidate sky locations were observed by the Swift observatory (within 12 hr). Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background. Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them …

The Impact Of Computer-Based Educational Technology On English As A Second Language (Esl) At University Level: Instructor Perceptions, Mohammed Mohammed

Masters Theses

This study used a quantitative descriptive survey research design to examine university-level English as a second language (ESL) instructors’ perceptions of computer-based educational technology, as well as their personal views on the value this technology adds to their instructions and teaching. The study is designed to reveal both general perceptions on how computer-based educational technology (CBET) can facilitate teaching and learning, and specific perceptions on how the technology can improve instructors’ and learners' performance in terms of meeting 21st century skills and needs. The target population of this survey research was all ESL instructors at the Center for English Language …

Web-Based Interactive Video Vignettes Create A Personalized Active Learning Classroom For Introducing Big Ideas In Introductory Biology, Leslie Kate Wright, Dina L. Newman, Jean A. Cardinale, Robert Teese

Articles

The typical “flipped classroom” delivers lecture material in video format to students outside of class in order to make space for active learning in class. But why give students passive material at all? We are developing a set of high-quality online educational materials that promote active, hands-on science learning to aid in teaching of core concepts for introductory biology at the college level. Interactive video vignettes (IVVs) incorporate evidence based teaching strategies to address known areas of confusion for entering students. Each IVV includes a live action scenario with undergraduates investigating a biological problem with a realistic experiment that users …

Agriculture, Influence, And Instability Under The Ancien Régime: 1708-1768, Adam J. Polk

Masters Theses

The French Revolution has been studied from myriad perspectives. The majority of scholarship focuses on the political and urban chaos of the times. Agricultural conditions and the influence of onerous taxation and stagnant agricultural options are given only a cursory examination in most research. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between agronomic and environmental conditions and the eruption of violence in urban centers during the French Revolution and the years leading up to it (1708-1768). This period prior to the French Revolution serves as a template to investigate the nature of the rural-agricultural influences, with a particular focus paid …

The Effects Of Replacing Dispersed Trash And Recycling Bins With Integrated Waste Receptacles On The Accuracy Of Waste Sorting In An Academic Building, Katherine J. Binder

Masters Theses

Numerous researchers and theorists have attempted to explain the existence of the gap between the possession of environmental knowledge and awareness and the display of pro-environmental behavior (Glasser, 2007; Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Behavior analysis is uniquely aligned to contribute to this discussion through its emphasis on the role of controlling variables in behavior change. A growing number of behavioral research studies address the challenges of group-contingencies in an effort to solve real-world gaps (Lehman & Geller, 2004). This study was designed as a continuation of the line of behavioral research designed to increase recycling rates and also as an …

The Implementation Of A Versatile Pseudodynamic Hybrid Simulation For Seismic Evaluation Of Structural Systems, Chelsea Griffith

Masters Theses

Pseudodynamic hybrid simulation technique was developed to evaluate structural seismic performance by physically testing the critical portion with the remaining structure simulated using a numerical model in the computer. An incremental approach was adopted in developing the control scheme to suit multiple testing facilities and test specimens. First the small scale, predictable specimen was utilized to investigate techniques of improving stability, slowing down the loading rate and triggering the accurate force measurement in a series of at benchmark scale experiments in the Laboratory of Earthquake and Structural Simulation at Western Michigan University (WMU). A step/hold command scheme was developed and …

How Facebook Friendship Transforms The Superior-Subordinate Relationship: A View From Relational Dialectics Theory, Raquel Hellenga

Masters Theses

This thesis project explores how Facebook friendship transforms the relationship between superior-subordinate dyads in the workplace through the lens of relational dialectics theory. A convenience sample of five superior-subordinate dyads (N=10) was used. Criteria for participation included: the superior must be full time and must be the subordinate's direct superior, the subordinate must work at least part time, both must have worked in the organization for at least three months, and the two must be friends on Facebook who communicate at least weekly through the site. This study utilizes qualitative, face-to-face, in-depth participant interviews. The interview questions are open-ended in …

The Effect Of Innovative Technology On Seatbelt Use, Bryan W. Hilton

Masters Theses

A previous pilot study documented that providing sustained haptic feedback to the gas pedal when a driver exceeded 25mph with his seatbelt unbuckled and removing the feedback contingent on seatbelt use increased seatbelt use in 7 commercial drivers. This study replicated this effect with 20 young drivers who did not consistently wear their seatbelt.

In the current study unbuckled drivers received increased accelerator pedal resistance when they exceeded 20 mph. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design was employed for this study. The dependent variable was percentage of trips driven without seatbelt use. The independent variable was an increase accelerator pedal resistance …

Power Transmission Line Fault Classification Using Support Vector Machines, Zhuokang Jia

Masters Theses

Electrical transmission lines are prone to faults and failures. When a fault occurs, it is impossible most of the times to fix it manually. Many methods have been adopted in the past in order to serve the purpose as fault diagnosing application. In this thesis, I discuss the method of Support Vector Machine (SVM) for fault diagnosis. SVM has the edge of good generalization over other fault diagnosing applications because it is based on pattern recognize algorithms. The aim is to classify the type of fault in the lines. Furthermore, in this work, the current and voltage of each phase …

Can You Get Beliefs From Retweets? An Examination Of The Extended Parallel Processing Model On Social Media, Xialing Lin

Masters Theses

The Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM; Witte, 1992) has been applied as a framework to examine risk information dissemination and effective sensation seeking in various health communication scenarios. Previous studies suggest that it is worth examining whether Twitter could have potential efficacy effects similar to face-to-face interaction or traditional media interventions. Given the overload and discrete information in the medium environment, people would adapt information processing short cuts, to tend to similar perceptions from various sources rather than reading specific messages.

The current study investigates the threat appeal perceptions of EPPM on system-generated and other-generated message cues in social media. …

Physics Faculty Use Of Example Solutions In Teaching Introductory Physics, William O. Mamudi

Masters Theses

This study investigates how physics faculty perceive and use features of example problem solutions. Thirty physics instructors from diverse institutions participated in semi-structured interviews. In addition to open-ended questions, three example problem solution artifacts were used to focus on specific solution features. Data were analyzed to identify instructors’ goals for the use of example solutions and whether their goals were consistent with the solution features that they valued and used. The study concludes that many faculty have three major goals: keeping students cognitively involved, helping students become better problem solvers, and supporting students in learning physics. The study also found …

Evaluating Best Practices For Interpretive Programs In The National Park Service, Emily Martin

All Theses

Since its inception, interpretation in parks and protected areas has been used to achieve a variety of desired visitor outcomes, including enhanced satisfaction, visitor experience, and behavioral change. A large body of literature has been developed regarding effective techniques and desirable styles for conducting interpretive programs. However, despite the amount of this literature, as interpretation progresses into the 21st century, a gap has been identified between empirical support for interpretation's “ best practices ” and their links to desired outcomes. This study aims to isolate those practices that are necessary for producing desired outcomes in national park visitors. National Park …

Design And Implementation Of A Genre Hybrid Video Game That Integrates The Curriculum Of An Introductory Programming Course, Cory Buckley

All Theses

Video games have a history of being exploited for education. However, all too fre- quently, the resulting educational video game is either transparent in its hijacking of video game media, or the educational content is not intelligently placed within the context of the game. In this paper we analyze existing educational video games and observe popular commercial video game mechanics to form a more player oriented development mindset. Our approach involves mingling game mechanics that are not commonly used together to create a genre hybrid educational video game with a seamlessly integrated introductory programming curriculum. We use a machine architecture …

Connecting Architecture, Fitness, Optimizations And Performance Using An Anisotropic Diffusion Filter, Sumedh Naik

All Theses

Over the past decade, computing architectures have continued to exploit multiple levels of parallelism in applications. This increased interest in parallel computing has not only fueled the growth of multi-core processors but has also lead to an emergence of several non-traditional computing architectures like General Purpose Graphical Processing Units (GP-GPUs), Cell Processors, and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Of these non-traditional computing architectures, GP-GPUs have gained widespread popularity due to their massively parallel computational abilities and relative ease of programmability.
Several software development ecosystems have emerged to harness the power of these parallel architectures. Although several threading libraries like POSIX …

Standardization Of Process Sheet Information To Support Automated Translation Of Assembly Instructions And Product-Process Coupling, Matthew Peterson

All Theses

The design and manufacture of large scale systems, particularly automobiles, is a process that requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. This collaboration is facilitated through efficient and effective data and knowledge storage and transfer. Specifically, the data associated with the final assembly of the vehicle should be generated, organized, and distributed in such a manner that each user of the data is able to use it effectively. Furthermore, the structure for the assembly data should be robust and reliable such that it fosters consistency among various planners for multiple vehicle platforms that are assembled all around the world. This research aims …

Objective Bayesian Inference On The Common Mean Of Normal Distributions, Shiyi Tu

All Theses

One of the oldest problems in statistical area is to make inference on a common mean of several different normal populations with unknown and probably unequal variances. There are several different ways to make inference on the common mean. The most common methods are point estimation, hypothesis testing, and interval estimation. Point estimation uses sample data to calculate a single value serving as a best guess for the unknown population mean. Hypothesis testing assumes all populations have the same mean as the null hypothesis. Interval estimation is an interval of possible values of the unknown mean.
In this paper, we …

Product Display Versus Graphical Representation On Packaging, Joshua Galvarino

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Previous research conducted (Hurley, et al., 2012) concerning physical and graphical product visibility from the primary display panel (PDP) is limited to one product category. This research expands previous peer-reviewed research, which indicates that there is a significant difference between consumer preferences of graphical display vs. physical product display on packaging.
The shelf presence of packages showing actual product visibility versus packages showing only a graphical representation of the product was evaluated. Both shopping results and quantitative data using eye-tracking technology were collected and cross-referenced with a qualitative, post-experiment survey.
Specifically, variables of packaging within pasta, snacks, prepared frozen …

I Laughed Until I Cried: The Tragicomedy Of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming , Kesha Garner

All Theses

There appears to be a disconnect between the actual events of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming and the scholarly work devoted to the play--while each of the main characters are morally problematic, it is only the play's sole female character, Ruth, whose morality is questioned. This schism in which Ruth is questioned but others are not stems primarily from the time in which most of this criticism occurred: before post-structuralist understandings of gender undermined our presuppositions about the sexes. The Homecoming was written on the cusp of second-wave feminism, the movement focusing mainly on the legal and social equality of women, …

Impedance-Based Fault Location Methods For Transmission Line Connecting Wind Farm Plants, Chaoqi Ji

All Theses

With an increasing capacity of wind power installed in the world, the impact of wind generation during fault condition has been studied. Wind plants equipped with induction generator results in a different fault behavior in transmission networks. In this paper, the validation of existing impedance-based fault location methods are performed on a transmission line connecting wind plant equipped with three different types of induction generators. This work is based on the simulation in real-time digital simulator (RTDS).
Squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG), wound-rotor induction generator (WRIG) and doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) are the three common generators used for wind power plants. …

Community By [Design] By Community: Product & Process, Aaron Bowman

All Theses

In his seminal work De Architectura (The Ten Books on Architecture), the Roman architect Vitruvius proposed a definition that became a lasting benchmark for the elements of [DESIGN] -Firmness, Commodity, and Delight. While this three-part definition provided a common lens through which to view [DESIGN], it also created a divide between the trained 'specialists' who create [DESIGN] and the Community who experience and interact with it. For Vitruvius, [DESIGN] provided a physical demarcation of place and created a shared association that was collectively understood as a Community. As the idea of Community has become increasingly dissociated with place in the …