Digital Commons Network^™

Portraits Of Success: A Mixed-Method Study Of The Enrollment, Persistence, And Success Experiences Of Female Graduate Engineering Students At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study addresses the underrepresentation of female graduate engineering students. Specifically, its purpose was to gain insight on how enrollment, persistence, and success factors are experienced by female graduate engineering students at a Hispanic Serving Institution located on the U.S.-Mexico border. The topic of underrepresentation of female graduate engineering students is important for higher education practitioners because in spite of the numerous attempts to increase their enrollment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, their underrepresentation has persisted. The current study is modeled after research conducted by Cordova-Wentling and Camacho (2006). The research question that guides the current study is: …

Substance Abuse And Rehabilitation: Understanding The Issue From First-Hand Accounts, Mauricio Enrique Austin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study clarifies understanding of factors influencing substance abuse and rehabilitation from the perspective of the substance abuser. The data collection and analysis methods employed include single and cross-case analyses, based on data gathered through semi-structured, face-to-face life history interviews with thirteen individuals who had substance abuse histories. In some respects, study results coincide with the extant literature on the subject. For example, most study participants first used drugs and/or alcohol while they were children or adolescents; experienced family and/or peer influence to start using; suffered from illnesses and/or loss of employment in association with their substance abuse; experienced a …

Optimization Of Stress Wave-Based Nondestructive Methods In Identifying Deterioration In Concrete Structures, Hoda Azari

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The transportation infrastructure across the United States is deteriorating and requires periodic inspection to predict the cost of repair and extent of maintenance activities, to remedy structural problems, and to ensure safety and serviceability. The use of nondestructive testing (NDT) methods in detecting and characterizing flaws in the infrastructure has become more common. Among different NDT methods, the stress wave-based methods, including ultrasonic surface waves (USW) and impact echo (IE) methods, are widely used to maintain concrete structures. In this dissertation, a complete literature review of seismic wave theory and wave propagation in plate like structures, and stress wave-based methods …

Supply Chain Management: Impact Of Customer Relationship Marketing On Performance Under Cooperation And Competition Strategies, Maria Eugenia Barua

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation investigation proposes a modified supply chain management model that is grounded on marketing theory and the concept of production sharing. Specifically, the model challenges the traditional cooperation-conflict continuum of strategic marketing management with a new managerial approach based on a cooperation-competition continuum. I investigate the significance of the new model in explaining behaviors in the supply chain management and its performance. In addition, I investigate whether the proposed managerial continuum (cooperation-competition) is consistent with other behaviors including power, conflict, trust, and customer relationship marketing such that coordination and supply chain performance is enhanced.

The data collection from manufacturers, …

Modeling The Human Gait Phases Using Granular Computing, Melaku Ayenew Bogale

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gait analysis is applied for the provision of diagnosis, evaluation, and for the design of therapeutic intervention for subjects suffering from neurological disorders. The benefits accruing from gait analysis are well established. People with neurological disorders like mild traumatic brain injury, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis, suffer associated functional gait problems. The symptoms and sign of these gait deficits are different from subject to subject and even for the same subject at different stage of the disease. Identifying these gait related abnormalities helps in the treatment planning and rehabilitation process.

The dynamic behavior of gait parameters is cyclic and the …

Size-Dependent Transitions In Grafted Polymer Brushes, Courtney Bosse

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Finding probabilities in order to solve for the most likely configuration of a grafted polymer chain is easily calculated by solving a random walk problem, starting form a given point (the surface). A property of the random walk is used to describe the partition function of a polymer in terms of a sum over possible loops configurations, which simplifies tremendously the problem of calculating the partition function of the grafted polymer. Instead of solving the non-interacting random walk that has been well studied in the theory of the probability, the focus is on the problem of self-interacting random walks, …

Thermal Barrier Coatings (Tbc's) For High Heat Flux Thrust Chambers, Christopher Michael Bradley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The last 30 years materials engineers have been under continual pressure to develop materials with a greater temperature potential or to produce configurations that can be effectively cooled or otherwise protected at elevated temperature conditions. Turbines and thrust chambers produce some of the harshest service conditions for materials which lead to the challenges engineers face in order to increase the efficiencies of current technologies due to the energy crisis that the world is facing. The key tasks for the future of gas turbines are to increase overall efficiencies to meet energy demands of a growing world population and reduce the …

Quark Fluctuations In A Chiral Model In The Presence Of A Magnetic Field, Lidens Cheng

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the nature of the chiral and deconfinement phase transitions, the location of the critical point, and the properties in its vicinity are among the most important problems in the field of QCD. The purpose of this thesis is to use the two-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in the presence of a magnetic field at the chiral limit to study the phase boundary where the spontaneously broken chiral symmetry is restored. At small chemical potential, the phase boundary exhibits a second-order phase transition. On the other hand, at large chemical potential and appropriate coupling constant, the phase boundary exhibits a first-order phase …

Three Essays Employing Cultural Value Theories To Explain Individual And National Differences In Ict Use/Adoption And Media Utilization Among Multiple Nations, Khendum Choden

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of values on Information Communication Use/ adoption at an individual level and at the national level among advanced and emerging economies. We employ the use of Schwartz's individual values, Schwartz's cultural values and Hofstede's cultural values to empirically demonstrate its impact on multiple information communication technologies across advanced economies while controlling for demographics, GDP, income, and pronoun drop. We also study the moderating effects of culture on a variety of task characteristics and media use.

A Block Operator Splitting Method For Heterogeneous Multiscale Poroelasticity, Paul M. Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Traditional models of poroelastic deformation in porous media assume relatively homogeneous material properties such that macroscopic constitutive relations lead to accurate results. Many realistic applications involve heterogeneous material properties whose oscillatory nature require multiscale methods to balance accuracy and efficiency in computation.

The current study develops a multiscale method for poroelastic deformation based on a fixed point iteration based operator splitting method and a heterogeneous multiscale method using finite volume and direct stiffness methods. To characterize the convergence

of the operator splitting method, we use a numerical root finding algorithm to determine a threshold surface in a non-dimensional parameter space …

Rare Earth Element Geochemistry Of The Sierra Blanca Laccoliths, Texas, Amed Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Primary Drug And Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis, Of The Diagnostic Properties Of The Sputum Smear Versus Culture Method For Tuberculosis Diagnosis In An Ecuadorian Urban Public Health Facility, Sandra Luz Groeschel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: The accurate diagnosis and effective prevention and control of tuberculosis (TB) are major global public health challenges. Ecuador has among the highest documented TB incidence (59/100,000 inhabitants) and mortality rates in the Americas region (27/100,000 inhabitants). In addition, TB multi-drug resistance is becoming increasingly common. The culture method is the preferred method of choice for diagnosing TB in the United States and many other high resource countries due to its high documented sensitivity. An added benefit of the methods is that it also can be used to detect primary TB resistance. In contrast, despite its lower diagnostic sensitivity, …

Reduced-Order Modeling Using Orthogonal And Bi-Orthogonal Wavelet Transforms, Miguel Hernandez Iv

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is well known that model reduction methods borrow techniques typically found in data compression, and current state-of-the-art techniques for data compression are based on the wavelet transform. Given these facts, it is surprising that model reduction using wavelets has not received much attention and has not been adequately addressed in the literature. This research seeks to determine if wavelets can be used for model reduction and if wavelet model reduction is a viable alternative to existing model reduction methods.

In this work we propose a novel method for model reduction using wavelets. Specifically, we introduce techniques for deriving wavelet …

Predictors Of Academic Success Between On-Track And Off-Track Students In A Mexican University, Jesus Francisco Hinojos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to assess how predictors of quality of academic effort relate to academic success and student persistence of on-track and off-track students in a higher education institution in Northern Mexico; to investigate the relationship of pre-entry attributes,

family background and academic success as expressed by GPA among on-track, off-track and dropout students. And to examine the relationship between participants quality of effort invested in their own learning and development in six academic areas and four areas of college students' social activities.

This study utilized the College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) to determine the quality …

The Effect Of Co-Witness Information And Individual Differences In Cognitive Abilities On The Suggestibility Of Pre-School Children, Rachell Leanne Jones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite nearly 25 years of research, psychologists are still learning new ways in which various demographic, psychological, social, and cognitive factors contribute to child suggestibility. Numerous facets of each area have been studied independently, but as a field, it is becoming apparent that suggestibility is also affected by complex interactions between these various components (Scullin, Kanaya, & Ceci, 2002). The current study investigated several forensic interviewing techniques and psychosocial and cognitive factors that were hypothesized to influence child suggestibility. One hundred children were randomly assigned to five interview conditions after viewing a live event. The supposed statements of a co-witness …

Motivations For A Source To Resist An Interrogation: Consequences To The Self Versus Consequences To An Other, Julia Labianca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current research investigated the effect of situational and dispositional factors on a source's decision to confess guilty knowledge of another's actions to an interrogator. The extant literature suggests that potential consequences to the self are a major motivator for decisions to confess or resist an interrogation. Previous research also suggests that the potential consequences to the other person may also influence a source's motivations to confess guilty knowledge. Additionally, personality measures related to interdependence versus personal independence (collectivism and individualism) and individual loyalty may also influence a source's motivations to cooperate with or resist an interrogation. However, few experiments …

Method Development For A Chemical And Biological Analysis Of Glucocorticoids In Wastewater, Maria Carmen Lozano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that can either be produced synthetically or naturally by the adrenal glands. The synthetic glucocorticoids are highly prescribed in the United States for their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties to treat a variety of ailments and diseases; however, these have been implicated in a number of adverse human conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, immune-suppression, delayed puberty, adrenal insufficiency and Cushing Syndrome, among others. Ongoing research has shown that synthetic and natural hormones are transported to aquatic environments via mammalian excretion or wastewater effluent, and as a result, the release of glucocorticoids into the …

Complexity Of Affective Disposition And Reflective Transphenomenality: An Exploratory Study Of Middle School Mathematics Teacher And Student Self-Positioning And Positioning-By-Others Toward Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching, And Learning, Ruby Lorilee Lynch-Arroyo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the mixed methods study was to examine the phenomenon of transphenomenal simultaneity between teacher and student disposition that contributed to the phenomenological conflict of teacher self-positioning and positioning-by-others toward mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning. The intent was to provide a view of self-reported and observed middle school teacher and student experiences in mathematics, based on the analysis of affective dispositional characteristics within the context of its complexity.

There is evidence that documents a relationship between teacher and student disposition, but to what extent and encompassing what characteristics and factors has not been sufficiently substantiated. Beyers (2011) identified …

In-Situ, Integrated U-Pb, Hf And O Isotopic Study Of Igneous, Metamorphic And Detrital Zircons. Implications To Crustal Evolution And Geodynamics, Munazzam Ali Mahar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Zircon data from South Karakoram gneiss dome provide evidence for Proterozoic inherited cores (1.8-1.9 Ga and 2.3-.2.5 Ga) surrounded by migmatitic overgrowth with ages ranging from ~6 to ~20Ma. Oxygen isotopic data of Neogene migmatite and inherited core is similar and indistinguishable ranging from 7.5 to 9.5 /. However, Neogene overgrowth is significantly less evolved than the inherited core in terms of Hf composition. This implies that the Hf composition of the migmatitic zircons is not controlled exclusively by the dissolution of the inherited cores and that contamination by external melts is likely. Isotopic data from the Baltoro plutonic unit …

Endocrine Disrupting Compound 4-Nonylphenol And Neurodegeneration, Jessica Martinez Jurado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neurodegeneration, a progressive loss of nerve cells (neurons), occurs in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, and drug addiction. Cytoskeletal disruption in neurons and aggregation of proteins associated with these disorders is the hallmark of neurodegeneration. However, the cause of neurodegenerative disorders is unknown and currently there are no effective drug treatments. Aging is the most consistent risk factor for developing a neurodegenerative disorder, and recent evidence suggests that environmental factors, which act as endocrine disruptors, pose a risk in the disease process. 4- nonylphenol (4-NP), an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), has been shown to affect brain development …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Titanium Nitride Optical Coatings Made By Dc Magnetron Sputtering, Gustavo Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Titanium nitride (TiNx) thin films were grown by DC (Direct Current) magnetron sputtering method onto Si(100) substrates by varying time of deposition to produce films with variable thickness (dTiN) in the range of 20-120 nm. The grown TiNx films were characterized by studying their structure, composition, and mechanical properties. Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) combined with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) analyses indicate that the grown films were stoichiometric TiN. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements indicate that the texturing of the TiN films changes as a function of dTiN. The (111) and (002) peaks appear initially; with increasing dTiN, (111) becomes …

Cross-Border Mobility, Access To Healthcare Through Health Coverage, And Other Correlates For Utilization Of Healthcare Services Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Krystal Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: At the national level, Hispanics suffer from poor health coverage. This is amplified in Texas, which has the highest percent (26.3%) of uninsured individuals in the U.S., and further augmented in El Paso, TX. In some border states and counties, barriers to healthcare include medically underserved areas, low-income, and the recent immigration among the Hispanic population. Cross-border mobility has facilitated access to health services in Mexico. Despite this, there remain gaps in understanding utilization of healthcare services among Hispanics in El Paso, TX. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to: (1) describe access to healthcare through …

The Eolian-Sabkha Transition In The Permian Cedar Mesa Sandstone, Se Utah, Alexandra Massad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focuses on the depositional transition between the Permian Cedar Mesa sand dune sea and the adjoining fluvial, lacustrine, playa and a sabkha facies. This transition provides insights into how climate and environment interacted in this unique setting where up to 300 m of eolian sands transition into evaporites. The evaporites are less common as tongues within the eolianites than previously thought and there were several environments that were observed that haven't been previously described or observed in the Cedar Mesa. The arrangement of the various units within the study area support the climate control on stratigraphy.

The intertonguing …

Investigating The Validity Of A Survey Intended To Gauge Mathematics Problem-Solving Disposition Along The Impulsive-Analytic Dimension, Miguel Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the validity of the Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey developed to assess respondents' problem-solving disposition along the impulsive-analytic dimension. Sixteen pre-service teachers were strategically selected from a pool of 495 LtA survey respondents to participate in a semi-structured task-based interview approximately one hour in length. The interview consisted of three main parts: a problem solving section, a consistency section, and a classification section.

* Part 1 of the interview was developed to get interviewees to solve five open-response problems meant to elicit an impulsive response. Interviewees were also asked to verbalize their thought process in order for the researchers …

The Effect Of A Barefoot Running Training Program On Running Economy And Performance, Neil James Baroody

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Personal, Political, And The Virtual? Redefining Female Success And Empowerment In A Post-Feminist Landscape, Linda Elizabeth Chardon

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

A History Of Peer-Led Team Learning, 1990-2012, A.E. Dreyfuss

Publications and Research

From Workshop Chemistry in 1991 at the City College of New York, CUNY, to implementation in other disciplines and development of Peer-Led Team Learning and its Six Critical Components, this paper reviews the contributions of faculty at a variety of higher education institutions to the dissemination and growth of PLTL as a successful model of student engagement with the position of the student Peer Leader.

A Systematic Approach For Human Communication, James Wilmot Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Family Factors And Perceived Coworker Support And Supervisor Support, Sara Narveson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how aspects of family formation relate to coworker support and supervisor support. Studying both coworker support and supervisor support is valuable because they can give us a glimpse of how different people feel about the workplace. Using the theoretical perspective of homophily, which focuses on how people prefer to interact with others who are similar to themselves, it was hypothesized that people who are married or who have children will perceive more coworker support and supervisor support than others. The data set of the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce was used. It contained 3,368 cases …

An Investigation Of Gender's Role In Three- And Four-Year-Old Children's Musical Play, Kari Jo O'Keefe

Theses and Dissertations

Young children engage in many activities, with play being the most prominent. Musical play occurs when children freely investigate sound through vocal, instrumental, or other means. Identifying the extent of musical play - and the role that gender plays in musical play - may provide important information about children's natural tendencies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender's role in three- and four-year-old children's musical play, and to investigate further the general nature of musical play. A grounded theory methodology was used, and data was gathered from field and individual child observations, and parent and preschool teacher surveys. …