Digital Commons Network^™

Finding The Minimum Input Impedance Of A Second-Order Unity-Gain Sallen-Key Low-Pass Filter Without Calculus, Kenneth V. Cartwright, Edit J. Kaminsky

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

We derive an expression for the input complex impedance of a Sallen-Key second-order low-pass filter of unity gain as a function of the natural frequency , o  quality factor Q and the ratio of the resistors of the filter. From this expression, it is shown that the filter behaves like a single capacitor for low frequencies and as a single resistor at high frequencies. Furthermore, the minimum input impedance magnitude is found without using calculus. We discovered that the minimum input impedance magnitude is inversely proportional to Q and can be substantially less than its highfrequency value. Approximations to …

Microrefugia And Species Persistence In The Galápagos Highlands: A 26,000-Year Paleoecological Perspective, Aaron F. Collins, Mark B. Bush, Julian P. Sachs

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Galápagos Islands are known to have experienced significant drought during the Quaternary. The loss of mesophytic upland habitats has been suggested to underlie the relatively lower endemism of upland compared with lowland plant assemblages. A fossil pollen record spanning the last 26,000 years from an upland bog on Santa Cruz Island, revealed the persistent presence of highland pollen and spore types during the last glacial maximum and a millennial-scale series of droughts in the mid Holocene. The absence of lowland taxa and presence of mesic taxa led to the conclusion that the highland flora of the Galápagos persisted during …

Quantifying Uncertainty And Resilience On Coral Reefs Using A Bayesian Approach, Robert Van Woesik

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are rapidly deteriorating globally. The contemporary management option favors managing for resilience to provide reefs with the capacity to tolerate human-induced disturbances. Yet resilience is most commonly defined as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbances without changing fundamental processes or functionality. Quantifying no change, or the uncertainty of a null hypothesis, is nonsensical using frequentist statistics, but is achievable using a Bayesian approach. This study outlines a practical Bayesian framework that quantifies the resilience of coral reefs using two inter-related models. The first model examines the functionality of coral reefs in the context of their reef-building …

Corals On Acid: An Inquiry-Based Activity Leading Students To A Better Understanding Of Ocean Acidification Impacts, Casey L. Boleman, Philip M. Gravinese, Ellen N. Muse, Andrea E. Marston, John G. Windsor

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The objective of this inquiry-based lesson is for students to gain an understanding of how increasing ocean acidity can affect the calcification of marine organisms. During this activity, students: (1) design an experiment to quantify the CaCO3 concentration of two invertebrate skeletal samples, one that has been soaked in normal seawater and another in a low pH solution, and (2) use critical thinking and discussion to evaluate possible explanations for the difference in the skeletal CaCO3 compositions. Our lesson focuses on exploring the activity before ocean acidification is introduced to provide a common conceptual framework to engage students.

Alignment Study Of Kentucky's Mathematics Placement Examinations And Entry Level Credit-Bearing Mathematics Course Examinations., Lisa Conn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research alignment study compares content assessed on course finals from Kentucky public universities in highest level remedial mathematics courses and content assessed on college placement examinations. These assessments are used to determine if a student is ready for credit-bearing courses at a university. The study addressed the following four research questions: (1) What mathematical prerequisite knowledge do state universities consider necessary to be college ready? Specifically 1a) What content domains do the state universities emphasize in their remediation courses?; 1b) Is there consistency across the state public universities with regard to the content domains?; and (2) How well do …

The Mediating Effect Of Homework Between Self-Regulated Learning And Science Achievement., Matthew D. Kingsley 1968-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homework has been shown to have a significant, positive effect on student achievement and grades, particularly at the secondary level (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006). However, homework completion and its effect on grades is controlled within the realm of the student and its success as a learning strategy depends on many things including the students’ interest in the subject, their confidence, the time they have to complete it, gender and other factors within the home such as parent education level and parent involvement (Trautwein & Ludtke, 2007; J. Xu, 2007; J. Xu, Corno, Lyn, 2006). Through the work of Eccles …

Creativity And The Development Of Technology Integration Skills Of Preservice Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study Of Online Course Activities, Watsatree Diteeyont

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Rhapsody/Concerto Of Robert C. Ehle, Chia-Hua Huang

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Pursuit Of High Academic Growth For Gifted Middle Level Learners, Linda Elizabeth Pfeiffer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to build an understanding of what should be present in schools to meet the academic growth needs of gifted middle-level learners. In times of financial difficulty it is important that educators find ways to meet the needs of all students while afforded little resources to do so. While understandable that finances be provided for struggling students, it should not be at the expense of those who come to school with content mastery already achieved but still eager to learn new material. The results of this study indicate that meeting the academic, high growth needs …

The Nature Of Arabic Mothers' Involvement In Their Children's Mathematics Education, Wafa Yacoub

Dissertations

In this qualitative study, the researcher explored the nature of Arabic mothers', who live in the United States involvement in their children's mathematics education. There is no data about this minority population as related to mathematics educational involvement since Arabic and Muslim women are scarcely represented in the educational research. Eighteen mothers participated in four focus groups, all agreed on the importance of mathematics and their involvement in their children's math education despite the fact that many of them had negative experiences learning mathematics, and were not familiar with the new teaching methods. These mothers became involved at home by …

Expressions Of Grief On Facebook: Navigating Discomfort, Persistent Identity, And Public Memorialization, Molly Kalan

Theses - ALL

When someone dies, their online identity does not die with them. If a deceased Facebook user leaves behind a once active profile, friends and family members may choose to use this virtual space to express grief, interact with one another, and engage in active memorialization. Young adults who are traditionally marginalized in the grieving process can take advantage of the digital space to engage in mourning rituals. Through qualitative inquiry and in-depth interviews with 20 young adults who have dealt with the death of a friend or family member on Facebook, this study addresses phenomenological research questions concerning expression of …

A Decent Place To Stay: Housing Crises, Failed Laws, And Property Conflicts In Washington, D.C, Katie Jeanne Wells

Dissertations - ALL

In 1978 the District of Columbia City Council enacted a measure to tax up to 97 percent of the profits on speculative housing sales. In 1984 the District of Columbia voters approved an initiative to guarantee every resident who needed it access to overnight shelter for every night of the year. Both of these responses to the city's housing crisis marked the beginning of a politically progressive moment in Washington, D.C., when residents won the right to self-governance after a century of Congressional control and the majority-black electorate created a majority-black legislature of civil-right activists. But both laws were made …

Education On The Underground Railroad: A Case Study Of Three Communities In New York State (1820-1870), Lenora April Harris

Dissertations - ALL

In the mid-nineteenth century a compulsory education system was emerging that allowed all children to attend public schools in northern states. This dissertation investigates school attendance rates among African American children in New York State from 1850-1870 by examining household patterns and educational access for African American school-age children in three communities: Sandy Ground, Syracuse, and Watertown. These communities were selected because of their involvement in the Underground Railroad. I employed a combination of educational and social history methods, qualitative and quantitative. An analysis of federal census reports, state superintendent reports, city directories, area maps, and property records for the …

Toll-Like Receptors 2 And 9 Are Important For Innate Immune Cell Activation And Recruitment In Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, Kelly J. Andrews

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease caused by repeated inhalation of environmental antigens. The disease is characterized by alveolitis and granuloma formation; however, some patients develop chronic HP (CHP), a restrictive lung disease characterized by fibrosis. Previous studies revealed that neutrophils are recruited into the lung via a MyD88- dependent pathway and regulate disease severity through cytokine production. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 9 recognize conserved molecular patterns present in bacteria, and signal through the adaptor molecule MyD88. The goal of my project is to investigate the role of TLRs 2 and 9 in the pathogenesis of HP …

Full-Gestational Exposure To Nicotine And Ethanol Results In Long-Term Dysregulation In The Ventral Tegmental Area, Emily Elizabeth Roguski

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Nicotine is considered a gateway drug for other drugs of abuse. The majority of smokers that begin smoking in adolescence, continue into adulthood. Multiple factors have been linked with smoking initiation, including maternal smoking. Drug exposure during pregnancy has long been suspected to exert deleterious effects on the fetal brain. Concurrent use of smoking and drinking alcohol throughout pregnancy is an all too frequent occurrence in the human population especially in disadvantaged and younger women.

The present study investigated the potential contributing factors for the enhanced nicotine selfadministration as seen in offspring with gestational exposure to nicotine and ethanol (Nic+EtOH).* …

Identification Of Novel Hif1a Target Genes That Regulate Tumor Progression And Metastasis, Danielle L. Peacock

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Hypoxia is a hallmark of most solid tumors. In response to hypoxic stress tumor cells adapt by regulating survival, metabolism and angiogenesis. The heterodimeric HypoxiaInducible Factor (HIF) transcription factors are the master regulators of this response. HIFs play key roles in many critical aspects of cancer biology including angiogenesis, stem cell maintenance, metabolic reprogramming, invasion, metastasis and resistance to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Overexpression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α has been documented in multiple human cancers and HIF-1 protein is over-expressed in ~30% of primary breast tumors and ~70% of metastases, which independently correlates with poor prognosis and decreased survival in …

Synthesis Of Resveratrol Ester Derivatives, Daniel Ressler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research project was to synthesize derivatives of transresveratrol. In order for resveratrol to be activated and used by the body it needs to bind to Human Serum Albumin (HSA), a protein in blood plasma. The derivatives were synthesized to improve the ability of resveratrol to enter cells as well as improve their ability to bind to HSA. The three derivatives that were synthesized have converted one of the hydroxyl groups on resveratrol to an ether with a methylene chain terminated by a carboxylic acid. By varying the lengths of the methylene chain we varied the water …

Supportive Measures: An Analysis Of The Trio Program - Student Support Services At East Tennessee State University From 2001 – 2004, Christopher N. Strode

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the academic performance of the first-time, full-time, traditional-aged students in the Student Support Services program at East Tennessee State University. This was accomplished by comparing their academic performance with the academic performance of first-time, full-time, traditional-aged non-SSS participants, including students in both the SSS eligible and SSS ineligible study groups. Incoming freshman cohorts from 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 were used to create the 3 distinct study groups. Demographic and performance outcome variables were used for comparison among the 3 groups. The cumulative college GPA, fall-to-fall retention, and 6-year graduation status of …

How Social Emotional Development Skills Gained In High Quality Public School Prekindergarten Impact Kindergarten Academic Readiness, Gale A. Collett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Longitudinal research has demonstrated that children’s emotional and social skills are linked to their early academic achievement (Wentzel & Asher, 1995). Children who have difficulty paying attention, following directions, getting along with others, and controlling negative emotions like anger and distress do not do as well in school (Arnokl et al., 1999; McClelland et al., 2000). Academic achievement in the early years of schooling appears to be built on a firm foundation of children’s social emotional skills (Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1997; O’Neil et al., 1997). Higher quality prekindergarten programs are associated with the early years of schooling and more …

Women, Feminism, And Aging In Appalachia, Sherry Kaye Ms.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aging has become a problem for men and women in Western societies where youth is touted and revered as a standard of success by which individual value is measured and esteemed. Older women in particular find that as they age they face discrimination in the form of ageism and social diminution. The purpose of the study is to remedy a lack of scholarship on aging in Appalachia and to establish a precedent for future studies. A liberal, feminist approach is used to analyze the results of recorded interviews and to interpret transcripts of relevant data. The results of the analysis …

Natural Resource Management Newsletter, Dave Willis

NRM Newsletter

No abstract provided.

U.S. Governmental Information Operations And Strategic Communications: A Discredited Tool Or User Failure? Implications For Future Conflict, Steve Tatham Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

View the Executive Summary

Through the prism of operations in Afghanistan, the author examines how the U.S. Government’s Strategic Communication (SC) and, in particular, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Information Operations (IO) and Military Information Support to Operations (MISO) programs, have contributed to U.S. strategic and foreign policy objectives. It assesses whether current practice, which is largely predicated on ideas of positively shaping audiences perceptions and attitudes towards the United States, is actually fit for purpose. Indeed, it finds that the United States has for many years now been encouraged by large contractors to approach communications objectives through techniques heavily …

Dangerous Ground: The Spratly Islands And U.S. Interests And Approaches, Clarence J. Bouchat (Usaf, Ret.) Lieutenant Colonel

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

View the Executive Summary

The Spratly Islands warrant better understanding by U.S. policymakers in order to discuss nuanced responses to the region’s challenges. To attain that needed understanding, legal aspects of customary and modern laws are explored to analyze the differences between competing maritime and territorial claims and why and how the parties involved stake rival claims or maritime legal rights. Throughout the monograph, the policies of the United States are examined through its conflicted interests in the region. Recommendations for how the United States should engage these issues, a more appropriate task than trying to solve the disputes outright, …

Politics And Economics In Putin's Russia, Stephen J. Blank Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

View the Executive Summary

In one way or another, the papers included in this monograph, from the Strategic Studies Institute’s annual conference on Russia in May 2012, all point to the internal pathologies that render Russian security a precarious affair at the best of times. As the editor suggests, the very fact of this precariousness makes Russia an inherently unpredictable and even potentially dangerous actor, not necessarily because it will actively attack its neighbors, though we certainly cannot exclude that possibility, but rather because Russia may come apart trying to play the role of a great power in Eurasia or …

Students With Disabilities: Perspectives Of Regular Education Teachers Of Increased Inclusion, Mindy D. Myers Mrs.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore regular education teachers’ perceptions of inclusion. The participants of this study were K-12 regular education teachers located in Tennessee’s First region. Specifically, this research explored (1) perceptions of the impact of inclusion on instructional strategies, (2) perceived level of preparedness to effectively teach students with disabilities (3) professional development needs of regular education teachers instructing students with disabilities, and (4) collaborative relationships between regular and special educators. The data sources analyzed consisted of a survey design using a 4-point Likert scale. Each research question had a corresponding null hypothesis. Each research question …

Student Retention And First-Year Programs: A Comparison Of Students In Liberal Arts Colleges In The Mountain South, Jeff S. Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the retention rate and 9 firstyear student programs at Liberal Arts Colleges in the Mountain South, a region in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Nine first-year programs were studied: Summer Bridge Programs, Preterm Orientation, Outdoor Adventure Orientation, Targeted Seminars, Learning Communities, Early Warning/Early Alert Systems, Service Learning, Undergraduate Research, and Assessment. The data for this study were accessed via the college database of The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2013). Chi Square tests were used for analysis to identify associations between first-year student retention and …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A New Cyano-Substituted Tris(Pyrazolyl)Borate And Its Thallium(I) Complex, Bozumeh Som

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A new cyanoscorpionate - tris(4-cyano-3,5-diphenylpyrazolyl)borate (Tp^Ph2,4CN) has been synthesized and characterized. The thallium complex of this ligand TlTp^Ph2,4CN has also been prepared and characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, and single-crystal X-ray-diffraction. The complex TlTp^Ph2,4CN crystalized in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell a = 14.6697(10) Å, b = 13.9493(10) Å, c = 19.3347(12) Å, and b= 91.761(2)°. Structural comparison of TlTp^Ph2,4CN with analogous complexes demonstrated the effects of both steric and electron-withdrawing substituents on coordination geometry and the electronic properties of the metal ion. There were short contacts between the cyano groups …

Actively Caring About The Actively Caring Survey: Evaluating The Reliability And Validity Of A Measure Of Dispositional Altruism, Philip Randall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geller’s Actively Caring Survey (ACS) was theorized to measure person states deemed necessary to “Actively Care” or act altruistically toward others. Empirical research of the ACS has been limited, and this researcher sought to evaluate its reliability, validity, and factorial consistency. Undergraduate students (n = 1,095) completed the measure online. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unrotated primary component analysis found the ACS to be a unitary measure with 73.3% of the items loading onto the first factor. The ACS showed excellent internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity with existing measures (i.e., the Big 5 Personality, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability, Cognitive Failures …

Framing Of Business In China: East Vs. West, Xueyi Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

China is one of the largest and most promising markets for new global business ventures. This exploratory research investigates the current news-related themes regarding business in China by comparing news originating from eastern countries to western countries. This study applied agenda-setting and framing theoretical frameworks. A mixed-method approach of both qualitative and quantitative content analyses was used to generate key themes and their related concepts. The results indicate some thematic similarities as well as differences in agenda and news framing between eastern and western news samples. This exploratory study contributes to agenda-setting and framing literature as well as by creating …

Identification And Characterization Of Genetic Factors Involved In Candida-Bacterial Interactions, Sean J. Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout existence, fungi and bacteria have long shared ecological niches and thus engage in numerous interactions to mutually enhance survival or antagonistically gain competitive advantages. Of importance to human health are those interactions that involve bacteria with the opportunistic fungi, Candida albicans. An important virulence factor of C. albicans is the ability to control morphology, which allows the transition between yeast, pseudohyphal, and hyphal phenotypes. Morphological control in C. albicans is governed by quorum sensing and the secreted autoregulatory molecule farnesol. Quorum sensing allows individual cells to sense the environment and respond as a group. Bacteria also use quorum …