Digital Commons Network^™

Revamping The United States Organ Donation System: An Ethical Justification For Compensated Live Organ Donation, Jordan Potter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With over 100,000 Americans currently on organ waiting lists in the United States, the mass shortage of viable organs for transplantation is one of the most pressing healthcare issues that we face as a country today. Thousands of these individuals on organ waiting lists will ultimately die waiting on an organ transplant that will never come. Many differing proposals have been discussed with the aim of increasing organ donation rates and the raw number of organs available for transplant, including changing our default consent status for cadaveric organ donation and the option of incentivizing organ donation by compensating live donors …

How Can The Use Of Human Enhancement (He) Technologies In The Military Be Ethically Assessed?, Philip Andrew Taraska

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

War is a terrible price to pay for the prospect of peace. Yet every nation has a moral obligation to protect its citizenry from unjust aggression and threats to security. To be sure, war is always a failure. It is a failure of mankind to come together in mutual respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. The issue of the use of HE in the military is relevant today because the Global War on Terror (GWOT) and the rapid rise of emerging technologies have led to a never-before-seen type of asymmetrical warfare. The rise of these technologies can …

Truth Telling Beyond Borders: An African Perspective, John Twinomujuni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation focuses on answering the question of how can patient’s autonomy, privacy and liberty be safeguarded especially within cultures that do not regard them as primordial principles? In some communities, truth-telling is one of the moral principles unquestioningly inherited from the West. The dissertation will try to compare African and Western perspectives. The African perspective has been chosen to explore through this search hoping that such venture would help in showing how the issue of truth-telling may be approached from such perspective. For instance in the African communalism based on the cardinal point that “I am because we are; …

Structure Or Knot: What Phenomenology And Asperger’S Syndrome Can Teach Lacanian Psychoanalysis About Subjective Constitution, Shannon D. Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project examines Asperger’s Syndrome (now, with the DSM 5, Autism Spectrum Disorder) through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis and speaks to current debates in the field regarding the structural diagnosis of autism. Framed by critiques of Lacanian psychoanalysis, the project takes up autism and treatments for the disorder from within mainstream psychological approaches, from the viewpoint of neurodiversity and autistic self-advocates, and from within Lacanian psychoanalysis, with specific attention paid to the diagnostic approach in Lacanian thinking and the assumed relationship between autism and psychosis. Four published autobiographies written by autistic adults were subjected to two types of …

Phylogeny, Psychology, And The Vicissitudes Of Human Development: The Anxiety Of Atavism, Frank Pittenger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This cross-disciplinary dissertation provides a missing intellectual history of an ostensibly dead idea. Once widely held and no less elegant for its obsolescence, the principle of biogenetic recapitulation is best remembered by its defining mantra, “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.” Among psychologists and sociologists as well as embryologists, the notion that the development of any individual organism repeats in compressed, miniaturized form the entire history of its species enjoyed broad (if not uncontested) acceptance through the early twentieth century. The author reexamines the origins of this theory in the work of Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel, and traces its influence in psychology …

Porphyrin-Based Catalysts For Electrochemical Reduction Of Carbon Dioxide, Piyawat Sangpittayatorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this work, synthesis and investigation on catalytic activities for the electrochemical reduction (ECR) of carbon dioxide (CO2) of aminophenyl-substituted metalloporphyrin and metallobenzoporphyrin containing Zn(II) or Co(II) as a metal center and their polymers were described. Electropolymerization of the amino-functionalized monomers were performed on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glasses and carbon papers by means of cyclic voltammetry in dimethylformamide (DMF) containing a 0.1 M nBu4NPF6 supporting electrolyte by using a Pt plate as a counter electrode and a Ag/AgCl quasi-reference electrode (QRE). Due to low solubility of the Co-metallated monomers, homogeneous electrochemical reduction was studied in DMF containing 0.5 mM …

Structure-Reactivity Relationship Of Bio-Inspired Copper Complexes Containing Polypyridylamine Derivatives, Pattira Suktanarak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this dissertation, bio-inspired copper complexes were designed to study the influence from ligands, nuclearity, solvents and secondary coordination on reactivity toward small-molecule activation. This structure-reactivity relationship was examined in oxygen reduction reac­tions (ORR), and applied in detection of ascorbic acid (AsH2). First, copper(II) complexes containing polypyridyl-derivative ligands (i.e., Cu(dpa), Cu(adpa) and Cu2(addpa)) were synthesized and fully characterized by X-ray crystallography. The Cu(I) complexes which are active species for ORR were generated using AsH2 as a reducing agent. Redox states of the metal were examined by UV-Vis, NMR and EPR. It was found that copper complexes with various ligand topologies …

Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (Zif) Incorporated Membrane For Co2/Ch4 Separation, Nampetch Padungpetch

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Biogas is the alternative energy that has a methane gas as the main composition. Before using it, biogas must be upgraded by the removal of all impurities especially CO2. The membrane technology is considered an efficient and environmentally friendly process for biogas upgrading. However, there is still a limited number of promising membranes. Accordingly, this study aims to develop the hollow fiber membrane for the biogas upgrading. The synthesized hollow fiber membranes, which were a composite membrane, were composed of a support layer of polyetherimide (PEI) and a mixed matrix selective layer of commercial poly(ether-block-amide) (Pebax 1657) and zeolitic imidazolate …

Development Of Emulsion-Based Adjuvants For Parenteral Influenza Vaccines, Sakalanunt Lamaisakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Generally, inactivated whole-cell and subunit vaccines are often less antigenic than live-attenuated vaccines, then they require the inclusion of adjuvants to improve immunostimulating activities. In the present study, microemulsion (ME) and nanoemulsion adjuvants were developed to evoke a safety and effective immune response of vaccine antigens. The emulsion systems including vegetable oil and nonionic surfactants have been formulated with or without cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and then sterilized by autoclaving. Physical properties, hemolytic activities and biological efficacies of all prepared emulsions were conducted. The results demonstrated that the autoclaving process caused a reduction in droplet size with narrow size …

Association Of Porcine Cryptorchidism With Dna Parentage Test, Testicular Protein Expression And Testicular Proteomics, Nathamon Yimpring

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Cryptorchidism is one of the most common congenital abnormalities observed in boars. One of the important obstacles to produce good quality pork is cryptorchidism. Pigs with cryptorchidism cause defects in spermatogenesis, low conception rate and/or infertility. This odor can be the cause of economic loss because consumers reject to buy meat with boar taint and flavor. In fattening farm, multi-sire mating system is normally used. Molecular genetic techniques allow the possibility of testing on genetic and parentage control. This research aimed to study i. To optimize microsatellite markers and develop the DNA fingerprint technique used to identify the parentage of …

Mapping Groundwater Discharge Along Lake Margins Using Satellite And Uav Thermal Imagery, Kelsey A. Forward

Theses and Dissertations

Effective watershed management decisions depend on understanding groundwater-surface water interactions. Traditional hydrogeological investigations are invasive, time-consuming, and expensive; therefore, regions that lack accessibility or agency funding need other ways of evaluating groundwater-lake interactions. Heat has long been known to be an effective groundwater tracer. Groundwater is insulated from most solar radiation, and its temperature does not fluctuate greatly from the annual average air temperature year-round in higher latitudes. In contrast, lakes are directly exposed to solar radiation, and water temperature fluctuates greatly both seasonally and diurnally. The winter and summer seasons produce the greatest contrast between groundwater and surface water …

Impact Of Wetlands Loss On The Long-Term Flood Risks Of Devils Lake In A Changing Climate, Sergey Gulbin

Theses and Dissertations

Endorheic (terminal) lakes with no water outlets are sensitive indicators of changes in climate and land cover in the watershed. Since 1990 Devils Lake watershed in North Dakota experienced a dramatic change of local climate: wet phase. This change yielded in a 10-m water level rise in just two decades. The Lake’s water level increase caused flooding of adjacent areas, including towns, agriculture fields and houses of Native Americans, costing over $1 billion in mitigation.

While the climate change contribution to flooding has been established, the role of large scale land conversion to agriculture has not been researched. The purpose …

Assessment Of Wrf Simulated Precipitation By Meteorological Regimes, Brooke Anne Hagenhoff

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated warm-season precipitation events in a multi-year (2007-2014) database of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulations over the Northern Plains and Southern Great Plains. These WRF simulations were run daily in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) by the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) for operational forecasts.

Evaluating model skill by synoptic pattern allows for an understanding of how model performance varies with particular atmospheric states and will aid forecasters with pattern recognition. To conduct this analysis, a competitive neural network known as the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) was used. SOMs allow …

Calibration Uncertainties In The Droplet Measurement Technologies Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter, Kurt James Hibert

Theses and Dissertations

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) serve as the nucleation sites for the condensation of water vapor in Earth's atmosphere and are important for their effect on climate and weather. The influence of CCN on cloud radiative properties (aerosol indirect effect) is the most uncertain of quantified radiative forcing changes that have occurred since pre-industrial times. CCN influence the weather because intrinsic and extrinsic aerosol properties affect cloud formation and precipitation development. To quantify these effects, it is necessary to accurately measure CCN, which requires accurate calibrations using a consistent methodology. Furthermore, the calibration uncertainties are required to compare measurements from different …

Performance Of Cormix Model For Point Source Contamination Simulations In Rivers Due To Oil Spills From Pipeline Failures, Joseph Gregory Heiden

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on a point-source oil contamination scenario for surface flow created by a pipeline failure. In this hypothetical scenario, a pipeline crossing two different river types (wide and regulated, and narrow, slightly meandering) will begin to leak and contaminant the rivers. CORMIX, a U.S. EPA supported mixing zone model, was used to model concentration of the near-field, starting from the source of the contaminant and throughout the region of interest. CORMIX takes the fundamental behaviors of an oil spill to provide an accurate and easy-to-use fate and transport model. The severity of the oil spill is categorized into …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Negative Impact Of Falls On Health, Well-Being, And Survival Among Older Adults: An Examination Of Protective Psychosocial Mediators, Harpa Lind Jonsdottir

Theses and Dissertations

Falls can have detrimental effects on older adults’ physical and psychological health, and survival rates. However, there appears to be a protective psychosocial mediator that may lessen the negative impact of experiencing a fall on health and well-being. The psychosocial factors examined as mediators of the falls - health and well-being relationship in this study were dispositional optimism and perceived control. Participants were 232 community-dwelling older adults, age 68 or older. This study was linked to a longitudinal study including data collected in 2008 and 2010 (Grand Cities Healthy Aging Study (GCHAS). Measurements of dispositional optimism, perceived control, self-rated physical …

An Intrinsic Characterization Of Bonnet Surfaces Based On A Closed Differential Ideal, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

The structure equations for a two-dimensional manifold are introduced and two results based on the Codazzi equations pertinent to the study of isometric surfaces are obtained from them. Important theorems pertaining to isometric surfaces are stated and a theorem due to Bonnet is obtained. A transformation for the connection forms is developed. It is proved that the angle of deformation must be harmonic, and that the differentials of many of the important variables generate a closed differential ideal. This implies that a coordinate system exists in which many of the variables satisfy particular ordinary differential equations, and these results can …

"A Degree Is A Part Of The Puzzle, But Only A Piece.” Understanding How Employers Determine The Value Of Academic Credentials, Brenda Kaspari

Theses and Dissertations

With the skyrocketing costs of higher education and the increased scrutiny of how educational institutions prepare graduates for the workplace, this dissertation explored how the “outsiders,” or employers, view and determine the value of academic credentials. Using the premise of credentialism, this grounded theory, qualitative study addressed two major questions; first, how do employees evaluate academic credentials, and second, what factors are important to employers?

Through the interviews, it was discovered that there were gray areas when determining the value of a college credential. There were three critical findings. First, college degrees are a valuable credential, yet there are issues …

Study Of Two-Phase And Single-Phase Flow Behavior In Channels Of Sudden Area Change Using Experimental And Computational Approach, Ashish Pramod Kotwal

Theses and Dissertations

It is well recognized in continuum mechanics that the theoretical origination for single-phase flows fundamentally based on the beginning of field equations paraphrasing the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy. These equations are accompanied by the appropriate constitutive associations for thermodynamic state and energy transfer, which specify the thermodynamic and transport of a specific fundamental material. Nevertheless, the multi-phase flows equations derivation is, in general, considerably more convoluted than for single-phase flows. This is predominantly due to the presence of significant discontinuities of the fluid properties through the interfaces and complicated flow characteristics approximating the interfaces, separating the individual …

Perceptions Of Dress Code Compliance, Kristen Nicole Leighton

Theses and Dissertations

Recent media coverage of middle and high school dress code controversies has called into question the fairness of such regulations on students’ clothing. The current study investigated gender differences in reactions to dress code violations and how reactions varied based on the race of the student who violated the dress code. The current study also explored how individual differences in hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and social dominance orientation influenced judgments about dress code violations. Judgments about dress code violations were not found to vary based on the gender of the participant or race of the target. Social dominance orientation, however, …

Working And Providing Care: Increasing Student Engagement For Part-Time Community College Students, Daniel Leingang

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among external time obligations of work and care giving by part-time students, their participation within structured group learning experiences, and student engagement. The Structured Group Learning Experiences (SGLEs) explored within this study include community college programming activities of orientation, accelerated developmental education, first-year experience courses, student success courses, and learning communities. Student engagement was measured by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Benchmark values. The focus of this research was to explore how differing levels of time spent working for pay and in providing care for dependents impacted …

Contextual Factors Related To Stereotype Threat And Student Success In Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Education: A Mixed Methods Study, Lindsey Leker

Theses and Dissertations

Stereotype threat is a widely researched phenomenon shown to impact performance in testing and evaluation situations (Katz, Roberts, & Robinson, 1965; Steele & Aronson, 1995). When related to gender, stereotype threat can lead women to score lower than men on standardized math exams (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Stereotype threat may be one reason women have lower enrollment in most science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, hold a smaller number of STEM careers than men, and have a higher attrition rate in STEM professions (Hill, Corbet, & Rose, 2010; Picho & Brown 2011; Sorby & Baartmans, 2000). Most research …

Theory And Application Development Of Electronic Structure Methods Involving Heavy Computation, Run Li

Theses and Dissertations

The propargyl radical, the most stable isomer of C3H3, is very important in combustion reactions. However, theoretical calculations have never been able to find a strong absorption around 242 nm as seen in experiments. In this study, we calculated the electronic energy levels of the propargyl radical using highly accurate multireference methods, including multireference configuration interaction singles and doubles method with triples and quadruples treated perturbatively [denoted as MRCISD(TQ)], as well as second and third order generalized Van Vleck perturbation theories (GVVPT2 and GVVPT3). Calculations indicate that this absorption can be solely attributed to a Franck-Condon-allowed transition from the ground …

Rotational Study Of Ambiguous Taxonomic Type Asteroids, Tyler Linder

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have been categorizing asteroids by color for decades in an attempt to better understand asteroid composition and potential links to the meteorite population. However, only recently through large data collection surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has the asteroid population as a whole been studied. This research will look at a subset of asteroids with the highest reflectivity differences as reported by Carvano et al. (2010) in order to answer the question: Can visible wavelength ambiguous taxonomic asteroid types be an indicator of a non-homogeneous surface?

This research studied asteroid 2453 (Wabash) in great detailed with visible …

Sensitivity Of Cross-Tropopause Convective Transport To Tropopause Definition, Emily Maddox

Theses and Dissertations

An idealized three-dimensional cloud-resolving model is used to investigate the sensitivity of cross-tropopause convective mass transport to tropopause definition. A ten-hour simulation is conducted to encompass the growth and decay cycle, with focus on irreversible transport above the tropopause. Six previously published tropopause definitions are evaluated. These definitions include specific values of altitude, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) temperature lapse rate, potential vorticity, stratospheric tracer concentration, static stability, and curvature of the Brunt-Vaisala Frequency. This investigation highlights the challenge of defining a tropopause during active deep convection, and demonstrates the need of clearly communicating calculation methods and threshold choices in the …

Detailed Analysis Of Convective Simulations From A Wrf Microphysics Ensemble, Joshua Markel

Theses and Dissertations

This study performed a detailed analysis of convective storms across the Contiguous United States from 77 case dates using a 4-member microphysics Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) ensemble and Stage IV gauge-adjusted radar derived precipitation. Dates included the 2016 NOAA Spring Forecast Experiment (SFE) with the remainder from 2010-2012. Quantitative attributes of precipitation objects in both simulations and observations were diagnosed using the Method of Object-Based Diagnostic Evaluation Time-Domain (MODE-TD). The microphysics schemes tested were WSM6, Thompson, Morrison, and Milbrandt.

Among all simulation case dates, compared to observations, the number of precipitation objects less than 90 km in length are …

Spacesuit Integrated Carbon Nanotube Dust Mitigation System For Lunar Exploration, Kavya Kamal Manyapu

Theses and Dissertations

Lunar dust proved to be troublesome during the Apollo missions. The lunar dust comprises of fine particles, with electric charges imparted by solar winds and ultraviolet radiation. As such, it adheres readily, and easily penetrates through smallest crevices into mechanisms. During Apollo missions, the powdery dust substantially degraded the performance of spacesuits by abrading suit fabric and clogging seals. Dust also degraded other critical equipment such as rovers, thermal control and optical surfaces, solar arrays, and was thus shown to be a major issue for surface operations. Even inside the lunar module, Apollo astronauts were exposed to this dust when …

Young Children's Articulations Of Their Metacognitive Processing During Play, Dawnita S. Nilles

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research study was to hear young children’s descriptions of their metacognitive processes. Research has shown that play is the foundation of a child’s learning and numerous studies show that play affects all areas of a child’s development. Despite this, at the time of this study, there appeared to be a scarcity of published literature in which young children were interviewed about the metacognitive processes they use while playing. Children have been found to describe their thinking through non-verbal cues. They also have been able to articulate their knowledge and understanding, analyze, and evaluate the …

The Influence Of Rural Primary Care Providers Level Of Stigma On Recognition Of Suicidal Ideation In Patients, Megan Obert

Theses and Dissertations

Although there has been an abundance of research in the last thirty years about primary care providers (PCPs) last contact with patients before they completed suicide, little is known about what may impede a PCPs ability to identify suicidal ideation in patients. The current study investigated implicit and explicit bias toward mental illness compared to physical illness among PCPs and students and how this may affect clinical decision making and identification of suicidal ideation in patients. The participants completed an online survey which assessed implicit stigma, explicit stigma, and clinical decision making in regard to a vignette that depicted a …

Stigma And Restoration Of Civil Rights To Felons, Kimberly Paige Pithey

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of people in the United States are banned from basic civil rights including participation in voting, jury duty, applying for government assistance, and owning a firearm because they have had a felony conviction. There is limited research on attitudes regarding the restoration of civil rights to felons. This thesis uses Goffman’s theory of stigma to examine whether public support for the restoration of rights to felons is associated with knowledge of felony convictions and whether an individual knows someone with a felony conviction. This study used an online survey of college undergraduates (N = 362) to explore two hypotheses …