Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies For Increasing Self-Efficacy In Long-Term Welfare Recipients, Crystal Mcclure

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the imposition of lifetime limitations on an individual's ability to receive cash assistance, there is a group of long-term Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients that have approached the lifetime limitation without becoming gainfully employed. Many long term TANF recipients report low levels of self-efficacy which inhibits their ability to successfully transition off welfare and into the workforce. However, most welfare-to-work programs do not address the emotional or psychological well-being of their clients, instead they focus on job placement and job readiness skills. The purpose of this sequential–exploratory mixed methods study is to identify the primary barriers to …

The Role Of Glucose Level On The Performance Of The Framingham Risk Score, Uohna June Thiessen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for more deaths than any other disease, continue to threaten the quality of life for many, and is a major burden to the health care system. The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) identified the major CVD risk factors that became essential to effective CVD screening strategies and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), is used to assess CVD risk. Based on the concepts of the health behavior model and CVD as a cardiometabolic disorder, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels and a CHD event, and to determine …

Factors Associated With Parental Involvement In Their Child's Education, John Joseph Trentalange

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After 4 decades and a large body of research on children's academic success, there is still a need to understand how to increase children's academic performance. Researchers agree that the key component to elementary school children's academic success is parental involvement. However, little is known on how to increase parental involvement and the characteristics of the parents who participate in their children's education. This quantitative study examined 2 parental characteristics, parents' internal attachment patterns and parenting styles, and their relationship with parental involvement and children's academic success. Bowlby's theory of attachment and Baumrind's parenting typologies served as the theoretical framework. …

Strategies For Oil And Gas Asset Retirement Sustainability In Alberta, Canada, Ikenna Uhuegbulem

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Oil and gas companies in Alberta, Canada lose millions of dollars per year due to ineffective management of retired assets. Ineffective management of inactive oil and gas assets in Alberta has led to over 80,000 inactive wells, highlighting the practice of prolonged deferment of asset end-of-life costs. Using the corporate sustainability model and asset management concept model as frameworks, this multiple case study was conducted to explore the strategies that asset managers in small- and medium-sized oil and gas companies used to manage retired assets effectively to increase organizational sustainability. The population for the study included 3 business leaders of …

Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation In One Government Agency, Stephen N. Strayer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation strategies can have a negative impact on business competitive advantage. Business leaders who struggle to maintain global operations and audit readiness are at high risk of failure. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies business leaders used to promote an awareness of the effects of performance on competitive advantage. The participants comprised of 22 business leaders on a military base in the state of Washington who effectively used ERP systems to increase global operations, audit readiness, and maximize competitive advantage. Data were …

Would A Robot Trust You? Developmental Robotics Model Of Trust And Theory Of Mind, S Vinanzi, M Patacchiola, A Chella, A Cangelosi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Trust is a critical issue in human-robot interaction: as robotic systems gain complexity, it becomes crucial for them to be able to blend in our society by maximizing their acceptability and reliability. Various studies have examined how trust is attributed by people to robots, but less have investigated the opposite scenario, where a robot is the trustor and a human is the trustee. The ability for an agent to evaluate the trustworthiness of its sources of information is particularly useful in joint task situations where people and robots must collaborate to reach shared goals. We propose an artificial cognitive architecture …

Drones And American Domestic Policy: An Analysis Of Elite And Mass Opinion, Kevin Michael Leonard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have primarily focused on the use of drones for military purposes. Yet, understanding how the use of drones influences domestic policymaking from the perspective of mass and elite opinion was generally absent from the academic literature. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore and describe the perceptions of policy elites and the mass public on the impact of drone use on domestic policy. Guided by Donohue, Tichenor and Olien's theories of media framing and salience, mass opinion was measured through a convenience sample via the Walden Participant Pool, whereas elite opinion was measured through a purposive sampling …

Jamaican Kindergarten And First Grade Teachers’ Expectations For Readiness Skills, Sadie Henrietta Harris-Mortley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children’s readiness to meet demands in Grade 1 is a common concern in most primary schools in Jamaica. Teachers have voiced their expectations that students should display a level of mastery in readiness skills so that they can be engaged in academic tasks when they transition from the kindergarten to Grade 1. The purpose of this qualitative case study, guided by social constructivism, was to explore kindergarten students’ readiness for Grade 1 based on the perceptions of kindergarten teachers compared to Grade 1 teachers on readiness skills, instructional practices, and expectations of students’ competency. The research questions were designed to …

Every Student Succeeds Act: Are Schools Making Sure Every Student Succeeds?, Laura Adler-Greene

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pass The "Idea": Following Bilingual Mathematics Discussions [Pásame La "Idea": Siguiendo Discusiones Matemáticas Bilingües], Gladys Krause, Melissa Adams Corral, Luz A. Maldonado

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

In this study we document how a mathematical idea, shared by a student, changes the development of the class discussion. Our work characterizes the flexible and open dynamics in mathematics instruction that a teacher adopts to give her students control of their own mathematical ideas. Our work argues that this flexibility is necessary for teachers to engage in instructional practices that respond to students' mathematical thinking. To demonstrate the teacher's flexibility we use the analogy of soccer, relying on the literature of Game Sense coaching approach, which suggests that the coach (the teacher in our context) is positioned to manipulate …

Learning Productive Mathematical Talk Moves Through Mix-Reality Simulation: The Case Of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers In A Hispanic Serving Institution, Jair J. Aguilar, James A. Telese

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Teacher preparation programs require pre-service teachers to engage in field experiences that include participation in classrooms (Freeman, 2010). Mix-Reality Simulation (MRS) is a technological tool that can be implemented to provide pre-service teachers opportunities to develop pedagogical techniques such as providing feedback, conducting discussions, integrating technology with instruction while at the same time exploring different environments (Hixon & So, 2009). This paper presents preliminary results of a first-stage research in the implementation of a MRSs’ into an elementary teacher education program at a large Hispanic-Serving Institution. The purpose of the study was to determine whether differences existed between the groups …

Characteristics Of Gay, Bisexual And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men With Multiple Diagnoses Of Infectious Syphilis In British Columbia, Canada, 2005-2014, Stephanie Konrad, Donna B. Mak, Troy Grennan, Bernadette Zakher, Bobbi Brownrigg, Gina Ogilvie, Muhammad Morshed, Mark Tyndall, Mark Gilbert, Mel Krajden, Jason Wong

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Infectious syphilis has increased substantially over the past decade. Targeting limited public health resources toward subpopulations with multiple reinfections may have a large impact in reducing onward transmission within a community.

Methods: A chart review was conducted for individuals with 4 or more infectious syphilis diagnoses between 2005 and 2014 (the top 1% of all syphilis diagnoses in British Columbia, Canada). We characterized the sociodemographics, partner notification outcomes and social network.

Results: Between 2005 and 2014, there were 30 individuals with 4 or more syphilis diagnoses, accounting for 139 diagnoses. All were men who have sex with men and …

Loi: Next Generation Tritium Experiments In Clas12, D. Gaskell, D. W. Higinbotham, D. Meekins, A. Ashkenazi, A. Denniston, R. Cruz-Torres, O. Hen, D. Nguyen, A. Papadopoulou, J. Pybus, A. Schmidt, E. P. Segarra, D. Dutta, Z. Ye, F. Hauenstein, M. Khachatryan, L. B. Weinstein, E. Piasetzky, S. Sirca, M. Mihovilovic, T. Kolar

Physics Faculty Publications

This LOI includes information on possible experiments for an experimental program using a new tritium target in CLAS12. It includes several pieces, including flavor tagged DIS on d, ³He, and ³H targets, and quasielatic scattering. A preliminary feasibility study indicates that a tritium target in Hall B is possible. We are submitting this LOI to get feedback from the PAC whether it is worth the effort of developing a full proposal, including significantly more work on the possible Hall B tritium target.

The bulk of the LOI discusses the flavor-tagged DIS measurement.

Measurement Of The Magnetic Field Penetration Into Superconducting Thin Films, Iresha Harshani Senevirathne, Gianluigi Ciovati, Jean R. Delayen

Physics Faculty Publications

The magnetic field at which first flux penetrates is a fundamental parameter characterizing superconducting materials for SRF cavities. Therefore, an accurate technique is needed to measure the penetration of the magnetic field directly. The conventional magnetometers are inconvenient for thin superconducting film measurements because these measurements are strongly influenced by orientation, edge and shape effects. In order to measure the onset of field penetration in bulk, thin films and multi-layered superconductors, we have designed, built and calibrated a system combining a small superconducting solenoid capable of generating surface magnetic field higher than 500 mT and Hall probe to detect the …

Magnetized Electron Source For Jleic Cooler, R. Suleiman, P.A. Adderley, J.F. Benesch, D.B. Bullard, J.R. Delayen, J.M. Grames, J. Guo, F.E. Hannon, J. Hansknecht, C. Hernandez-Garcia, R. Kazimi, G.A. Krafft, M.A. Mamun, M. Poelker, M.G. Tiefenback, Y.W. Wang, S.A.K. Wijethunga, J. T. Yoskowitz, S. Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Magnetized bunched-beam electron cooling is a critical part of the Jefferson Lab Electron Ion Collider (JLEIC). Strong cooling of ion beams will be accomplished inside a cooling solenoid where the ions co-propagate with an electron beam generated from a source immersed in magnetic field. This contribution describes the production and characterization of magnetized electron beam using a compact 300 kV DC high voltage photogun and bialkali-antimonide photocathodes. Beam magnetization was studied using a diagnostic beamline that includes viewer screens for measuring the shearing angle of the electron beamlet passing through a narrow upstream slit. Correlated beam emittance with magnetic field …

Decision Making Under Uncertainty With Applications To Geosciences And Finance, Laxman Bokati

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many practical situations, we need to make a decision. In engineering, we need to decide on the best design of a system, and, for existing systems â?? on the best control strategy. In financial applications, we need to decide what is the best way to invest money. In geosciences, we need to decide whether we should explore a possible mineral deposit â?? or whether we should perform more experiments and measurements (and what exactly). In some cases, we can compute the exact consequences of each decision - e.g., if we are controlling a satellite. However, in many other cases, …

Development And Characterization Of Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pet)-Cotton Natural Fiber-Reinforced Composites From Waste Materials, Israel Alejandro Carrete

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Unprecedented levels of production and consumption have caused a rapid exhaustion of the Earth's virgin resources, which is coupled with a fast accumulation of contaminants in the form of solid waste, especially in landfills. Two significant landfill constituents come from textile waste and discarded plastic bottles. Since there is a finite amount of space that can be feasibly used for landfills, solutions that make use of these post-consumer products are imperative. This study presents one possible solution by using surface modifications of cotton fibers to produce a natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite (NFRPC) from post-consumer textile waste and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) …

Code Smells Quantification: A Case Study On Large Open Source Research Codebase, Swapnil Singh Chauhan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research software has opened up new pathways of discovery in many and diverse disciplines. The research software is developed under unique budgetary and schedule constraints. The developers are often untrained transient workforce of graduate students and postdocs. As a result, the software quality hinders its sustainability beyond the immediate research goals. More importantly, the prevalent reward structures favor contributions in terms of research articles and systematically undervalues research code contributions. As a result, researchers and funding agencies do not allocate appropriate efforts or resources to the development, sustenance, and dissemination of research codebases. At the same time, there are no …

Scientific Islanders: Pacific Peoples, American Scientists, And The Desire To Understand The World, 1800-1860, Roberto Jesus Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Between 1800 and 1860, Pacific Islanders sought answers to questions about the mechanics and origins of the universe, just as Americans did. But the systems of thought created by Natives addressing these matters generally would not have been considered "scientific" by Americans. Pacific Islanders and Americans, nevertheless, created extensive scientific traditions to systematically perceive, understand, and explain the nature of existence. These systems were rooted in religion, social dynamics, and other cultural norms, and manifested themselves in writing, artwork, explorations, and technologies that benefited their societies. Thus, this Thesis argues that the practice of scientific methods was not simply a …

Strategies To Improve The Electrochemical Of Performance Transition Metal Compounds As Anode Materials For Li-Ion Batteries, Noemi Dominguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nowadays, our society depends on fossil fuels as the main energy source. However, depletion, price fluctuations, and other concerns, such as global warming, have led to an exhaustive research for renewable energy resources. Here is where electrochemical energy systems play a critical role since they can provide power when renewable energy is not available. Among these electrochemical energy storage systems Li-ion batteries (LIBs) have shown higher volumetric, gravimetric, and power density capacities over other battery systems.

However, commercial LIBs are still relying on graphite base materials for the anode. However, graphite possesses a low specific capacity. Recently, transition metal compounds …

Incorporating Cybersecurity Engineering Within The Discipline Of Systems Engineering, Chuck Easttom

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study is an examination of integrating cybersecurity and systems engineering. The goal is to provide a framework that accomplishes three objectives. The first is to integrate the existing systems engineering methods into cybersecurity. The second is to provide a template for cybersecurity engineering curriculum. The third is to provide a modeling language specific to cybersecurity.

Cmas/Volcanic Ash Infiltration Performance Of Yttria Rich-Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings Produced By Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition, Juan Jose Gomez Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For many years the use of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) in gas turbine engines has allowed a significant increase in engine operating temperatures which are above the Ni-based super alloys' melting point. The base material for TBCs is the state of the art 7 wt % yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which provides the thermal protection. Current industry demands for increased engine efficiency has pushed TBCs to the limits where significant technological constrains have been identified. One of the main ones represents the high temperature corrosion of the TBC material due to the ingestion of silicate based airborne particles commonly referred …

The Rhetoric Of Low Carbon Energy Technology Scientists And Engineers, Nicolas Cesar Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Scholars in the burgeoning field of Energy Communication have successfully contributed to communication studies and environmental communication practice. However, energy communication scholars have largely focused on energy of media coverage, corporate communication and decision making in the context crisis. While rich and informative, this tendency has left quotidian aspects of energy communication rather understudied. As such, this Thesis contributes to the understanding of the internal, non-untechnical rhetoric of low carbon energy technology (LCET) scientists and engineers (herein LCET professionals). Textual analysis was used to examine LCET professionals' internal rhetoric at professional trade conferences and through long form, semi-structured interviews. Wind …

Synthesis, Characterization And Antibacterial Properties Of Silver(I) N-(4-Pyridyl) Benzamide Complexes With Varying Conterions, Mauro J. Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Organic semiconductor materials composed of - stacking aromatic compounds have been under intense investigation for their potential uses in flexible electronics and other advanced technologies. Herein we report a new family of seven - stacking compounds of Silver(I) N-(4-pyridyl) Benzamide with varying counterions, namely [Ag(NPBA)2]X, where NPBA is N-(4-pyridyl) Benzamine, X = NO3- (1), ClO4- (2), CF3SO3- (3), PF6- (4), BF4- (5), CH3PhSO3- (6), and PhSO3- (7), which form extended - stacking networks in one-dimensional (1D), 2D and 3D directions in the crystalline solid-state via the phenyl moiety, with average inter-ring distances of 3.823 Å. Interestingly, the counterions that contain …

Ductile Deformation In The Central Panamint Mountains - A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To A Multi-Dimensional Problem., Tai Antonia Subia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study provides new insights into the geometry and timing of ductile, syn-metamorphic structures in the central Panamint Mountains of eastern California. The study focused on Surprise Canyon, where exposures of Meso- to Neoproterozoic miogeocline rocks, reworked crystalline basement, and syn-metamorphic granitoids record fabric overprints indicative of at least two distinct dynamo-thermal metamorphic events. Prograde metamorphism at greenschist and amphibolite metamorphic facies conditions occurred during Early Jurassic plutonism based on deformation of a dioritic pluton with a U-Pb date reported here of 175.6 ± 3.2 Ma. Mid Jurassic deformation (D1) generated the main continuous cleavage in the rocks (S1) as …

Thermo-Fluid System Level Modeling For The Crome And Crome-X Ground Propellant System Using Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program, Mariano Mercado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A recent resurgence of interest in space exploration has given rise to a number of newcomers in the space industry. A number of private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance have joined the likes of NASA with the goal to expand the current capabilities of space travel and exploration. Perhaps the most ambitious of these goals is a manned mission to Mars. In order to achieve this goal, many of these companies have taken a keen interest in liquid oxygen and methane engine technologies. Engines like the Raptor by SpaceX and the Blue Origin BE-4 already run …

Amplification Vs The Natural Ear: A Test On The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Match Pitch In Song, Celeste Orozco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Singing is a natural enjoyment of life; however, individuals tend to isolate themselves from this enjoyment due to their inability to match pitch accurately. A new technology, the Natural Ear provides altered auditory feedback to the user while singing. It is hypothesized that this feedback may aid in the userâ??s ability to match pitch.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the Natural Ear to amplification and no amplification conditions on pitch matching accuracy in song.

Study Design: This study used a complex counterbalance within-subjects design.

Methods: 50 adults from the El Paso Metropolitan …

An Alternative Method Of Calibration And Prediction For The Theta-Projection Model, Jimmy Jesus Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The combustion induced high temperature-stress conditions of industrial gas turbines used in power generation causes turbine blades to wear and break after prolonged use. The need to predict turbine blade service life is ever increasing, leading to the development of several constitutive prediction models. It is necessary to design components for high-temperature/high-stress service such that creep failure does not occur during service life. For this reason, it is important to accurately predict creep life and understand the behavior of creep deformation leading to rupture. Several models have been expanded upon to improve their effectiveness for use with particular parametric data. …

Socialization Agents That Puerto Rican College Students Use To Make Financial Decisions, Enid Alvarez, Steven Tippins

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Using consumer socialization theory as theoretical framework, the purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to identify the information sources that Puerto Ricans college students use to gather financial knowledge. A sample of 198 Puerto Rican college students answered a portion of the College Student Financial Literacy Survey. The research question addressed the preference of four financial information sources, including parents, peers, media, and school. A combination of descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression confirmed that participants preferred to gather financial knowledge from parents. Researchers, educators, and policymakers may use this …

Computational Model Of Negotiation Skills In Virtual Artificial Agents, Daniela Pacella

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Negotiation skills represent crucial abilities for engaging in effective social interactions in formal and informal settings. Serious games, intelligent systems and virtual agents can provide solid tools upon which one-to-one training and assessment can be reliably made available. The aim of the present work is to fill the gap between the recent growing interest towards soft skills, and the lack of a robust and modern methodology for supporting their investigation. A computational model for the development of Enact, a 3D virtual intelligent platform for training and testing negotiation skills, will be presented. The serious game allows users to interact with …