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Factors Influencing Nigerian Adults to Participate in the Adult Basic Education Programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention Which Lead to the First-School-Leaving-ertificate
The problem with which this study is concerned is that of determining the specific stated factors that influenced Nigerian adults to participate in adult basic educational programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention which lead to the first-school-leaving-certificate. The purpose of the study was to identify and examine the factors that influence Nigerian adults to participate in the adult basic and certificate educational programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, and to make recommendations for program improvements based on these findings. The data for this study were collected from questionnaires which included demographic information about the participants and a list of reasons for educational participation and needs-met statements. Questionnaire items were rated on a five-point scale. The researcher mailed 600 questionnaires to both adult basic and certificate education students in the adult education programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in Ibadan, Nigeria. The basic education group responded to 126 questionnaires, while the certificate groups responded to 122 questionnaires.
Determining the Emissivity of Roofing Samples: Asphalt, Ceramic and Coated Cedar
The goal is to perform heat measurements examine of selected roofing material samples. Those roofing materials are asphalt shingles, ceramics, and cedar. It’s important to understand the concept of heat transfer, which consists of conduction, convection, and radiation. Research work was reviewed on different infrared devices to see which one would be suitable for conducting my experiment. In this experiment, the main focus was on a specific property of radiation. That property is the emissivity, which is the amount of heat a material is able to radiate compared to a blackbody. An infrared measuring device, such as the infrared camera was used to determine the emissivity of each sample by using a measurement formula consisting of certain equations. These equations account for the emissivity, transmittance of heat through the atmosphere and temperatures of the samples, atmosphere and background. The experiment verifies how reasonable the data is compared to values in the emissivity table. A blackbody method such as electrical black tape was applied to help generate the correct data. With this data obtained, the emissivity was examined to understand what factors and parameters affect this property of the materials. This experiment was conducted using a suitable heat source to heat up the material samples to high temperature. The measurements were taken during the experiment and displayed by the IR camera. The IR images show the behavior of surface temperatures being distributed throughout the different materials. The main challenge was to determine the most accurate emissivity values for all material samples. The results obtained by the IR camera were displayed in figures and tables at different distances, which was between the heap lamp and materials. The materials exhibited different behaviors in temperature and emissivity at certain distances. The emissivity of each material varied with different temperatures. The results led to suggestions …
Magnetron Sputtering of Transition Metal Oxynitrides and Their Characterization with Auger Electron Spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Transition metal oxynitrides are of growing interest for their use as electrocatalyst for nitrogen reduction reaction. The metals in the oxynitride used for catalytic process are stabilized in intermediate state for effective activation of nitrogen. Therefore, studying the interaction of metal oxynitrides films to ambient exposure is necessary. Here, sputter deposited vanadium oxynitride is compared to cobalt oxynitride using insitu Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After deposition in Ar/N2 environment, in situ AES spectra indicate that film is vanadium oxynitride despite oxygen is not the reactive gas. In contrast, in situ AES indicate film is pure cobalt nitride at the same base pressure and deposition condition (as vanadium). For ambient exposure, in situ AES indicate the incorporation of oxygen in the cobalt nitride film to form cobalt oxynitride. Ex situ XPS indicate both films get more oxidized but uniformly distributed as there is only slight difference in grazing and normal emission XPS. XRD and SEM also indicate how homogeneously distributed both films are. These finding confirms how important it is that transition metal centers are kept in intermediate oxidation state for the activation of nitrogen bond.
Factors Associated with Quality of Academic Programs and Types of Jobs Secured by Graduates of Handcrafted Textile Design Programs of Universities and Polytechnics in Nigeria
The problem with which this study is concerned is that of determining the possible differential effects of the alternative training patterns of handcrafted textile design students in universities and polytechnics in Nigeria on the scores in courses for their final-year training as well as the type of first employment that students secure after graduation.
Electrically Tunable Absorption and Perfect Absorption Using Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide and Graphene Sandwiched in Oxides
Understanding the fundamental physics in light absorption and perfect light absorption is vital for device applications in detector, sensor, solar energy harvesting and imaging. In this research study, a large area fabrication of Al-doped ZnO/Al2O3/graphene/Al2O3/gold/silicon device was enabled by a spin-processable hydrophilic mono-layer graphene oxide. In contrast to the optical properties of noble metals, which cannot be tuned or changed, the permittivity of transparent metal oxides, such as Al-doped ZnO and indium tin oxide, are tunable. Their optical properties can be adjusted via doping or tuned electrically through carrier accumulation and depletion, providing great advantages for designing tunable photonic devices or realizing perfect absorption. A significant shift of Raman frequency up to 360 cm-1 was observed from graphene in the fabricated device reported in this work. The absorption from the device was tunable with a negative voltage applied on the Al-doped ZnO side. The generated absorption change was sustainable when the voltage was off and erasable when a positive voltage was applied. The reflection change was explained by the Fermi level change in graphene. The sustainability of tuned optical property in graphene can lead to a design of device with less power consumption.
The Eosinophil and Lysophospholipase Responses in Mice Infected with Trichinella spiralis: A Role for the Lymphocyte and Macrophage
The relationship among eosinophils, lysophospholipase activity and the immune response in animals infected with Trichinella spiralis was studied using in vivo and in vitro techniques. In an in vivo experiment, anti-thymocyte serum (ATS) was administered to mice infected with T. spiralis and its effects on intestinal lysophospholipase (EC 3.1.1.5.) activity, peripheral blood, bone marrow and intestinal eosinophilia were measured in the same experimental animal. The ATS caused a significant temporally related suppression of both the tissue lysophospholipase response and eosinophilia, in all three compartments. These findings support the hypothesis that parasite-induced eosinophilia is the cause of the increased lysophospholipase activity of parasitized tissue and that the responses are thymus cell-dependent. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the eosinophil was the primary inflammatory cell source of lysophospholipase among eosinophils, neutrophils macrophages and lymphocytes. The role of other cells and antigen in the production of the enzyme by the eosinophil was also investigated in vitro• Results demonstrated that eosinophils cultured with both T. spiralis antigen and other leukocytes yielded enzyme activities significantly greater than eosinophils cultured alone or with only antigen. More specific experiments showed that T-lymphocytes were the cells responsible for influencing the eosinophils' lysophospholipase activity in the presence of antigen, and that their influence was enhanced by the presence of macrophages. These results suggested that increased lysophospholipase activity present in parasitized tissue was not only due to increased numbers of eosinophils infiltrating parasitized tissue but was also due to each eosinophil synthesizing more of the enzyme. The necessity for antigen and other cells suggests a role for cell cooperation in the production of the enzyme, specifically T-lymphocytes and macrophage interaction with the eosinophil. A lymphocyte soluble factor collected from sensitized lymphocytes stimulated with specific antigen or concanavalin A was found to enhance the eosinophil lysophospholipase activity when added to cultures of …
An Analysis of the Need for Human Resource Development in Nigeria
The present study was concerned with seeking the opinions of Nigerian employers, Nigerians studying in the United States, and those studying in Nigeria concerning the need for human resource development in Nigeria. Data were collected through questionnaires mailed to selected Nigerian employers and to Nigerian students studying at various United States college campuses and at Nigerian university campuses. Problems of unemployment and critical shortages of skilled manpower continue to be rampant in Nigeria. The present investigation, through an analysis of questionnaire responses, seems to support the impression that little is really being done by Nigerian organization to upgrade and strengthen personnel talent in a planned and organized way. Most companies have no central long-range goal to guide their manpower development efforts. Much more time, effort, and expense are likely being devoted to the introduction of new operating systems or pieces of equipment than to the improvement of people.
An Analysis of Location and Offender Characteristics for Motor Vehicle Theft in Texas from 2001 to 2005
Motor vehicle theft is the costliest property crime in the United States equaling billions of dollars in losses each year. Despite law enforcement success in decreasing the rate of motor vehicle theft in recent years, the actual number of thefts has increased. It is vital for law enforcement agencies to know who is committing motor vehicle theft and where vehicles are being stolen. This study answers these questions by examining offender demographic characteristics and the location types most targeted for motor vehicle theft in Texas from 2001 to 2005. The state of Texas was chosen because Texas has continually been ranked second in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report for the number of reported incidents of motor vehicle theft in the United States.
Identification and Characterization of an Arabidopsis thaliana Mutant with Tolerance to N-lauroylethanolamine
N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are fatty acid derivatives in plants that negatively influence seedling growth. N-Lauroylethanolamine (NAE 12:0), one type of NAE, inhibits root length, increases radial swelling of root tips and reduces root hair numbers in a dose dependent manner in Arabidopis thaliana L. (ecotype Columbia). A forward genetics approach was employed by screening a population of T-DNA “activation-tagged” developed by the Salk Institute lines for NAE resistance to identify potential genes involved in NAE signaling events in Arabidopsis thaliana L. (ecotype Columbia). Seeds of the activation tagged lines were grown at 0, 25, 30, 50, 75 and 100 µM N-lauroylethanolamime (NAE 12:0). Ten plants which displayed NAE tolerance (NRA) seedling phenotypes, compared with wildtype (Columbia, Col-0) seedlings were identified. I focused on one mutant line, identified as NRA 25, where the tolerance to NAE 12:0 appears to be mediated by a single dominant, nuclear gene. Thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL) PCR identified the location of the T-DNA insert as 3.86 kbp upstream of the locus At1g68510. Quantitative PCR indicated that the transcript level corresponding to At1g68510 is upregulated approximately 20 fold in the mutant relative to wildtype. To determine whether the NAE tolerance in NRA 25 is associated with overexpression of At1g68510 I created overexpressing lines of At1g68510 with and without GFP fusions behind the 2X35S CaMV promoter. As predicted, results with overexpressing lines of At1g68510 also exhibited enhanced resistance to NAE when compared with the wildtype. Confocal images of the fusion proteins suggest that GFP-At1g68510 is concentrated in the nucleus and this was confirmed by counterstaining with 4', 6-Diamidino-2-phenylindol (DAPI). Futhermore, At1g68510 overexpressing lines and NRA 25 line also exhibited tolerance to abscisic acid (ABA) during seedling germination. The findings suggests that At1g68510 overexpression mediates seedling tolerance to both ABA and NAE, a mechanism independent of fatty acid amide hydrolase …
The Role of Eigenvalues of Parity Check Matrix in Low-Density Parity Check Codes
The new developments in coding theory research have revolutionized the application of coding to practical systems. Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes form a class of Shannon limit approaching codes opted for digital communication systems that require high reliability. This thesis investigates the underlying relationship between the spectral properties of the parity check matrix and LDPC decoding convergence. The bit error rate of an LDPC code is plotted for the parity check matrix that has different Second Smallest Eigenvalue Modulus (SSEM) of its corresponding Laplacian matrix. It is found that for a given (n,k) LDPC code, large SSEM has better error floor performance than low SSEM. The value of SSEM decreases as the sparseness in a parity-check matrix is increased. It was also found from the simulation that long LDPC codes have better error floor performance than short codes. This thesis outlines an approach to analyze LDPC decoding based on the eigenvalue analysis of the corresponding parity check matrix.
Knowledge Based System and Decision Making Methodologies in Materials Selection for Aircraft Cabin Metallic Structures
Materials selection processes have been the most important aspects in product design and development. Knowledge-based system (KBS) and some of the methodologies used in the materials selection for the design of aircraft cabin metallic structures are discussed. Overall aircraft weight reduction means substantially less fuel consumption. Part of the solution to this problem is to find a way to reduce overall weight of metallic structures inside the cabin. Among various methodologies of materials selection using Multi Criterion Decision Making (MCDM) techniques, a few of them are demonstrated with examples and the results are compared with those obtained using Ashby's approach in materials selection. Pre-defined constraint values, mainly mechanical properties, are employed as relevant attributes in the process. Aluminum alloys with high strength-to-weight ratio have been second-to-none in most of the aircraft parts manufacturing. Magnesium alloys that are much lighter in weight as alternatives to the Al-alloys currently in use in the structures are tested using the methodologies and ranked results are compared. Each material attribute considered in the design are categorized as benefit and non-benefit attribute. Using Ashby's approach, material indices that are required to be maximized for an optimum performance are determined, and materials are ranked based on the average of consolidated indices ranking. Ranking results are compared for any disparity among the methodologies.
Proteomic Responses in the Gill of Zebrafish Following Exposure to Ibuprofen and Naproxen
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most abundant environmental pharmaceutical contaminants. In this study, a proteomic analysis was conducted to identify proteins differentially expressed in gill tissue of zebrafish (Danio rerio) after a 14-day exposure to the NSAIDs ibuprofen or naproxen. A total of 104 proteins with altered expression as indicated by 2-dimensional electrophoresis were analyzed by liquid chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry (MS/MS). A total of 14 proteins fulfilled our requirements for identification which included consistency among replicate gels as well as successful MS/MS ion searches with the MASCOT database. The most prominent feature of the differential protein expression observed after NSAID exposure was an up-regulation of proteins belonging to the globin family which are involved in the transport of oxygen from gills and availability of heme molecules required for synthesis of cyclooxygenase. Differential expression was observed at exposure concentrations as low as 1-10 µg/L indicating that altered gene expression may occur in fish subjected to environmentally realistic levels of NSAID exposure.
Solvent Effects and Bioconcentration Patterns of Antimicrobial Compounds in Wetland Plants
This study looked at effects of organic solvents dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide and acetone at 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1% concentration on germination and seedling development wetland plants. Even at 0.01% level, all solvents affected some aspect of seed germination or seedling growth. Acetone at 0.01% was least toxic. Root morphological characteristics were most sensitive compared to shoot morphological characteristics. This study also looked at bioconcentration patterns of antimicrobial compounds triclosan, triclocarban and methyl-triclosan in wetland plants exposed to Denton Municipal Waste Water Treatment Plant effluent. Bioconcentration patterns of antimicrobial compounds varied among species within groups as well as within organs of species. The highest triclocarban, triclosan and methyltriclosan concentration were in shoot of N. guadalupensis, root of N. lutea and in shoots of P. nodous respectively.
Information Content of Non-GAAP Earnings of Cross-Listed Companies
To supplement earnings reported under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), public companies often voluntarily report alternative measures of earnings called non-GAAP earnings (NGE). These companies assert that NGE exclude the effect of non-recurring transactions, thereby helping users of financial information to better assess the company's past performance and prospects. Because NGE measures are not well defined, managers can exploit the inherent discretion in calculating NGE to mislead users. Prior studies provide arguments and evidence on the informative as well as opportunistic use of NGE. However, the studies have examined the characteristics and informativeness of NGE with a focus on U.S. companies. The results of studies that consider the NGE disclosure by U.S. companies may not be generalizable to the cross-listed companies because foreign financial reporting standards are different from the U.S. GAAP. Further, prior studies report a difference in earnings quality of U.S. firms and cross-listed firms, which can also result in a difference in the informativeness of their NGE. To fill this gap in literature, I examine whether the informativeness of NGE of cross-listed companies is different from that of U.S. companies. This study contributes to the debate on the informativeness of NGE. It provides evidence that in general, NGE are equally informative for U.S. and foreign companies but foreign companies are more opportunistic in excluding recurring items from NGE. The results of this study are of potential interest to investors, regulators, and academics who are interested in and interact with cross-listed companies.
Option Pricing Under New Classes of Jump-Diffusion Processes
In this dissertation, we introduce novel exponential jump-diffusion models for pricing options. Firstly, the normal convolution gamma mixture jump-diffusion model is presented. This model generalizes Merton's jump-diffusion and Kou's double exponential jump-diffusion. We show that the normal convolution gamma mixture jump-diffusion model captures some economically important features of the asset price, and that it exhibits heavier tails than both Merton jump-diffusion and double exponential jump-diffusion models. Secondly, the normal convolution double gamma jump-diffusion model for pricing options is presented. We show that under certain configurations of both the normal convolution gamma mixture and the normal convolution double gamma jump-diffusion models, the latter exhibits a heavier left or right tail than the former. For both models, the maximum likelihood procedure for estimating the model parameters under the physical measure is fairly straightforward; moreover, the likelihood function is given in closed form thereby eliminating the need to embed a probability density function recovery procedure such as the fast Fourier transform or the Fourier-cosine expansion methods in the parameter estimation procedure. In addition, both models can reproduce the implied volatility surface observed in the options data and provide a good fit to the market-quoted European option prices.
Identification, Characterization and Engineering of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases for Synthesis of Flavonoid Glucuronides
Flavonoids are polyphenolics compounds that constitute a major group of plant specialized metabolites, biosynthesized via the phenylpropanoid/polymalonate pathways. The resulting specialized metabolites can be due to decoration of flavonoid compounds with sugars, usually glucose, by the action of regiospecific UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes. In some cases, glycosylation can involve enzymatic attachment of other sugar moieties, such as glucuronic acid, galactose, rhamnose or arabinose. These modifications facilitate or impact the bioactivity, stability, solubility, bioavailability and taste of the resulting flavonoid metabolites. The present work shows the limitations of utilizing mammalian UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGATs) for flavonoid glucuronidation, and then proceeds to investigate plant UG(A)T candidates from the model legume Medicago truncatula for glucuronidating brain-targeted flavonoid metabolites that have shown potential in neurological protection. We identified and characterized several UG(A)T candidates from M. truncatula which efficiently glycosylate various flavonoids compounds with different/multiple regiospecificities. Biochemical characterization identified one enzyme, UGT84F9, that efficiently glucuronidates a range of flavonoid compounds in vitro. In addition, examination of the ugt84f9 gene knock-out mutation in M. truncatula indicates that UGT84F9 is the major UG(A)T enzyme that is necessary and sufficient for attaching glucuronic acid to flavonoid aglycones, particularly flavones, in this species. Finally, the identified UG(A)T candidates were analyzed via homology modeling and site-directed mutagenesis towards increasing the repertoire of UG(A)Ts applicable for synthesis of flavonoid glucuronides with potential human health benefits in neurological protection.
Presence of Wolbachia, A Potential Biocontrol Agent: Screening for Vertebrate Blood Meal Source and West Nile Virus in Mosquitoes in the North Texas Region
West Nile virus (WNV) is a geographically endemic mosquito-borne flavivirus that has spread across the United States infecting birds, mosquitos, humans, horses and other mammals. The wide spread nature of this virus is due to the ability of the mosquito vector to persist in broad, ecological diverse environments across the United States. In this study, mosquito populations in North Texas region were sampled for detection of Wolbachia, blood meal source, and WNV. The ultimate goal of this study was to examine the potential of a biocontrol agent, Wolbachia sp. that colonizes the hindgut of various insects, including mosquitos, as a natural means to interrupt virus transmission from mosquitos to other hosts, including humans. In Australia, Wolbachia sp. from fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have been successfully used to block transmission of a similar pathogenic virus from mosquitos responsible for transmission of Dengue fever. Here, mosquitoes were collected using CDC style Gravid Traps in Denton, Texas, from October 2012 through September 2014. Collected mosquitoes were identified, sexed, and categorized as to the amount of host blood in their alimentary system using a Zeiss Axio Zoom microscope (Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC, Thornwood, NY). Culex quinquefaciatus was the dominant blood engorged species collected. Smaller populations of Culex tarsalis and Aedes albopictus, another known vector for WNV were also collected. Mosquito larva were also collected from the UNT water research field station and reared to adults. Cx. tarsalis was the dominant mosquito taken from this habitat. Samples of Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. tarsalis and A. albopictus were analyzed for Wolbachia sp. and to identify host blood in the mosquito alimentary system. Total DNA extraction from the pool of mosquito samples was by both commercially available DNA extraction kits (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and salt extraction technique. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify and identify Wolbachia …
Traffic-Generated Air Pollution-Exposure Mediated Expression of Factors Associated with Progression of Multiple Sclerosis in a Female Polipoprotein E Knockout Mouse Model
Environmental air pollution is one risk factor associated with the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). In this project, we investigated the effects of ubiquitous traffic-generated pollutants, namely a mixture of gasoline and diesel vehicle exhaust (MVE), on signaling pathways associated with the pathophysiology of MS in the central nervous system (CNS) of either ovary intact (ov+) or ovariectomized (ov-) female Apolipoprotein (Apo) E-/-. Specifically, we investigated whether a subchronic inhalation exposure to MVE (200 PM μg/m3; 6 hr/d, 7d/wk, 30d) vs. filtered air (FA) controls altered myelination, T cell infiltration, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, or production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and expression of neuroinflammation markers in the CNS ov+ and ov- Apo E-/- mice. Our results revealed that inhalation exposure to MVE resulted in increased demyelination and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration, associated with alterations in BBB integrity. Disruption of the BBB was evidenced by decreased tight junction (TJ) protein expression, increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) activity, and increased permeability of immunoglobin (Ig) G, which were more pronounced in the MVE ov- group. Moreover, MVE-exposure also promoted ROS and neuroinflammatory signaling in the CNS of ov+ and ov- mice, compared to FA groups. To analyze mechanisms that may contribute to MVE-exposure mediated inflammatory signaling in the CNS, we examined the NF-κB signaling pathway components, namely IKK subunits, IKKα, and IKKβ, as well as RelA. MVE -exposure did not alter the expression of either IKKα and IKKβ or RelA. However, increased expression of IKKα and IKKβ mRNA was observed in both FA ov- and MVE ov- groups, indicating female sex steroid hormone signaling involvement. Investigation of hormone receptors expression revealed a reduction in cerebral ERα mRNA expression, compared to ov+ mice; however, MVE-exposure resulted in an even further decrease in expression of ERα mRNA, while ERβ and PRO …
Chronic Ventricular Sympathectomy : Effects on Myocardial Metabolism
Chronic ventricular sympathectomy elicits changes in the coronary circulation, myocardial oxygen consumption and size of infarction resulting fromcoronary occlusion. These changes indicate a change occurring in the basic metabolism of the heart in response to the removal of its sympathetic nervous input. This hypothesis was tested using two groups of dogs, a shamoperated control and a ventricular sympathectomized group. The sympathectomy procedure was an intrapericardial surgical technique which selectively removes ventricular sympathetic input. Four weeks after surgery, left ventricular tissue samples were obtained and rapidly frozen to -80°C. Selected metabolic variables were then compared between the two groups.
The Status and Challenges of Online Distance Education Programs in Post-Secondary Institutions in Ghana
The purpose of this study was to identify the status and challenges of online distance education programs in post-secondary institutions in Ghana. This study was a replication of a similar study conducted in Kenya in 2009, at the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University. This present study was conducted with an online survey using Google survey assessment. The survey requested responses from six post-secondary institutions in Ghana. Out of a total of 450 projected student responses, 309 responses were received with a 69% participation rate. A total of 14 responses were received for instructors out of a projected 30 resulting in 47% participation rate. And for administrators, 8 responses were received out of a projected 12 resulting in a 67% participation rate. Overall the study revealed that Ghana post-secondary institutions have established and incorporated online distance education into their programs, offering both online and blended courses. Some of these institutions established regional centers across the country and incorporated foreign instructors into their programs. The survey also revealed that students were satisfied with the overall online distance education program in their institutions which included the level of instruction, feedback and evaluation. However, there were still challenges revealed from the study that included the high cost of education, frequent power outages, school stoppages as a result of instructor strikes and the need to restructure courses to include projects.
Military Religio: Caesar's Religiosity Vindicated by Warfare
Gaius Julius Caesar remains one of the most studied characters of antiquity. His personality, political career, and military campaigns have garnered numerous scholarly treatments, as have his alleged aspirations to monarchy and divinity. However, comparatively little detailed work has been done to examine his own personal religiosity and even less attention has been paid to his religion in the context of his military conquests. I argue that Caesar has wrongly been deemed irreligious or skeptical and that his conduct while on campaign demonstrates that he was a religious man. Within the Roman system of religion, ritual participation was more important than faith or belief. Caesar pragmatically manipulated the Romans' flexible religious framework to secure military advantage almost entirely within the accepted bounds of religious conduct. If strict observance of ritual was the measure of Roman religiosity, then Caesar exceeded the religious expectations of his rank and office. The evidence reveals that he was an exemplar of Roman religio throughout both the Gallic Wars (58-51BC) and the subsequent Civil Wars (49-45BC).
An Analysis of Job Satisfaction for Special Educators Who Instruct Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: How Working Conditions Impact Commitment.
Teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) find that myriad concerns for effective teaching (e.g., salaries, increased paperwork, classroom management) challenge their ability to meet personal and professional needs. The push for certified teachers and limited training to work with students with special needs create stressors that can prohibit effective teaching in the workplace. Teacher moral drops and half of newly hired employees leave the profession. Equally important, student outcomes are affected. Demographic information, program practices, and commitment information from special education teachers across the country were examined in this study. These areas of study helped to determine the best indicators for teacher job satisfaction and barriers that threaten satisfactory working conditions. An online survey was designed to capture 29 areas to explore qualifications and working environments for these teachers. Of the 600 targeted teachers, 332 individuals participated in Likert-like scales to determine their degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for working conditions, use of intervention strategies, and areas of commitment. Closed-ended and multiple-choice questions were used. Descriptive analyses and tables aided in understanding this study. The resulting factors indicated that, although some respondents pointed to job dissatisfaction within the subset of questions, participants who worked for more than 6 years were less likely to vacate their positions than teachers working for less than six years.
Adapting Reproduction Knowledge and Photomechanical Techniques to Serigraphy for Non-Commercial Purposes
This problem is involved with attempting to answer two basic questions: (a) Can I, a commercial artist, expand and develop as an artist through screen printing and make valid aesthetic statements unrelated to client and/or product? and (b) Can knowledge of reproduction methods and photo-mechanical techniques be successfully utilized in screen printing for non-commercial purposes? Extensive notes in the form of a journal were maintained as work on the project progressed. These notes, combined with the completed prints, were the sources of data for this paper.
A Study of the Value of Selected Curiosity Tests for Predicting Academic Achievement in First and Second-Grades
This investigation was concerned with the problem of determining the value of selected curiosity tests for predicting academic achievement in first and second-grades.
Children of Battered Women: Personality Patterns and Identification
Mental health professionals have observed that children who witness interparental violence frequently display either an affrontive, demanding personality style, or a passive, compliant style. The prevalence of these personality types and their relation to identification, stress, and other variables was evaluated in a sample of 40 children (age range = 6 - 12 years old) who have witnessed parental spouse abuse. Children completed the Children's Personality Questionnaire and the Parental Identification Questionnaire. Mothers completed the Life Experiences Survey. Independent ratings of the children's personality were made. The results validated the existence of these two personality styles among both male and female witnesses, and supplied evidence for their relation to paternal identification, familial instability, and parental ineffectualness. The implications of these findings for assessment and intervention are discussed.
Siblings of Incest Victims: Sibling-Victim Relationships and Adjustment
The non-victimized siblings in incestuous families have often been ignored in research, literature, and treatment. This study explored these siblings' 1) relationship to the victim, 2) attribution of blame, and 3) adjustment. Participants were 30 non-victimized siblings of incest victims, between the ages of 8 and 14. They completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Self-perception Profile for Children, the Children's Depression Inventory, and a questionnaire developed for this research. Participants' scores were compared with the normative sample scores on several measures. Siblings perceived little warmth and closeness in their relationships to their victimized sisters. Rivalry and conflict were within normal limits. Siblings blamed victims and other family members less than expected, with the greatest amount of blame attributed to perpetrators. Adjustment was impaired. Males demonstrated less athletic competence, less global self-worth, more worry and oversensitivity than normative samples. Females showed a tendency toward less global self-worth and heightened general anxiety. Siblings' overall level of emotional distress was higher than most of the normative samples.
Effect of Task Appropriateness, Social Comparison, and Feedback on Female Goals, Performance, and Self-Confidence with a Motor Task
Lenney (1977) concluded that achievement gender differences were predicted by females' lower self confidence and expectancies in competitive situations, identifying three variables that mediated female self confidence in achievement situations, (1) task appropriateness. (2) social comparison, and (3) feedback. The present study manipulated all three mediating variables with 240 undergraduate 18-25 year old female subjects with the pursuit rotor task that requires tracking a moving (40 rpm's) white light with a hand-held stylus for 60 seconds. Response measurement was based upon time on target. Subjects were tested over five trials while setting goals for each trial. Females were randomly assigned to a male appropriate, female appropriate, or gender neutral task condition, a competition or alone condition, and to one of four feedback conditions (no feedback, feedback about own performance only, feedback about own performance that provided the perception that subject was performing better than an opponent and/or average on each trial, or feedback about own performance that provided the perception that subject was performing poorer than an opponent and/or average on each of the five trials). Results from the 2 (social comparison) X 3 (task appropriateness) X 4 (feedback) ANOVA were contradictory to previous findings (Corbin, 1981; Petruzzello & Corbin, 1988) as females performed significantly better in competition than alone. Data support the conclusion that presentation of clear and unambiguous feedback enhanced female self-confidence (Corbin, 1981; Petruzzello & Corbin, 1988; Lenney, 1977). Data also provide null findings for the task appropriateness condition which contradicts the previous research (Corbin, 1981; Lenney, 1977) in that females perceiving the task as male appropriate did not exhibit less self-confidence and perform poorer than when the task was perceived as either female appropriate or gender neutral. Conclusions reflect methodological differences from previous research and changes in gender role identification that have significantly impacted on female …
The Evolution of Japan’s Foreign Policy
Paper examines the effect of World War II and its aftermath on foreign policy in Japan, particularly military policy.
Exploring Flavonoid Glycosylation in Kudzu (Pueraria lobata)
The isoflavones in kudzu roots, especially the C-glycosylated isoflavone puerarin, have been linked to many health benefits. Puerarin contains a carbon-carbon glycosidic bond that can withstand hydrolysis. The C-glycosylation reaction in the biosynthesis of puerarin has not been thoroughly investigated, with conflicting reports suggesting that it could take place on daidzein, isoliquiritigenin, or 2,7,4ʹ-trihydroxyisoflavanone. Kudzu species were identified for use in comparative transcriptomics. A non-puerarin producing kudzu was identified as Pueraria phaseoloides and a puerarin producing kudzu was identified as Pueraria montana lobata. Through the use of the plant secondary product glycosyltransferase (PSPG) motif, glycosyltransferases (UGTs) were identified from the transcriptomes. The UGTs that had higher digital expression in P. m. lobata were examined further using additional tools to home in on the UGT that could be responsible for puerarin biosynthesis. One of the UGTs identified, UGT71T5, had previously been characterized from kudzu as a C-glycosyltransferase involved in puerarin biosynthesis through in vitro enzyme activity (with daidzein) and a gain of function approach in soybean hairy roots. Previous studies have not supported the end-product of a pathway such as daidzein as the target for C-glycosylation, and no genetic analysis of UGT function had been conducted in kudzu. The activity of recombinant UGT71T5 with daidzein was confirmed in the present work. Following the development of a kudzu hairy root system, UGT71T5 expression was then knocked down by RNA interference (RNAi). When compared to control hairy roots there was a large reduction in puerarin content in the UGT71T5-RNAi roots, confirming the role of this enzyme in puerarin biosynthesis. Isotopic labeling of kudzu plants revealed that labeled daidzein could be directly incorporated into puerarin; however, the percent incorporation of daidzein was substantially lower than that of L-phenylalanine, a compound at the start of the pathway to isoflavone synthesis. The knockdown of 2-hydroxisoflavanone synthase …
Ecological Factors Related to Juvenile Delinquency
The purpose of this study is to discover the spatial distribution of adjudicated delinquents and to analyze the relationship of these delinquents to a distribution of other attributes of population aggregates. Specifically, this study focuses on the relationship in Fort Worth between the social and economic data of a specific zone. Chapter I and III of this study discuss previous ecological studies and their findings. Furthermore, possible restriction to previous studies are brought out and the design for this study is developed. Chapter III presents the methodology design used in the project. Chapter IV and V present findings of this study and discuss implication drawn from these findings. Moreover, statistically significant results are explained with regard to present sociological knowledge and future research.
Workplace Violence Prevention Training: An Analysis of Employees' Attitudes
The purpose of this study was to determine employees' attitudes and perceptions toward the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training within a U.S. Government service agency with 50 offices located in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the phenomenon of workplace violence, the movement toward prevention programs and policies and the implementation of prescreening processes during hiring and violence prevention training. Chapter 2 contains a thorough review of pertinent literature related to violence prevention training and the impact of occupational violence on organizations. This topic was worthy of research in an effort to make a significant contribution to training literature involving organizational effectiveness due to the limited amount of research literature covering the area of corporate violence prevention training and its effect on modifying attitudes and behaviors of its customers. The primary methodology involved the assessment of 1000 employees concerning their attitudes and perceptions toward the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training. The research population were administered a 62 item online assessment with responses being measured, assessed, and compared. Significant differences were found calling for the rejection of the three study hypotheses. Chapter 4 described the findings of the population surveyed and recommendations were identified in Chapter 5.
Time Series Data Analysis of Single Subject Experimental Designs Using Bayesian Estimation
This study presents a set of data analysis approaches for single subject designs (SSDs). The primary purpose is to establish a series of statistical models to supplement visual analysis in single subject research using Bayesian estimation. Linear modeling approach has been used to study level and trend changes. I propose an alternate approach that treats the phase change-point between the baseline and intervention conditions as an unknown parameter. Similar to some existing approaches, the models take into account changes in slopes and intercepts in the presence of serial dependency. The Bayesian procedure used to estimate the parameters and analyze the data is described. Researchers use a variety of statistical analysis methods to analyze different single subject research designs. This dissertation presents a series of statistical models to model data from various conditions: the baseline phase, A-B design, A-B-A-B design, multiple baseline design, alternating treatments design, and changing criterion design. The change-point evaluation method can provide additional confirmation of causal effect of the treatment on target behavior. Software codes are provided as supplemental materials in the appendices. The applicability for the analyses is demonstrated using five examples from the SSD literature.
Strategic Planning and Strategy Implementation: A Study of Top Administration in Selected Institutions of Higher Education in Texas
The purpose of this study was to analyze data from different sizes and types of higher education institutions in order to identify differences and similarities that may exist between the perceptions of top executives relative to idea generation and strategy implementation activities in the administration of higher education in Texas. In order to carry out the purpose of this study, two hypotheses were tested concerning the perceptions of top executives (presidents and vice presidents) relative to idea generation and strategy implementation activities in institutions of higher education in Texas. Type and size of the institution are the primary factors involved with these two hypotheses.
The Effects of Participation in the BASICS Program on the Self-Concept, Experimental Beliefs, Dogmatism, and Pupil Control Ideology of In-Service Elementary School Teachers
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the BASICS program. The program, Building and Applying Strategies for Initial Cognitive Skills, was developed by the Institute for Staff Development of Miami, Florida, for educating teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents in techniques considered essential in helping pre-school, primary grade, and special education children develop initial cognitive skills. The study was undertaken to determine the effects of the program on the self-concept, experimental beliefs, dogmatism, and pupil control ideology of in-service elementary school teachers who participated in it as an elective graduate level course. The design of the study was the non-equivalent control group design. Twelve subjects who volunteered to participate in the program formed the experimental group. Twelve other subjects were randomly selected from a graduate-level class in elementary school curriculum development to form the control group. The instructor who was in charge of the BASICS program taught the class from which the control subjects were selected. The study was conducted during the first six-week summer term of 1975 at North Texas State University. The two groups were administered pre and post the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Personal Beliefs Inventory (PBI), the Teacher Practices Inventory (TPI), the Dogmatism Scale Form E, and the Pupil Control Ideology (PCI) Form. The pre- and post-test data obtained were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U as a one-tailed test.
A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationships Among Life Satisfaction, Status Inconsistency, and Selected Demographic Variables
The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships among life satisfaction, status inconsistency, marital status, sex, race, and age. Status inconsistency is determined through a comparison of the status indicators of education, occupation, and income. Life satisfaction is determined by the responses to five areas of satisfaction which are presented in the 1976 General Social Survey conducted annually by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). The five satisfaction variables are factor analyzed to assure the appropriateness of their use in the construction of the life satisfaction index. Analysis of the data consists of the use of chi-squares, Cramer's V, and Kendall's tau-b. Findings are reported and suggestions are presented for future research.
Experiences of Parents of Preadolescents with Child–Parent Relationship Therapy
Preadolescence is a time of emotional, physical, social, and relational changes, which can lead to mental health concerns. Parents of preadolescents also experience changes within their roles as parents, and both parents and preadolescents experienced a wide range of changes and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mental health intervention focused on enhancing the parent-child relationship among parents of preadolescents is important for overall family functioning. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of parents of preadolescents after participating in a virtual child-parent relationship therapy (CPRT) intervention. Participants were seven parents ages 35 to 56 years-old with preadolescent children between the ages of 9 to 12 years-old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following the CPRT intervention and analyzed. Six themes were found, including impact of group on learning, child's engagement with parent, child qualities, parent's understanding of self, importance of parent-child relationship, and integration of CPRT skills. The emerging themes indicated that the seven participants experienced changes in themselves, in their child, and in their parent-child relationships. Participants discussed their experiences with the virtual format and their integration of CPRT skills. The participants also reported feeling closeness and support from other group members, even with the virtual format. Findings from this study highlight several clinical implications for working with parents of preadolescents virtually using CPRT. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Analysis of the Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Families and Vitamin D3- Supplementation in Anoxia Survival in Caenorhabditis elegans
Alteration in diet and knockdown of detoxification genes impacts the response of C. elegans to oxygen deprivation stress. I hypothesized that feeding worms a vitamin D3-supplementation diet would result in differential oxygen deprivation stress response. We used a combination of wet lab and transcriptomics approach to investigate the effect of a vitamin-D3 supplemented diet on the global gene expression changes and the anoxia response phenotype of C. elegans (Chapter 2). C. elegans genome consists of 143 detoxification genes (cyp and ugt). The presence of a significant number of genes in these detoxification families was a challenge with identifying and selecting specific cyp and ugt genes for detailed analysis. Our goal was to understand the evolution, phylogenetic, and expression of the detoxification enzymes CYPs and UGTs in C. elegans (Chapter 3). We undertook a phylogenetic and bioinformatics approach to analyze the C. elegans, detoxification family. Phylogenetic analysis provided insight into the association of the human and C. elegans xenobiotic/endobiotic detoxification system. Protein coding genes in C. elegans have been predicted to be human orthologs. The results of this work demonstrate the role of C. elegans in the identification and characterization of vitamin D3 induced alterations in gene expression profile and anoxia response phenotypes and the identification of human orthologs for the detoxification enzymes and provides insight into the gene expression pattern.
Media Agenda-Building Effect: Analysis of American Public Apartheid Activities, Congressional and Presidential Policies on South Africa, 1976-1988
The mass media's role in informing the American public is critical to public support for government policies. The media are said to set the national agenda. This view is based on the assumption of selective coverage they give to news items. Media coverage also influences the salience the public attaches to issues. However, media agenda effect has been challenged by Lang and Lang (1983). These scholars, in their media agenda-building theory, argued that the success of media effect on national agenda is dependent on group support. In order to test this theory, time-related data on South Africa crises, media coverage"of South Africa, American public reactions, congressional, and presidential apartheid-related activities, between 1976 and 1988, were analyzed. Congressional anti-apartheid policies were the dependent and others, the independent variables. The theory made analysis of the data amenable to the additive adopted to test for the significance of the interactive variables, indicated that these variables were negatively related to congressional anti-apartheid policies. The additive model was subsequently analyzed. The time series multiple regression analysis was used in analyzing the relationships. Given autocorrelation and multicollinearity problems associated with time series analysis, the Arima (p, d, q) model was used to model the relationships. This model was used to indicate support, or nonsupport, for the time series regression analysis. The result of the additive model indicated that South African political crises were negatively related to congressional anti-apartheid actions. It also showed that the relationship between the American public reactions and congressional anti-apartheid policies was greater in comparison to all other independent variables. The presidential actions taken against South Africa were negatively related to Congress' anti-apartheid actions. Television had the greatest relationship with congressional anti-apartheid actions compared to newspapers and magazines.
Nigerian Military Government and Press Freedom, 1966-79
The problem of this thesis is to examine the military-press relationship in Nigeria from 1966 to 1979 and to determine whether activities of the military government contributed to violation of press freedom by prior restraint, postpublication censorship and penalization. Newspaper and magazine articles related to this study were analyzed. Interviews with some journalists and military personnel were also conducted. Materials collected show that the military violated some aspects of press freedom, but in most cases, however, journalists were free to criticize government activities. The judiciary prevented the military from arbitrarily using its power against the press. The findings show that although the military occasionally attempted suppressing the press, there are few instances that prove that journalists were denied press freedom.
Nigerian Military Government and Problems of Agricultural Development
This thesis attempts to analyze the military government's role in solving the country's agricultural problems. This analysis is essential because it was during the military's stay in power that Nigeria's potential as a selfsufficient and food exporting nation declined. Materials collected to analyze the above problems reveal that the military government's lack of adequate personnel to supervise and implement decisions taken on agriculture, unplanned schemes, and unresearched projects were partly responsible for the government's inability to solve Nigeria's agricultural problems. While it may be necessary to blame the military government for not being able to completely solve the country's numerous agricultural problems, the presence of global political and economic decisions seriously hampered measures taken by the military government.
Practical Evaluation of a Software Defined Cellular Network
This thesis proposes a design of a rapidly deployable cellular network prototype that provides voice and data communications and it is interoperable with legacy devices and the existing network infrastructure. The prototype is based on software defined radio and makes use of IEEE 802.11 unlicensed wireless radio frequency (RF) band for backhaul link and an open source GSM implementation software. The prototype is also evaluated in environments where there is limited control of the radio frequency landscape, and using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) performance metrics to measure the quality of service. It is observed that in environments where the IEEE 802.11 band is not heavily utilized, a large number of calls are supported with good quality of service. However, when this band is heavily utilized only a few calls can be supported as the quality of service rapidly degrades with increasing number of calls, which is due to interference. It is concluded that in order to achieve tolerable voice quality, unused licensed spectrum is needed for backhaul communication between base stations.
Adaptive Slot Location in the Design of Slotted Microstrip Multi-Frequency Antenna for Radionavigation and Radiolocation Applications
In light of incidents and concerns regarding the vulnerability of the global positioning system (GPS), the main purpose of the thesis is to look at alternative systems for radio guidance and to put up a serious study on such alternatives with receive and transmit antenna. There is also the need to design such antennas with multiple frequencies to offer robustness in the unlikely event that such adversarial attacks on the GPS happen. The basis on which such alternative antennas are designed is a slotted microstrip. The characteristics of the slot or slots on the microstrip are analyzed by mapping their exact locations on the patch and then noting the resultant center frequencies, the return losses, and the bandwidth. The activities associated with this also focus on the design, fabrication, validation, and characterization of one or more slotted antennas prototypes. The measurement of the antenna prototypes does confirm several frequencies that coexist to see applications, in aeronautical radionavigation, fixed-mobile radionavigation, and radiolocation. The antennas could also feature in a wide-area augmentation system (WAAS), satellite ground link system (SGLS) as well as in surveillance and precision approach radars. Some variations of the antenna are deployed in the areas of law enforcement, surveillance, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Applications of the antenna in an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) are feasible due to its multiple resonant frequencies. Radiolocation and radionavigation antennas have also been known to be mounted in UAVs or on tethered balloons along the borders of the United States to detect low-flying aircraft in support of drug interdiction programs.
A Study of the Drafting Curriculum in the Fort Worth Public High Schools, Fort Worth, Texas
This is a study of the drafting curriculum in the Fort Worth public high schools, Fort Worth, Texas.The specific purposes or the study were as follows: 1. To review and compare the courses and content of the drafting curriculums listed in the bulletins of the TEA and the Fort Worth Public Schools. 2. To study drafting scheduling procedures in each of the Fort Worth public high schools. 3. To study the courses and contents of the drafting curriculums offered in each of the Fort Worth public high schools. 4. To determine if there are variations from school to school in curriculum content of the drafting courses in each of the Fort Worth public high schools. 5. To offer suggestions and recommendations for improving the program, if weaknesses were evident, when the program was evaluated by acceptable criteria (12, 13, and 14).
Processing, Structure and Tribological Property Relations of Ternary Zn-Ti-O and Quaternary Zn-Ti-Zr-O Nanocrystalline Coatings
Conventional liquid lubricants are faced with limitations under extreme cyclic operating conditions, such as in applications that require lubrication when changing from atmospheric pressure to ultrahigh vacuum and ambient air to dry nitrogen (e.g., satellite components), and room to elevated (>500°C) temperatures (e.g., aerospace bearings). Alternatively, solid lubricant coatings can be used in conditions where synthetic liquid lubricants and greases are not applicable; however, individual solid lubricant phases usually perform best only for a limited range of operating conditions. Therefore, solid lubricants that can adequately perform over a wider range of environmental conditions are needed, especially during thermal cycling with temperatures exceeding 500°C. One potential material class investigated in this dissertation is lubricious oxides, because unlike other solid lubricant coatings they are typically thermodynamically stable in air and at elevated temperatures. While past studies have been focused on binary metal oxide coatings, such as ZnO, there have been very few ternary oxide and no reported quaternary oxide investigations. The premise behind the addition of the third and fourth refractory metals Ti and Zr is to increase the number of hard and wear resistant phases while maintaining solid lubrication with ZnO. Therefore, the major focus of this dissertation is to investigate the processing-structure-tribological property relations of composite ZnO, TiO2 and ZrO2 phases that form ternary (ZnTi)xOy and quaternary (ZnTiZr)xOy nanocrystalline coatings. The coatings were processed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using a selective variation of ALD parameters. The growth structure and chemical composition of as-deposited and ex situ annealed ternary and quaternary oxide coatings were studied by combined x-ray diffraction/focused ion beam microscopy/cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy/Auger electron spectroscopy, respectively. It was determined that the structure varied from purely nanocrystalline (ternary oxides) to composite amorphous/nanocrystalline (quaternary oxides) depending on ALD parameters and annealing temperatures. In particular, the ZnTiO3 …
Instructional Personnel Perceptions on Integrating Instructional Technology in K-12 Classrooms: A Case Study
Integrating digital pedagogy into instruction in a manner that promotes critical thinking and drives increased student achievement and engagement in all classrooms is a goal of many campuses and districts that invest heavily in hardware, software, and professional development on an annual basis. Digital pedagogy goals tend to center around preparing students for the 21st century workforce, promoting instruction that is more engaging, and providing deeper learning for all students; however, achieving these goals is not possible without teachers willing and able to effectively implement instructional technology into the content they are teaching. The conceptual framework consists of digital leadership, teacher engagement, and resources and supports. This case study focused on the district-wide integration of technology into instruction through the elements found in the conceptual framework. Educators, from kindergarten through twelfth grade were surveyed about their attitudes, self-efficacy perceptions and willingness to integrate digital pedagogies into their current teaching practices. The online survey that utilized Likert-like scales to gather demographic information as well educator perceptions on digital integration, teaching philosophy, digital self-efficacy, and leadership's focus and expectations regarding instructional technology. Additional data, from a variety of district documents, was also gathered on leadership, professional development, and infrastructure supports utilized to implement instructional technology.
Spatial Mismatch Between Hiv Infection and Access to Hiv Service Facilities in Texas
Since 2004, the number of people living with HIV (PLWH) has steadily increased by about 5% and currently, the number in Texas is about 86,000. Though the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan seeks to ensure “unfettered access to quality healthcare”, barriers to access still exist especially among minority populations. This study examines the relationship between HIV infection rates and the geographic location of HIV service centers with a focus on 4 counties: namely, Dallas, Denton, Harris and Tarrant. The goal is to show whether there is a spatial mismatch between HIV rates and service providers. Are service facilities located in zip codes where they are most needed? Using the vulnerability framework and the Inverse Care Law (ICL), we address the research question using demographic variables (race/ethnicity, sex, poverty, education attainment) and HIV data. Our results show that extreme vulnerable zip codes have high HIV rates and closest proximity to HIV service providers.
Question of Honor
My thesis, Question of Honor, addresses the premise of women's lack of choice in relation to men's honor, and vengeance; concepts that are closely connected to the oppressive world of women in Pakistan. These works deal with concepts of purity and minor transgressions that have an impact on the lives of women in relation to family names and the associative feelings of humiliation linked to men. The subtle nuances of women and their reactions to oppression give a strong emotive content to the work.
(4+2)-Cycloaddition Reactions of Ketenes; Pyranones
This study deals with the (4+2)-cycloaddition reactions of 4-π electron compounds with ketenes. Chloroketenes were generated in situ from the corresponding chlorinated acid chlorides in the presence of the ketenophiles. Chloro-, dichloro- and diphenylketenes reacted with 1-methoxy-3-trimethylsiloxy-l,3-butadiene, and 2,4-bis(trimethylsiloxy)-1,3-pentadiene to yield the corresponding dihydropyrans. The dihydropyrans yielded substituted 4-pyranones on hydrolysis.
“No Paper Cowboys”: Stories
Equilibrium is paramount in the crafting of a story, and for every writer this sense of balance is different. The writer must manage a balance of showing and telling, of denotation and connotation, and forever strive to find the perfect word in both the denotative and connotative sense, so that the reader and writer can meeting in a living story—both in the ink on the page and the remaining white space.
Heart Rate as an Index of Student Cognitive Activity in a Classroom
The purpose of this study was to test the Lacey hypothesis of cardiac behavior patterns for possible use as a measure of attentiveness in a classroom where experimental variables were not controlled. Lacey's hypothesis predicted cardiac deceleration with instances of information-intake and cardiac acceleration with instances of information-processing. Third grade students in a self-contained classroom were telemetrically monitored for heart rate during reading group activities. Based on cardiac behavior, taking verbal instructions and reading aloud were improperly classified. Verbal instructions produced a mean acceleratory response instead of the predicted deceleration. Reading aloud produced a weak mean deceleratory response instead of the anticipated acceleration. The other events within the intake category and the processing category, respectively, adhered to the predicted directional responses despite their statistical nonsignificance. The methodology proved sensitive to events following the momentary state of information-handling by the individual. It was proposed that averaging of data led to loss of individual sensitivity to reading group events. Individual student attentiveness to different events may be yet studied via this objective technique.
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