English

The twentieth century is strife with the overwhelming horror of physical disaster due to numerous wars and political uprisings. This project considers modern poetrys response to catastrophe through analysis of T.S. Eliots <i>The Waste Land</i> and H.D.s <i>Trilogy</i>. While both of these poems receive varying amounts of criticism <i>The Waste Land</i> a great deal and <i>Trilogy</i> c...

Political Science

AbstractRODGERS, DOUGLAS PATRICK. Environmental Equity in North Carolina: An Empirical Study. (Under the direction of Dr. Andrew Taylor)The purpose of this research is to examine the demographic compositionof areas surrounding commercial hazardous transport, storage and disposalfacilities (TSDFs) in North Carolina and determine if minorities and lowincome persons were disproportionately represented at the time of siting.The methodological approaches in environmental equity studies to date varyco...

Biochemistry

I have characterized the equilibrium and kinetic folding properties of members of alpha-helical Greek key protein domain, caspase recruitment domains of RICK (RICK-CARD) and procaspase-1 (Pro-1-CARD). <br>At equilibrium, folding of both RICK-CARD and Pro-1-CARD is well described by a two-state mechanism representing the native and unfolded ensembles. The proteins are marginally stable,with the Gibbs free energy of 3.0 and 1.1 kcal/mol and m-values of 1.27 and 0.68 kcal/mol/M for RI...

Educational Administration and Supervision

BRANCH, KENNETH ARNOLD. Centennial Campus Middle School: A Case Study. (Under the direction of Dr. Paul F. Bitting.)The purpose of this study was to document and analyze a unique effort at creating a responsive middle school program for young adolescents and a school-university partnership, both of which are found at Centennial Campus Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina. The research was necessary for four reasons. First, the planning that was undertaken in preparation for opening the schoo...

Entomology

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, is a widespread invasive species characterized by reduced intraspecific aggression within its introduced range. To gain an understanding of mechanisms underlying nestmate recognition in the Argentine ant, I studied its population genetic structure and the role of genetic vs. environmental cues on aggression. I combine behavioral, genetic, and analytical data to explore the role of exogenous cues and recent changes in the population genetic structure on nest...

Chemistry

1. Development of an Inexpensive Carbohydrate DerivativeUsed as a Chiral Auxiliary in the Synthesis of alpha-HydroxyCarboxylic AcidsProtected alpha-hydroxy carboxylic acids were synthesized inmoderate yield and high diastereoselectivity by alkylation ofglycolate (alpha-hydroxy acetate) enolates using a D-fructose-derived chiral auxiliary. The new chiral center was assignedthe R configuration based on comparisons of optical rotationsand on one crystal structure analysis. This alkylationmethodolog...

Zoology

Loss of biological diversity is occurring on a global scale, with the southern Appalachians being no exception. As a result of legislation requiring all national forests to maintain viable plant and animal populations, the Forest Service incorporated use of Management Indicator Species (MIS). For an organism to be a good MIS, it must be easy to monitor, be associated with the community type or habitat it supposedly indicates, respond measurably to changes in habitat caused by management activiti...

Civil Engineering

EL-HAGGAN, OMAR SHERIF. Evaluation of Rutting Behavior of Density Deficient Asphalt Mixtures. (Under the direction of Dr. Y. Richard Kim.)The purpose of this research has been to evaluate the effect of change in density on the rutting performance of the asphalt pavement. This investigation helps in determining the appropriate penalty for density deficient pavements based on the rutting performance. Permanent deformation tests were performed at 30, 40, and 50C on specimens with four different air...

Mechanical Engineering

AbstractBECKER, SID MARTIN. NUMERICAL MODELING OF A FALLING BIOCONVECTION PLUME IN A POROUS MEDIUM. (Under the direction of A.V. Kuznetsov.)This thesis considers the bioconvective plume in a fluid saturated porous medium. Bioconvective plumes arise as a result of an unstable distribution of micro-organisms. This unstable distribution occurs when the micro-organisms, heavier than, accumulate in the upper regions of the fluid. The plume transports cells and oxygen from the upper regions to the low...

Chemical Engineering

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English

ABSTRACTMCLAWHORN, TRACY ELIZABETH. A Textual History of John Donnes The Will. (Under the direction of M. Thomas Hester.)The purpose of my thesis is to explain the process used to establish the copy-text of John Donnes poem The Will and examine the problems that arose in this process. I first consulted thirty-four manuscript versions and the seven seventeenth-century versions of this poem and transcribed these texts into files generated by the Donne Variorum Frame File Generator program. Collati...

Horticultural Science

In the first study, the postharvest life and optimum handling procedures were determined for Buddleia davidii Royal Red, Hydrangea quercifolia, Viburnum tinus, Ilex Nellie R. Stevens, Ligustrum sinense, Pyracantha coccinea, Buxus sempervirens, Ilex crenata, and Myrica cerifera. In Experiment 1, we investigated pre-treatments of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a 10% sucrose pulse, 50

English

In this thesis, I read through Kristevas theory of the abject as a way of interpreting Cristina Garcias <i>Dreaming in Cuban</i> (1993) and interrogating common psychoanalytic readings of Christina Rossettis <i>Goblin Market</i> (1859) and Bram Stokers <i>Dracula</i> (1897). The purpose of each of these readings has been to gauge the usefulness of Kristevas theory as a critical tool and to determine what it allow...

Textile Management and Technology

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a thermoplastic polymer which is widelyused in the construction of woven and knitted endoprostheses for reconstructivearterial surgery. Analysis of many explanted PET vascular prostheses has givenevidence of the existence of a long term <i>in-vivo</i> degradation of the PETmaterial. Due to the increasing demand for less invasive methods of abdominalaortic aneurysm (AAA) repair using PET endoprostheses, there is a significantneed f...

Mechanical Engineering

Li, Junping Intelligent load monitoring in beam structures. (Under the direction of Dr. F. G. Yuan.)A robust approach for identifying impact load location and impact force history in beam structures is presented in this thesis. Beam strain transients propagating from the impact site can be inverted to yield the impact location and force history. Solving the inverse problem consists of three parts: a transient wave model, an impact location determination, and then an impact history identification...

Mechanical Engineering

LIANG, AIHUA. Asymptotic Wave Solutions for Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko Beam by Ray Method and Stationary Phase Method. (Under the direction of Dr. F. G. Yuan.)The behavior of flexural (bending, transverse) waves in beam structures is of basic importance in the stress wave theory and has been studied for many years. Many methods have been attempted to understand the flexural waves in beams based on Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. Accurate numerical evaluations for transient wave...

Materials Science and Engineering

AbstractKIESEL, SHARON MARY. Transmission Electron Microscopy Preparation and Characterization of Bulk ZnO and Au(111) / ZnO(000 ) Heterostructures. (Under the direction of Dr. Robert F. Davis.)Several preparation techniques were investigated, including (a) dimpling and ion milling, (b) hand-held tripod polishing and (c) automatic tripod polishing, to prepare electron transparent samples of ZnO suitable for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thinned ZnO became prone to cracking below a thic...

Chemistry

Charvet, Richard André. Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization of Functionalized Cyclobutene Derivatives. (Under the direction of Dr. Bruce M. Novak)In the last decade, the development of well-defined carbene catalysts has revolutionized the field of ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to monomer design for ROMP. In this project, a new family of functionalized polycyclic monomers based on the endo-Tricyclo[4.2.2.0<sup&gt...

Counselor Education

ABSTRACTTREVATHAN, VANESSA LORRAINE. A Profile of Psychosocial, Learning Style, Family, and Academic Self-Efficacy Characteristics of the Transition Program Students at North Carolina State University. (Under the direction of Dr. Stanley B. Baker).The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of the UniversityTransition Program (UTP) students who are categorized as beingacademically at-risk, and to make programming recommendations. Primarytheorists of psychosocial factors (Arthur Chickering...

Statistics

Prediction of the future observations is an important practical issue for statisticians. When the data can be viewed as exchangeable, de Finneti s theorem concludes that, conditionally, the data can be modeled as independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). The predictive distribution of the future observations given the present data is then given by the posterior expectation of the underlying density function given the observations. The Dirichlet process mixture of normal densities has bee...

Physics

MCDEVITT, DANIEL, Proton Radiative Capture on 48Ti.(Under the direction ofewline Dr. G. E. Mitchell and Dr. J. F.Shriner, Jr.) The 48Ti(p, gamma)49V reaction was studiedin the energy range Ep = 2.0--2.8 MeV. This research wasperformed at the High Resolution Laboratory at Triangle UniversitiesNuclear Laboratory. Capture spectra were obtained for 27 compoundnuclear resonances whose resonance parameters (energy, spin,parity, and particle widths) had beendetermined in earlier experiments. The gamma ...

Civil Engineering

The purpose of this research was to propose a multistage framework for the calibration and validation of the traffic simulation models and present results of a calibration and validation experience using CORSIM model for a network of urban streets. The study proposed a series of logical, sequential steps for the calibration and validation of micro-simulation traffic models. The test bed used for the study is an important network of traffic signals in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The internal n...

Zoology

In the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), socially-controlled female-to-male sex change naturally decouples the brain from gonadal influences. This makes bluehead wrasses an excellent model for examining non-gonadal influences, such as social interactions, on the neural substrates of reproductive behavior. For my dissertation, I sought to further understand the role of AVT (a neuropeptide known to influence sexual and aggressive behaviors) relative to social context, gonadal input, and an...

Food Science

Caramels may be described as soft glasses that are viscous in nature and contain a dispersion of milk protein and an emulsion of fat. Milk proteins have traditionally been used in the confectionary industry for contributing distinct flavor, color, and texture, with sweetened condensed milk and milk powders being among the most popular. There are two main types of proteins in milk: caseins and whey proteins. Two popular ingredients made from whey proteins are whey protein isolates (WPI) and conce...

Electrical Engineering

STANTON, BRANDON MATTHEW. Characterization of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers with Electrical and Optical Derivative Spectroscopy. (Under the direction of Robert Kolbas.)The motivation behind this work is to use derivative spectroscopy to better understand the inner workings of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) provided by Honeywell Inc. Derivative spectroscopy was used to investigate two types of Honeywell VCSELs, Oxide confined VCSELs and Proton bombarded VCSELs. To quan...

Psychology

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising markets medications requiring a physicians script to the general public. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration mandates that direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising include risk disclosures (i.e., side effects and contraindications) in auditory (voice) or both auditory and visual (text) parts of the commercials. Little research has examined the factors that affect the communication of risk disclosures.The present research was conduc...

Soil Science

Knowledge of the effect of reduced soil redox conditions on P dissolution is needed to better assess P mobility to surface or ground water. The objectives of our study were to determine the effect of microbial reduction on P dissolution and determine mechanisms of P release in a reduced soil. Duplicate suspensions of silt+clay from a Cape Fear sandy clay loam were reduced in a continuously-stirred redox reactor for 40 d. We studied the effects of three treatments on P dissolution: (i) 2 g dextro...

Sociology

Social movement theorists have offered various explanations for participation by individuals in social movements. Two theories, resource mobilization theory and collective identity theory, propose very different motivating factors. Resource mobilization theory emphasizes a rational-choice decision-making process for potential participants, while collective identity theory states that individuals participate in social movements in order to achieve a feeling of solidarity and commitment to a group...

Electrical Engineering

GHOSH, RAHUL. Error analysis of Through ReflectLine method for calibrating microwave measurements. (Under the direction of ProfessorMichael B. Steer) Uncertainty in transmission linebased calibration techniques for microwavemeasurements are studied with the aim ofidentifying the optimum calibration conditions.Variation in the determined error parameters undercertain conditions in Through Reflect Line (TRL)calibration method due to variation in the unknownreflection coefficient are analyzed exper...

Computer Science

The MPEG-21 Multimedia Framework aims to provide an end-to-end framework for transparent and universal access to media content. It defines mechanisms to represent, process and exchange aggregate media objects, called Digital Items.<br><br>One of the main requirements in MPEG-21 is to devise a mechanism for making Digital Items dynamic, by allowing program code to be packaged along with them. This executable code consists of operations that are used to <i&gt...

Electrical Engineering

YOUNG, CHADWIN DELIN. Charge Trapping Characterization Methodology for the Evaluation of Hafnium-based Gate Dielectric Film Systems.(Under the direction of Dr. Richard T. Kuehn and Dr. Veena Misra)Scaling of advanced CMOS device dimensions, as set forth for future technology nodes by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), will require reduction of the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of gate dielectrics below a point that can be physically realized using silicon dioxide....

Materials Science and Engineering

KIM, SUNGJIN. Real-time characterization of III-V compound semiconductor epitaxy: application to ¡®6.1¡¯ materials. (Under the direction of David E. Aspnes)The antimonides are potentially highly useful materials for low-power electronic-device applications. However, unlike P and As the volatility of Sb is very low, comparable to that of Al and Ga. As a result surface stoichiometry during growth cannot be controlled simply by heating, which can result in defect...

Materials Science and Engineering

Aggressive scaling of devices has continued to improve MOSFET transistor performance. As lateral device dimensions continue to decrease, gate oxide thickness must be scaled down. As one of the promising high k gate oxide material, HfO<sub>2</sub> and its silicates were investigated to understand their direct tunneling behavior by studying conduction and valence band offset energies with spectroscopy and electrical characterization.Local bonding change of remote plasma...

Genetics

Transcript abundance measured for any gene on a microarray can be considered as a quantitative trait. If the transcription profile of a sufficient number of individuals from a segregating progeny is generated by microarrays, it allows mapping of genomic regions regulating variation in transcript abundance using traditional methods of QTL analysis. We generated transcript level profiles of wood forming tissue (differentiating xylem) collected from 91 individuals from a <I>E. grandis...

Computer Science

This thesis presents a framework for automatic generation of cinematic discourse of a dynamic story. The motivation of this research is provided by the need for more expressive camera control in the current dynamic story generation systems and the lack of formal research in the area of visual discourse processing/generation systems.Film directors and cinematographers have developed effective visual storytelling techniques. They have also articulated various rules for conveying the story to the v...

Physiology

RODRIGUEZ, KARINA FLORES. Molecular Mechanisms of Gonadotropin-Induced Oocyte Maturation. (Under the direction of Dr. Charlotte E. Farin)In vitro maturation of oocytes is routinely utilized for the production of embryos for commercial as well as research purposes. The objectives of the research described in this dissertation were: 1) to examine the molecular mechanism involved in gonadotropin-induced resumption of meiosis in cultured bovine and murine cumulus oocyte complexes (COC); 2) to determ...

Genetics

MOEHRING, AMANDA JEAN. The Quantitative Genetic Basis of Mating Behavior and Speciation in <i>Drosophila</i>. (Under the direction of Trudy F. C. Mackay).<br><br>The widely-accepted Biological Species Concept defines species as populations that are reproductively isolated, i.e. are unable to mate with one another or produce viable and fertile progeny when given the opportunity. Speciation is characterized by the evolution of prezygotic (eth...

Chemical Engineering

We study the bulk and interfacial behavior of A-B copolymers. Emphasis is placed upon addressing the role of the monomer sequence distribution in A-B copolymers as it pertains to the copolymers mobility in confined geometries and its ability to recognize chemical patterns on surfaces.Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the ability of block (A-b-B) and alternating (A-alt-B) copolymers to recognize chemical patterns on flat, impenetrable surfaces comprising two distinct chemical sites, C and...

Plant Pathology

An interdisciplinary approach was utilized to study the toxicity of aluminum (Al) to soilborne plant pathogens with the goal of developing a pathogen-suppressive potting medium containing non-phytotoxic, Al-organic matter complexes. Toxicological studies addressed the toxicity of monomeric Al species to <i>Thielaviopsis basicola</i> and <i>Phytophthora parasitica</i> and documented the sensitivity of these organisms to the metal. Until rece...

Computer Engineering

AbstractCANCHEEVARAM, JAI KUMARAN KUPPUSWAMYDesign and Performance Characterization of a Test System for Microprocessor Hot Spot Cooling using Thin-film Superlattice Thermoelectrics(Under the direction of Dr. Winser E. Alexander)The constant need for higher performance, increased levels of functional integration, as well as die size optimization has led to preferential clustering of higher power units on microprocessors. This causes higher heat flux concentrations in certain areas of the die and...

Political Science

This thesis examines womens participation in politics by utilizing a model of gender integration. This model shows that there are two ways that women enter the political world: horizontally and vertically. Horizontal integration represents the increase of women into politics in numbers while vertical integration requires that women ascend to positions of power and leadership within the institution. The main focus of this study is an analysis of womens appointment to boards and commissions in Nor...

Math, Science and Technology Education

WALKER, DAVID PATRICK. Enhancing Problem Solving Disposition, Motivation and Skills Through Cognitive Apprenticeship. (Under the direction of Dr. V. William DeLuca.)To determine the effects of teaching problem solving through the use of a cognitive apprenticeship paradigm, the researcher used a non-equivalent control group design. The experimentally accessible population for this study was high school technology education students in Durham, North Carolina. The sample was two classes of a Fundam...

Educational Administration and Supervision

LILES, ABRAM. Students and Staff Members Perceptions of an Alternative School for Disruptive Students in a Rural School Setting in North Carolina: An Intrinsic Case Study (Under the direction of Dr. Paul F. Bitting)The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of students and staff members regarding their experiences in an alternative learning program for disruptive students in a rural school setting. The research involved two data-gathering techniques: onsite interviews and ob...

Chemical Engineering

Molecular dynamics computer simulation is used to explorethe phase behavior and structural properties of block copolymers andblock copolymer nanocomposites. Block copolymers microphase separateinto ordered structures with domains on a nanometer length scale, whichcan then be used as a template for nanoparticles. This researchprovides insight into the fundamental physics that govern phase behaviorand properties of these materials.We first focus on the case of neat diblock copolymers.We performed ...

Botany

CHATTARAJ, PARNA. Gravitropism in <i>Physcomitrella patens</i> : A Microtubule Dependent Process (Under the direction of Dr. Nina Strömgren Allen)The plant cytoskeleton plays an important role in the early stages of gravisignaling (Kiss, 2000). Although in vascular plants, actin filaments are used predominantly to sense changes in the gravity vector, microtubules have been shown to play an important role in moss gravitropism (Schwuchow et al., 1990). The moss...

Industrial Engineering

MCCLERNON, CHRISTOPHER KYLE. Human performance effects of adaptive automation of various air traffic control information processing functions. (Under the direction of Dr. David B. Kaber.)Advanced forms of automation are being considered for application to Air Traffic Control (ATC) in order to reduce controller workload and make higher traffic volumes more manageable. At this point in time there is only limited knowledge of the implications of, for example, Adaptive Automation (AA) on controller ...

Adult and Community College Education

SMITH, KEITH. Ascension to the Presidency: A Descriptive Study of Female Presidents in the North Carolina Community College System. (Under the direction of Duane H. Akroyd and Wynetta Y. Lee).ABSTRACTThe under representation of females in executive leadership positions in higher education such as president is well documented. Furthermore, the concept of women in leadership roles is new with much of the research taking place from the 1970s to the present. Until that time research on leadership in...

Chemical Engineering

Smith, Nicholas Andrew. Novel Approaches to Nitride Film Growth: Seeded Supersonic Molecular Beam Methods (under the direction of Dr. H. Henry Lamb).<br>Seeded supersonic molecular beams can provide high-intensity sources of precursor molecules with tunable translational energies for III-nitride film growth; however, non-equilibrium (kinetic) phenomena associated with supersonic free jet expansions can affect the translational energy, intensity, and energy resolution of the resulti...

Wood and Paper Science

ABSTRACTHoltman, Kevin Matthew. An Investigation of the Milled Wood Lignin Isolation Procedure by Solution- and Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.Milled wood lignin (MWL) is a fraction of the total lignin in wood but is considered the isolated lignin most representative of lignin in its native state. It is useful for lignin studies because it is isolated relatively free of carbohydrates, however structural changes occur during its isolation. This study presents attempts to evaluate the whole lignin s...

Zoology

Habitat fragmentation and its associated effects have been blamed for the recent population declines of many Neotropical migratory bird species. Increased predation and parasitism resulting from edge-related effects have been implicated for poor nesting success in many studies, mostly of forest interior species. However, little attention has been devoted to disturbance-dependent birds. In this study, I examine how patch shape and connectivity in fragmented landscapes affects the reproductive suc...