Adult and Continuing Education

Although the significance of curiosity inmotivating and directing learning hasreceived substantial scholarly support,little information exists about curiosity simportance in adult learning. Thepurpose of this study was to investigatecuriosity s possible relevance in an adultlearning context, the workplace.Specifically, this study was anexamination of adult curiosity srelationship to socialization-relatedlearning, and ultimately jobperformance. Four curiosity instruments(the Novelty Experiencing ...

Philosophy

In this thesis, I first present FredDretske s theory of mental represent-ations, which purports to show how aphysical thing could have (non-derived)meaning. In order to illustrate theapplicability of the theory to an actualphysical system, I discuss the theory inrelation to two theories of audiolocalization (i.e., the capacity to locatethe source of sounds in one senvironment). Having clarified thetheory, I examine two charges laidagainst it. Lynne Rudder Baker chargesthe theory with circularity...

Architecture

This thesis investigates the concept ofthe symbolic form of architecture. Itfirst focuses on the philosophicalfoundations for this concept in theworks of Ernst Cassirer, ImmanuelKant, Conrad Fiedler, and TheodorAdorno. Then, the development of themodern perception of form inarchitectural theoreticians, wheremodern architectural theory evolvedfrom an analogical state into a symbolicstate, is examined: Karl Böttichersconcept of a Junktur and his attempt totranscend the presumed dichotomy ...

Clinical Psychology

Treatment outcome studies investigatingpotential treatments for panic disorderinvariably begin with a lengthyassessment designed to determinewhether a potential subject meetscriteria for the disorder. Through theprocess of assessment, subject areusually given some form of feedbackabout their condition, if only to tell themthey meet criteria to enter the study.Assessment and feedback are thoughtto have therapeutic effects andempirical evidence is beginning todocument this (Bien, Miller, &...

Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to assessthe climate for the adoption of aproposed reform model for secondarytrade and industrial (T&I) education inVirginia. Vocational administrators andT&I instructors beliefs about the extentto which the adoption of the proposedmodel would precipitate selectedoutcomes were measured by using aninstrument developed specifically forthis study. The population of this studyincluded two sub-groups: secondaryvocational administrators andsecondary T&...

Biology

The cosmopolitan Pteridium aquilinum (L.)Kuhn is widespread throughout easternNorth American, where it is representedprimarily by Tryon s (1941) var. latiusculum(Desv.) Underw. and var. pseudocaudatum(Clute) Heller. The taxonomy of Pteridium iscontroversial. Fourteen isozyme loci and 12morphological characters were used toassess the taxonomic relationship of thesetwo varieties. Isozyme data indicated a highmean genetic identity (I = 0.976) betweeneleven bracken populations. Strong patternsof geo...

Family and Child Development

Families of all kinds are faced with increasinginformation regarding sexual orientation. Aslesbians and gay men become more visible asparents, partners, and members of families, itis likely that any given person will know alesbian, gay, or bisexual family member,co-worker, or friend. Understanding diversityin sexual orientation is not only a task forlesbians and gay men. While maintainingfriend, family, and professional relationships,heterosexuals and their families are alsobecoming more aware o...

EDSP

Grounded theory methods of Strauss and Corbin (1990) and multidimensionalscaling techniques (Kruskal & Wish, 1991) were used in this investigation to study thefactors that influence a womans choice to remain in or to leave a male-dominated major(Zuckerman, 1981). Focus group interviews were conducted with 62 sophomore womenwho had originally chosen male-dominated majors as freshmen to gain insight into themeanings and motivations of the student decisions. The participants responded to a ...

Mining and Minerals Engineering

In this study, two different system were studied to investigate the forcesinteracting in thin liquid films. In the former, direct force measurementswere conducted with bitumen-coated mica surfaces using a Mark IV surfaceforce analyzer. Besides long-range electrostatic repulsive forces atseparation distances above approximately 70 nm, unexpectedly strongrepulsive forces were measured at shorter separation distances. Thesenon-DLVO forces may be attributed to the steric repulsion betweenasphaltenes...

Chemical Engineering

PREPARATION OF HIGHLY REFLECTIVE FILMS BYSUPERCRITICAL INFUSION OF A SILVER ADDITIVE INTOPOLY(ETHER ETHER KETONE)Negin Nazem(ABSTRACT)There has been a great interest in preparing polymeric reflective surfaces in the last fewyears. The application of supercritical fluid technology in this area is beginning to receive a greatdeal of attention. Poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) is well known for its excellent thermal,chemical, mechanical and electrical properties. These properties make it ideal for us...

Mechanical Engineering

Design of Active Structural Acoustic ControlSystems Using Eigenassignment ApproachesbyZhonglin LiChris R. Fuller, Committee ChairmanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering(ABSTRACT)Active structural acoustic control (ASAC) in conjunction with theadaptive feedforward control has been proved to be an efficientpractical approach to reduce structure-borne sound. ASAC works on theprinciples of reducing the vibration amplitude of the structure (modalreduction), as well as changing the vibration distribut...

Mechanical Engineering

The correlation of cascade experimental data is one method for obtaining compressor stage characteristics. These correlations specify pressure loss and flow turning caused by the blades. Current open literature correlations used in streamline curvature codes are inadequate for general application to high-speed transonic axial-flow compressors. The objective of this research was to investigate and evaluate the available correlations and ultimately discover sets of correlations which best fit the ...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

In Part I, the design of an ASIC control chip for a forward active clamp converter is presented. Integration of the control and drive circuit into one IC chip results in higher power density, higher reliability for the converter module. The designed ASIC control chipuses a 2.0 um N well Analog CMOS process, and is fabricated at MOSIS.The design procedures of the ASIC chip are explained, and experimental results are presented.Part II of the thesis focuses on the numerical investigation of several...

Community College Education

A Study to Determine the Impact of a Precollege Intervention on Early Adolescent Aspiration and Motivation for College in West VirginiaJohn E. Adams(ABSTRACT)The impact of a precollege intervention, the Junior High Washington Gateway Academy (JHWGA), on early adolescent aspiration and motivation for a college education was measured. JHWGA provided an intensive week of activities in career planning, self-concept improvement, and study skills. Specific research questions were: a) did participation...

Biology

There is a great deal of concern about the declining freshwater mussel fauna of North America. Although deteriorating water quality and habitat degradation may account for much of the decline, it has been suggested that the exotic Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, may be having an effect on native unionids. Negative impacts may result directly from competition or indirectly, because of Corbicula population crashes that release ammonia and reduce dissolved oxygen in the sediment.Laboratory tests we...

Engineering Science and Mechanics

The main focus of this study is on the active andsemi-active control of civil engineering structures subjectedto seismic excitations. Among different candidate controlstrategies, the sliding mode control approach emerges as aconvenient alternative, because of its superb robustnessunder parametric and input uncertainties. The analyticaldevelopments and numerical results presented in thisdissertation are directed to investigate the feasibility ofapplication of the sliding mode control approach to ...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Parametric instability processes are thought to produceStimulated Electromagnetic Emissions (SEE) duringionospheric heating experiments. The phenomenon is primarilyattributed to plasma turbulence excited by the highfrequency HF heater in the altitude region where the pumpfrequency (omega_0) is near the plasma upper hybridfrequency (omega_{uh). In this study, parametricinstability processes thought to produce SEE are studiedusing theoretical and electrostatic Particle-In-Cell PICsimulation models...

Vocational and Technical Training

<P>In this study, two implementable leadership productswere analogous to innovations, when framed in the contextof Rogers diffusion-of-innovation theory. Thus, theproducts respective dissemination patterns were comparedand contrasted--quantitatively through purchase numbers,and qualitatively through opinions and events recollectedby early users. The case-study approach was central tothe investigation, and the results supported the Rogersmodel with regard to most constructs. The res...

Physics

Silicon monoxide (SiO) maser emission has been observedtowards many late-type stars. The conditions necessaryfor the formation of SiO masers dictate that they beproduced in a region which is inside the silicate dustformation point close to the surface of the star. VeryLong Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) has shown that thesemasers do indeed lie close to the stellar surface at adistance of a few stellar radii. This extended atmosphereis a complex region dominated by stellar pulsations andpermeated...

Geological Sciences

PETROLOGIC AND FLUID INCLUSION CONSTRAINTS ON THETECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE MANHATTAN PRONG,SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORKbyAdam HenryRobert J. Tracy, ChairmanDepartment of Geological Sciences(ABSTRACT)The results of a combined mineral equilibria and fluid inclusion study show thatthe Manhattan Prong, southeastern New York, has experienced multiple metamorphicevents. Two episodes of intrusion, separated by approximately 100 million years,have superimposed contact aureoles on the Taconic regional metamorph...

Engineering Science and Mechanics

Analytic methods of elastic wave scattering in fiber-reinforced composite materials are investigated in this study to calculate the effective static stiffness (axial shear modulus, m) and wave properties (axially shear wave speed, B and attenuation, Y) in composites. For simplicity only out-of-plane shear waves are modeled propagating in a plane transverse to the fiber axis. Statistical averaging of a spatially random distribution of fibers is performed and a simultaneous system of linear equati...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

<center><p>A HISTORY OF NANSEMOND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTEFROM 1890 TO 1939<br>by<br>Milton R. Liverman</p></center><center><b>Abstract</b></center><p> The goal of this effort was to write the definitive history of a high school for Blacks in Nansemond County.</p><p>The destruction of school records in the fires thateven...

Computer Science

This thesis involves restoration, reconstruction, and enhancementof a digitized library of hand-written documents. Imaging systemsthat perform this digitization often degrade the quality of theoriginal documents. Many techniques exist for reconstructing,restoring, and enhancing digital images; however, manyrequire <i> a priori </i> knowledge of the imaging system.In this study, only partial <i> a priori </i> knowledgeis available, and there...

Mechanical Engineering

ONE-DIMENSIONAL, FINITE-RATE MODEL FOR GAS-TURBINE COMBUSTORS<p>by<p>Carlos G. Rodriguez<br>Committee Chairman: Walter F. O¹Brien<br><p>Department of Mechanical Engineering<br>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University<p>Abstract<p>An unsteady, finite-rate, one-dimensional model has been developed forthe analysis for gas-turbine combustors. The basis of the model is t...

Industrial and Systems Engineering

EVALUATION OF MIRE TESTING METHOD FOR RATING OF AN OPEN-BACKACTIVE NOISE REDUCTION HEADSETbyMatthew B. CroCommittee Chairman: John G. CasaliIndustrial and Systems Engineering(ABSTRACT)Active noise reduction was first proposed as a solution for environmental noise over fifty years ago. The use of active noise reduction (ANR) systems, however, was not demonstrated until much later. Recent advances in technology have made the use of active noise reduction systems in personal hearing protection devi...

Veterinary Medical Sciences

Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis is the most frequently diagnosed neurologic disorder of horses in the united states, which is caused by the protozoan organism Sarcocystis neurona. The disease has a profound impact on the American Horse Industry. This impact includes prolonged and expensive treatment without a guaranteed return to a previous level of use for the individual horse. Poor respponse to and prolonged duration of treatment may suggest an immune mediated impariement of host response. ...

Electrical Engineering

<p><center><B>Development of Web-Based Education Modules for</B></center><p><center><b>Developing VHDL Models of Digital Systems</b></center><p><center>By</center><p><center>Weihong Song</center><p><center>Dr. F.G.Gray, Chairman</center&...

Systems Engineering

Simulation of the MAC Portion of IEEE 802.11 and Bursts of Errors for WirelessData NetworksFarhood Moslehi(ABSTRACT)The focus of this research is to investigate the effects of bursts of errors andpacket collisions on the performance of the medium access control (MAC)portion of the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (LAN) protocol.An important ingredient in rapid expansion of wireless networks is theseamless transition between wired and wireless systems. The IEEE standardsgroup in charge of ...

Statistics

When experimental units exhibit a smooth trend over time or in space, random allocationof treatments may no longer be appropriate. Instead, systematic run orders may have to be used toreduce or eliminate the effects of such a trend. The resulting designs are referred to as trend-freedesigns.We consider here, in particular, linear trend-free designs for factorial treatment structuressuch that estimates of main effects and two-factor interactions are trend-free. In addition to trend-freeness we in...

Science and Technology Studies

In this study, I use SCOT (Social Construction of Technology) theories to trace the history of lysergic aciddiethylamide-25, which is commonly known as LSD. I show how the technological system of LSDcorresponds to phases designated by SCOT theorist Thomas Hughes, specifically invention, development,innovation, growth, competition, and consolidation.I explain the importance of Timothy Leary and the CIA in the social construction of the LSD system, andtheir influences on the transformation of LSD ...

Sociology

Karl Marx has long been perceived as one of the individuals who helped to create and develop the field wenow call sociology. Many studies have attempted to show his prevalence over time, but have done sodeficiently. The current study is a qualitative content analysis of the manuscripts written by William G.Sumner, Lester F. Ward, Franklin H. Giddings, Albion W. Small, Charles H. Cooley and Edward A. Ross.These individuals are generally considered to be the founders of American academic sociology...

Materials Science and Engineering

(Abstract)The objective of this study was to evaluate and develop an understanding of durabilityof an adhesive bonded system, for application in a future high speed civil transport (HSCT) aircraftstructure. The system under study was comprised of Ti-6Al-4V metal adherends and athermosetting polyimide adhesive, designated as FM-5, supplied by Cytec Engineered Materials, Inc.An approach based on fracture mechanics was employed to assess Ti-6Al-4V/FM-5 bond durability.Initially, wedge tests were ut...

Mechanical Engineering

Global socioeconomic trends are changing the nature of the American workplace. To address the challenges brought about by these changes, American engineering education must focus on developing students into future professionals, equipped to thrive in the fast-paced, technologically intense, globally competitive workplace of the future. One of the most effective ways to prepare students to face the future is by teaching them to innovate.<p>This thesis presents the "Creative Ent...

Industrial and Systems Engineering

A performance analysis of three different Minimax controlcharts is performed with respect to their Chi-Square controlchart counterparts under several different conditions. Aunique control chart must be constructed for each processdescribed by a unique combination of quality characteristicmean vector and associated covariance matrix. The threedifferent charts under consideration differ in the number ofquality characteristic variables of concern. In each case,without loss of generality the in-cont...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Available Bit Rate (ABR) service class for the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) protocol was originally designed to manage data traffic. ABR flow control makes no guarantees concerning cell transfer delay or cell delay variation. A closed-loop feedback mechanism is used for traffic management. To use this class of service for video transport, the video source will accept feedback from the network and adapt its source rate based on this status information. The objective of this research is to...

Engineering Science and Mechanics

The Influence of a Skewed Diskon a Flexible Rotating ShaftbyXiaoqiang WangDr. R.Gordon Kirk (Chairman)Engineering Science and MechanicsABSTRACTThis thesis describes the experimental test results and computer simulation investigations which were conducted to verify the existing theory of skewed disk forced response predictions. The experimental tests were conducted on a horizontal flexible shaft rotor system supported in two hydrodynamic journal bearings. The computer simulations were conducted w...

Educational Administration

Analysis of data provided by the Virginia Departments of Motor Vehicles, Transportation,and Education all show school buses as having a significantly higher number of accidents perhundred million miles of travel than other forms of transportation. Such statistics are alarmingand formal study of school bus accident factors has been limited. The purposes of this studywere to (a) establish the adequacy of the school bus driver training programs of LocalEducation Agencies(LEAs) of the Commonwealth o...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

(ABSTRACT)A study is undertaken of the numerical reconstruction ofacoustic and electromagnetic (EM) localized waves (LWs). Thelatter are carrier-free ultra-wideband pulses characterizedby large focusing depths and extended ranges of localization.Special emphasis is placed on finite energy LWs that can begenerated by dynamic aperture antennas with independentlyaddressable elements. The reconstruction techniques are basedon Huygens and Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral I and IIrepresentations, both in ...

Electrical Engineering

<center><p><b>A Test Planning System for Functional Validation of VHDL DSP Models </b><p>by<p>Morris Mengwei Lin<p>Dr. James R. Armstrong, Chairman<p>Electrical Engineering<p>(ABSTRACT)</center><p>Validating DSP circuits modeled in VHDL involves generating test data, creatingVHDL test benches, and simulating the test benches including models un...

Engineering Mechanics

Several critical issues in the mechanics of the interface between the fibers and matrix in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are studied. The first issue is the competition between crack deflection and penetration at the fiber/matrix interface. When a matrix crack, the first fracture mode in a CMC, reaches the interface, two different crack modes are possible; crack deflection along the interface and crack penetration into the fibers. A criterion based on strain energy release rates is developed ...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

This thesis describes the development of a software system forcolor sorting hardwood edge-glued panel parts. Conceptually, thissystem can be broken down into three separate processing steps. Thefirst step is to segment color images of each of the two part facesinto background and part. The second step involvesextracting color information from each region labeled partand using this information to classify each part face as one of apre-selected number of color classes plus an out class. Thethird s...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

<body> <center> <p>BUDGETING BEHAVIORS OF TRADITIONAL-AGED<p>UPPER-DIVISION COLLEGE STUDENTS<p>by<p>W. Andrew Wilson<p>Dr. Joan B. Hirt, Chair<p>Educational Leadership and Policy Studies<p>ABSTRACT</center<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the budgeting behaviors of traditional-aged upper-division college students (juniors and seniors). Budge...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

<center><p>ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN CYBERSPACE:A QUALITATIVE STUDY<p><p>by<p><p>Lisa B. Gatz<p><p>Dr. Joan B. Hirt, Chair<p><p>Educational Leadership and Policy Studies<p><p>ABSTRACT<p></center><p>This study was designed to gain a better understanding of whether electronic mail (...

Electrical Engineering

ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF SPACE VECTORMODULATIONSCHEMES FOR THREE-LEG AND FOUR-LEGVOLTAGE SOURCE INVERTERSbyV.Himamshu PrasadDusan Borojevic, ChairmanElectrical Engineering(ABSTRACT)Several space vector modulation schemes have been analyzed for three-leg and four-legvoltage source inverters. The analysis is performed with respect to a) switching losses, b)total harmonic distortion, c) peak-to-peak ripple in the line current and d) the ease ofdigital implementation. The analysis is performed ove...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

The purpose of this quantitative/qualitative evaluation study was to analyze the impact of the Success for All (SFA) program on reading achievement, attendance, and academic self-efficacy. Robert Slavin (1996) and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University developed the Success for All program, which incorporates a comprehensive school restructuring approach. This program focuses on improving achievement of at-risk children and aims to have every child reading on or above grade level by grade th...

Mechanical Engineering

The concept of a weak sound radiating cell is proposed to reduce the low frequency radiated noise from structures. The cell consists of two coupled surfaces such that, when placed on a vibrating structure, the responses of the two surfaces are nearly out-of-phase and of equal strength over a wide frequency range. This structure response leads the cell to behave as an acoustic dipole and thus as a poor sound radiating source. The control of low frequency structurally radiated noise is then achiev...

Computer Science

<b>Note: This ETD was submitted by a student from the University of Massachussets.</b><p>Information Retrieval (IR) typically retrieves entire documents inresponse to a user s information need. However, many times a userwould prefer to examine smaller portions of a document. One exampleof this is when building a frame-based representation of a text. Theuser would like to read all and only those portions of the text thatare about predefined important feat...

Teaching and Learning

This study investigates the effects of clustering or format of presentation (categorized and uncategorized lists), level of color realism of graphics (color pictures, black and white pictures and line drawings), and age (10 year old, 16 year old and adults) on the pictorial recall memory among students in Malaysia. Three hundred sixty students of three age groups were randomly assigned to one of the six stimulus treatments (categorized color, uncategorized color, categorized black and white, unc...

EDLP

This paper is an analysis of the interview questions and practices of seven middle school principals from a large suburban city in southeastern Virginia. Data were collected from actual audio taped teacher interviews conducted by the principals and from a postteacher interview questionnaire sent via E-mail from the researcher to each principal. This qualitative research was undertaken to serve as a benchmark for present practices used in the city and to determine if training in personnel selecti...

Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science

An algorithm was developed for assessing disease risk and improving fungicide timing forcontrol of Sclerotinia blight of peanut, caused by Sclerotinia minor. A 5-day index (FDI) ofdisease risk was calculated daily by multiplying indices of moisture, soil temperature, vinegrowth and canopy density and summing the values for the previous 5 days. Spray thresholds ofFDI 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 were compared to a 60, 90, 120 DAP (days after planting) schedule andthe standard demand program. Field trials i...