Adherent Cu films were electrodeposited onto polycrystalline W foils from purged solutions of 0.05 M CuSO4 in H2SO4 supporting electrolyte and 0.025 M CuCO3∙Cu(OH)2 in 0.32 M H3BO3 and corresponding HBF4 supporting electrolyte, both at pH = 1. Films were deposited under constant potential conditions at voltages between -0.6 V and -0.2 V versus Ag/AgCl. All films produced by pulses of 10 s duration were visible to the eye, copper colored, and survived a crude test called "the Scotch tape test", which involves sticking the scotch tape on the sample, then peeling off the tape and observing if the copper film peels off or not. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the presence of metallic Cu, with apparent dendritic growth. No sulfur impurity was observable by XPS or EDX. Kinetics measurements indicated that the Cu nucleation process in the sulfuric bath is slower than in the borate bath. In both baths, nucleation kinetics does not correspond to either instantaneous or progressive nucleation. Films deposited from 0.05 M CuSO4/H2SO4 solution at pH > 1 at -0.2 V exhibited poor adhesion and decreased Cu reduction current. In both borate and sulfate baths, small …

This study sought to determine if the dominant learning styles of high school teachers is related to the amount of time computers are used in the classroom by students. It also examined the types of software used by those teachers, and their levels of technology adoption. Subjects (N=177) were from high schools in a large urban school district. Instrumentation included the Gregorc Style Delineator, a modified version of the Snapshot Survey and the Stages of Adoption of Technology. An ANOVA showed no statistical significance between teachers with different dominant learning styles in the numbers of minutes per week that computers were utilized in their classrooms with students. A chi square test showed no statistical significance in the types of software used in the classrooms of teachers with different dominant learning styles. A chi square test showed no statistical significance in the Stages of Technology Adoption of teachers with different dominant learning styles.

Park "Pepper" Adams, III (1930-1986) is one of the most influential baritone saxophonists in the history of modern jazz. In addition to his time feel, his timbre, and other conceptual techniques, a great deal of Adams's improvisational style and vocabulary can be illustrated by his use of three motivic devices. These three motivic devices are: (1) his utilization of the sixth degree of the major scale as an important melodic pitch; (2) his use of a paraphrased portion of the melody of the popular song "Cry Me a River;" and (3) his use of the half-whole octatonic scale when the rhythm section sounds a dominant chord. This dissertation traces the way in which Adams applies these three motivic devices through four of his original compositions, "Enchilada Baby," "Bossallegro," "Lovers of Their Time," and "Rue Serpente." All four of these compositions were recorded by Adams on his 1980 album, The Master. In addition to the motivic analysis, a biography of Adams is included. Complete transcriptions by the author of Adams's improvised solos on the four compositions are included in the appendices.

William Grant Still's musical achievements are legion. Because he was the first African American to break the color line in America's concert halls, Still earned the sobriquet "Dean of Negro Composers." Paradoxically, Still's reception suffers from this list of "firsts." The unintended consequence of cataloging his achievements venerates his position as an iconoclast while detracting critical attention from his music. Conversely, if we ignore the social context in which Still produced his music, we risk misinterpreting his compositional choices or trivializing the significance of his accomplishments prior to the Civil Rights Movement in America. Still's so-called symphonic trilogy-Africa, Symphony No. 1 ("Afro-American"), and Symphony No. 2 ("Song of a New Race")-is the subject of an intertextual analysis that demonstrates how extra-musical concerns, such as race, and musical elements can be brought into alignment. Chapter one discusses black music scholarship in general and Still scholarship in particular by tracing the development of black music historiography. The second chapter explores one of the various modes of inquiry used to study black music-intertextuality. The context for Still's self-titled racial and universal periods is the subject of chapter three. For the first time, arguments from both sides of the racial divide are reconsidered in …

An iodine surface layer has been prepared on Ru(poly) and Ru(0001) electrodes by exposure to iodine vapor in UHV and polarizing in a 0.1 M HClO4/0.005 M KI solution, respectively. A saturation coverage of I on a Ru(poly) electrode passivates the Ru surface against significant hydroxide, chemisorbed oxygen or oxide formation during exposure to water vapor over an electrochemical cell in a UHV-electrochemistry transfer system. Immersion of I-Ru(poly) results in greater hydroxide and chemisorbed oxygen formation than water vapor exposure, but an inhibition of surface oxide formation relative that of the unmodified Ru(poly) surface is still observed. Studies with combined electrochemical and XPS techniques show that the iodine surface adlayer remained on top of the surface after cycles of overpotential electrodeposition/dissolution of copper on both Ru(poly) and Ru(0001) electrodes. These results indicate the potential bifunctionality of iodine layer to both passivate the Ru surface in the microelectronic processing and to act as a surfactant for copper electrodeposition. The electrodeposition of Cu on Ru(0001) or polycrystalline Ru was studied using XPS with combined ultrahigh vacuum/electrochemistry methodology (UHV-EC) in 0.1 M HClO4 with Cu(ClO4)2 concentrations ranging from 0.005 M to 0.0005 M, and on polycrystalline Ru in a 0.05M H2SO4/0.005 M CuSO4/0.001 …

The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: one is to analyze the narratives of Acis and Galatea written by Ovid, and the two libretti by Handel's librettists including Nicola Giuvo (1708) and John Gay (1718) with John Hughes and Alexander Pope; the other is to correlate this textual analysis within the musical languages. A 1732 pastiche version is excluded because its bilingual texts are not suitable for the study of relationships between meaning and words. For this purpose, the study uses the structural theory- -mainly that of Gérard Genette--as a theoretical framework for the analysis of the texts. Narrative analysis of Acis and Galatea proves that the creative process of writing the libretto is a product of a conscious acknowledgement of its structure by composer and librettists. They put the major events of the story into recitative and ensemble. By examining the texts of both Handel's work, I explore several structural layers from the libretti: the change of the characterization to accommodate a specific occasion and the composer's response to contemporary English demand for pastoral drama with parodistic elements, alluding to the low and high class of society. Further, Polyphemus is examined in terms of relationships with culture corresponding to …

This dissertation studies different social aspects of terrorists and terrorist organizations in an effort to better deal with terrorism, especially in the long run. The researcher, who also worked as a Police Captain at Turkish National Police Anti-Terrorism Department, seeks solutions to today's global problem by studying both literature and a Delphi examination of a survey of 1070 imprisoned terrorists. The research questions include questions such as "What are the reasons behind terrorism?", "Why does terrorism occur?", "What ideologies provide the framework for terrorist violence?, "Why do some individuals become terrorists and others do not?" and "Under what conditions will terrorists end their violence?" The results of the study presents the complexity of the terrorism problem as a social experience and impossibility of a single solution or remedy for the global problem of terrorism. The researcher through his examination of the findings of the data, presented that terrorism is a social phenomenon with criminal consequences that needs to be dealt by means of two dimensional approaches. The first is the social dimension of terrorism and the second is the criminal dimension of terrorism. Based on this, the researcher constructed a conceptual model which addresses both of these dimensions under the …

This study explored public safety programs in publicly controlled American community colleges. The need for accurate and complete information in an era of homeland security and defense is paramount as government, education, the private sector, and the citizenry interact to ensure a safer nation. The general purposes of this study were to compile current descriptive information on public safety programs and curricula in America's publicly controlled community colleges, and to identify problems and prospects inherent in the administration of these programs. Information is critical as community colleges continue to struggle with decreased funding and seek alternative sources of revenue. Community colleges represent a tremendous network for course delivery, such as homeland security training, but struggle to obtain the attention or the funding from the federal government. A review of pertinent literature provided the foundation of a 100-item survey questionnaire that was mailed to a random sample of 200 public safety administrators at American community colleges. The study also included a review of archival data to further describe the programs. Of the 200 instruments sent, 97 (48.5%) were completed, returned, and useable. From the literature, the survey results, and the archival data, a comprehensive list of community colleges with public safety …

Given today's hurried pace of change in higher education and its institutions, it is imperative for the higher education research community to reflect on its current composition and resulting ability to understand and respond to the breadth and rapidity of that change. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify selected social and academic characteristics of the primary contributors (authors, editorial board members, and editors) to The Review of Higher Education, to categorize institutional affiliations of contributors via the Carnegie Classification System and to synthesize the data in a historical and sociological perspective. The contributions to The Review's articles, editorial board positions, and editorships in its first 25 years have predominantly been from male members of the higher education professoriate affiliated with and receiving doctoral degrees from major research universities ranked highest in the Carnegie Classification System. Trends toward greater gender and disciplinary representation, especially among author contributors, began to appear by the mid-point (1990s) of the study period.

This study was designed to determine how willing private schools are to participate in a limited school voucher program if various state regulations are required and whether willingness to participate varies among types of schools. Provisions of voucher bills proposed in the Texas legislature and requirements included in other states' legislation were used to determine the sample, hypothetical voucher amount, and possible state regulations. Three hundred eighteen surveys were sent, and 150 were returned, giving a 47% return rate. Data were entered into SPSS and analyzed using chi-square and crosstabs. Initially chi square was used to see if findings were significant at the .0041 level. This alpha level was reached by using the Bonferroni correction factor, which holds experiment wise Type I error to .05. Crosstabs was used to determine if relationships between regulation acceptance and type of schools were significant. Overall, as the amount of regulation increased, private school willingness to participate in a voucher program decreased. The regulations rejected by a large majority of schools in all categories were open admissions and student religious exemptions. In the areas of testing, curriculum, and teacher qualifications, private schools were much more willing to participate if they were allowed to utilize …

This thesis addresses the problem of a form of anomalous decoherence that sheds light into the spectroscopy of blinking quantum dots. The system studied is a two-state system, interacting with an external environment that has the effect of establishing an interaction between the two states, via a coherence generating coupling, called inphasing. The collisions with the environment produce also decoherence, named dephasing. Decoherence is interpreted as the entanglement of the coherent superposition of these two states with the environment. The joint action of inphasing and dephasing generates a Markov master equation statistically equivalent to a random walker jumping from one state to the other. This model can be used to describe intermittent fluorescence, as a sequence of "light on" and "light off" states. The experiments on blinking quantum dots indicate that the sojourn times are distributed with an inverse power law. Thus, a proposal to turn the model for Poisson fluorescence intermittency into a model for non-Poisson fluorescence intermittency is made. The collision-like interaction of the two-state system with the environment is assumed to takes place at random times rather than at regular times. The time distance between one collision and the next is given by a distribution, called the …

EEG biofeedback (neurotherapy) has been demonstrated as effective in the treatment of alcoholism, as evidenced by Peniston and Kulkosky's research efforts. These neurotherapy pioneers evaluated the efficacy of alpha-theta brain wave biofeedback as a treatment for chronic alcohol abuse, citing 80% abstinence rates as measured by improvements in psychopathology, serum beta endorphin levels, and long-term alcohol abstinence. Most research with alpha-theta EEG biofeedback has addressed alcohol addiction. Cocaine is now considered to be the most common drug problem of patients entering treatment for drug abuse. To date, only one controlled study has been published that researched alpha-theta neurofeedback in the treatment of "crack" cocaine addiction. The present study was an extension of a 4-year EEG-biofeedback treatment outcome project underway at a faith-based homeless mission in Houston, Texas, with male "crack" cocaine addicts. Changes in personality, attention, and impulsivity were measured following 30 sessions of a non-individualized EEG -biofeedback protocol. Experimental subjects received a variant of the Peniston-Kulkosky alpha-theta protocol for 30 sessions while controls received all elements of the experimental protocol except the EEG biofeedback. Assessment measures included the MMPI-2 and the IVA. Although experimental subjects showed greater mean improvement on most MMPI basic scales and all IVA Attention related …

This study examined the effectiveness of employing videoconferencing and Web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Due to the acute shortage of special education personnel, it was anticipated that the use of videoconferencing and online instruction would provide a convenient way for students to attend class without having to travel to the actual location of the educational site. Further, it was believed that this initiative would result in higher student enrollment in special education teacher certification programs, consequently leading to an increase of personnel in the field. Moreover, the increase in personnel would enhance the ability of educational institutions to address the dismal academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities. Information for the study was collected from surveys that investigated how students perceived the use of videoconferencing and web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Ninety-four graduate students responded to the videoconferencing surveys while 88 responded to the Web-based instruction surveys. Six respondents were randomly selected to participate in face-to-face interviews designed to investigate the effectiveness of both approaches. Findings indicated that videoconferencing and Web-based instruction are convenient ways for students to attend class although videoconferencing sites may not be conveniently located to all …

To illustrate the intersection of ethical language and ethical frameworks within technical communication, this dissertation analyzes the history and documentation of the human radiation experiments of the 1940s through the 1970s. Research propositions included clarifying the link between medical documentation and technical communication by reviewing the literature that links the two disciplines from the ancient period to the present; establishing an appropriate historiography for the human radiation experiments by providing a context of the military, political, medical, and rhetorical milieu of the 1940s to the 1970s; closely examining and analyzing actual human radiation experiment documentation, including proposals, letters, memos, and consent forms, looking for established rhetorical constructions that indicate a document adheres to or diverts from specific ethical frameworks; and suggesting the importance of the human radiation documents for studying ethics in technical communication. Close rhetorical analysis of the documents included with this project reveals consistent patterns of metadiscourse, passive and nominal writing styles, and other rhetorical constructions, including negative language, redundancies, hedges, and intensifiers, that could lead a reader to misunderstand the writer's original ethical purpose. Ultimately this project finds that technical communicators cannot classify language itself as ethical or unethical; the language is simply the framework with which …

This dissertation presents the social virtual interface (SVI) model, which was born out of a need to develop a viable model of the complex interactions, information flow and information seeking behaviors among undercover officers. The SVI model was created from a combination of various philosophies and models in the literature of information seeking, communication and philosophy. The questions this research paper answers are as follows: 1. Can we make use of models and concepts familiar to or drawn from Information Science to construct a model of undercover police work that effectively represents the large number of entities and relationships? and 2. Will undercover police officers recognize this model as realistic? This study used a descriptive qualitative research method to examine the research questions. An online survey and hard copy survey were distributed to police officers who had worked in an undercover capacity. In addition groups of officers were interviewed about their opinion of the SVI model. The data gathered was analyzed and the model was validated by the results of the survey and interviews.

The de Broglie-Bohm (BB) approach to quantum mechanics gives trajectories similar to classical trajectories except that they are also determined by a quantum potential. The quantum potential is a "fictitious potential" in the sense that it is part of the quantum kinetic energy. We use quantum trajectories to treat quantum chaos in a manner similar to classical chaos. For the kicked rotor, which is a bounded system, we use the Benettin et al. method to calculate both classical and quantum Lyapunov exponents as a function of control parameter K and find chaos in both cases. Within the chaotic sea we find in both cases nonchaotic stability regions for K equal to multiples of π. For even multiples of π the stability regions are associated with classical accelerator mode islands and for odd multiples of π they are associated with new oscillator modes. We examine the structure of these regions. Momentum diffusion of the quantum kicked rotor is studied with both BB and standard quantum mechanics (SQM). A general analytical expression is given for the momentum diffusion at quantum resonance of both BB and SQM. We obtain agreement between the two approaches in numerical experiments. For the case of nonresonance the …

As a very promising material of copper diffusion barrier for next generation microelectronics, Ru has already obtained a considerable attention recently. In this dissertation, we investigated ruthenium and ruthenium oxide electrochemical properties and the application as a copper diffusion barrier. Cu under potential deposition (UPD) on the RuOx formed electrochemically was first observed. Strong binding interaction, manifesting by the observed Cu UPD process, exists between Cu and Ru as well as its conductive ruthenium oxide. Since UPD can be conformally formed on the electrode surface, which enable Ru and RuOx has a potential application in the next generation anode. The [Cl-] and pH dependent experiment were conducted, both of them will affect UPD Cu on Ru oxide. We also found the Cu deposition is thermodynamically favored on RuOx formed electrochemically. We have studied the Ru thin film (5nm) as a copper diffusion barrier. It can successfully block Cu diffusion annealed at 300 oC for 10min under vacuum, and fail at 450 oC. We think the silicidation process at the interface between Ru and Si. PVD Cu/Ru/Si and ECP Cu/Ru/Si were compared each other during copper diffusion study. It was observed that ECP Cu is easy to diffuse through Ru barrier. …

It is attempted with this dissertation to draw an explanatory interdisciplinary framework to clarify the causes of systemic corruption. Following an intense review of political sciences, economics, and sociology literatures on the issue, a complex systems theoretical model is constructed. A political system consists of five main components: Society, interest aggregators, legislative, executive and private sector, and the human actors in these domains. It is hypothesized that when the legitimacy level of the system is low and morality of the systemic actors is flawed, selected political, social and economic incentives and opportunities that may exist within the structure of the systemic components might -individually or as a group- trigger corrupt transactions between the actors of the system. If left untouched, corruption might spread through the system by repetition and social learning eventually becoming the source of corruption itself. By eroding the already weak legitimacy and morality, it may increase the risk of corruption even further. This theoretical explanation is used to study causes of systemic corruption in the Turkish political system. Under the guidance of the complex systems theory, initial systemic conditions, -legacy of the predecessor of Turkey Ottoman Empire-, is evaluated first, and then political, social and economic factors …

This study examined the comments submitted by the public to the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Office of Special Education Programs, in response to the 2004 amended IDEA, prior to the development and publication of proposed regulations under 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 300 and 303 to implement programs under IDEA. Specifically, this study analyzed the types of individuals (e.g., parents, advocates, administrators, lawyers, support staff personnel) and interest groups along with the number of submissions, types of comments made, and specific provisions in the legislation that received the most comments during the period open to the public prior to the publication of the proposed regulations. In addition, an exploration of the existence of differences in comments submitted by states and regions was analyzed in terms of types of individuals, interest groups, types of comments, and specific provision of the 2004 amended IDEA. Content analysis approach utilizing qualitative data collection and analysis procedures was used for this study. The sample consisted of 2,199 comments submitted to the USDE via the U.S. Postal system, e-mail, and verbal testimony transcripts obtained during one of the public meetings held throughout the United States during the 60 day period open …

Density functional theory has been used in combination with the correlation consistent and polarization consistent basis sets to investigate the structures and energetics for a series of first-row closed shell and several second-row molecules of potential importance in atmospheric chemistry. The impact of basis set choice upon molecular description has been examined, and irregular convergence of molecular properties with respect to increasing basis set size for several functionals and molecules has been observed. The possible reasons and solutions for this unexpected behavior including the effect of contraction and uncontraction, of the basis set diffuse sp basis functions, basis set superposition error (BSSE) and core-valence sets also have been examined.

Effects of episodic exposures have gained attention as the regulatory focus of the Clean Water Act has shifted away from continuous-flow effluents. Standardized laboratory toxicity tests require that exposure be held constant. However, this approach may not accurately predict organism responses in the field following episodic exposures such as those associated with rain-driven runoff events or accidental pollutant discharge. Using a modified version of the 7-day short-term chronic test recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Ceriodaphnia dubia were exposed to copper or cadmium for durations ranging from 1 minute to 24 hours. In addition, adult reproductive recovery and effects on second generation individuals was assessed following select copper exposures. Finally, cadmium exposures were compared in reconstituted hard water (RHW) and municipal treated wastewater effluent (TWE). Following exposure, organisms were transferred to clean RHW or TWE and maintained for the remainder of the test. No- and lowest observed effect concentrations (NO- and LOECs) increased logarithmically with respect to logarithmic decreases in duration regardless of metal, endpoint or water type. Effective concentrations of cadmium however, were usually higher than those of copper, especially in TWE. LOECs for C. dubia survival following 24-hour and 5-minute exposures to copper were 116 and 417 …

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide an introduction to the composer, Lawrence Weiner, and to his Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, one of the many neglected guitar concerti that merits closer study and more frequent performances. Weiner, a prolific and prominent composer in the South Texas region, composed the concerto in 1986. The concerto was never published. This dissertation is the first attempt to study Weiner's Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra to date. This study provides insight into the compositional style of Weiner, and the understanding and performing of this work. The compositional language of this concerto is examined through an analysis of the aspects of form, harmonic/tonal scheme and thematic development. A performance edition and suggestions that are approved by the composer are also presented.

Although the most well-known collaborations of William Plomer and Benjamin Britten are the three church parables (or church operas) - Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, and The Prodigal Son - by the time of the completion of Curlew River in 1964, the librettist and composer had been working together for well over a decade. During that time, they had completed the opera Gloriana and had considered collaborating on three other projects: one a children's opera on Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Tod, one on an original story of Plomer's called "Tyco the Vegan," and one on a Greek myth (possibly Arion, Daedalus and Icarus, or Phaëthon). Far from being footnotes to the parables, these early collaborations established Plomer and Britten's working relationship and brought to light their common interests as well as their independent ones. Their successive early collaborations, therefore, can be thought of as a conversation through creative expression. This metaphor of conversation can be applied both to successive collaborations and to the completed Gloriana, in that the libretto and the music can be seen as representing different interpretations of both major and minor characters in the opera, including Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. …

The United States is in the middle of a gripping nursing shortage; a shortage that is putting patients' lives in danger. This study determined the impact community and tribal colleges in severely economically distressed counties of the United States have on the nursing shortage faced by health care facilities serving these areas. The initial sample of 24 institutions selected in the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) (1995-2000). Data were collected from the Fall 1998 National Study of Post Secondary Faculty to obtain characteristics of faculty and from the 2003 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to obtain characteristics of students, both at all publicly-controlled community colleges, all tribal colleges, and the 24 RCCI colleges that included 18 community and six tribal colleges. A survey was sent to the directors/deans/chairs of the nursing programs to ascertain issues related to the nursing program, nursing faculty, and nursing students. Respondents were asked to identify the healthcare facilities used for students' clinical experiences. A survey was then sent to each of these facilities asking about rural health, and source of nursing staff. Findings: 1) 87% of these these rural healthcare facilities are experiencing a significant shortage of nurses, and they are challenged …