Minoru Miki's first two marimba compositions, Time for Marimba (1968) and Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra (1969) were composed at a revolutionary time-period for the marimba. Due to unique and innovative compositional techniques, Miki helped establish the marimba as a true concert instrument capable of performing music of the highest quality. As a pioneer in composing for marimba literature, Miki was able to capture the true essence of the marimba; a timeless quality that has helped Time for Marimba remain a part of the standard solo repertoire for the past forty years. The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare Minoru Miki's compositions, Time for Marimba and Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra. Composed within a year of each other, these works possess similar compositional techniques, and rhythmic and thematic relationships. This thesis includes a formal analysis and detailed comparisons of compositional techniques used in both works. Performance considerations, a brief biographical sketch of Miki and historical significance of Time for Marimba and Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra are also included.

Online/offline signature schemes are useful in many situations, and two such scenarios are considered in this dissertation: bursty server authentication and embedded device authentication. In this dissertation, new techniques for online/offline signing are introduced, those are applied in a variety of ways for creating online/offline signature schemes, and five different online/offline signature schemes that are proved secure under a variety of models and assumptions are proposed. Two of the proposed five schemes have the best offline or best online performance of any currently known technique, and are particularly well-suited for the scenarios that are considered in this dissertation. To determine if the proposed schemes provide the expected practical improvements, a series of experiments were conducted comparing the proposed schemes with each other and with other state-of-the-art schemes in this area, both on a desktop class computer, and under AVR Studio, a simulation platform for an 8-bit processor that is popular for embedded systems. Under AVR Studio, the proposed SGE scheme using a typical key size for the embedded device authentication scenario, can complete the offline phase in about 24 seconds and then produce a signature (the online phase) in 15 milliseconds, which is the best offline performance of any known …

Aluminum was deposited onto both Teflon AF and Parylene AF surfaces by chemical vapor deposition of trimethylaluminum. This work shows that similar thin film (100 Angstroms) aluminum oxide adlayers form on both polymers at the low temperature dosing conditions used in the studies. Upon anneal to room temperature and above, defluorination of the polymer surfaces increased and resulted in fluorinated aluminum oxide adlayers; the adlayers were thermally stable to the highest temperatures tested (600 K). Angle-resolved spectra showed higher levels of fluorination toward the polymer/adlayer interface region. Copper films were also deposited at low temperature onto Teflon AF using a copper hexafluoroacetylacetonate-cyclooctadiene precursor. Annealing up to 600 K resulted in the loss of precursor ligands and a shift to metallic copper. As with aluminum adlayers, some polymer defluorination and resulting metal (copper) fluoride was detected. Parylene AF and polystyrene films surfaces were modified by directly dosing with water vapor passed across a hot tungsten filament. Oxygen incorporation into polystyrene occurred exclusively at aromatic carbon sites, whereas oxygen incorporation into parylene occurred in both aromatic and aliphatic sites. Oxygen x-ray photoelectron spectra of the modified polymers were comparable, indicating that similar reactions occurred. The surface oxygenation of parylene allowed enhanced reactivity …

Consisting of both theoretical and empirical inquires, this study examines the primary functions of narrative and the relationship between narrative and mental imagery. The study proposes a new framework to interpret semiotic resources. Combining this with the linguistic functional theory of Halliday (1978), a functional method to empirically investigate semiotic representations was also developed. In the empirical inquiry, the study developed a latent construct method to empirically test the effects of narrative in a real learning situation. This study is the first to investigate the functional relationship between narrative and mental imagery, and among the first to suggest a theory and empirically investigate representations of a multimodal nature. The study is also among the first to use latent constructs to investigate the learning experience in a real educational setting. Data were collected from 190 library professionals who enrolled in three sections (two in narrative and one in plain text) of an online course administered through Vista 4.0 and who completed the course and responded to several instruments. Essay data (n = 82 x 2) were analyzed using content analysis based on the narrative analysis framework developed. Quantitative data analysis methods include univariate data analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling …

In the current study, I examined the general sociocultural model of eating disorders that suggests that sociocultural pressures leads to internalization, which in turn leads to body dissatisfaction and ultimately disordered eating. Because I am testing this model with a sample of African American women, I also am including acculturation as a variable of interest. Specifically, I hypothesized that (a) the experience of more societal pressure to be thin will be related to greater internalization, (b) higher levels of acculturation will be related to greater internalization, (c) internalization of the thin ideal will be directly and positively related to body image concern, and (d) body image concern will be associated with higher levels of disordered eating. It was determined that there is a direct, negative relationship between Level of Identification with Culture of Origin and Internalization. Perceived Pressure was directly and positively related to both Internalization and Body Image Concerns. Body Concerns and Internalization were both directly and positively related to Disordered Eating. These findings suggest that although many of the same constructs related to disordered eating in other ethnic groups are also related to disordered eating among African American women, the relationships between the factors differs across racial/ethnic groups. …

The purpose of this study is to explore the representation of national political freedom on web interface design by using power distance, one of the culture dimensions identified by Geert Hofstede, as a measurement. This study also aims to determine if there are any differences between government-based websites and business-oriented websites in representing national political freedom. A pilot study was conducted to validate ten power distance indicators identified from previous research on cultural dimensions with the intent of establishing a measurement for determining a country's national political freedom on web content and interface design. The result showed that six out of ten proposed indicators are valid power distance indicators. The seventh indicator, symmetric layout, demonstrated that its Web representation correlates with national political freedom level. Consequently, the principal research applied these seven indicators in coding 312 websites selected from 39 countries and analyzed national political freedom represented on these websites with content analysis method. The result of two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that large differences exist in web interface design, which in turn reflects the aforementioned national political freedom. The research showed that the mean effect of freedom level between free-country group, partly-free-country group and not-free-country group was statistically …

Frederick Fox's contributions to contemporary music are substantial, including eighty-three compositions written between 1966 and 1998. These include pieces for orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, solo instruments, and a variety of chamber ensembles. This study serves as a complete annotated bibliography of Frederick Fox's eight compositions which feature the saxophone in a prominent role, all of which were written between 1979 and 1998. They include a piece for unaccompanied solo alto saxophone, Hear Again in Memory (1991), two works for alto saxophone and piano, Annexus (1980), and When the Thunder Speaks (1998), a saxophone duet, Visitations (1982), two saxophone quartets, 3 Diversions (1987) and The Avenging Spirit (1989), a saxophone quartet with solo alto saxophone, S.A.X. (1979), and a chamber piece for soprano and alto saxophone accompanied by piano and two percussionists, Shaking the Pumpkin (1986). In addition, an analysis of Fox's first composition for saxophone, S.A.X. for Solo Alto Saxophone and Saxophone Quartet, offers an insight into the compositional style of the composer. A complete listing of all of Fox's compositions, formal schemata of selected saxophone compositions, and a discography of his recorded saxophone compositions are included as appendices.

In this study I analyzed the 1089 desegregation outcomes in federal district courts that occurred between 1994 and 2004 in order to identify a) the legal and non-legal factors in the litigation process that predict pro-desegregation outcomes and b) the judicial patterns that impact the future of desegregation policy. Twenty-one legal and non-legal variables were analyzed via logistic regression analysis to identify factors that predict pro-desegregation outcomes. Only three predictor variables were statistically significant: Government Litigants; Region 3 (West) and Region 4 (Northeast.) Descriptive analyses of the data identified two trends in the pattern of litigation: The percentage of defendant wins increased after 1991 at a lesser rate than has been previously reported. I conclude that based on the results of both the quantitative and qualitative analyses the federal district courts are not a barrier to desegregation and can still be a part of a comprehensive desegregation strategy.

This qualitative study uses narrative analysis to explore the outcomes of information seeking and use among public library users. Twelve women between the ages of 51 and 72, all residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas who self-identified as regular library users, were interviewed to gather their life stories and their experiences using the public library. The participants in this study used information to enable learning and, often, a change in their affective state. The participants used the new information they encountered constructively, to engage with the knowledge and experience they possessed; this use of information always involved reflection, dialogue, or both. The outcomes from these actions are the creation of new knowledge, a change in the participants' meaning schemes, and/or an affective change. In addition, the narratives strongly suggest that information seeking and use by adults in public libraries can sometimes facilitate or, on its own, precipitate a perspective transformation and the adoption of new meanings. Overall, the findings support Mezirow's theory of transformative learning as a model for understanding information use and outcomes among users of the public library. The major implications of this study are two-fold. One, it introduces to information science Mezirow's theory of transformative learning which could provide …

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between scores of the new teachers' classroom effectiveness with numerical indexes of mentor support, mentor infrastructure, and workplace ecology. In addition, this study sought to determine the effect of various demographics (i.e., gender, age, race, degree, teaching level, and certification route) on the Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) scores of first-year teachers, and to determine the differences, if any, between the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores of first-year teachers who remained on campus, switched campuses, or left the district. This study is primarily correlational in nature - looking for relationships between quantifiable variables. The subjects are 68 first-year teachers. The mandatory mentoring program the subjects were involved in consisted of a paid, veteran teacher who worked on the same campus as the first-year teacher and assisted in instructional or behavioral needs. This study measured the impact of the first-year teachers' mentoring experiences to the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores and teacher retention. The findings suggest that the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores might not be an appropriate tool for uncovering which aspects of mentoring contribute to student achievement and retention. Adding the value-added measurement tool to the categories of mentor support (MS), mentor infrastructure …

Diabetes is a disease with a deleterious pathology that currently impacts 4.5 million individuals within the United States. This study examined the ability of a specific neuropsychological battery to identify and classify dementia type, investigated the impact of diabetes on cognition and analyzed the ability of the memory measures of the 7 Minute Screen (7MS) and the Rey-Osterrieth Recall to correctly categorize dementia type when not used in combination with a full battery. The battery in addition to exhaustive patient history, medical chart review and pertinent tests were used in initial diagnosis. Results indicated the battery was sufficient in the identification and classification of dementia type. Within the sample, diabetes did not appear to significantly impact overall battery results whereby only two measures were minimally affected by diabetes. Finally, the memory measures of the 7MS and the Rey-Osterrieth Recall were sufficient to predict membership into the Alzheimer's (AD) and vascular dementia (VD) groups with 86.4% accuracy. The classification percentage dropped to 68.3% with addition of the mild cognitive impairment category. The full battery correctly classified AD and VD dementia 87.5% and appeared to be the most robust.

Living neural networks are capable of processing information much faster than a modern computer, despite running at significantly lower clock speeds. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms neural networks utilize is an issue of substantial importance. Neuronal interaction dynamics were studied using histiotypic networks growing on microelectrode arrays in vitro. Hierarchical relationships were explored using bursting (when many neurons fire in a short time frame) dynamics, pairwise neuronal activation, and information theoretic measures. Together, these methods reveal that global network activity results from ignition by a small group of burst leader neurons, which form a primary circuit that is responsible for initiating most network-wide burst events. Phase delays between leaders and followers reveal information about the nature of the connection between the two. Physical distance from a burst leader appears to be an important factor in follower response dynamics. Information theory reveals that mutual information between neuronal pairs is also a function of physical distance. Activation relationships in developing networks were studied and plating density was found to play an important role in network connectivity development. These measures provide unique views of network connectivity and hierarchical relationship in vitro which should be included in biologically meaningful models of neural networks.

The soil-nematode Caenorhabditis elegans survives oxygen deprivation (anoxia < 0.001 kPa of O2, 0% O2) by entering into a state of suspended animation during which cell cycle progression at interphase, prophase and metaphase stage of mitosis is arrested. I conducted cell biological characterization of embryos exposed to various anoxia exposure times, to demonstrate the requirement and functional role of spindle checkpoint gene san-1 during brief anoxia exposure. I conducted a synthetic lethal screen, which has identified genetic interactions between san-1, other spindle checkpoint genes, and the kinetochore gene hcp-1. Furthermore, I investigated the genetic and cellular mechanisms involved in anoxia-induced prophase arrest, a hallmark of which includes chromosomes docked at the nuclear membrane. First, I conducted in vivo analysis of embryos carried inside the uterus of an adult and exposed to anoxic conditions. These studies demonstrated that anoxia exposure prevents nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) in prophase blastomeres. Second, I exposed C. elegans embryos to other conditions of mitotic stress such as microtubule depolymerizing agent nocodazole and mitochondrial inhibitor sodium azide. Results demonstrate that NEBD and chromosome docking are independent of microtubule function. Additionally, unlike anoxia, exposure to sodium azide causes chromosome docking in prophase blastomeres but severely affects embryonic viability. …

The purposes of this study were to describe the characteristics of the changing male voice in 4th, 5th and 6th grade students using Cooksey's maturation stages and, to compare the age-of-onset of the male voice change in African American, White, and Hispanic male students. Participants included volunteer 4th (n = 61), 5th (n = 73), and 6th grade male students (n = 63) from 2 urban elementary schools, 5 suburban elementary schools, 1 suburban middle school and 1 urban middle school in the North Texas region. The three ethnic groups represented in this study were: African American (n = 62), White (n = 58), and Hispanic (n = 77). Results indicated that approximately 46% of 4th grade participants, 62% of 5th grade participants, and 67% of 6th grade participants were classified as changing voices. A descriptively larger percentage of African American participants were classified as changing voices than Hispanic and White participants. Also, a larger percentage of African American and Hispanic participants were descriptively classified in the more advanced stages of the voice change than White participants. Urban African American, White, and Hispanic participants had a larger percentage of males classified as changing voices than suburban African American, White, and …

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Task (ROCFT) has been a standard in neuropsychological assessment for six decades. Many researchers have contributed administration procedures, additional scoring systems and normative data to improve its utility. Despite the abundance of research, the original 36-point scoring system still reigns among clinicians despite documented problems with ceiling and floor effects and poor discrimination between levels of impairment. This study is an attempt to provide a new method based upon item response theory that will allow clinicians to better describe the impairment levels of their patients. Through estimation of item characteristic curves, underlying traits can be estimated while taking into account varying levels of difficulty and discrimination within the set of individual items. The ultimate goal of the current research is identification of a subset of ROCFT items that can be examined in addition to total scores to provide an extra level of information for clinicians, particularly when they are faced with a need to discriminate severely and mildly impaired patients.

This dissertation examines possible differences in media habits and tastes between Christians and non-Christians. The study utilizes data from singles Internet personal advertisements to determine whether or not Christians, especially those with high levels of religiosity or who may be part of the Christian Right, have different television viewing patterns. Three models were developed using multivariate data analysis and logistic regression to examine Christians' television viewing habits regarding reality shows, soap operas, and news. The first model looks at the viewing habits of Christians, the second model examines the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly, and the third model analyzes the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly and having conservative political views. No significant differences were found in viewing habits between Christians and non-Christians for any of the three models. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to Christians as a whole, they suggest that Christians in this sample might have adopted secular practices with regard to their television viewing habits.

The purpose of this document is to further the current research and encourage interest in the music of the Mexican composer Ernesto García de León. This paper will advance the current research with an in-depth analysis of the first movement of Sonata No. I, Op.13, Las Campanas (The Bells) for solo guitar. The analysis will focus on the pervasive presence of the melodic and harmonic intervals of perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and tritones as constructive devises throughout the sonata. This will provide interested performers a technical understanding of the composition. In addition to the compositional aspects, the analysis will be extended to consider the programmatic elements described by García de León. Select alternative fingerings will also be given to provide the interpreter options for difficult passages.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the organizational factors that contribute to effective emerging information technology intelligence processes and products. Emerging information technology is defined as a technology which is little commercialized and is currently adopted by not more than twenty percent of the companies within a given industry. By definition, information technology intelligence is a subdivision of competitive intelligence and business intelligence. I discovered evidence that the information technology intelligence process includes assessment of information technology intelligence needs of consumers, collection of data from internal and external sources, analysis of the collected data and distribution of the analyzed data to the consumers. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of all the variables in the proposed research model. I found empirical evidence that the final technology intelligence product contributes to better decisions made by consumers, their better environmental scanning, and more funding to information technology departments in organizations from different industries and of different sizes.

The test scores of spatial ability for women lag behind those of men in many spatial tests. On the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), a significant gender gap has existed for over 20 years and continues to exist. High spatial ability has been linked to efficiencies in typical computing tasks including Web and database searching, text editing, and computer programming. The relationships between the components of visuospatial ability and performance are complex. However, research strongly indicates that a connection exists, and further research is necessary to determine the interactions between the variables of environment, genetics, and spatial training. Spatial experience can enhance spatial skills. However, to what extent spatial skills can be enhanced in female adolescents through a spatial curriculum to reduce the gap in scores has not been fully researched, nor has the impact of spatial skill on information seeking. This research project investigated spatial skill in adolescent females by examining (1) the extent to which the intervention of teaching a spatial curriculum in a single-sex setting could improve mental rotation test scores, and (2) the impact of spatial skills on an information seeking task in a single-sex setting. The extent to which a spatial visualization curriculum can improve MRT …

Drawing upon configurational theory, work group design research, virtualness concepts, and the software agility literature, the purpose of this study was to provide a starting point for theorizing about the successful configuration of globally distributed agile teams by exploring the dimensions of team structure, virtualness, and agility. Due to the complex nature of this topic, the need to examine the phenomenon within its natural setting, and the limited amount of research that has been conducted in this particular area, this study adopted an embedded multiple-case research design. The primary data collection method consisted of semi-structured interviews involving members of globally distributed agile teams within three U.S. based organizations with members located in distributed sights in multiple countries. Additional data were collected from archival records. Within-case and cross-analysis was conducted using qualitative data analysis software. This study provides a starting point for answering the question of how the configuration of globally distributed agile teams differs from the configuration of other types of globally distributed teams; it synthesizes past research and findings into a comprehensive theoretical framework; it provides a starting point for theorizing about the successful configuration of globally distributed agile teams; it helps practitioners to identify and address the challenges …

The amorphous fraction of semicrystalline polymers has long been thought to be a significant contributor to creep deformation. In polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites, the semicrystalline nature of the maleated PE compatibilizer leads to a limited ability to separate the role of the PE in the nanocomposite properties. This dissertation investigates blown films of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and its nanocomposites with montmorillonite-layered silicate (MLS). Addition of an amorphous ethylene propylene copolymer grafted maleic anhydride (amEP) was utilized to enhance the interaction between the PE and the MLS. The amorphous nature of the compatibilizer was used to differentiate the effect of the different components of the nanocomposites; namely the matrix, the filler, and the compatibilizer on the overall properties. Tensile test results of the nanocomposites indicate that the addition of amEP and MLS separately and together produces a synergistic effect on the mechanical properties of the neat PE Thermal transitions were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine if the observed improvement in mechanical properties is related to changes in crystallinity. The effect of dispersion of the MLS in the matrix was investigated by using a combination of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mechanical measurements were correlated to …

Leadership capacity may be enhanced when school staff members work together as a professional learning community (PLC). Leadership style may impact how well a school staff work as a professional learning community. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between principal leadership style and the level of PLC on 18 campuses across the US that were working on becoming PLCs. Staff members answered questions from two surveys which measured the level of leadership capacity, leadership style of the principal, and level of professional learning community within the schools. Questions regarding leadership capacity and leadership style were taken from the Leadership Capacity School Survey. Questions designed to measure the level of PLC on a campus were taken from the Professional Learning Community Assessment. The product-moment correlation coefficient or Pearson r was calculated between the answers from the questions from both surveys. The results indicated that when a capacity building principal is working with staff members to create a PLC, a higher level of PLC development is evidenced. When principals used collaboration with their staff, their schools operated at a lower level as a PLC. These results encourage principals to consider building capacity among their staff members if they …

Currently available solid lubricants only perform well under a limited range of environmental conditions. Unlike them, oxides are thermodynamically stable and relatively inert over a broad range of temperatures and environments. However, conventional oxides are brittle at normal temperatures; exhibiting significant plasticity only at high temperatures (>0.5Tmelting). This prevents oxides' use in tribological applications at low temperatures. If oxides can be made lubricious at low temperatures, they would be excellent solid lubricants for a wide range of conditions. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a growth technique capable of depositing highly uniform and conformal films in challenging applications that have buried surfaces and high-aspect-ratio features such as microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices where the need for robust solid lubricants is sometimes necessary. This dissertation investigates the surface and subsurface characteristics of ALD-grown ZnO/Al2O3 nanolaminates and ZrO2 monofilms before and after sliding at room temperature. Significant enhancement in friction and wear performance was observed for some films. HRSEM/FIB, HRTEM and ancillary techniques (i.e. SAED, EELS) were used to determine the mechanisms responsible for this enhancement. Contributory characteristics and energy dissipation modes were identified that promote low-temperature lubricity in both material systems.

In the early 1990s, Robert Kaplan and David Norton introduced and developed a new performance measurement and management system called the balanced scorecard (BSC). Most studies have found that evaluators tend to ignore or are not willing to use nonfinancial measures. This study attempts to examine whether the explicit linkage between the evaluator's BSC and the subordinate's BSC makes the evaluators use nonfinancial measures in performance evaluation. This study used an experimental design where subjects were asked to evaluate two managers' performance under explicit linkage versus nonexplicit linkage conditions. The difference between performance evaluation scores of the two managers under the two linkage conditions captures the influence of explicit linkage between BSCs on performance evaluation. I used regression analyses to test my hypothesis. The results of the regression analyses support my hypothesis. This study attempts to explore one possible reason for evaluators' not using nonfinancial measures much in performance evaluation. It is the first one that studies the influence of the linkage between the BSCs on performance evaluation.