The work in this dissertation presents the synthesis of two mixed metal oxides for biofuel applications and NMR characterization of silica materials. In the chapter 2, high catalytic efficiency of calcium silicate is synthesized for transesterfication of soybean oil to biodisels. Chapter 3 describes the synthesis of a new Rh based catalyst on mesoporous manganese oxides. The new catalyst is found to have higher activity and selectivity towards ethanol. Chapter 4 demonstrates the applications of solid-state Si NMR in the silica materials.

This thesis reports on two searches for the production of squarks and gluinos, supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model (SM) quarks and gluons, using the CDF detector at the Tevatron √s = 1.96 TeV p$\bar{p}$ collider. An inclusive search for squarks and gluinos pair production is performed in events with large E_T and multiple jets in the final state, based on 2 fb^-1 of CDF Run II data. The analysis is performed within the framework of minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) and assumes R-parity conservation where sparticles are produced in pairs. The expected signal is characterized by the production of multiple jets of hadrons from the cascade decays of squarks and gluinos and large missing transverse energy E_T from the lightest supersymmetric particles (LSP). The measurements are in good agreement with SM predictions for backgrounds. The results are translated into 95% confidence level (CL) upper limits on production cross sections and squark and gluino masses in a given mSUGRA scenario. An upper limit on the production cross section is placed in the range between 1 pb and 0.1 pb, depending on the gluino and squark masses considered. The result of the search is negative for gluino and squark masses up to 392 …

The standard model of particle physics provides a detailed description of a universe in which all matter is composed of a small number of fundamental particles, which interact through the exchange of force - carrying gauge bosons (the photon, W ^±, Z and gluons). The organization of the matter and energy in this universe is determined by the effects of three forces; the strong, weak, and electromagnetic. The weak and electromagnetic forces are the low energy manifestations of a single electro-weak force, while the strong force binds quarks into protons and neutrons. The standard model does not include gravity, as the effect of this force on fundamental particles is negligible. Four decades of experimental tests, spanning energies from a few electron-volts (eV) up to nearly two TeV, confirm that the universe described by the standard model is a reasonable approximation of our world. For example, experiments have confirmed the existence of the top quark, the W^± and the Z bosons, as predicted by the standard model. The latest experimental averages for the masses of the top quark, W^± and Z are respectively 173.1 ± 0.6(stat.) ± 1.1(syst.), 80.399 ± 0.023 and 91.1876 ± 0.0021 GeV/c². The SM is a gauge …

Ultrafast angle-resolved two photon photoemission was used to study the dynamics and interfacial band structure of ultrathin films adsorbed onto Ag(111). Studies focused on the image potential state (IPS) in each system as a probe for measuring changes in electronic behavior in differing environments. The energetics and dynamics of the IPS at the toluene/Ag(111) interface are strongly dependent upon coverage. For a single monolayer, the first IPS is bound by 0.81 eV below the vacuum level and has a lifetime of 50 femtoseconds (fs). Further adsorption of toluene creates islands of toluene with an exposed wetting layer underneath. The IPS is then split into two peaks, one corresponding to the islands and one corresponding to the monolayer. The wetting layer IPS shows the same dynamics as the monolayer, while the lifetime of the islands increases exponentially with increasing thickness. Furthermore, the island IPS transitions from delocalized to localized within 500 fs, and electrons with larger parallel momenta decay much faster. Attempts were made using a stochastic model to extract the rates of localization and intraband cooling at differing momenta. In sexithiophene (6T) and dihexyl-sexithiophene (DH6T), the IPS was used as a probe to see if the nuclear motion of spectating …

In this thesis a direct search for the Standard Model Higgs boson production in association with a W boson at the CDF detector in the Tevatron is presented. This search contributes predominantly in the region of low mass Higgs region, when the mass of Higgs boson is less than about 135 GeV. The search is performed in a final state where the Higgs boson decays into two b quarks, and the W boson decays leptonically, to a charged lepton (it can be an electron or a muon) and a neutrino. This work is organized as follows. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the Standard Model theory of particle physics and presents the SM Higgs boson search results at LEP, and the Tevatron colliders, as well as the prospects for the SM Higgs boson searches at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis corresponds to 4.8 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity of p$\bar{p}$ collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. That is the luminosity acquired between the beginning of the CDF Run II experiment, February 2002, and May 2009. The relevant aspects, for this analysis, of the Tevatron accelerator and the CDF detector are shown in Chapter 3. …

Melanie Waltman's dissertation to be presented on March 24, 2010.

The Standard Model (SM) is one of the most tested and verified physical theories of all time, present experimental observations are consistent with SM expectations. On the other hand SM can not explain many physical observations: the cosmological observations possibly infer the presence of dark matter which is clearly beyond the SM expectations; the SM Higgs model, while explaining the generation of fermion masses, can not explain the hierarchy problem and a non natural fine tuning of SM is needed to cancel out quadratic divergences in the Higgs boson mass. New physics (NP) beyond SM should hence be investigated: rising the energy above NP processes thresholds, and detecting new particles or new effects not predicted by the standard model directly, is one of the possible approaches; another approach is to make precision measurements of well known processes or looking for rare processes which involve higher order contribution from NP processes, this approach need higher luminosities with respect to the previous approach but lower beam energies. Search for Lepton Flavor Violation (LFV) in charged lepton decays is promising: neutrino physics provides indeed a clear and unambiguous evidence of LFV in the neutral lepton sector via mixing processes, which have been observed …

This dissertation presents the results of a search for supersymmetry in proton-antiproton collisions with a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV studied with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Our strategy is to select collisions with two photons in the final state that have the properties of being the decays of very massive supersymmetric particles. This includes looking for large total energy from the decayed particles as well as for the presence of particles that leave the detector without interacting. We find no events using 2.6 fb{sup -1} of data collected during the 2004-2008 collider run of the Fermilab Tevatron which is consistent with the background estimate of 1.4 {+-} 0.4 events. Since there is no evidence of new particles we set cross section limits in a gauge-mediated supersymmetry model with {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} {yields} {gamma}{tilde G}, where the {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} and {tilde G} are the lightest neutralino and the gravitino (the lightest supersymmetric particle), respectively. We set limits on models as a function of the {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} mass and lifetime, producing the world's most sensitive search for {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} by excluding masses up to 149 GeV/c{sup 2} for {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} …

The primary goals of the BABAR experiment are the detection of CP violation (CPV) in the B meson system, the precise measurement of some of the elements of the CKM matrix and the measurement of the rates of rare B meson decays. At present, BABAR has achieved major successes: (1) the discovery, in neutral B decays, of direct and mixing-induced CP violation; (2) accurate measurements of the magnitudes of the CKM matrix elements |V{sub cb}| and |V{sub ub}|; (3) a precise measurement of the CKM parameter {beta} {triple_bond} arg[- V{sub cd}V*{sub cb}/V{sub td}V*{sub tb}]; (4) a first measurement of the CKM parameters {alpha} {triple_bond} arg[- V{sub td}V*{sub tb}/V{sub ud}V*{sub ub}], {gamma} {triple_bond} arg[- V{sub ud}V*{sub ub}/V{sub cd}V*{sub cb}]; and (5) the observation of several rare B decays and the discovery of new particles (in the charmed and charmonium mesons spectroscopy). However, the physics program of BABAR is not yet complete. Two of the key elements of this program that still need to be achieved are: (1) the observation of direct CP violation in charged B decays, which would constitute the first evidence of direct CPV in a charged meson decay; and (2) the precise measurement of {alpha} and {gamma}, which …

Trust management techniques must be adapted to the unique needs of the application architectures and problem domains to which they are applied. For autonomic computing systems that utilize mobile agents and ant colony algorithms for their sensor layer, certain characteristics of the mobile agent ant swarm -- their lightweight, ephemeral nature and indirect communication -- make this adaptation especially challenging. This thesis looks at the trust issues and opportunities in swarm-based autonomic computing systems and finds that by monitoring the trustworthiness of the autonomic managers rather than the swarming sensors, the trust management problem becomes much more scalable and still serves to protect the swarm. After analyzing the applicability of trust management research as it has been applied to architectures with similar characteristics, this thesis specifies the required characteristics for trust management mechanisms used to monitor the trustworthiness of entities in a swarm-based autonomic computing system and describes a trust model that meets these requirements.

MINOS (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search) experiment has been designed to search for a change in the flavor composition of a beam of muon neutrinos as they travel between the Near Detector at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the Far Detector in the Soudan mine in Minnesota, 735 km from the target. The MINOS oscillation analysis is mainly performed with the charged current (CC) events and sensitive to constrain high-{Delta}m{sup 2} values. However, the quasi-elastic (QEL) charged current interaction is dominant in the energy region important to access low-{Delta}m{sup 2} values. For further improvement, the QEL oscillation analysis is performed in this dissertation. A data sample based on a total of 2.50 x 10{sup 20} POT is used for this analysis. In summary, 55 QEL-like events are observed at the Far detector while 87.06 {+-} 13.17 (syst.) events are expected with null oscillation hypothesis. These data are consistent with {nu}{sub {mu}} disappearance via oscillation with {Delta}m{sup 2} = 2.10 {+-} 0.37 (stat.) {+-} 0.24 (syst.) eV{sup 2} and the maximal mixing angle.

A B{sub s}{sup 0} meson can oscillate into its anti-particle, the {bar B}{sub s}{sup 0} meson, before decaying. CP violation in this system is made possible by the presence of amplitudes from both mixed and unmixed B{sub s}{sup 0} meson decays. The CP violating phase {beta}s appears in the interference between the decay amplitudes. The quantity sin(2{beta}s) is expected to be small in the standard model. Thus, measuring a large value for sin(2{beta}s) would be an unequivocal sign of new physics participation in the B{sub s}{sup 0} mixing loop diagram. In this thesis, we present a latest measurement of sin(2{beta}s), using 5.2 fb{sup -1} of data collected at CDF from p{bar p} collisions at a center of mass energy of {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. A time-dependent angular analysis, with the production flavor of the B{sub s}{sup 0} meson identified with flavor tagging methods, is used to extract sin(2{beta}s) from {approx}6500 B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} J/{psi}{phi} decays. Other parameters of interest, such as the B{sub s}{sup 0} lifetime and the decay width difference {Delta}{Lambda} between the heavy and light B{sub s}{sup 0} mass eigenstates are determined to high precision. Also, the effect of potential contributions to the final state from B{sub …

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This dissertation is a performance guide for the euphonium solos Pearls I and Pearls II, written by Roland Szentpali. This performance guide allows performers to better understand the jazz styles within each movement and provides them with a resource for performing these particular pieces as well as other jazz influenced pieces. This performance guide is specific to euphonium repertoire and written for euphonium performers and educators. This is also a resource for a solo work in the repertoire that is performed regularly as well as a new work that will soon be published. A brief history of the development of euphonium repertoire and the influence of jazz is provided. The performance guide analyzes each movement and provides insight to extended techniques, common performance problems, errata, and jazz styles that each movement is based on. The guide also provides several suggestions for interpretation and for performance preparation. Illustrations from the scores have been provided for each example.

Lowell Liebermann, born in New York City in 1961, is one of America's most distinguished living composers. In addition, he often conducts and performs as pianist in his own works. His musical language is unique and unmistakably rooted in the grand tradition of Western music; however, his style combines old and new, simple and complex, emotional and intellectual aspects. It combines tuneful, catchy melodies with a rich harmonic language, all framed by a strong formal design. This study begins with presenting primary information on this concerto excerpted from an interview with Lowell Liebermann. This interview served as a reference for subsequent sections, and a transcript of the interview is appended to the end of this study. In the third chapter, the musical language of the composer is discussed. Chapters four and five constitute the main body of this dissertation. The goal of these two chapters is to understand the basic three-pitch motive of the work, to demonstrate how it operates at various levels, and to see how the raw material corresponds at a larger structure level. It is the author's hope that this study will guide performers to better understand Liebermann's Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 12.

This dissertation examines the role of noise in shaping the form of several recent musical compositions. This study demonstrates how the contrast of noisy sounds and harmonic sounds can impact the structure of compositions. Depending on context, however, the specific use and function of noise can vary substantially from one work to the next. The first portion of this paper describes methods for quantifying noise content using FFT analysis procedures. A number of tests on instrumental and synthetic sound sources are described in order to demonstrate how the analysis system may react to certain sounds. The second part of this document consists of several analyses of whole musical works. Works for acoustic instruments are examined first, followed by works for electronic media. During these analyses, it becomes clear that while the use of noise in each work is based largely upon context, some common patterns do exist across different works. The final portion of the paper examines an original work which was written with the function of noise specifically in mind. The original work is put through the same analysis procedures as works seen earlier in the paper, and some conclusions are drawn regarding both the possibilities and limitations of …

Early interactions between parents and infants are thought to be critical of later development. In particular joint attention has been an area of research and investigations. This study sought to measure joint attention behaviors in infants from 5 to 33 weeks of age under naturalistic conditions: in the home with the mother as the interaction partner given no instructions. Videotapes of the infant-parent interactions were observed and data were collected on behaviors related to joint attention. Given observations occur at younger ages than other studies considered, engagement data results indicate increasing trends for 3 of the 5 infants observed while the direction of infant gaze results indicate patterns consistent with descriptions currently in the literature. Parent behavior data indicate high levels of support in engaging infant attention. Furthering an understanding of joint attention by observing at earlier ages in infant development may be useful in informing teaching programs for infants who have not developed joint attention skills.

Disney animation represents a powerful source of economic and cultural production. However, following the death of Walt Disney, the animation division found itself struggling to survive. It was not until the 1989 release of the hugely successful animated film The Little Mermaid that Disney would reclaim its domination among children's cultural producers. Additionally, The Little Mermaid inaugurated a shift in Disney's portrayals of gender as the company replaced the docile passive princess characteristic of its previous animated films with a physically active and strong willed ambitious heroine. Grounded in an understanding of Disney's cultural significance as dominant storyteller, the present study explores gender in The Little Mermaid by means of narrative performativity. Specifically, I analyze the film's songs "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" as metonymic narrative performances of gender that are (1) embodied, (2) materially situated, (3) discursively embedded and (4) capable of legitimating and critiquing existing power relations.

This study was conducted to analyze the performance differences between alternative education campuses in Texas that used teacher-directed strategies and those that used self-directed strategies. The study was also conducted to inform educators of the results these two strategies had achieved with at-risk students during the three years of 2006-2008. The study used the results from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test as reported in the AEIS annual reports from the Texas Education Agency. Alternative education schools were grouped according to the strategy used to educate at-risk students. The results of the statistical tests showed the two strategies had similar performance results and there was no statistical difference between the two. The results offered several implications concerning the ability of at-risk students to achieve in alternative education schools including possible reasons why students who were previously unsuccessful became successful in alternative settings. The report also addressed the number of students who continued to be unsuccessful even when placed on an alternative education campus. Possible reasons for this continued inability to succeed are discussed. Recommendations for further research were listed at the conclusion of the study.

Professors in mass communications departments of higher education institutions continue to search for the best way to prepare graduates for the ever-changing world of print, broadcast, and online media. Business administration theories have long been used in other areas, including education. While some application of strategic planning has been documented with regards to education, there is not much to reference in this area. The study investigated the use of strategic planning in developing a course of action for curriculum convergence in mass communication programs. The study used a purposive sample to determine if administrators are utilizing this method as a part of curriculum convergence. The results indicated a use of this method among institutions involved in curriculum convergence.

Hungarian pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and administrator, Ernst von Dohnányi (Ernö Dohnányi in Hungarian), was considered one of the most versatile musicians and the first architect of Hungary's musical culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century. Dohnányi composed the Four Rhapsodies, op. 11, between 1902 and 1903, and among his many piano compositions, op. 11 are regarded as some of his most substantial works. Without directly imitating the earlier works of Liszt and Brahms, Dohnányi contributed to the rhapsody tradition with op. 11 by using his own unique stylistic compositional elements in the textural and formal structure. Texture and form are the most indicative characteristics of his rhapsodic language because of the improvisational nature that permeates his compositional style in the rhapsodies. In this dissertation the works are examined from within its textural and formal structure. Within texture, rhythm and accompanimental figurations are examined. Each rhapsody's structural organization, including references to eighteenth-century forms, and the cyclical elements in the work is analyzed. Background information on Dohnányi and a brief history of the rhapsody in the 19th century is also included.

The preface to this collection "Dust Clouding: Ambiguity and the Poetic Image," highlights the ways in which poets such as W.S Merwin and Donald Revell use ambiguity and the poetic image to strengthen their poems and encourage equality between reader and writer. Hand Amputees have an Altered Perception of Images at Arm's Length is a collection of poems and poem like adventures.

Male or female, young or old, the characters of this collection inhabit a liminal space of trauma and social dislocation in which elements of the real and fabulous coexist in equal measure. The ghosts that populate the stories are as much the ghosts of the living, as they are the ghosts of the dead. They represent individual conscience and an inescapable connection to the past.

This thesis imparts the outcomes of a seven-week long quasi-experimental study that explored whether or not L2 learners who received intensive and highly focused indirect feedback on one type of treatable error - either the third person singular -s, plural endings -s, or definite article the - eventually become more accurate in the post-test as compared to a control group that did not. The paired-samples t-test comparing the pre-test and post-test scores of both groups demonstrates that the experimental group did no better than the control group after they received indirect corrective feedback. The independent samples t-test measuring the experimental and control group's accuracy shows no significant difference between the two groups. Effect sizes calculated, however, do indicate that, had the sample sizes been bigger, both groups would have eventually become more accurate in the errors targeted, although this would not have been because of the indirect feedback.