00396NY 1100181 45 SCL002500000SUB00230002500A00060004810000280005410C00080008224500650009026C00070015530000080016269000070017071A00070017784000130018484A00090019784B000700206 1 University of Delaware 1 Psychology, Clinical 1 DAI 1 MURTAUGH, THOMAS LAWRENCE 1 Ph.D. 1 NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS IN THE CHOICE OF ABUSED SUBSTANCES. 1 1979 1 00101 1 0622 1 0060 1 AAI7921838 1 40-04B 1 1904 ³³
02732NY 1100217 45 SCL002500000SUB00280002500A00060005310000270005910C00080008624501080009426C00070020230000080020952021920021769000070240970A00400241670B00200245671A00070247684000130248384A00090249684B000602505 1 University of Delaware 1 Education, Administration 1 DAI 1 Link, William James, Jr. 1 Ed.D. 1 Strategic planning: Administrators' expectations, perceptions and efforts in one Delaware school district 1 1995 1 00194 1 This study focuses on what sort of match of expectations and perceptions exists between a superintendent and his district wide administration regarding strategic planning. Using a series of interviews with the administration of one small school district, this study gives a profile of how administrators addressed strategic planning within their buildings and among themselves in terms of what problems they have encountered, and what they see are solutions to these problems. A recommended course of action to improve the district's efforts at strategic planning is presented. The central argument of this study is a lack of agreement in terms of expectations and perceptions exists among the administration over what they are to do with their strategic plan. This lack of agreement was not initially evident or recognized while the plan was being formulated by the district administration. Their problems are not unique to districts undergoing strategic planning. Executive Position Paper I traces the history of the district's efforts in developing and implementing a strategic plan. Demographics of the district and configuration of administrative personnel are discussed. A discussion of the superintendent's notions of the strategic plan follows, including the expectations he holds for the administrators in the plan. His views on the strategic planning literature are presented. Executive Position Paper II analyzes the responses given by the district's administrators to a series of interview questions. These questions capture their impressions of the district's plan and the expectations they hold for it. Their viewpoints are compared among themselves, within and across the buildings, and with the superintendent. Executive Position Paper III discusses how the administrators could improve the agreement between the superintendent's perceptions and their views of the plan through a proposed transition stage. The transition stage is a series of meetings designed to help all of the administrators develop a better agreement among themselves and improve their efforts at implementation of the district's plan. Applicable literature is discussed to support the recommendations. 1 0514 1 Professor in charge: Robert L. Hampel 1 Hampel, Robert L. 1 0060 1 AAI9619077 1 57-02A 1 535 ³³³³
03340NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00240002500A00060004902000160005510000240007110C00080009524500980010326C00070020130000080020852027860021669000120300270A00390301470B00180305371A00070307184000130307884A00090309184B000703100 1 University of Delaware 1 Engineering, Chemical 1 DAI 1 0-599-70427-6 1 Stevens, Mark Gardner 1 Ph.D. 1 Cesium/nanoporous carbon, composite materials: Synthesis, characterization, and base catalysis 1 2000 1 00350 1 Materials produced from alkali metals and carbon have been of interest to researchers for many years. Graphite intercalation compounds of alkali metals have been extensively studied and shown to be active base catalysts in reactions such as side-chain alkylation, 1-butene isomerization, and amine synthesis. Unfortunately, these materials were found to be pyrophoric, had relatively low surface area, and exfoliated at reaction temperature. Nanoporous carbons (NPC) are chemically inert solids that contain nanopores, formed from curvature induced by five- and seven-member rings that interrupt the symmetric aromatic structure. Cesium, introduced into a NPC structure, adsorbs strongly in these nanopore spaces and the curvature effects within the NPC pores provide for much higher thermal stability. There is an intimate relationship between the cesium and the NPC support. The cesium seems to be only a carrier of electrons. Immediately after its contact with the carbon, these electrons are pushed into the carbon matrix. Within the local carbon domains, anions and radical anions form. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate strong evidence of this interaction. Not only are these electron de-localized into the carbon walls, available for catalysis, they can react with the carbon, causing it to reorganize. It has been a known property of NPC to contain stabilized free radicals. The addition of cesium attacks these regions of high strain, relaxing them and causing the carbon to restructure at a local level. High-resolution, transmission electron microscopy confirms that, if the conditions are right, this “seed structure” can grow and propagate, forming larger structures such as nested onions and graphitic sheets. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm this reorganization on a global scale when the cesium loading is high. The existence of radical anions indicates that these materials have the capability of donating one or two electrons to a reaction, promoting either Lewis-base or free-radical chemistry. In fact, these materials are exceptionally active base catalysts; they provide a greater than 25 to 1 ratio of the less stable cis-2-butene over the trans isomer in the isomerization of 1-butene at 200 K and couple toluene to propylene near atmospheric pressure. Its radical properties give Cs/NPC a very high affinity for hydrogen, breaking the extremely energetic C-H bond in benzene and promoting its condensation to biphenyl, opening a new class of chemical reactions to heterogeneous catalysis. Extending this chemistry to the extreme high-energy methyl radical, Cs/NPC has lowered the (oxygen-free) methane activation temperature from the purely thermal value of >900°C, to below 500°C. 1 0542 0794 1 Professor in charge: Henry C. Foley 1 Foley, Henry C. 1 0060 1 AAI9965817 1 61-03B 1 1530 ³³³³
03060NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00420002500A00060006702000160007310000300008910C00080011924500710012726C00070019830000080020552025120021369000070272570A00400273270B00190277271A00070279184000130279884A00090281184B000702820 1 University of Delaware 1 Engineering, Electronics and Electrical 1 DAI 1 0-493-37726-3 1 Paredes-Quintero, Jose Luis 1 Ph.D. 1 New robust signal processing tools for multimedia and communications 1 2001 1 00185 1 Nonlinear filters have been widely used in many multimedia and communication applications since they can effectively deal with noise-corrupted situations that involve impulsive, multiplicative or signal dependent noise. In particular, the class of nonlinear filters that have gained much popularity is the class based on Positive Boolean Functions (PBFs) defined in the binary domain of threshold decomposition, the so-called stack smoothers. Although stack smoothers can offer some advantages over traditional linear finite impulse response (FIR) filters, they are in essence smoothers lacking the flexibility to adequately address a number of signal processing and communication applications that require bandpass and highpass filtering characteristics. In this dissertation, mirrored threshold decomposition is introduced which, together with the associated binary PBF, define the significantly richer class of stack filters. This new class of stack filters have been empowered not only with lowpass filtering characteristics but with bandpass and highpass filtering characteristics as well. Therefore, these filters can be effectively used in signal processing and communication applications where robust frequency selection is critical. Using the threshold logic representation, a number of properties of stack filters are derived, analyzed and studied. Furthermore, an adaptive optimization algorithm for the design of the proposed filters, and statistical tools to derive the output distribution function for the new class of stack filters are also developed. Much like the stack smoother framework is used in the definition of weighted order statistic (WOS) and weighted median (WM) smoothers admitting positive weights, the new stack filter framework leads naturally to the definition of WOS and WM filters that admit positive and negative weights. In particular, we also focus in this dissertation on the development of recursive WM filter structure admitting negative weights. As the sample median is analogous to the sample mean, the proposed class of recursive WM filters is analogous to the class of infinite impulse response (IIR) linear filters. A novel “recursive decoupling” adaptive optimization algorithm for the design of recursive WM filters is also developed. Several properties of recursive WM filters are presented and a number of simulations are included to illustrate the advantages of recursive WM filters over their non-recursive counterparts and linear IIR filters. 1 0544 1 Professor in charge: Gonzalo R. Arce 1 Arce, Gonzalo R. 1 0060 1 AAI3025826 1 62-09B 1 4147 ³³³³
02812NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00250002500A00060005002000160005610000190007210C00080009124500750009926C00070017430000080018152022920018969000120248170A00370249370B00160253071A00070254684000130255384A00090256684B000602575 1 University of Delaware 1 History, United States 1 DAI 1 0-493-51930-0 1 Wenger, Diane E. 1 Ph.D. 1 Creating networks: The country storekeeper and the mid-Atlantic economy 1 2002 1 00391 1 This dissertation analyzes the role of the country storekeeper in the early republic. Samuel Rex operated his store from 1790 to 1807 in Schaefferstown, a small Pennsylvania German village seventy-five miles from Philadelphia. Through his activities Rex connected Schaefferstown residents, the regional iron-producing community, and Philadelphia merchants in an interconnected network of relations. Rex's Schaefferstown customers obtained some needs through traditional exchanges, but they also produced goods for distant markets, and they sought consumer goods they could not make or buy locally. At his store, Rex facilitated both local and distant exchanges; he offered banking services, sold luxury and everyday merchandise, and bought country produce and manufactured goods. He resold some of these goods locally, but he sold far more to the regional ironmasters. He supplied pork and grain to feed their workers, and served as a company store where workers charged purchases against their wages. Rex also sold produce in Philadelphia. Twice a year he hired local farmers and craftsmen to drive butter, whiskey, lard and other produce to the city and to carry back cargoes of imported goods to replenish his inventory. Urban merchants welcomed Rex's business because he bought large amounts of goods and paid for them on time, and because he channeled country produce to them. Though Rex sometimes encountered problems, most transactions at the store took place in a spirit of mutuality and meeting common interests. He succeeded in a risky business because of his location and a favorable economy, and because he had the right combination of background and skills; he was equally at home in the countryside and in the urban business community. This study contributes to our understanding of everyday life in the mid-Atlantic, inland commerce and transportation, and the exchange role of country storekeepers. It illustrates the mixed nature of the economy and complicates the market/community dichotomy that informs most interpretive models. It shows that the storekeeper was both an economic and cultural broker—an agent of exchange and change—and suggests that a “network of relations” is a fruitful way to understand early American economy and society. 1 0337 0323 1 Professor in charge: Cathy Matson 1 Matson, Cathy 1 0060 1 AAI3038343 1 63-01A 1 337 ³³
03280NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00460002500A00060007102000160007710000220009310C00080011524501280012326C00070025130000080025852026760026669000170294270A00370295970B00170299671A00070301384000130302084A00090303384B000603042 1 University of Delaware 1 Sociology, Social Structure and Development 1 DAI 1 0-493-98573-5 1 Udo, Victor Effiong 1 Ph.D. 1 Exploring patterns of sustainable development, governance and E-infrastructure capacities of nations for global equity praxis 1 2003 1 00296 1 World development under the “modernity project” over the last 200 years has resulted in the chronic widening of economic and political gaps between the haves and the have-nots with significant global cultural and ecosystem challenges. At the bottom of these challenges is the issue of resource limitations on the fixed planet with increasing population. The problem is further compounded by inequitable pleasure-driven and poverty-driven ecological depletion and pollution by the haves and the have-nots respectively. These challenges are explored in the dissertation as a global equitable sustainable development problem through critical social research and a complex adaptive organizational system conceptual framework. From this conceptual framework, it is argued that a balanced scorecard based performance management and “lobalization” (from local to global governance), a national governance framework that is internally (locally) balanced with external (global) forces but driven by the civil society through the process of operational citizenship and knowledge-based regimes might help to address the problem. In making this argument, empirical definition for sustainable development, governance, and electrical/electronic infrastructure (E-infrastructure) management as national capacity factors are used to rank 132 nations and explore their performance patterns based on cross-sectional secondary data available as of September 2001. The analysis of the performance ranking and patterns suggested that high national governance capacity is probably a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for both E-infrastructure management and sustainable development, as defined in the dissertation. Other possible conditions, such as the structural viability of polities that were partitioned and amalgamated by colonial/hegemonic powers, geocultural homogeneity for shared meaning of progress, and global regional structures instead of a global North-South dichotomy are suggested for further exploration. Instead of the traditional approaches of global system social research, three complementary models for understanding global progress philosophically, historically, and organizationally are discussed as the basis of the proposed lobalization-based public policy process framework for bridging the performance gaps among nations. The dissertation suggests that such a framework may support global equity praxis to minimize the negative impacts of the modernity project while building on its positive outcome toward overall human well-being in the emerging “E-global” world. 1 0700 0617 0616 1 Professor in charge: Robert Warren 1 Warren, Robert 1 0060 1 AAI3077914 1 64-01A 1 304 ³³³
02372NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00220002500A00060004702000160005310000260006910C00080009524500910010326C00070019430000080020152018170020969000170202670A00410204370B00200208471A00070210484000130211184A00090212484B000702133 1 University of Delaware 1 Education, Sciences 1 DAI 1 0-496-60203-2 1 Ramseur, Aletha Johnson 1 Ph.D. 1 Life histories of female elementary teachers and their science/teacher role construction 1 2004 1 00180 1 The research conducted in this study focuses on life histories of female elementary teachers and their science/teacher role construction. Identity theorists argue that the self consists of a collection of identities founded on occupying a particular role. Who we are depends on the roles we occupy. These roles are often referred to as “role identities”. In the case of these participants, many role identities (mother, wife, sibling, and teacher) exist. This study focuses primarily on their (science) teacher role identity. Literature on women's lives, as learners and teachers, suggest that women's experiences, currently and throughout history influenced their teacher role construction. There is however, little knowledge of women's lives as elementary teachers of science and the affect of their experiences, currently and throughout history, on their (science) teacher identity construction. Schools delineated by race, class, and gender relations, are similar to other sectors of society's, social and cultural spheres within which race, class, and gender identities are constructed. Using in-depth-interviews female elementary teachers were encouraged to actively reconstruct their life and work-life experiences focusing on family, school and science interactions. They addressed the intellectual and emotional connections between their life and work experiences by focusing on details of their past and present experiences and examining the meaning of those experiences. It was the scrutiny of these connections between their life and work experiences, the meaning derived from them and historical events, and the constraints imposed on their personal choices by broader power relations, such as those of class, race, and gender that informed why we teach, how we teach, and what we teach. 1 0714 0631 0453 1 Professor in charge: Nancy Brickhouse 1 Brickhouse, Nancy 1 0060 1 AAI3112691 1 64-11A 1 4000 ³³³
02892NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00140002500A00060003902000160004510000330006110C00080009424500890010226C00070019130000080019852023400020669000220254670A00390256870B00180260771A00070262584000130263284A00090264584B000702654 1 University of Delaware 1 Art History 1 DAI 1 0-496-81026-8 1 Ferguson, Cheryl Lynn Caldwell 1 Ph.D. 1 Upscale suburban architecture and development in Dallas and Houston, Texas, 1890--1930 1 2004 1 01123 1 By the early twentieth century, promotional literature for newly planned suburban communities painted bucolic images of a suburban home life in picturesque landscapes filled with wonders of nature where families could rear their children in beautifully designed, restricted neighborhoods. The trend reached Texas in the 1890s, only to be delayed by the Panic of 1893, but resumed strongly in a few years until it was halted by World War I. Postwar economic expansion along with the increasing affordability of home sites and of the automobile spurred the Texas suburban movement to a climax in the mid-1920s. For this study, Texas suburban developments have been selected from its two largest cities, Dallas and Houston. Both cities experienced the greatest growth in population and wealth and were able to build the grandest and most distinguished suburban communities. But before discussing Dallas's and Houston's most prominent suburbs prior to 1930, American suburban models for Texas are analyzed in terms of how they influenced suburban development in Texas and what ideas Texas developers learned and borrowed from them. Especially significant in this regard are Roland Park in Baltimore, MD; Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, CA; and the Country Club District in Kansas City, MO and KS, because Texas real-estate developers were aware of these state-of-the-art models and employed nationally recognized professional landscape architects to design their communities. Other more newly contemporary developments important for this study include Forest Hills Gardens in Queens, Long Island, NY; Shaker Heights in Cleveland, OH; and Palos Verdes Estates and Rancho Santa Fe in CA. After a study of these prototypes, an examination of the development and architecture of nine major intact Texas suburbs and contemporary developments are addressed at some length: Munger Place, Highland Park, Highland Park West, University Park, and Lakewood in Dallas; and Courtlandt Place, Shadyside, Broadacres, and River Oaks in Houston. The purpose of this dissertation is to document Texas upscale suburban planning and architecture by showing how their developers drew upon innovative planning concepts and architectural trends in keeping with up-to-date practices within a national context, benefiting both themselves and their homeowner clients. 1 0377 0729 0999 0337 1 Professor in charge: Damie Stillman 1 Stillman, Damie 1 0060 1 AAI3133789 1 65-05A 1 1570 ³³
02996NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00420002500A00060006702000160007310000120008910C00080010124500520010926C00070016130000080016852024890017669000070266570A00390267270B00190271171A00070273084000130273784A00090275084B000702759 1 University of Delaware 1 Engineering, Electronics and Electrical 1 DAI 1 0-496-03075-2 1 Zhou, Zhi 1 Ph.D. 1 Advances on digital video and visual cryptography 1 2004 1 00101 1 In this dissertation, advances on two categories of image and video signal processing are developed. In particular, the focus is on frame rate conversion and halftone visual cryptography. Frame rate conversion. Various video systems are available worldwide with different temporal resolutions, such as NTSC, 60Hz TV system used in North America, and PAL, 50Hz TV system used in Europe and China. Frame rate conversion is required to transform videos from one system to another. Currently, the most common method used in industry is the so called “3:2 pull down,” which converts 24 frames/sec progressive film to 29.97 frames/sec interlaced NTSC video. This method introduces several artifacts, while numerous motion compensated methods have been proposed recently to mitigate such artifacts. Those methods are either too expensive or still not effective to be applied into real products. In this dissertation, novel algorithms of frame rate conversion, using symmetric/pixel-based multi-resolution motion estimation techniques, are proposed. Based on the multi-resolution structure of fields/frames, the methods efficiently search for accurate motion vectors, leading to high quality of interpolated results. The hardware cost is affordable in current TV technology. Halftone visual cryptography. Visual cryptography encodes a secret binary image SI into n shares (images containing partial secret information) of random binary patterns. If the shares are xeroxed onto transparencies, the secret image can be visually decoded by superimposing a qualified subset of transparencies, but no secret information can be obtained from the superposition of a forbidden subset. Such a scheme is mathematically secure, however, the binary patterns of the n shares have no visual meaning, raising the suspicion of data encryption. In order to achieve a higher level of security, a novel technique, halftone visual cryptography, is proposed in this dissertation, where a secret binary image is encoded into n halftone shares (images) carrying significant visual information. Thus, adversaries are less likely to suspect the presence of hidden cryptographic information. The proposed methods utilize blue-noise dithering principles to construct halftone shares with visually pleasing attributes, while the security properties of conventional visual cryptography are still maintained. 1 0544 1 Professor in charge: Gonzalo R. Arce 1 Arce, Gonzalo R. 1 0060 1 AAI3144826 1 65-08B 1 4212 ³
02968NY 1100229 45 SCL002500000SUB00260002500A00060005102000160005710000160007310C00080008924501160009726C00070021330000080022052023920022869000170262070A00410263770B00210267871A00070269984000130270684A00090271984B000702728 1 University of Delaware 1 Engineering, Mechanical 1 DAI 1 0-496-09490-4 1 Perumal, Ramu 1 Ph.D. 1 Mathematical modeling of nonisometric electrically evoked contractions of healthy human quadriceps femoris muscle 1 2004 1 00182 1 Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is the coordinated electrical excitation of paralyzed or weak muscles in patients with upper motor neuron lesions to produce functional movements such as walking. However, FES has had a relatively minor impact on rehabilitation. There are several underlying reasons for this shortcoming. First, the physiological and biomechanical processes involved in the generation of FES-elicited movements are non-linear and time varying. Hence, it is difficult to determine the appropriate stimulation patterns necessary to produce the desired muscle force and limb motion. Second, controlling the movements of paralyzed limbs is difficult with the commercial open loop systems. Finally, other factors such as fatigue and the influence of voluntary upper-body forces further complicate the control task. However, the use of mathematical muscle models can improve and accelerate the development of FES for practical use. Models that are accurate and predictive when used in conjunction with FES systems that monitor muscle performance, would enable stimulators to deliver patterns customized for each person to perform a particular task while continuously adapting the stimulation protocols to the actual needs of the patient. In this dissertation the development and predictive abilities of a mathematical muscle model when the muscle is held isometrically at different lengths, when the muscle is allowed to shorten and lengthen at constant velocities, and when the leg is allowed to move freely during nonisometric contractions is presented. The predictive abilities of the model were tested by comparing the model data to the experimental force and motion data. Our results showed that the model accurately predicted the force developed by muscle at different lengths and velocities during isometric and isovelocity contractions, respectively and the angular position and velocity of the lower leg during nonisometric contractions when the muscle is stimulated with a wide range of clinically relevant stimulation frequencies and patterns. Compared to other models, the current model requires very few parameters to describe the behavior of the muscle in response to electrical stimulation. This makes the current model a suitable candidate for control algorithms that can track parameter variations online and provide a better control of motion during FES. 1 0548 0541 0760 1 Professor in charge: Anthony S. Wexler 1 Wexler, Anthony S. 1 0060 1 AAI3150013 1 65-10B 1 5362 ³³³³