This thesis examines two causes of writer's block developed during the revision stage of the composing process: instructors' unexplained notations and unwanted voice alterations within students' texts. The study examines the emotions students experience caused by instructors' actions which Nelson and Rose say contribute to temporary and even permanent cases of writer's block. After exemplifying the connection between emotions and writer's block, the remainder of the study focuses on finding solutions to these causes of writer's block. As a result of my research, I discovered the primary solution is communication between instructors and students.

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The aim of this work is to fabricate nanostructured membranes from polysulfone-based block copolymers through self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase separation. Block copolymers containing polysulfone are novel materials for this purpose providing better mechanical and thermal stability to membranes than polystyrene-based copolymers, which have been exclusively used now. Firstly, we synthesized a triblock copolymer, poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-b-polsulfone-b-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) through polycondensation and reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization. The obtained membrane has a highly porous interconnected skin layer composed of elongated micelles with a flower-like arrangement, on top of the graded finger-like macrovoids. Membrane surface hydrolysis was carried out in a combination with metal complexation to obtain metal-chelated membranes. The copper-containing membrane showed improved antibacterial capability. Secondly, a poly(acrylic acid)-b-polysulfone-b-poly(acrylic acid) triblock copolymer obtained by hydrolyzing poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-b-polsulfone-b-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) formed a thin film with cylindrical poly(acrylic acid) microdomains in polysulfone matrix through thermal annealing. A phase inversion membrane was prepared from the same polymer via self-assembly and chelation-assisted non-solvent induced phase separation. The spherical micelles pre-formed in a selective solvent mixture packed into an ordered lattice in aid of metal-poly(acrylic acid) complexation. The space between micelles was filled with poly(acrylic acid)-metal complexes acting as potential water channels. The silver0 nanoparticle-decorated membrane was obtained by surface reduction, having three distinct layers with different particle sizes. Other amphiphilic copolymers containing polysulfone and water-soluble segments such as poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) were also synthesized through coupling reaction and copper0-mediated reversible-deactivation radical polymerization. Finally, phase inversion membranes were prepared from polytriazole-polysulfone random copolymers, which were obtained by “clicking” 1,2,3-triazole ring substituents bearing OH groups onto the polysulfone backbone via copperI-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The increased hydrophilicity of membranes imparted the higher water permeability and fouling resistance to the ultrafiltration membranes. Polytriazole-b-polysulfone-b-polytriazole triblock copolymer was synthesized by RAFT and post-polymerization click modification. Hydrogen bond-mediated self-assembly induced the formation of a nanostructured polytriazole-b-polysulfone-b-polytriazole / poly(acrylic acid)-b-polysulfone-b-poly(acrylic acid) blend membrane with a 1: 1 stoichiometric ratio of triazole and acid. String-like fused micelles with polytriazole/poly(acrylic acid) corona were present on the membrane surface, after immersion in a coagulation bath of copper2+ aqueous solution.

We performed greater occipital nerve blocks on 24 migraineurs with unilateral migraine and trigeminal nerve distribution allodynia. Using a visual analog scale for migraine pain, brush allodynia in the trigeminal nerve distribution and photophobia were reduced 64%, 75%, and 67%, respectively, after 5 minutes. Allodynia improved faster than headache. The results of this study suggest that greater occipital nerve blocks initiate an inhibitory process that shuts down several symptom generators.

Federal block grants are intended as non-competitive, formula grants mandated by the U.S. Congress that provide flexibility and increased capacity to state and local governments to provide services based on community need, including on such issues as social services and public health. It is unclear whether those resources are distributed in an equitable manner based on geography and other community characteristics. The population-based formulas that guide block grant distribution may make it difficult for sparsely populated states to distribute sufficient funds to less populated areas. Similarly, funding available through specific block grants may be insufficient to meet all community needs, placing rural communities at a disadvantage in resource prioritization. The purpose of the current study was to characterize distribution of five federal block grants to each of the 50 states based on state-level population and rurality. The study combined publicly available state-year-level data from 2018-2019 for all 50 states. Key data sources included funding amounts allocated to each state for selected block grant programs, American Community Survey data, and measures of rurality from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Block grants considered included: 1) Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant; 2) Community Services Block Grant (CSBG); 3) Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG); 4) Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG); and 5) Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG). Analyses included descriptive statistics of distribution of block grants per 1,000 population and by three measures of state rurality. Mean funding amounts ranged from $614 per 1,000 to $5,562 per 1,000 people. Associations between measures of rurality and state block grant allocations were mixed in terms of direction and significance. For example, there was a significant positive relationship between percent of the population that lives in nonmetro counties and PHHS block grant allocations while there was a significant negative relationship between this measure of rurality and MHBG allocations. There was no significant relationship with the other three block grants. In contrast, there were significant positive associations between population density and allocation amounts for all block grants considered except for the CCDBG. Overall, our findings suggest that there are differences in how block grants are allocated to states based on their rurality both by the specific block grant and the measure of rurality considered. Importantly, these findings only assess state-level allocations based on state-level characteristics and do not directly measure amounts of funding that make it to rural communities within states. Findings provide insight on the implications of different block grant formulas and structures.

The American high school schedule of single-period classes has remained mostly unchanged for over one hundred years. In response to societal changes and reform movements, the secondary school schedule is receiving renewed attention. Block scheduling, the use of extended periods of time for learning, is one response to school restructuring in Virginia and throughout the nation. In Virginia, the 7A/B block schedule is used by 23.3% of the high schools. Although advocates have convinced school boards to adopt this schedule, there is little hard data available to assess its efficacy. In this study the relationship between two types of schedules(7A/B block and 7-period traditional) and student achievement at the eleventh grade was examined. No differences were found between the two schedules for achievement as measured by the subscales of the eleventh grade Tests of Achievement and Proficiency. / Ed. D.

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<p> Let t, k, v be three positive integers such that 2 ≤ t < k ≤ v. A Steiner system S(t, k, v) is a pair (V, B) where |V| = v and B is a collection of k-subsets of V, called blocks, such that every t-subset of V occurs in exactly one block in B. When t = 2, the Steiner system S(2, k, v) is sometimes called a Steiner 2-design.</p> <p> Given a Steiner 2-design, S = (V, B), with general block size k, a block-colouring of S is a mapping ¢ : B ---> C, where C is a set of colours. If |C| = n, then ¢ is an n-block-colouring. In this thesis we focus on block-colourings for Steiner 2-designs with k = 4 with some results for general block size k.</p> <p> In particular, we present known results for S(2, 4, v)s and the classical chromatic index. A classical block-colouring is a block-colouring in which any two blocks containing a common element have different colours. The smallest number of colours needed in a classical block-colouring of a design S = (V, B), denoted by x'(S), is the classical chromatic index.</p> <p> We also discuss n-block-colourings of type π, where π = ( π1, π2, ... , πs ) is a partition of the replication number r = v-1/k-1 for a Steiner system S(2,k,v). In particular, we focus on 8(2,4,v)s and the partitions (2, 1, 1, ... , 1), (3, 1, 1 ... , 1), and partitions of the form π = (π1, π2, ... , πs), where |πj -πil ≤ 1 for all 1 ≤ i < j ≤ s. These latter partitions are called equitable partitions and the corresponding block-colourings are called equitable block-colourings.</p> <p> Finally, we present results on the T-chromatic index for S(2, 4, v )s for various configurations T. The T-chromatic index for a Steiner system S(2, k, v), S, is the minimum number of colours needed to colour the blocks of S such that there are no monochromatic copies of T. In particular, we focus on configurations containing 2 lines and configurations containing 3 lines for both S(2, 4, v)s and general S(2, k, v)s. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)