Attachment, originally postulated by John Bowlby, is the deep and long lasting emotional connection established between a child and caregiver in the first several years of life. It is the result of the interactive relationship that naturally occurs between infants and their caregivers; it has lasting effects that are manifested throughout various stages of life. In the absence of adequate care giving, secure attachment does not develop. The very purpose of foster care indicates that children in that system have been deprived of adequate care giving. This study sought to document the distribution of secure versus insecure attachment styles for foster children. In order to do this, the Relationship Structure Questionnaire was utilized to classify a sample of foster children into either secure or insecure attachment categories. Additionally, this study attempted to assess the differences among children in foster care, categorized by attachment styles, in terms of their degree of interpersonal cognitive complexity. Interpersonal cognitive complexity is an individual difference variable in social information processing capacity. Individuals who are high in interpersonal cognitive complexity have relatively differentiated, abstract, and organized cognitive structures for describing and perceiving the thoughts and behavior of others. Highly developed interpersonal systems lend themselves to greater abilities in the acquisition, storage, retrieval, organization, and generation of information regarding other persons and social situations. The development of interpersonal cognitive complexity takes place naturally through the experience of living. Numerous parental qualities (e.g. style of discipline, expression of emotion, frequency of interaction, etc.) affect the development of this system. Although it has not been previously linked in research, studies regarding the development of highly complex interpersonal cognitive systems seem to connect optimal development with parenting qualities that are part of a secure attachment relationship. This study predicted that individuals with secure attachment styles would generally have higher levels of interpersonal cognitive complexity than those with insecure styles of attachment. The Role Category Questionnaire was used to determine the level of interpersonal cognitive complexity for each participant. Lastly, this project attempted to assess if there is a relationship between several foster care variables and attachment style and/or degree of interpersonal cognitive complexity. Specifically, age at initial entry into foster care, total number of placements experienced while in care, number of episodes in care, total number of months in care, and whether a child was placed with a familiar other were considered. Results of the study showed that 89% of participants scored in the .secure. category of attachment. This made the comparison of attachment groups on interpersonal cognitive complexity and .experience in foster care. variables impossible. A discussion follows that attempts to provide plausible explanations for the extraordinarily high percentage of participants who scored in the secure category. There were statistically significant negative correlations found with regard to length of time in foster care and number of placements with interpersonal cognitive complexity / Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology

This dissertation examines the problem of comparing samples of multivariate normal data from two populations and concluding whether the populations are equivalent; equivalence is defined as the distance between the mean vectors of the two samples being less than a given value. Test statistics are developed for each of two cases using the ratio of the maximized likelihood functions. Case 1 assumes both populations have a common known covariance matrix. Case 2 assumes both populations have a common covariance matrix, but this covariance matrix is a known matrix multiplied by an unknown scalar value. The power function and bias of each of the test statistics is evaluated. Tables of critical values are provided. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the US. COPD is a multi-factorial disorder characterized by an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance, inflammation, a protease/antiprotease imbalance and apoptosis. This dissertation describes a general strategy for the design, synthesis and biochemical evaluation of dual function inhibitors which could potentially interrupt the above disorder, thereby enhancing the treatment of COPD. An example of this type inhibitor based on the 1,2,5-thiadiazolidin-3-one scaffold has been proven effective against both human neutrophil elastase (HNE) and caspase-1, two key enzymes responsible for elastin degradation and inflammation, respectively. In addition, an X-ray crystal structure and a high resolution mass spectrum of inhibitor bonded HNE have proven the proposed mechanism of HNE inactivation. Furhtermore, simple reversible competitive inhibitors of COPD-related enzymes (HNE and proteinase 3) have also been designed, synthesized and evaluated biochemically. West Nile virus and Dengue virus are recognized as a major health threat that affects millions of people worldwide. However, there is currently no treatment or vaccine available for the virus infection. This dissertation describes the design, synthesis and biochemical evaluation of reversible competitive inhibitors of both West Nile virus and Dengue virus NS2B-NS3 protease. Combinatorial chemistry and click chemistry methods have been used in the design of the protease inhibitor and the identified hit was optimized using computational programs (AutoDock4 and SYBYL). Several more hits were identified during the optimization and further development could potentially lead to very potent inhibitors of NS2B-NS3 protease with good pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry

As the use of composites increases, more problems arise with processing and manufacturing of this type of material in order to make it a more durable and reliable for today’s applications. One of the most important problems in the cutting of composites is the poor quality of the machined surface and unknown status of the machining forces. Knowing the status of forces during the final machining process helps reduce such defects as delamination and fiber-matrix debonding. This research attempted to develop a fully theoretical model for edge trimming of composites for fiber orientations greater than 90 degrees. The energy method was used as the approach, and the machining forces were compared to the experimental results. A series of experiments were conducted to validate the theoretical foundations. Composite coupons with different fiber orientations and tool rake angles were prepared for the machining experiments, and the cutting forces were measured using a four-component dynamometer. In addition, a finite element model (FEM) was built to model the depth of damage along the fibers. The theoretical depth of damage compared to the FEM analysis showed that they were in good agreement. The parameters affecting the machining forces of composites can be divided into three categories: tool geometry, material properties, and machining conditions. The effect of all of these parameters is reflected in the formula. In addition to the thrust and cutting forces, the depth of damage along the fibers can be calculated. It was concluded that the material properties and machining conditions, more than the geometry of an orthogonal cutting tool, are more influential in affecting the processing and manufacturing of composite materials. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

This dissertation consists of four submission-ready papers that address some of the key error sources that affect the accuracy of interpretation of nanoindentation test results to obtain material properties for elastoplastic materials. The first part of the work is a study of the effect of sample tilt on results of nanoindentation tests. Geometrical relations are used to develop a correction to account for the effect of tilt angle on the contact area. 3D FEA (Finite Element Analysis) shows that the assumptions made in deriving the geometric correction are valid, and the results for contact area, hardness and modulus match the predictions of the analytical model. It is shown that for both materials that sink-in and those that pile-up, the projected contact area for nanoindentation on tilted sample is higher than that estimated by the standard area function, which leads to overestimation of the hardness and elastic modulus. Experimental nanoindentation tests on tilted samples show lower sensitivity to sample tilt compared to FEA results because the compliance of the indenter holder causes the indenter tip to displace in the direction of the surface tilt, reducing the total penetration of the tip into the surface. For tips with very high compliance, this may even lead to significant underestimation of the hardness and modulus. The second part discusses the various factors that affect the accuracy of FEA of nanoindentation. With the understanding that contact area error arising from discretization of the continuum is a key contributor to noise in the hardness data, a self similar mesh is designed that results in a known amount of maximum error in contact area over a range of depths of penetration of the indenter. Based on the fact that contact area increases in discrete jumps, it is argued that the maximum force that a given area of contact can support, before the next element comes into contact, is the best measure of the true hardness of the material that can be obtained with a given mesh. FEA simulations carried out with meshes of different amounts of error in contact area show that as the discretization becomes coarser, the estimate of the true hardness increases, due to the inability of the mesh to resolve the steep gradients in stress and strain near the end point of contact. It is also shown that results obtained from different meshes with different error percentages can be extrapolated to determine the exact value of hardness that will be obtained with infinitesimally small elements. It is shown that other sources of error, such as the convergence tolerance of the iterative solution process, are small in comparison to the discretization errors. The third part is a study aimed at identifying the size of the volume underneath a nanoindentation that influences the hardness and modulus measured. FEA simulations of the indentation of a hemispherical particle embedded in a matrix reveal that the hardness of particle can be measured accurately by nanoindentation as long as vii the plastically deformed region is confined entirely within the particle. While this may be intuitively obvious in retrospect, this is the first quantitative demonstration that this is so. It is found that an available relationship between the force, yield stress, and the radius of the plastically deformed zone is accurate under the conditions studied. This can be used to determine the maximum penetration depth that can be used if the size of the particle is to be estimated. For modulus of elasticity, it is shown that the modulus measured by nanoindentation method actually represents the elastic response of the entire specimen at the indentation point, which for all penetration depths, is a composite of the elastic response of both the particle and the matrix. A relationship is developed that shows the effect of boundary conditions and the matrix on the modulus measured by indentation at low depths of penetration for a hemispherical particle/matrix system. The last part describes a new iterative procedure for estimation of the mechanical properties of elasticperfectly plastic materials by nanoindentation. The key feature of this method is the estimation of the correct contact height, irrespective of whether the material piles-up or sinks-in, using an iterative procedure. It is shown that the proposed method improves the estimation of hardness and modulus compared to the Oliver and Pharr method and also gives a good estimation of the yield stress for materials with plastic index greater than 10. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Access to mobile communication technology is a characteristic that makes today’s learners different and presents challenges and opportunities to develop twenty-first century skills in a globalized society. This qualitative study involved students and teachers using synchronous and asynchronous web-based social networks and recording software to communicate and compose music. Dialogue was captured and analyzed for levels of interaction and mindsets to determine if such a collaborative could cultivate an awareness of others’ perspectives and the feasibility of using social networks in K-12 educational settings for this purpose. There were strong indications that global reach projects using technologies in K-12 education do have the potential for students to become aware of others’ perspectives; however changes in educational policy are needed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership

Patients often solicit the advice of friends, or receive second-hand reports of ‘friends of a friend,’ about treatments for medical conditions. These testimonials can play an influential role in a patient’s selection of a medical course of action (Sutter, 2006; Ubel, Jepson, & Baron, 2001). Similarly, pilots solicit information from various sources when making a “go or no go” decision about flying (FAA, 1991). However, one area that lacks research concerns the effect of the “pilot report” (testimonial) that a general aviation (GA) pilot may solicit at their flying club or Fixed Based Operator (FBO). This testimonial may contain information about actual weather conditions experience by pilots who have recently landed. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether pilot testimonials influence decisions to go or no-go and how this influence is moderated by the perceived quality of the testimonial. The analysis shows that testimonials had little impact on pilots’ weather decision making in most flight scenarios, and that pilots’ decisions were more strongly influenced by text and graphical weather information. In the flight scenario where the “expert” pilot gave a testimonial to no-go, findings showed that the testimonial was found to be as influential as text and graphical weather in making go or no-go decisions. In regards to the quality of the testimonial, the findings suggest the “expert” testimonial was judged as more credible; however, this did not increase the influence the ranking of the testimonial. Alternative explanations for the effects of the “testimonials” are discussed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology

No Child Left Behind and The Education for All Handicapped Children Acts have required schools to educate students with disabilities in new ways. Co-teaching is one model with the potential to unite the traditionally parallel systems of special education and regular education as well as effectively increase outcomes for all students within the general education classroom. This case study specifically examined a co-teaching relationship between a general education and a special education teacher at rural secondary school where students with disabilities were served through traditional pullout and inclusion models. One special education teacher, one general education English teacher, and the principal of the school provided data that told the story of how a co-teaching relationship developed and of its impact on the teachers and students involved. Research data for this qualitative study were collected through individual and focus group interviews, observations, and a review of pertinent documents. Data analysis consisted of open and axial coding and applying the constant comparative method to determine connections between and among the data collected. Findings from this study revealed that the teachers grounded the co-teaching relationship in a common belief system and set of experiences. Both teachers experienced an increase in their sense of self and collective efficacy as a result of the growth and development of the relationship. Students with disabilities in their co-taught classroom experienced higher levels achievement as well. Secondary school organizational structures were identified as an important factor when designing and implementing co-teaching relationship. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership

Mental health consumer-run organizations (CROs) are organizations that incorporate the characteristics of self-help groups and nonprofit organizations. As self-help behavior settings, CROs impact the members and members influence CROs as members occupy all leadership and staff roles. At the same time, CROs are typically formal 501c3 nonprofits so they can receive funding. This research explored the self-help and nonprofit characteristics that exist in these settings through qualitative interviews with CRO leaders and members at eight CROs in Kansas. Overall, CROs demonstrated many self-help characteristics, such as a focus on recovery, empowerment, member control, and peer support. CROs also demonstrated sustainability characteristics such as high member participation. Nonprofit characteristics for CROs showed evidence of positive characteristics in some areas, including encouraging participation from members, assessing satisfaction of members, and maintaining adequate facilities. CROs also had some typical challenges the majority of traditional nonprofit settings face, such as diversity of funding and fundraising. Overall, CROs faced a remarkable balance between being a recovery-driven peer support behavior setting while also maintaining a formal nonprofit organization with reporting and operating requirements, a balance that is a rarity in both the nonprofit and self-help worlds. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology

The focus of this work is to understand the current state of permeability measurement and prediction methods for fibrous, porous media and to suggest improvements. For this purpose the most widely used and accepted measurement technique, the channel flow method, is used to experimentally investigate the effects of fiber sizing and fluid viscosity on the permeability of glass and carbon fibers. Experiments have shown that the variation in permeability occurs due primarily to the fluid viscosity and not the nature of fluid, which other researchers have proposed. Studies were also carried out on both sized and unsized fibers to show that significant permeability variation occurs when fluids of different viscosity are used. Further, experimental studies on the effect of secondary flow have revealed that, for fiber products representative of the aerospace industry, secondary flow has little effect, which challenges models proposed by other researchers. Previous studies had shown a dual scale flow for fiber products with a significantly lower fiber volume fraction. A novel acoustical method based on standardized impedance tube measurements has been developed to predict physical properties—both permeability and characteristic length—of the porous medium. The predicted permeability values from the acoustical method for the range of porosity studied in this work compare well enough with existing permeability models’ predictions to warrant further study. The acoustical method is quick and repeatable, and when compared with the existing flow methods may provide a convenient alternative. It also provides a measure of fiber arrangement (via the “viscous characteristic length”) that should be studied further to explain variations in permeability measurements due to alternative fiber product architecture. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering