This study examines perceptions of 12 full-time non-tenure track faculty members about their professional and academic selves in a research-intensive university. A phenomenological approach is used to gain insight into the complexities of the experience of being a full-time faculty member, off the tenure-track, whose primary responsibility is teaching within a research-intensive institution. The notion of tenurestream as the only desired path to being an academic is challenged by these faculty members’ understanding of their identities. This researcher considers how professional identities may be understood and suggests that the meanings and values these faculty members attach to their professional roles may be embedded in their perceptions of how their role fits within the department. Throughout this qualitative inquiry, the perspectives of these faculty members are positioned as a primary source of data about the experience of being a full-time non-tenure track faculty member. By using a phenomenological approach and taking a constructivist perspective this researcher finds that extant theories that view this population through a deficit model are inaccurate. Additionally, essentialist and homogenizing descriptions of this population are also found to be insufficient. A qualitative analysis suggests the viability of an alternative description of this population, one which reflects the nuanced view of professional identity these participants expressed. Based on structural categories adapted from Martin’s (2002) three perspective view of organizational culture, their perceptions are categorized according to the congruence expressed between their social identity and their professional role. Perceptions shared about their departmental culture are similarly categorized which provides insight about the influence of policies, practices, and collegial interactions on professional lives.

This study was designed to investigate the sustainable academic benefits of a full time kindergarten experience beyond the kindergarten year with additional consideration of the relationship between productive learning behaviors and ongoing academic advantage. The study was conducted across four elementary schools that housed both alternating full day and daily full day kindergarten programs. The initial sample consisted of 321 students enrolled in either daily full day or alternating full day kindergarten during the 2001-2002 school year, which decreased, through attrition, to a total of 198 students enrolled in fourth grade during the 2005-2006 school year. Student academic achievement was measured using a combination of criterion referenced skill assessments, standardized test measures, and a teacher-rated social behavior scale. Hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance using chi square analyses, multivariate and univariate analyses of variance, and correlation and regression analyses.The findings indicated that by the end of the kindergarten year, full day kindergarten students outperformed their alternating day peers in both reading and mathematics. However, as measured at the beginning of the second grade year, the academic gains realized during the kindergarten year had dissipated. By the beginning of the fourth grade year, there was no difference in achievement across program types in mathematics, while a significant achievement difference was found in English/language arts, with alternating full day students outperforming their daily full day peers. Further, during the third and fourth grade years, there was a significant interaction between gender and student achievement for the cohort, with significant differences by gender and the combined effect of gender/kindergarten type on social learning behaviors. While the data established a significant, positive relationship between competent social behavior and academic achievement regardless of gender for students from both program types, boys who attended daily full day kindergarten demonstrated significantly less productive social behavior than did boys from the alternating day program and girls from the daily full day program. For those who attended daily full day kindergarten, lower social behavior ratings predicted depressed academic achievement in English/language arts well beyond the kindergarten year. / Department of Educational Leadership

Recent studies suggest a possible correlated evolution of wing morphology, wing beat frequency, muscle biochemistry and flight metabolic rate in bees. In order to investigate the degree to which natural selection can act on these traits, an estimation of heritability was required. Commercial and laboratory reared colonies from wild caught queens were used to estimate narrow-sense (h2) and broad-sense (H2) heritability of flight metabolic rate and its associated traits in the bumblebee Bombus impatiens. h2 estimates obtained from parent-offspring regressions were not statistically significant. H2 estimates were significant for morphological traits (body mass and wing morphology) as well as whole-animal traits (flight and resting metabolic rate, wing beat frequency) in both populations. We suggest that queens have a decrease in flight performance as a result of a trade-off between flight and fecundity, explaining the lack of significance in parent-offspring regressions.

The complexity among embedded systems has increased dramatically in recent years. During the same time has the capacity of the hardware grown to astonishing levels. These factors have contributed to that software has taken a leading role and time-consuming role in embedded system development.Compared with regular software development, embedded development is often more restrained by factors such as hardware performance and testing capability. A solution to some of these problem has been proposed and that is a concept called virtual platforms. By emulating the hardware in a software environment, it is possible to avoid some of the problems associated with embedded software development. For example is it possible to execute a system faster than in reality and to provide a more controllable testing environment. This thesis presents a case study of an application specific virtual platform. The platform is based on already existing embedded system that is located in an industrial control system.  The virtual platform is able to execute unmodified application code at a speed twice of the real system, without causing any software faults. The simulation can also be simulated at even higher speed if some accuracy losses are regarded as acceptable.The thesis presents some tools and methods that can be used to model hardware on a functional level in an software environment. The thesis also investigates the accuracy of the virtual platform by comparing it with measurements from the physical system. In this case are the measurements mainly focused of the data transactions in a controller area network bus (CAN).

A suffix tree is a fundamental data structure for string searching algorithms. Unfortunately, when it comes to the use of suffix trees in real-life applications, the current methods for constructing suffix trees do not scale for large inputs. As suffix trees are larger than their input sequences and quickly outgrow the main memory, the first half of this work is focused on designing a practical algorithm that avoids massive random access to the trees being built. This effort resulted in a new algorithm DiGeST which improves significantly over previous work in reducing random access to the suffix tree and performing only two passes over disk data. As a result, this algorithm scales to larger genomic data than managed before. All the existing practical algorithms perform random access to the input string, thus requiring in essence that the input be small enough to be kept in main memory. The ever increasing amount of genomic data requires however the ability to build suffix trees for much larger strings. In the second half of this work we present another suffix tree construction algorithm, BBST that is able to construct suffix trees for input sequences significantly larger than the size of the available main memory. Both the input string and the suffix tree are kept on disk and the algorithm is designed to avoid multiple random I/Os to both of them. As a proof of concept, we show that BBST allows to build a suffix tree for 12 GB of real DNA sequences in 26 hours on a single machine with 2 GB of RAM. This input is four times the size of the Human Genome. The construction of suffix trees for inputs of such magnitude was never reported before. Finally, we show that, after the off-line suffix tree construction is complete, search queries on entire sequenced genomes can be performed very efficiently. This high query performance is achieved due to a special disk layout of the suffix trees produced by our algorithms.

In this thesis, autopilots are developed for missiles with moderate dynamics and stationary targets. The aim is to use the designs in real applications. Since the real missile model is nonlinear, a linearization process is required to get use of systematic linear controller design techniques. In the scope of this thesis, the linear quadratic full state feedback approach is applied for developing missile autopilots. However, the limitations of measurement systems on the missiles restrict the availability of all the states required for feedback. Because of this fact, the linear quadratic design will be approximated by the use of projective control theory. This method enables the designer to use preferably static feedback or if necessary a controller plus a low order compensator combination to approximate the full state feedback reference. Autopilots are checked for the validity of linearization, robust stability against aerodynamic, mechanical and measurement uncertainties.

Numerical methods of designing control systems are currently an active area of research. Convex optimization with linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is one such method. Control objectives like minimizing the H_2, H_infinity norms, limiting the actuating effort to avoid saturation, pole-placement constraints etc., are cast as LMIs and an optimal feedback controller is found by making use of efficient interior-point algorithms. A full-state feedback controller is designed and implemented in this thesis using this method which then forms the basis for designing a static output feedback (SOF) controller. A profile was generated that relates the change in the SOF control gain matrix required to keep the same value of the generalized H_2 norm of the transfer function from the road disturbance to the actuating effort with the change in the sprung mass of the quarter-car system. The quarter-car system makes use of a linear brushless permanent magnet motor (LBPMM) as an actuator, a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) and two accelerometers as sensors for feedback control and forms a platform to test these control methodologies. For the full-state feedback controller a performance measure (H_2 norm of the transfer function from road disturbance to sprung mass acceleration) of 2.166*10^3 m/s^2 was achieved ensuring that actuator saturation did not occur and that all poles had a minimum damping ratio of 0.2. The SOF controller achieved a performance measure of 1.707*10^3 m/s^2 ensuring that actuator saturation does not occur. Experimental and simulation results are provided which demonstrate the effectiveness of the SOF controller for various values of the sprung mass. A reduction in the peak-to-peak velocity by 73 percent, 72 percent, and 71 percent was achieved for a sprung mass of 2.4 kg, 2.8 kg, and 3.4 kg, respectively. For the same values of the sprung mass, a modified lead-lag compensator achieved a reduction of 79 percent, 77 percent and, 69 percent, respectively. A reduction of 76 percent and 54 percent in the peak-to-peak velocity was achieved for a sprung mass of 6.0 kg in simulation by the SOF controller and the modified lead-lag compensator, respectively. The gain of the modified lead-lag compensator needs to be recomputed in order to achieve a similar attenuation as that of the SOF controller when the value of the sprung mass is changed. For a sprung mass of 3.4 kg and a suspension spring stiffness of 1640 N/m the peak-to-peak velocity of the sprung mass was attenuated by 42 percent.

This study investigated executive function and sustained attention in preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery and at 10-11 months chronological age. Executive function and sustained attention emerge in infancy and continues to develop throughout childhood. Executive function and sustained attention is believed to underlie some learning problems in children at school age. Although numerous studies have reported that the overall development of preterm infants is comparable to that of full-term infants at the same corrected age, it is unclear to what extent the development of specific cognitive abilities is affected by prematurity and/or other factors such as medical complications. As preterm infants have a high rate of learning difficulties, it is possible that factors associated with prematurity specifically affect the development of some regions of the brain associated with the regulation of executive function and sustained attention. Thirty-seven preterm infants without identified disabilities, and 74 due date and gender matched healthy bull-term infants, participated in the present study. The preterm infants were all less that 32 weeks gestation and less that 1500 grams birth weight. The current study aimed to examine the effects of maturation and length of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention, by comparing the development of preterm infants with that of full-term infants at both the same corrected age and the same chronological age. All infants were therefore assessed on executive function and sustained attention tasks at 8 months after the expected date of delivery (when preterm infants were actually 10-11 months chronological age). The full-term infants in the study were then reassessed at an age equivalent to the chronological age of their matched preterm infants at the time of the first assessment. The findings of the study showed that preterm infants performed significantly more poorly than full-term infants at both 8 months after the expected date of delivery and 10-11 months chronological age on all measures of executive function and sustained attention. However the difference between preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery was much less that at 10-11 months chronological age. The results suggested that the effects of maturation are greater that the effects of exposure to extrauterine environmental stimuli on the development of executive function and sustained attention. However, as the performance of the preterm infants was below that of the term infants at the same corrected age, it was necessary to consider whether other factors associated with preterm birth were contributing to this difference. Confounding factors including cognitive abilities and psychomotor skills on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, infant temperament, maternal education, family socioeconomic status and maternal psychological wellbeing were examined. Statistical analysis of the effects of these factors on the difference between preterm ad full-term infants found that only psychomotor sills significantly affected the differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age on executive function measures, although not on sustained attention measures. The differences between preterm and full-term infants of the same corrected age remained even when psychomotor skills were taken into consideration; therefore psychomotor skills were not sufficient to fully explain the differences between preterm and full-term infants in the performance of executive function. Consequently, the preterm infants were divided into two subgroups on the basis of (a) low or high medical risk factors, (b) birth weight of less that 1000g versus 1000-1500g, and (c) gestation age of less that 28 weeks versus 28-32 weeks, in order to assess the effects of these variables on the performance of executive function and sustained attention. Medical risk, lower birth weight and lower gestation age were all found to adversely affect performance on executive function, but did not affect the performance on sustained attention tasks. It is argued that these factors may influence the development of specific areas of the brain which govern executive function, and that as the prefrontal regions are particularly immature they may be especially vulnerable to damage or disruption. The fact that these perinatal factors did not contribute to the difference between preterm and full-term infants' performance on sustained attention tasks. This suggests that the deficits of sustained attention in preterm infants may be associated with birth prematurity per se, and that additional complications may not have any further detrimental effect. The three components of executive function (i.e., working memory, inhibition, and planning) did not correlate with each other when only infants with Bayley psychomotor ability scores greater that 85 were included, suggesting that the components of executive function may be discrete abilities which are governed by different parts of the prefrontal cortex. Sustained attention correlated with planning, supporting the suggestion that it may be a cognitive dimension which overlaps with executive function, depending upon the task requirement. Neither executive functio nor sustained attention correlated with the Bayley mental ability and Bayley psychomotor ability scores when infants with scores of less than 85 were excluded. This suggests that executive function and sustained attention measures are independent of general development.

This thesis investigates Yonggi Cho's conception of Seongnyeong Undong (the Holy Spirit Movement: HSM) in his pastoral ministry activity at the Yoido Full Gospel Church (YFGC) in Korea. First of all, it examines how Cho's HSM developed at the YFGC from an historical perspective. Secondly, it discusses Cho's main theology and investigates this theology from a systematic theological perspective. Thirdly, it focuses on Cho's belief and practice from a practical, theological perspective. Some scholars say that Cho's theology, belief and practice, particularly of material blessings and Sinyu (divine healing) in his ministry, are similar to those in Korean shamanism. However, other scholars argue that his theological ideas came from the Bible and western theological doctrines and Westerners. The present study assesses these different arguments and concludes that Cho tried to base his theological ideas and his ministry activity on biblical foundations rather than on shamanistic and other Korean traditional cultures, even if he used Korean terms to describe them. The study is mainly based on literary research and is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the overall focus of the study. Chapter 2 examines the life and ministry of Yonggi Cho, and the development of Yonggi Cho's understanding of the HSM in his pastoral care since 1958. Using a historical theological method this chapter also shows how Yonggi Cho developed the HSM at the YFGC in his ministry through his written work. Chapter 3 deals with Yonggi Cho's theological background and his core theology — how he understands the HSM, and the root of HSM from systematic theological perspectives. It shows where his main theology came from on the basis of evidence provided in his numerous writings. Chapter 4 emphasises Yonggi Cho's understanding of the Holy Spirit (HS) in his belief and practice. It shows where his belief and practice came from, and discusses what his main belief and practices are from practical theological views. Chapter 5 concludes the study. Three main conclusions are drawn with regard to the 1) historical theological, 2) systematic theological, and 3) practical theological perspectives on Yonggi Cho's understanding of the HS. The thesis concludes that Cho was much more influenced by biblical and western understandings than he was by shamanism or by other Korean traditions, even though he borrowed words from their language.

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-191).