In this dissertation we obtain integral representations for positive linear functionals on commutative algebras with involution and semigroups with involution. We prove Bochner and Plancherel type theorems for representations of positive functionals and show that, under some conditions, the Bochner and Plancherel representations are equivalent. We also consider the extension of positive linear functionals on a Banach algebra into a space of pseudoquotients and give under conditions in which the space of pseudoquotients can be identified with all Radon measures on the structure space. In the final chapter we consider a system of integrated Cauchy functional equations on a semigroup, which generalizes a result of Ressel and offers a different approach to the proof.

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Introduction & Background: Nursing burnout is caused by high stress that leads to lack of motivation. Our goal is to review the literature to evaluate the impact of nurse burnout on nursing care. Purpose Statement & Research Question: The purpose of this literature review was to find the impact on nursing care in response to nursing burnout. Literature Review: These articles were derived from a variety of databases, including PubMed, JSTOR and CINHAL from the last 5 years by entering search criteria such as: “nursing burnout impact on patient care,” “nursing burnout”, “registered nurses”, “effects of burnout”, “consequences”, “turnover,” “nursing fatigue,” “registered nurse overtime,” and “causes burnout in the nursing profession” with a peer reviewed filter. Our group analyzed 8 of these articles. Findings: Nurse burnout has been shown to increase registered nurse turnover rates, poor job performance, and threats to patient safety. Articles also showed that burnout caused strained personal relationships, poor level of patient care, patient dissatisfaction, an increased number of medical errors, higher infection rates, patient falls, pressure ulcers, critical incidents, quality of care, patient readmissions, and higher mortality rates. The authors proposed solutions that focused on managing stress through lower nurse-patient ratios and mental health improvement sessions to lower burnout and nursing fatigue. Conclusions & Nursing Implications: The main conclusion reached in all the studies was that nursing burnout is growing and negatively impacting patient care. An example of a limitation found in the studies was not gathering evidence during an extended time.

Historical events captured in an abstract manner have the ability to produce a profound effect on the emotions. The purpose of this research is to create a time-based computer media work, using dialogue from playwright Anne Nelson's The Guys, based on the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, with emphasis on visual imagery, particularly the use of line and color, to enhance the dramatic and emotional content of the piece. The stylistic direction of the thesis work is greatly influenced by selected works of abstract expressionists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline, whose artwork was shaped by the social backdrop of World War II.

This thesis focuses on Ibram Lassaw's open-lattice works by first discussing works from 1945 to 1950 to outline the conceptual and formal themes that contributed to the later style. The open-lattice form presents a complicated interplay between geometric and biomorphic forms, heaviness and lightness, tangibility and remoteness, and openness--which creates a partial boundary whereby the viewer is able to visually penetrate the form, while still being removed bodily. This thesis attempts to root Lassaw's open-lattice works and his metallic accretion process within the Abstract Expressionism movement by comparing the similar bodily experience of viewing Lassaw's works to those of Jackson Pollock's, for example, with a focused attention on material characteristics. This embodied approach offers a new and highly-appropriate language by which to discuss Lassaw's textural open-lattice works. A video of Lassaw's sculpting process is included with this thesis as a supplemental file.

My most recent body of work frees me from traditional animation and graphic design principles that had become second nature in my creative practice over years of commercial work in industry. I now find myself unconsciously creating shape and form without a preconceived vision of the final outcome. This allows for a free-flowing approach to my canvas. The canvas in which my forms are created is virtual space and can be described as an infinite cube. The first step I take in each of my pieces is creating a cube with the center residing at Cartesian coordinates 0,0,0. From there, I make the decision either to subdivide the cube into sections or extrude faces from the cube. In either case, I begin to see the possibilities in which the form can take. Some forms are organic and rhythmic while others become machined and rigid. At this stage, color and light are not a part of the equation.

One significant feature of this dissertation is an alternative reading of an eminent thinker of the Enlightenment such as Kant, specifically in the arena of art theory and art history. In so doing, one cannot claim that contemporary theory is free of past shortcomings that characterize the assumptions of the Enlightenment; neither should we forget that the past contains the seeds for future theoretical and practical directions. The focus of this dissertation is to elucidate how Kant's conception of fine art can be reinterpreted in such a way that it can be perceived as both Modernist and Postmodernist. Initially, I state the position of Kant in terms of a Formalist understanding of art. This focus on the form of an artwork coheres with certain basic Modernist tenets. Kant's aesthetics is shown to converge with that of the Modernist art critic, Clement Greenberg. Based on this Modernist reading of Kant, I analyze the paintings of Newman and Hoffman, who are both Abstract Expressionists. Thereafter, I question Kantian and Modernist aesthetics with the use of Postmodern theories. The Formalist work of Abstract Expressionism is critiqued first from the perspective of Pop art strategies and then by using the philosophical stance of Conceptual art. Lastly, Kant is reinterpreted in the light of Postmodern theories, such as the linguistic turn, the sublime and the metaphorical nature of art. In exploring the overlapping of Kant's aesthetics with Postmodernism, the boundaries between Modernism and Postmodernism become somewhat blurred. In this way, Newman is reevaluated in such a way as to eschew a purely Formalist critique and to offer a critical perspective closer to a Postmodern viewpoint. / Art History, Visual Arts & Music / (M.A. (Art History))

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