Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-128). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S. in Engineering Acoustics)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2007. / Thesis Advisor(s): Andrés Larraza, Bruce C. Denardo. "March 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-182). Also available on the World Wide Web.

In this thesis I will be concerned with linking the observed speechsignal to the configuration of articulators.Due to the potentially rapid motion of the articulators, the speechsignal can be highly non-stationary. The typical linear analysistechniques that assume quasi-stationarity may not have sufficienttime-frequency resolution to determine the place of articulation.I argue that the traditional low and high-level primitives of speechprocessing, frequency and phonemes, are inadequate and should bereplaced by a representation with three layers: 1. short pitch periodresonances and other spatio-temporal patterns 2. articulatorconfiguration trajectories 3. syllables. The patterns indicatearticulator configuration trajectories (how the tongue, jaws, etc. aremoving), which are interpreted as syllables and words.My patterns are an alternative to frequency. I use shorttime-domain features of the sound waveform, which can be extractedfrom each vowel pitch period pattern, to identify the positions of thearticulators with high reliability. These features are importantbecause by capitalizing on detailed measurements within a single pitchperiod, the rapid articulator movements can be tracked. No linearsignal processing approach can achieve the combination of sensitivityto short term changes and measurement accuracy resulting from thesenonlinear techniques.The measurements I use are neurophysiologically plausible: theauditory system could be using similar methods.I have demonstrated this approach by constructing a robust techniquefor categorizing the English voiced stops as the consonants B, D, or Gbased on the vocalic portions of their releases. The classificationrecognizes 93.5%, 81.8% and 86.1% of the b, d and gto ae transitions with false positive rates 2.9%, 8.7% and2.6% respectively.

Th. 3e cycle--Inform.--Nancy--I.N.P.L., 1980.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1993. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-275). Also available via Internet as PDF file through Southern Oregon Digital Archives: http://soda.sou.edu. Search First Nations/Tribal Collection.

Subject to Change is the culmination of a two-year investigation of the idea of home. This thesis discusses the journey of creating a home for my family and the work it spawned. Various cultural and artistic influences that shape the work include Grimm’s fairytales, my upbringing in Germany, Sigmund Freud, Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Josef Beuys. This work reflects a situation and transforms material that takes on symbolic meaning.

Recent studies have suggested that the diagnostic reliability and accuracy of breast ultrasonography in place of mammography in women with dense breast tissue results in more accurate breast cancer screening in this population. Since breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among United States women, a more accurate and reliable breast cancer screening tool is needed (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2014). This process starts with describing breast screening practice patterns of nurse practitioners and analyzing their attitudes and beliefs of alternative screening modalities gathered from the survey results obtained from this DNP project. The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes and beliefs of if nurse practitioners towards the use of ultrasonography alone in lieu of mammography followed by sonography in women aged 40-74 with mammographically dense breast tissue. A survey consisting of 23 questions was sent to nurse practitioners in Arizona through the Coalition of Arizona Nurses in Advanced Practice listserv, and through an email list provided by the president of the Allied Health Providers of Yuma. Analysis of survey responses indicated that the majority of respondents believe that it is difficult to detect cancer using mammography in women with dense breast tissue, and more than half of respondents believe that ultrasounds are more accurate and reliable at detecting cancer in women with dense breast tissue. The results also demonstrate that the majority of nurse practitioners surveyed are not familiar with current literature regarding ultrasonography screening in women with dense breast tissue.

Background Child abuse is a serious and devastating problem rooted within our communities. According to the South African Police Services (SAPS) crime statistics of 2006 & 2007, the four most common crimes committed (and attempted) against children were rape, common assault, and assault with attempt to do grievous bodily harm. Because this problem has it's roots within our homes and communities it must be unpacked from a community level. Aim and objectives: This study aims to describe the patterns of child abuse in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town and to gain insight into the knowledge and perceptions of the Ravensmead Community regarding child physical and sexual abuse. Methods This was done by exploring the knowledge and perceptions of the Ravensmead community on various aspects of child physical and sexual abuse including perceptions of victim and perpetrator profiles, responses to victims of child physical and sexual abuse, their knowledge of and access to avenues of help. The study also describes the patterns of child abuse in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town as documented in the case record reviews of children presenting to the Karl Bremer Hospital at the Rape crises Centre. In order to explore the knowledge of the Ravensmead community of child physical and sexual abuse, the researcher designed a structured questionnaire and conducted a door-to-door survey. A total of 279 respondents were obtained. Specific areas of enquiry included knowledge of definitions, perceptions of perpetrators, perceptions of predisposing circumstances and perception of avenues for help and where education programs should be aimed. Patterns of Child physical and sexual abuse presenting at the Rape Crises Centre at Karl Bremer Hospital was determined by conducting a case record review. Information regarding victim and perpetrator profiles, injuries sustained and home circumstance as documented in these case records was described. An in-depth interview conducted at the Rape Crises centre with parents of child victims of physical and sexual abuse provided qualitative information relating to patterns and perceptions of child physical and sexual abuse. Data from these three methods was then triangulated. Study design The researcher has chosen to do a descriptive study using methodological triangulation. The aim of the research is to describe the patterns of child abuse (physical and sexual) and to gain further insight into the perceptions and knowledge of the Ravensmead Community regarding child sexual and physical abuse. This was undertaken using a descriptive study design. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to enhance the overall validity of the results. Setting Ravensmead is an impoverished community in the Northern Suburbs of the Western Cape. The high rate of crimes committed against children in this community is a reflection of the situation in the rest of the country. The Karl Bremer hospital Rape Crisis Center is the centre to which all cases of child sexual abuse and child physical abuse occurring in the northern suburbs of Cape Town presents. Staff is trained in offering the necessary medical, medico legal and psychological support to victims abuse. Results Only 15% of respondents to the questionnaire survey demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes child abuse. Although respondents demonstrated understanding of some characteristics relating to victim and perpetrator profiles they failed to recognize certain circumstances that predisposes to child abuse. The In-depth interviews also found that most families of victims of child sexual abuse did suspect that the abuse could occur under the circumstance, which it did. The perception that children are sometimes to blame for the abuse is still held by some members of the community although they are in the minority. Few respondents were able to identify avenues for help other than the police station. However, the in-depth interviews demonstrates that several fears exist regarding reporting abuse to the police, reducing the practical accessibility of this service. The mean age of victims presenting to the Karl Bremer Hospital Rape Crises centre was 6.18yrs and 36% of cases presented was during the period from November to January. Absence of visible injuries could not exclude the diagnosis of sexual or physical abuse. Information relating to home circumstances and perpetrator profiles was lacking. Conclusion The research suggests that knowledge regarding child physical and sexual abuse in the Ravensmead community is lacking. Barriers exist to accessing avenues for help within the community. Greater community empowerment is required in order to effectively combat the problem of child physical and sexual abuse.

Orientador: Sergio Augusto Cunha / Resumo: Definir um padrão para um determinado movimento esportivo é de extrema importância para que os profissionais de Educação Física e Esportes possam interferir na prática do ensino ou treinamento deste fenômeno. A Cinemática é uma área da Biomecânica que possui ferramentas suficientes para quantificar qualquer movimento, por mais complexo que seja. Visando a maior compreensão do comportamento do membro inferior na execução do chute no futebol, este estudo definiu e comparou os padrões cinemáticos dos segmentos da coxa, perna e pé em indivíduos praticantes e não praticantes de futebol, descansados e induzidos à exaustão. Foram convidados 10 participantes praticantes regulares de futebol e 10 participantes que não possuem prática regular ou nunca praticaram o esporte. O limiar anaeróbio dos 20 participantes foi calculado através do teste de TEGTBUR e cada participante , em descanso, foi filmado por quatro câmeras de vídeo com freqüência de 120 Hz executando 5 séries de chutes ao gol simulando uma cobrança de falta e posteriormente foram induzidos à exaustão para a execução de outras 5 séries de chutes. Os padrões cinemáticos foram determinados pelas curvas das projeções estereográficas e comparados entre os grupos através da análise por cluster. Foram detectadas diferenças significativas entre os grupos dos praticantes e o grupo dos não praticantes nas duas situações (descanso e exaustão) para os segmentos da coxa perna e pé, sendo que as maiores diferenças surgiram no segmento do pé. Já na comparação intragrupos para as situações de descanso e exaustão não foram obtidas diferenças significativas. Com base nestes resultados é possível concluir que há diferença na execução do movimento entre indivíduos praticantes e não praticantes de futebol no que diz respeito ao comportamento dos segmentos... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo). / Abstract: Defining a sports movement patter is an important factor to help Physical Education and Sports professionals to understand and to intervene in the teaching and training of this phenomenon. The Kinematics is a Biomechanics' area that has enough tools to quantify a movement, does not matter his complexity. The purpose of this study was to have a great understanding of the lower limb behavior in the soccer kick, comparing the kinematic patterns of the thigh, shank and foot segments in soccer practitioners and non-practitioners in the rest and exhaustion situation. Ten soccer regular practitioners subjects and ten soccer non-practitioners subjects participated in this study. Anaerobic threshold was calculated through TEGTBUR test. In a rest situation, four video cameras (120 Hz) recorded each subject performing five free kicks to goal simulating a real situation of the game. After that they were induced to exhaustion condition from individual anaerobic threshold and performed more five free kicks. The images were transfer to computer and the kinematics patters were define through the stereographic projection curves of each segment and they were compared between the groups through the cluster analysis. Significant differences between the practitioners and non-practitioners groups in both situation (rest and exhaustion) of the thigh, shank and foot segments were found, with the greatest differences appearing in the foot segment. However, comparing the different situations inside the groups, no significant differences were found. According with this data we can conclude that there is a difference in the movement performance between soccer practitioners and non-practitioners subjects in the segments behavior analyzed, and these differences can be measured and compared. Furthermore it's possible to detect where these differences occur most. The results also oppose the hypothesis that this kind of fatigue can cause deficiency in the movement performance. / Mestre