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Title: An investigation of the retailing of frozen foods
Creator: Bostic, Walter Herman
Date: 1951
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effects of melengestrol acetate on rabbit uterine protein secretion
Creator: Bostwick, Eileen Frances
Date: 1976
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Some common sawfly larvae attacking conifers in northeastern North America
Creator: Bradley, George Arthur
Date: 1939
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Creating the moderate income housing investment under section 221(d)4 of the National Housing Act
Creator: Bradley, Thomas Erroll
Date: 1974
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effect of light on the ascorbic acid content of tomatoes ripened artificially
Creator: Boloorforooshan, Mojtaba, 1948-
Date: 1974
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Nucleic acid metabolism in yeast
Creator: Bradford, Stuart William
Date: 1961
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effect of 6-azauricil riboside and puromycin on the time course of biochemical events in the replication cycle of avian infectious bronchitis virus
Creator: Moore, Charles Woodrow
Date: 1971
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Rater effects in ITA testing : ESL teachers' versus American undergraduates' judgments of accentedness, comprehensibility, and oral proficiency
Creator: Hsieh, Ching-Ni
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Second language (L2) oral performance assessment always involves raters' subjective judgments and is thus subject to rater variability. The variability due to rater characteristics has important consequential impacts on decision-making processes, particularly in high-stakes testing situations (Bachman, Lynch, & Mason, 1995; A. Brown, 1995; Engelhard & Myford, 2003; Lumley & McNamara, 1995; McNamara, 1996). The purposes of this dissertation study were twofold. First, I wanted to examine rater...
Show moreSecond language (L2) oral performance assessment always involves raters' subjective judgments and is thus subject to rater variability. The variability due to rater characteristics has important consequential impacts on decision-making processes, particularly in high-stakes testing situations (Bachman, Lynch, & Mason, 1995; A. Brown, 1995; Engelhard & Myford, 2003; Lumley & McNamara, 1995; McNamara, 1996). The purposes of this dissertation study were twofold. First, I wanted to examine rater severity effects across two groups of raters, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and American undergraduate students, when raters evaluated international teaching assistants' (ITAs) oral proficiency, accentedness, and comprehensibility. Second, I wanted to identify and compare rater orientations, that is, factors that drew raters' attention when judging the examinees' oral performances. I employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to address these issues concerning rater effects and rater orientations in the performance testing of ITAs at a large Midwestern university. Thirteen ESL teachers and 32 American undergraduate students participated in this study. They evaluated 28 potential ITAs' oral responses to the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK). Raters evaluated the examinees' oral proficiency, accentedness, and comprehensibility, using three separate holistic rating scales. Raters also provided concurrent written comments regarding their rating criteria and participated in one-on-one interviews that explored raters' rating orientations. I employed a many-facet Rasch measurement analysis to examine and compare rater severity across rater groups using the computer program FACETS. I compared the written comments across groups to identify major rating criteria employed by the ESL teachers and the undergraduates. I analyzed the interview data to explore the reasons for rating discrepancies across groups. Results of the study suggested that the ESL teachers and the undergraduate raters did not differ in severity with respect to their ratings of oral proficiency. However, the comparisons of ratings in accentedness and comprehensibility were both statistically significant. The undergraduate raters were harsher than the teacher raters in their evaluations of examinees' accentedness and comprehensibility. Additionally, the analysis of the written comments identified six major rating criteria: linguistic resources, phonology, fluency, content, global assessment, and nonlinguistic factors. Cross-group comparisons of the rating criteria indicated that the undergraduate raters tended to evaluate the examinees' oral performances more globally than the ESL teachers did. In contrast, the ESL teachers tended to use a wider variety of rating criteria and commented more frequently on specific linguistic features. The interview protocols revealed that raters' experience with accented speech, perceptions of accent as an important rating criterion, and approaches to rating (i.e. analytical or global), had important bearings on raters' judgments of ITA speech.
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Title: Hydraulic evaluation of lysimeters versus actual evapotranspirative caps
Creator: Mijares, Ramil Garcia
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The ability to quantify percolation through a soil profile is one of the important considerations for geoenvironmental systems. Reliable estimates of percolation through natural soil deposits help in determining local groundwater recharge rates. For landfills, accurate measurement of percolation through the cap is necessary for permitting earthen final covers. Even though percolation is generally the smallest component among water balance parameters, quantifying its magnitude is...
Show moreThe ability to quantify percolation through a soil profile is one of the important considerations for geoenvironmental systems. Reliable estimates of percolation through natural soil deposits help in determining local groundwater recharge rates. For landfills, accurate measurement of percolation through the cap is necessary for permitting earthen final covers. Even though percolation is generally the smallest component among water balance parameters, quantifying its magnitude is environmentally critical and key in evaluating the overall hydraulic performance of final covers. Direct estimation of percolation through a soil cover is typically achieved using pan lysimeters which consist of a drainage layer underlain by an impermeable geomembrane liner. The presence of this hydraulic barrier in lysimeter, which is used to facilitate the collection and measurement of percolation, alters the hydraulics of the system. This dissertation aimed to evaluate the difference in hydraulic performance of a lysimeter versus actual earthen cap with underlying landfilled waste. Two uncompacted and one compacted field-scale earthen cap test sections were built and instrumented at a landfill near Detroit, Michigan to investigate the hydraulic difference between an actual cap (underlain by waste) and corresponding lysimeter which was used to directly measure percolation. Lysimeter pans were installed in the middle of each test sections and the instrumented area was expanded upslope and downslope of the lysimeter to monitor the soil water storages within and beyond the lysimeter footprint. About 35 sensors were installed in each of the test sections to monitor water contents, water potentials, soil temperatures, water levels, and gas pressures. The field results show soil water storage values for the uncompacted test sections that were underlain by waste were typically greater than those for the corresponding lysimeters. For the compacted test section, there was no significant difference between the soil water storage for the actual cap and the lysimeter. Using the single porosity numerical models UNSAT-H and Vadose/W, the field measured percolation in the lysimeter as well as the variation in soil water storages were predicted with an acceptable accuracy for the compacted test section. The presence of macropore flow through large clods in uncompacted test sections is not accounted for in these single porosity models. A numerical analysis showed that when a lysimeter underestimates the soil water storage of an actual earthen cap, it corresponds to greater actual percolation across the interface between the soil cover and the underlying waste. A lysimeter overestimates percolation because the infiltrated water drained into the lysimeter is immediately removed and is therefore not available for removal by evapotranspiration. Field-scale simulations also showed that the magnitude of capillary barrier effect introduced by the drainage layer in the lysimeters is negligible when the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil cover is equal to or less than 10^-5 cm/s.
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Title: A hospital play program, unrestricted visiting, and rooming-in : their effects on children's posthospital behavioral responses and parental behavior
Creator: Bopp, Jane Ellen
Date: 1967
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Predicting differential item functioning in cross-lingual testing : the case of a high stakes test in the Kyrgyz Republic
Creator: Drummond, Todd W.
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Cross-lingual tests are assessment instruments created in one language and adapted for use with another language group. Practitioners and researchers use cross-lingual tests for various descriptive, analytical and selection purposes both in comparative studies across nations and within countries marked by linguistic diversity (Hambleton, 2005). Due to cultural, contextual, psychological and linguistic differences between diverse populations, adapting test items for use across groups is a...
Show moreCross-lingual tests are assessment instruments created in one language and adapted for use with another language group. Practitioners and researchers use cross-lingual tests for various descriptive, analytical and selection purposes both in comparative studies across nations and within countries marked by linguistic diversity (Hambleton, 2005). Due to cultural, contextual, psychological and linguistic differences between diverse populations, adapting test items for use across groups is a challenging endeavor. Of paramount importance in the test adaptation process is the proven ability of test developers to adapt test items across groups in meaningful ways. One way investigators seek to understand the level of item equivalence on a cross-lingual assessment is to analyze items for differential item functioning, or DIF. DIF is present when examinees from different language groups do not have the same probability of responding correctly to a given item, after controlling for examinee ability (Camilli & Shephard, 1994). In order to detect and minimize DIF, test developers employ both statistical methods and substantive (judgmental) reviews of cross-lingual items. In the Kyrgyz Republic, item developers rely on substantive review of items by bi-lingual professionals. In situations where statistical DIF detection methods are not typically utilized, the accuracy of such professionals in discerning differences in content, meaning and difficulty between items is especially important. In this study, the accuracy of bi-linguals' predictions about whether differences between Kyrgyz and Russian language test items would lead to DIF was evaluated. The items came from a cross-lingual university scholarship test in the Kyrgyz Republic. Evaluators' predictions were compared to a statistical test of "no difference" in response patterns by group using the logistic regression (LR) DIF detection method (Swaminathan & Rogers, 1990). A small number of test items were estimated to have "practical statistical DIF." There was a modest, positive correlation between evaluators' predictions and statistical DIF levels. However, with the exception of one item type, sentence completion, evaluators were unable to predict which language group was favored by differences on a consistent basis. Plausible explanations for this finding as well as ways to improve the accuracy of substantive review are offered. Data was also collected to determine the primary sources of DIF in order to inform the test development and adaptation process in the republic. Most of the causes of DIF were attributed to highly contextual (within item) sources of difference related to overt adaptation problems. However, inherent language differences were also noted: Syntax issues with the sentence completion items made the adaptation of this item type from Russian into Kyrgyz problematic. Statistical and substantive data indicated that the reading comprehension items were less problematic to adapt than analogy and sentence completion items. I analyze these findings and interpret their implications to key stakeholders, provide recommendations for how to improve the process of adapting items from Russian into Kyrgyz and highlight cautions to interpreting the data collected in this study.
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Title: Evaluation of porcine circovirus type 2 vaccination
Creator: Venegas Vargas, María Cristina
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "ABSTRACT'EVALUATION OF PORCINE CIRCOVIRUS TYPE 2 VACCINATIONByMaría Cristina Venegas VargasPorcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is one of the most important diseases in the swine industry worldwide, having a high economic impact in the sector since its description in the 1990s. The introduction of the first vaccine in 2006 was a major breakthrough for control of the disease, but there are still important questions to be addressed regarding the use and implementation of PCV2...
Show more"ABSTRACT'EVALUATION OF PORCINE CIRCOVIRUS TYPE 2 VACCINATIONByMaría Cristina Venegas VargasPorcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is one of the most important diseases in the swine industry worldwide, having a high economic impact in the sector since its description in the 1990s. The introduction of the first vaccine in 2006 was a major breakthrough for control of the disease, but there are still important questions to be addressed regarding the use and implementation of PCV2 vaccination. In order to answer some of these questions the following studies were performed to observe the effect of PCV2 vaccine on growth performance and carcass composition in herds of different health status and also to evaluate the use of sentinel pigs as a tool for PCV2 detection.
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Title: The proper grading of aggregate for use with bituminous cut-backs
Creator: Bray, Francis A.
Date: 1932
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: The condensation of 2,3,3-trimethyl 2-pentanol and 2,2,3-trimethyl-3-pentanol with phenol in the presence of aluminum chloride
Creator: Breiter, Samuel
Date: 1946
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Comparative study of two family life teaching methods at Ecorse High School
Creator: Brenner, Kathleen
Date: 1966
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: The medullary representation of the baroreceptor reflex
Creator: Marquis, William James, 1941-
Date: 1971
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Perceived experiential correlates of apperceptively measured affects and self-evaluations in the late adolescent female
Creator: Brainerd, Charles J.
Date: 1968
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Institutionalization of digital literacies in four-year Liberal Arts institutions
Creator: Wendt, Mary Ellen
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Few in the field of Rhetoric and Writing debate digital literacy's value in higher level institutions today, yet while faculty in general echo this same value, the actual institutionalization of digital literacy--especially in liberal arts institutions--stands in question. This dissertation project, situated in the field of digital rhetoric and positioned theoretically with postmodern constructs, approaches research in digital literacy issues and "institutionalizing" digital literacy. I...
Show moreFew in the field of Rhetoric and Writing debate digital literacy's value in higher level institutions today, yet while faculty in general echo this same value, the actual institutionalization of digital literacy--especially in liberal arts institutions--stands in question. This dissertation project, situated in the field of digital rhetoric and positioned theoretically with postmodern constructs, approaches research in digital literacy issues and "institutionalizing" digital literacy. I examine findings using activity theory and genre theory to construct a model of the Operational Life Cycle of the Institutionalization of Digital Literacy. This model of the Operational Life Cycle has several purposes: it visually can enable others to navigate the murky journey of institutionalization; it provides a clear framework for understanding the complexities of institutional work; and it demonstrates the possibility that any size school, even with limited funds, can institutionalize digital literacy. This kind of model illuminates two ideas: One, the power of the centrifugal and centripetal outcomes (genres) of the activities in the Life Cycle, which can perpetuate and speed along such institutionalization. Two, such institutionalization requires the participation of the institution at large, English departments more specifically, and faculty members as individuals. Without such participation, holes in the Life Cycle render institutionalization of digital literacy much more difficult a challenge.
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Title: Anticipation of knowledge of success and problem-solving
Creator: Marr, John N.
Date: 1960
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Retention and learning in normal and brain-lesioned rhesus monkeys after a six-year interval
Creator: Marshall, Bruce Ray
Date: 1971
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

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