2008 MU dissertations - Freely available online
The items in this collection are dissertations that are available to the general public. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Recent Submissions
-
The semiaquatic heteroptera (Gerromorpha) of Thailand : faunistics, biogeography and phylogeography
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Semiaquatic heteropterans (Gerromorpha) were collected from mountain streams and waterfalls and lowland ponds adjacent to the mountains were collected from 2002 to 2006. One hundred fifty-eight species representing 31 ... -
Cruciate ligament pathogenesis and its role in the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)The pathogenesis of cruciate ligament disease and how it may be linked to the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis were investigated using in vitro and in vivo models. Normal and diseased tissues were initially ... -
Scale and stability analysis of selected atmospheric blocking events
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Global six year climatology of mid latitude atmospheric blocking events, during the period 1999-2004, is presented based on the scale and stability analysis, using the NCEP/NCAR re-analysis data. A total of 278 blocking ... -
The effects of toll-like receptor ligand-activated dendritic cells on human CD4⁺T cell responses
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role as a link between innate and adaptive immunity through their abilities to detect infection and to prime naïve T cells (signal 1 and 2). They not only activate naïve T cells, ... -
Multilevel models for intensive longitudinal data with heterogeneous error structure : covariance transformation and variance function models
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Recent developments in data collection methods in the behavioral and social sciences, such as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) enables researchers to gather intensive longitudinal data (ILD) and to examine more detailed ... -
Radionuclide production for radioisotope micro-power source technologies
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Radioisotope micro-power sources (RIMS) hold great promise for the development of small power sources for use in numerous applications, including micro electromechanical (MEMS) systems, due to the five orders of magnitude ... -
A case study of perceptions of teachers engaged in teaching reading to adolescent students in middle school
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Reading is a foundational skill that contributes to success in school and life-long endeavors. Teaching students to read and ensuring they learn how to master the five components of the reading process is a primary task ... -
A case study of cross-cultural and cross-age online literature discussion
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)The purpose of this qualitative case study is to investigate the nature of students' reading and writing experiences and the social contexts when students are involved in a cross-cultural and cross-age online literature ... -
An examination of the impact of a principal's actions on the parent involvement of Latino immigrant parents
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)There is vast amount of research that shows that parental involvement in children's education has been associated with children's school success, including higher academic achievement, better behavior, lower absenteeism, ... -
Pattern recognition based microsimulation calibration and innovative traffic representations
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Even though calibration techniques for traffic simulation abound, this dissertation presents the first mathematical formalization using representations and invariants. The calibration is defined succinctly over three levels ... -
Novel approaches in macroinvertebrate biomonitoring
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)The increasing popularity of benthic macroinvertebrate use for biological monitoring and assessment of lotic systems calls for new applications for regions with a lesser known fauna and an overall better understanding of ... -
Current music practices and teachers' needs for teaching music in public preschools of South Korea
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)The present study aimed to investigate the current music practices and teachers' needs for teaching music in public preschools of South Korea. The data were obtained from the public preschools in South Korea, and 66.7% (n ... -
In Sullivan's shadow : the use and abuse of libel law during the Civil Rights Movement
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)This is a study of libel cases filed by southern public officials during the Civil Rights Movement relating to African Americans' increasing fight for equality in the United States. Emphasis is on little-known lawsuits ... -
Effects of exchange rate changes on investment : a study with U.S. firm level panel data
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)In this paper I investigate the effects of exchange rate changes on firm investment through the export channel and imported input channel using U.S. manufacturing firm level data for 1998-2007. For this study, I create a ... -
Extension theorems in vector spaces over finite fields
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)We study the L[superscript p] - L[superscript r] boundedness of the extension operator associated with algebraic varieties such as nondegenerate quadratic surfaces, paraboloids, and cones in vector spaces over finite fields. ... -
Factors impacting teacher efficacy in policy implementation : the case of the reading first initiative
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Implementation of educational innovations is a complex endeavor influenced by any number of individual and organizational factors (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, & Zellman, 1977; Elmore, 1978, 1979; Guskey, 1988; Huberman ... -
Digestible lysine and threonine requirements of male turkeys and their effects on performance of male turkeys fed practical diets to market age
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Seven experiments were conducted to determine the minimum requirements of digestible lysine (dLys) and digestible threonine (dThr) from 1 to 21 weeks of age for male turkeys. Requirement values were similar to NRC (1994) ... -
Factors influencing Chinese electronics engineers' selection of information sources
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Previous studies show that engineers prefer some information sources over others when they seek information for their work. Oral discussion, print textbooks, print handbooks and standards, online bibliographic databases, ... -
Decoder-learning based distributed source coding for high-efficiency, low-cost and secure multimedia communications
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Conventional multimedia compression leverages the source statistics at the encoder side. This is not suitable for some emerging applications such as wireless sensor networks, where the encoders usually have limited ... -
A profile analysis of diagnostic data from college students experiencing math difficulty
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)Level, shape and scatter are three characteristics of profiles that determine the specific focus of profile analysis procedures. In this study, three methods of profile analysis that emphasize each of these characteristics ...