Digital Commons Network^™

Health Risk Assessment Posed By The Mobile Source Air Toxics On An Urban To Regional Area, Luis Alonso Díaz Robles

Doctoral Dissertations

Air toxics are important health concern. The purpose of this research was to develop a protocol to predict exposure concentrations of air toxics and inhalation cancer and noncancer risk that come from different gasoline and diesel-fueled sources. The protocol was developed by linking the U.S. EPA’s Models-3/CMAQ model as the exposure model and toxicological and epidemiological evidence functions. The NEI version 3 for the year 1999 was used in this analysis for point, area, and non-road sources, whereas NMIM was used to create the on-road emissions. The year 2003 was used for meteorological data and as reference to compare the …

An Investigation Of Employee Satisfaction And Employee Empowerment Specific To On-Site Supervisors In The Residential Construction Industry, David Lars Halvorsen

Theses and Dissertations

Employee satisfaction and empowerment are vital elements to businesses in most industries. The construction industry has various types of employees, ranging from managers and executives to on-site supervisors and laborers. This study was conducted to obtain a greater understanding about the elements and levels of satisfaction and empowerment of on-site supervisors in the residential construction industry. An on-site supervisor in the residential construction industry is responsible for coordinating and managing employees, materials, equipment, budgets, schedules, contracts, and the safety of employees and the general public. They are also the employees most frequently perceived as accountable for the success or failure …

Socio-Economic Analysis Of Fatal Crash Trends (Final Report), Adam Kirk, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report describes the analysis of fatal crash patterns and explores the impact of socioeconomic factors and safety regulations on statewide crash rates. This analysis separated statewide crash rates between 2002 and 2004 into two samples, 1) those with crash rates 25 percent greater than the average national rate and 2) those with crash rates lower than this threshold. Safety regulations and socioeconomic factors were identified as having a significant effect on crash rates, with socioeconomic factors showing a higher potential to explain differences in crash rates between the two samples.

Effect Of Gender On Lower Extremity Kinematics During Rapid Direction Changes: An Integrated Analysis Of Three Sports Movements, S. G. Mclean, K. B. Walker, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is a common sports injury, particularly in females. Gender differences in knee kinematics have been observed for specific movements, but there is limited information on how these findings relate to other joints and other movements. Here we present an integrated analysis of hip, knee and ankle kinematics across three movements linked to non-contact ACL injury. It was hypothesised that there are gender differences in lower extremity kinematics, which are consistent across sports movements. Ten female and ten male NCAA basketball players had three-dimensional hip, knee and ankle kinematics quantified during the stance phase of sidestep, …

Preliminary Design Approach For Prosthetic Ankle Joints Using Compliant Mechanisms, Jason Matthew Wiersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to develop design approaches and models for prosthetic ankle joints using kinematic models of the human ankle and compliant mechanisms technology. Compliant mechanisms offer several potential design advantages over traditional rigid-body designs including high reliability and low cost. These design advantages are ideal for use in prosthetics. Some prosthetic ankle/foot systems currently on the market have multiple degrees of freedom yet are expensive. Additionally, even though these systems have multiple degrees of freedom, none of them are designed after the actual movements of the biological ankle. In this thesis a two, single degree-of-freedom hinge …

Comparative Properties Of Polymers Guiding The Development Of An Abdominal Aorta Model, Benjamin Michael Lamie

Masters Theses

Hemodynamics, the study of the forces involved in the circulation of blood, is an area that researchers have approached in various manners for many years. The study of how blood flows through arteries and veins as well as the effect of the composition of the blood has been defined and thoroughly characterized in past studies. Although in-depth studies have been performed on the flow characteristics of blood, most often the observations are made as the fluid flows through tubes composed of some rigid material. It is well known that the arteries and veins have a layered histology that show varying …

Simulating Discriminatory Profiling, Oscar Neal

Masters Theses

There is a concern that racial profiling is being used to invoke searches and stops in spite of its violation of the fourth amendment. Simulation methods are used to study the correlation test of stops, searches and citations with race, age, and gender. The design uses sensitivity analysis of inputs to determine their relationship to outputs statistics of a police department's citations and stops. Experimental results are than used to verify and predict departmental bias. A simulation program written in Visual Basic is used as a tool to explore simulation techniques. A formulation of simulation uses in studying discriminatory profiling …

A Provacative Test To Determine Brain Compliance In The Management Of Patients With Hydrocephalus, Preston K. Manwaring

Theses and Dissertations

Non-invasive techniques to explore intracranial compliance and pressure have been extensively explored in recent years. Previous techniques have used expensive technologies to make these measurements, often with difficulty. We present a novel, inexpensive provocative test to observe trends in intracranial compliance measurement targeted towards the treatment and management of hydrocephalus. Two techniques are proposed which derive data from the digital and supraorbital arteries as well as tympanic membrane displacement. This requires the use of two photo-plethysmographic sensors and a TMD sensor. A common tilt table apparatus is used to methodically and artificially increase intracranial pressure to stress the cranial system …

Perceived Competence Of Aging Pilots, Laura M. Stelmach

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This study investigated the relationship between age and the perception of competence of pilots by the traveling public. Scenarios were utilized that depicted an airline captain successfully landing an airplane amidst adverse conditions. Scenarios varied only by the age of the Captain: Young, Old, or Unspecified Age and that the Young and Old scenarios included a photo of the captain. Perceived effectiveness, competence, avoidance, blame, and attribution as depicted by the Captain's performance in the scenario were assessed by 180 participants in three age groups (18-34, 35-55, and 56

Association Between Lower Extremity Posture At Contact And Peak Knee Valgus Moment During Sidestepping: Implications For Acl Injury, Scott G. Mclean, Xuemei M. Huang, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background. Knee valgus load during sports movement is viewed as an important predictor of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury risk, particularly in females. Formulating movement strategies that can reduce valgus loading during these movements therefore appears pertinent to reducing anterior cruciate ligament injury rates. With this in mind, the current study examined the relationship between peak valgus moment and lower extremity postures at impact during a sidestep cutting task.

Methods. Ten male and ten female NCAA athletes had initial contact three-dimensional hip, knee and ankle angles and subsequent knee valgus moment quantified during the execution of (n=10 trials) …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 47 Number 2, Fall 2005, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

6 - THE DRIVE TO CREATE by Elizabeth Kelley Gillogly '93. Albert Hoagland, an adjunct professor at SCU for more than 20 years, helped to build the first disk drive. Now is he working to preserve the history of magnetic disk storage.

10 - UNFINISHED MESSAGE by Toshio Mori. We share an excerpt from a collection of short stories by Mori, whose work highlights the plight of Japanese immigrants in the U.S. during World War II. The book is a part of the California Legacy Series, a partnership between SCU and Heyday Books.

14 - THE FAMILIAR STRANGER By Cynthia …

Engineering@Nebraska - Fall 2005

Engineering@Nebraska (Alumni Magazine)

Table of Contents:

Celebrating 10 Years of Educating Young Minds: After 10 years, Edgerton Explorit Center continues the mission of its namesake—to enlighten curious minds and enhance our understanding of the world.
Helping Hands...and Wrists: Professor gives doctors a helping hand with newly patented IntuiTool™
The Greater Good: Service learning allows students to put their education to work for the good of the community.
Cool Under Fire: Second generation of Scherzbergs carries on the tradition of school and service to country.
The Future of Nebraska Engineering: The college’s new strategic plan looks at ways research can serve federal and state …

Addressing Our Global Water Future, Center For Strategic And International Studies (Csis), Sandia National Laboratories

United States Department of Energy: Publications

This White Paper addresses the growing global challenges of dealing with the devastating effects of increasing water scarcity and declining water quality. Across the planet, in developing and developed regions alike, poor governance and mismanagement of natural resources coupled with rising population growth, increasing urbanization, and economic development have led to a growing imbalance between water supply and demand. This imbalance is reaching crisis proportions in many regions. It will have even more significant consequences for economic development, stability and security unless the there is a more dramatic and urgent international response. Several international forums have arisen to address just …

Quantification Of Regularity In Rr-Interval Time Series Using Approximate Entropy, Sample Entropy, And Multi-Scale Entropy, Nirvish Shah

Theses

Heart rate variability (HRV) has proven to be a useful noninvasive tool to study the neuronal control of the heart. Recently, nonlinear dynamic methods based on chaos theory and fractal dynamics have been developed to uncover the nonlinear fluctuations in heart rate. Approximate Entropy (ApEn), Sample Entropy (SampEn) and Multi-scale Entropy (MSE) are measures based on chaos theory that quantify the regularity in time series. This study has been designed to examine the ability of these measures to distinguish the RR-interval time series of normal subjects (NSR) from subjects with congestive heart failure (CHF). The study was conducted on the …

Meeting Kentucky’S Transportation Needs And Priorities: Citizens’ Perceptions And Recommendations, Donald L. Hartman, Merl Hackbart, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Candice Y. Wallace

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This study was designed to (1) consider the role of public input in the transportation planning process; (2) obtain citizen perceptions of system needs and develop priorities in the state of Kentucky; and (3) use that experience (and the experiences of other states) to provide recommendations for ways to enhance the role of public input in Kentucky’s transportation planning. Telephone survey of Kentucky adults and focus groups of community leaders were utilized to gauge the public’s attitudes and perceptions regarding Kentucky’s transportation needs, issues and priorities, and system satisfaction. The findings from the survey and the focus groups were compared …

Correlation Of Wear And Mechanics For Subjects Having A Metal-On-Polyethylene Total Hip Arthroplasty Measured In Vivo, Katherine Suzanne Alford

Masters Theses

Femoral head separation from the acetabular shell has been recorded, but clinical significance of this phenomenon has not yet been established. The objective of the study was to determine if there is a correlation between femoral head separation (sliding of the femoral head away from the acetabular cup), hip joint forces, and acetabular liner wear. Twenty subjects were strategically selected to participate in this study. All subjects were asked to perform gait on a treadmill while under fluoroscopic surveillance. The number of incidences involving femoral head separation was tallied and acetabular bearing surface forces were determined for each subject. A …

Establishing Public Confidence In The Viability Of Fingerprint Biometric Technology, Nathan Alan Green

Theses and Dissertations

The most common personal authentication techniques used for identity management employ a secret PIN or password that must be remembered. The challenge, for a given user, is that a multitude of such codes must be recalled over the course of the day for transactions involving distinct computer applications. Password mania prevails. Fingerprint biometric technology is an ideal alternate solution to this password recall problem. In spite of their availability for nearly thirty years, fingerprint biometric systems still remain uncommon in public sectors of industry such as education, government, and technology. Technology has improved sufficiently that false acceptance and rejection rates …

Enhancing The Oregon Crash Reporting Process: A Feasibility Study, Christopher M. Monsere, Erin E. Wilson, Amber Springberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In most states, police officers and trained investigators complete crash reports for nearly all reportable crashes that occur on public roads. Many states have made significant improvements in the quality and timeliness of their crash data systems by implementing, in addition to other improvements, electronic filing of these reports by police officers. Oregon relies on citizen reports for a majority of their crash data and paper forms must be submitted to the responsible state agency and are then manually coded into the crash data system. Police reports are also paper based. This process limits the improvements that can be made …

Evaluation Of Kentucky’S “Buckle Up Kentucky: It’S The Law & It’S Enforced” 2005 Campaign, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this report was to document the results of the “Buckle Up Kentucky: It’s the Law & It’s Enforced” 2005 campaign in Kentucky. The campaign involved a combination of earned media, paid media, and enforcement. The earned media started two weeks prior to Memorial Day 2005and continued through the enforcement period. Two separate paid media campaigns were conducted.One dealt specifically with pickups while the other was a general campaign for all drivers. The pickup campaign started four weeks prior to Memorial Day and lasted two weeks. The general campaign was for the two weeks prior to Memorial Day. …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 47 Number 1, Summer 2005, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

9 - A MOGUL IN THE MAKING By Larry Sokoloff J.D. '92 While working toward his business degree, SCU sophomore Tyler Dickman runs a multimillion-dollar business based in Florida.

10 - TOP OF THE CLASS: FOUNDATION HONORS INNOVATIVE SCU PROFESSORS By Kim Kooyers. This year's winners of the Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence and the Brutocao Family Foundation Award for Curriculum Innovation are examples of the SCU's outstanding teaching scholars.

14 - A GLOBAL ETHIC: A CONVERSATION WITH HANS KUNG By Rita Beamish '74 Hans Kung, scholar, Roman Catholic priest, and author of some 50 books on …

A Feature Specific Modular Approach For Pose And Illumination Invariant Face Recognition, Praveen Sankaran

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A feature specific modular-PCA (Principal Component Analysis) approach on face images in multiple views for pose and illumination invariant face recognition is presented in this thesis. Principal components are extracted from different sub-modules of the image and are concatenated to make a single signature vector to represent a face region in a particular viewing angle. Additional principal components are extracted horn image regions representing key facial feature and are added as an extension of the signature vector. Feature specific modular-PCA approach is capable of recognizing faces in varying illumination conditions and facial expressions as the modular components represent the local …

A Shift In Teaching Methodology: From Instructor Led To Student Driven Multimedia Instruction, Patricia Backer

Faculty Publications

Multimedia can be a powerful tool in exploring the nature of the world around us, including its technological systems. This paper describes the design, development, and evaluation of self- paced multimedia and web-based modules that are used in an advanced General Education (GE) course in the College of Engineering at San José State University. The design and development cycle of these modules began in 1994 and spanned nine years. The General Education course, Technology and Civilization (TECH 198), is designed to introduce students to the realm of history and usage of technology in society and to increase their awareness of …

Integration Of Computer-Based Electronics Laboratory In A Control Systems Course, Julio Garcia, Patricia Backer

Faculty Publications

The goal of this project is to adapt the work of other researchers to improve the delivery of electronics lecture and laboratory content in the Electronics & Computer Technology (ECT) area of the BS in Industrial Technology at San Jose State University. There are several other demographic factors that serve to make the delivery of instruction challenging for the department. Approximately 70% of ECT students work at least 30 hours a week. SJSU also has a diverse student population with 62% of all undergraduates identified as having non-White ethnicity. A higher percentage (69%) of the undergraduate students in the BSIT …

Evaluation Of A Two Dimensional Analysis Method As A Screening And Evaluation Tool For Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, Scott G. Mclean, K. Walker, K. R. Ford, G. D. Myer, T. E. Hewett, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Increased knee valgus predicts the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, particularly in women. Reducing injury rates thus relies on detecting and continually evaluating people with relatively large valgus motions.

Objectives: To examine the potential of a two dimensional (2D) video analysis method for screening for excessive valgus.

Methods: Ten female and 10 male National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball players had three dimensional (3D) knee valgus and two dimensional (2D) frontal plane knee angle quantified during side step, side jump, and shuttle run tasks. 3D valgus was quantified from external marker coordinates using standard techniques, and 2D data …

Year One Annual Report: Activities, Findings And Evaluators' Reports, Naida Tushnet, Jodie L.S. Hoffman, Jaclyn Ziobrowski

Reports to NSF

The ultimate goal of NCETE is to infuse engineering design, problem solving and analytical skills into 9-12 grades through technology education in order to increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of engineering and technology educators, and to significantly strengthen the pathways to engineering and technology professions for students. The Center is doing this by teaming engineering faculty and technology education faculty in a systematic approach that involves: 1. Building a community of researchers, leaders, and PhD students to conduct research in emerging engineering and technology education areas. 2. Creating a body of research that improves our understanding of learning and …

Conceptualization And Development Of A Dam Break Life-Loss Estimation Model, Maged A. Aboelata

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Catastrophic events such as dam failures or severe floods are considered to be of low probability, although their consequences can be extremely high and might include loss of life. Earlier studies have linked circumstances surrounding historical darn failure events to actual loss of life and produced formulations using statistical analysis of these events. Shortcomings of these methods include the inability to adjust life-loss estimates based on the type of dam failure, global averaging of population at risk, and ignoring the dynamics of the evacuation process.

The main objective of this research is to develop a practical and improved life-loss estimation …

A Decision Model For Technology Assessment To Reduce The Internal Digital Divide In Emerging Economies (Case: Costa Rica), Audrey MaríA Alvear BáEz

Dissertations and Theses

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as Wireless, the Internet, and e-commerce software are profoundly impacting how business and government are conducted. Digital divide (DD) refers to the gap that opens up between those who have access to, benefit and interact with ICTs and those who can not. ICTs can either accelerate change and thereby increase the DD in developing countries, or, if deployed carefully can be a tool to reduce the DD within a country. This study presents a systematic approach for doing the latter by identifying the ICTs, technology applications and key sectors that most impact the internal …

Biomechanical Measures Of Neuromuscular Control And Valgus Loading Of The Knee Predict Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk In Female Athletes, Timothy E. Hewett, Gregory D. Myer, Kevin R. Ford, Robert S. Heidt Jr., Angelo J. Colosimo, Scott G. Mclean, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Mark V. Paterno, Paul Succop

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Female athletes participating in high-risk sports suffer anterior cruciate ligament injury at a 4- to 6-fold greater rate than do male athletes.

Hypothesis: Prescreened female athletes with subsequent anterior cruciate ligament injury will demonstrate decreased neuromuscular control and increased valgus joint loading, predicting anterior cruciate ligament injury risk.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: There were 205 female athletes in the high-risk sports of soccer, basketball, and volleyball prospectively measured for neuromuscular control using 3-dimensional kinematics (joint angles) and joint loads using kinetics (joint moments) during a jump-landing task. Analysis of variance as well as linear …

Supporting Documentation For The 2003 Sps-Prospec Experiment, Oscar Mondragon, Salamah Salamah

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In spring of 2003 an empirical study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of the Prospec tool with the Specification Pattern System (SPS). The objective of the experiment was to determine the effect that Prospec and SPS have over the completeness and correctness of the generated software property specifications. The purpose of this document is to present the material that was used during the experiment, and to document how the classification of the patterns and scopes of each trial was validated.

Nsf Advance: Institutional Transformation For Faculty Diversity - Faculty Worklife Survey Results, Manuela Romero, Ann Q. Gates

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

The The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) received an NSF ADVANCE grant in October 2003 to create an initiative for institutional change with the goal of serving as a model for other institutions that desire to increase the representation and advancement of women, including underrepresented minorities, in academic science and engineering careers. In the first year of the grant, co-PI's Ann Gates and Patricia Witherspoon worked with the ADVANCE Program Evaluator, Manuela Romero, to create an instrument to survey faculty work life at UTEP. The instrument is based on the "Study of Faculty Work Life" survey instrument that …