Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Female Roles In Popular Sports Video Games, Brennan W. Galloway

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles and portrayal of female characters in popular sports video games. The 15 best-selling sports games of 2005 were played by the researcher without a time-limit or specified path within the game. Gameplay was videotaped and analyzed using a qualitative, descriptive participant- observation model (Glesne, 2006). This method is unique to video game analysis, as previous studies have used quantitative methods. Gameplay was typically about three hours for each game, and copious notes were taken during gameplay. Roles were then analyzed using a framework from previous work in both sports media …

Laboratory Evaluation Of Unbound Rap As A Pavement Base Material, Wenbin He

Masters Theses

More than 50 million tons of asphalt pavements are milled every year in the United States (Taha 1999). The economical benefit attracts the recycling practice of utilizing RAP as paving materials.

In unbound RAP material, aged asphalt wraps aggregates. It is believed that unbound RAP performs differently from usual unbound material due to the existence of asphalt wrap. In the present study, triaxial tests were conducted for the unbound RAP under different temperatures. In addition, limestone and gravel were tested in order to compare with RAP. The resilient modulus, triaxial static creep behavior and hysteresis loops were obtained to compare …

Microprocessor Implementation Of Autoregressive Analysis Of Process Sensor Signals, Swetha Priyanka Pakala

Masters Theses

Automated signal analysis can help for effective system surveillance and also to analyze the dynamic behavior of the system such as impulse response, step response etc. Autoregressive analysis is a parametric technique widely used for system surveillance and diagnosis. The main aim objective of this research work is to develop an embedded system for autoregressive analysis of sensor signals in an online fashion for monitoring system parameters. This thesis presents the algorithm, data representation and performance of the optimized microprocessor implementation of autoregressive analysis.

In this work an autoregressive (AR) model is generated as a solution to a linear system …

A Distributed Solution For Visual Sensor Networks To Detect Targets In Crowds, Cheng Qian

Masters Theses

Visual sensor networks (VSNs), a novel concept about fulfilling vision tasks by a network of collaborative visual sensors, has been attracting more and more attentions these days. This thesis introduces some pioneering research on developing a distributed algorithm for VSNs to detect targets in a cluttered scene. The algorithm is aimed to achieve excellent performances on both detection accuracy and energy efficiency.

Based on a statistical model of the cluttered scene, the development starts with a centralized version where all the nodes send visual data to a central node and the central node invokes an iterative prioritization strategy (IPS) to …

Design And Optimization Of A Wind Deflector For Round-Nose Md-500 Series Helicopters, James Joseph Wright

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the problem experienced by the numerous rotary wing operators whose operations require flight with personnel seated outside the fuselage or with doors off. This investigation is specific to the round nose configured MD-500 series aircraft due to test aircraft availability and the wide range of missions it conducts worldwide. During cruise flight, personnel exposed to the aircraft slipstream are subjected to high wind loads and extreme wind chill effects, compromising their ability to perform required tasks. External passengers also add to the overall helicopter parasite drag, decreasing its performance as well as interfering with the crew through …

“Design, Development And Characterization Of A Thermal Sensor Brick System For Modular Robotics, Nikhil Arun Naik

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the work on thermal imaging sensor brick (TISB) system for modular robotics. The research demonstrates the design, development and characterization of the TISB system. The TISB system is based on the design philosophy of sensor bricks for modular robotics. In under vehicle surveillance for threat detection, which is a target application of this work we have demonstrated the advantages of the TISB system over purely vision-based systems. We have highlighted the advantages of the TISB system as an illumination invariant threat detection system for detecting hidden threat objects in the undercarriage of a car. We have compared …

Neutron Diffraction Study Of Heavy Water Intercalation In Superconducting Deuterated Sodium Cobaltate Na0.35Coo21.4d2O, Cinzia Metallo

Masters Theses

When Na-deficient Na_xCoO₂ is intercalated with water¹ or heavy water², it becomes a superconductor. The maximum critical temperature of 4.5 K is found for the composition Na_xCoO₂yD₂O (x= 0.3 and y=1.4). In spite of its low transition temperature, several similarities with high temperature superconducting cuprates have raised interest in this compound. Nevertheless, up to now, a clear understanding of the role of water has not been achieved.

Since superconductivity appears only when water is inserted in the parent compound, the goal of this research work was to understand …

Integrated Corridor Management: Operational Strategies Under Interstate Diversion Scenarios, Shaun Michael Quayle

Masters Theses

This thesis looks at operational strategies to increase capacity within the context of Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) under a non-recurring Interstate incident scenario. This incident scenario creates lengthy queues and increased delay and travel times on the Interstate, forcing a portion of Interstate traffic to utilize alternate routes throughout the corridor, changing the network traffic patterns. Particular operational strategies are tested under this premise to qualify and mildly quantify the benefits of relaying incident and diversion routing information to corridor drivers, mimicking ITS information dissemination elements such as changeable message signs, highway advisory radio, in vehicle navigation systems and etc. …

Application Of Energy Analysis To The Problem Of Propulsion Driven Nutation Instability Of Spin Stabilized Spacecraft, Tina Morina Rice

Masters Theses

Propulsion driven nutation instability in spin stabilized spacecraft was first observed in the late nineteen seventies. It’s often referred to as the PAM-D coning anomaly, as it first occurred in the McDonnell Douglas Payload Assist Module (PAM-D). Propulsion driven nutation instability is a performance degrading phenomenon that occurs in spin-stabilized spacecraft used for the raising of satellite payloads to geosynchronous orbit. It is characterized by a coning (wobbling) motion that grows to a large degree during the final seconds of motor burn. The instability is clearly related to the increased size of the rocket needed to support the increasing …

Multiple Resolution Nonparametric Classifiers, David Laurence Beck

Masters Theses

Bayesian discriminant functions provide optimal classification decision boundaries in the sense of minimizing the average error rate. An operational assumption is that the probability density functions for the individual classes are either known a priori or can be estimated from the data through the use of estimating techniques. The use of Parzen- windows is a popular and theoretically sound choice for such estimation. However, while the minimal average error rate can be achieved when combining Bayes Rule with Parzen-window density estimation, the latter is computationally costly to the point where it may lead to unacceptable run-time performance. We present the …

Insights Into The Etheostoma Spectabile Species Complex: Incongruence Between Mitochondrial And Nuclear Gene Sequence Data, Christen M. Bossu

Masters Theses

Hybridization is recognized as an evolutionary process that can provide a significant source of genetic variation and whose genetic consequences have been investigated across a wide taxonomic range of plants and animals. Darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) are a clade with documented interspecific hybridization and many species with a recent evolutionary origin, yet most molecular phylogenetic analyses of darters to date have relied primarily on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Inferring relationships within and between closely related species using a single locus gene tree is potentially confounded by introgression as well as retention of ancestral polymorphisms. This can lead to incongruence between the …

Outside The Fence,' The Threat To The U.S. Aviation Industry, David Thomas Ramsey

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the threat to the Aviation Industry from within the United States. The overall investigation starts with one assumption “that there will at some time in the near future be a covert operative group that desires to attack or engage the United States in war on its home land.” The principles of war will be analyzed resulting in covert cell guidance specifically; “economy of force” will require the covert units to be as small as possible to affect as many nodes as possible. Endurance will require the covert team to restrict any tactics …

Day For Night: Facilitating Collaborative Solutions In The Pursuit Of Approval For Human Subjects Research, Joseph D. Shearer

Masters Theses

For first-time researchers, the prospect of executing a Master’s thesis can be as exciting as it is daunting. Students pursuing skill sets in the helping professions may view their thesis not just as a way to contribute to their field of study and do something that will be helpful to society, but also as a way of contributing to treatment agencies that allow fledgling researchers access to human subjects. Unfortunately, good intentions, energy, and a positive outlook may not be enough to bring an idea for research to fruition. One need only begin the process of seeking Institutional Review Board …

Installing A Night Vision Imaging System In The Cf-188 Hornet: Compatibility Of Warning And Caution Lights, Andrew John Soundy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the NVIS compatibility of fire warning lights as installed during a NVIS upgrade of the CF-188 Hornet for operation with Generation 3 AN/AVS-9 night vision goggles. Data was gathered and compared to the specifications listed in MIL-STD-3009 to determine suitability of the implemented design. Of particular concern during the execution of this project was the compatibility of fire warning lights for operation in both day-time and night-time conditions with respect to NVIS radiance. The initial design placed the NVIS radiance of cockpit warning lights at a level commensurate with that suggested by …

"One Major Step Short Of War:” Jimmy Carter, The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan, And The Last Chapter Of The Cold War, George Uriah

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the foreign policy of Jimmy Carter and his Administration in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. The study is based on newly declassified documents from the Jimmy Carter Presidential in Atlanta, Georgia as well as published material by and about Jimmy Carter.

The thesis challenges the popular caricatures of Jimmy Carter, that he was ineffective in matters of foreign policy and that he was largely concerned with establishing a legacy as a peacemaker. The thesis contends that Jimmy Carter was a much more cunning Cold Warrior than …

An Experimental Study Of Incompressible Axisymmetric Cavity Flow With Swirl, Lee Charles Wendell

Masters Theses

A systematic study was performed of the flow phenomena in an axisymmetric cavity. Axial flow Reynolds numbers ranged from 100,000 to 530,000 for cavity L/D range of 0.25 to 1.65. Working medium for this study was water reflecting that only incompressible domain of cavity flow was covered in this study. Previous results of axisymmetric flow investigations were reproduced and extended to lower L/D values, with the modified test article. Introduction of swirl in the cavity flow was studied in detail for its effects on the enhancement or suppression of cavity modes that have been measured.

The axial apparatus tested here …

The Environmental Reward Observation Scale (Eros): Development, Validity, And Reliability, Maria Elizabeth Anne Armento

Masters Theses

Researchers have established a strong association between the frequency and duration of environmental reward and affective mood states, particularly in relation to the etiology, assessment and treatment of depression. Given behavioral theories that outline environmental reward as a strong mediator of affect and the unavailability of an efficient, reliable and valid self-report measure of environmental reward, we developed the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS) and examined its psychometric properties. In Experiment one, an exploratory factor analysis supported a unidimensional 10-item measure with strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability. When administered to a replication sample, confirmatory factor analysis suggested an excellent …

Processing And Characterization Of A Novel Bioabsorbable Polymer For Biomedical Applications, Katherine Atchley

Masters Theses

A series of amino acid based bioanalogous polymers have been synthesized by Dr. C. C. Chu at Cornell University for future use in biomedical applications. These poly(ester amide)s have been designed to be bioabsorbable, with particular interest in internal fixation and drug delivery applications. The polymers PEA 4-Phe-4, 4-Phe-Das, and 8-Phe-Das were studied; however, due to better material properties, the focus mainly centered on 4-Phe-4. Since these are new polymers, processing conditions needed to be determined and the structure and properties characterized. The fibers were also processed post-extrusion in an effort to induce orientation and crystallinity within the polymer chains. …

The Effects Of Pathogen Infection On Nitrogen Remobilization In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Michelle Ann Boercker

Masters Theses

The natural enemies of plants are ubiquitous and can reduce plant fitness. Plants have evolved two defense strategies to ameliorate the fitness cost associated with natural enemy attack. The first strategy, resistance, reduces the frequency and/or severity of natural enemy damage. The second strategy, tolerance, attenuates the fitness cost of natural enemy damage. Very little is known about the traits through which tolerance is manifested, particularly with respect to plant-pathogen systems (pathosystems). Diseased and naturally senescing leaves are often similar in their visible symptoms and molecular activities, suggesting that they may involve similar processes. One process that may be shared …

A Resource Efficient Localized Recurrent Neural Network Architecture And Learning Algorithm, Daniel Borisovich Budik

Masters Theses

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are widely acknowledged as an effective tool that can be employed by a wide range of applications that store and process temporal sequences. The ability of RNNs to capture complex, nonlinear system dynamics has served as a driving motivation for their study. RNNs have the potential to be effectively used in modeling, system identification and adaptive control applications, to name a few, where other techniques fall short. Most of the proposed RNN learning algorithms rely on the calculation of error gradients with respect to the network weights. What distinguishes recurrent neural networks from static, or feedforward …

Development Of Novel Synthetic Methods Utilizing Organometallic Reagents And Total Synthesis Of Eupomatilone 2, Chunlan Chen

Masters Theses

This dissertation summarizes the development of novel synthetic methods involving organometallic reagents and their application in the total synthesis of the natural product eupomatilone 2. These newly discovered reactions include the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of allyl acetates with organosiloxanes and the diastereoselective synthesis of cis- and trans-a-methylene-y-lactones utilizing Baylis-Hillman adducts as precursors. Another important aspect of the research is the application of some of the methods in total synthesis of eupomatilone 2.

The new synthetic methodologies involving organometallic reagents developed in this dissertation are important transformations in modern organic synthesis. Mild reaction conditions, tolerance of various organic functional groups, and high …

Using Physical Compilation To Implement A System On Chip Platform, Pradeep M. Chimakurthy

Masters Theses

The goal of this thesis was to setup a complete design flow involving physical synthesis. The design chosen for this purpose was a system-on-chip (SoC) platform developed at the University of Tennessee. It involves a Leon Processor with a minimal cache configuration, an AMBA on-chip bus and an Advanced Encryption Standard module which performs decryption.

As transistor size has entered the deep submicron level, iterations involved in the design cycle have increased due to the domination of interconnect delays over cell delays. Traditionally, interconnect delay has been estimated through the use of wire-load models. However, since there is no physical …

Behavioral Intention Determinants Towards Post-Secondary Education: Clues For Strategic Message Development, Stacia Elaine Couch

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify factors that might increase the probability that a high school student will pursue post-secondary education. An understanding of these factors can help state government appropriately design policies, programs, and public awareness initiatives to persuade more youth to achieve higher levels of education. A review of persuasion and education literature revealed 17 possible variables as determinants of a student’s behavioral intention towards continuing education, seven of which were developed through factor analysis.

The data utilized in this study was collected by researchers in the Center for Business and Economic Research under …

Debating Development Help: Ngo Fieldworker Perspectives On Street And Urban Poor Children In Ghana, Richard D. Darby

Masters Theses

This ethnographic investigation of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS) questions the cultural appropriateness of its policies and practices. By situating CAS in a historical context of colonialism and structural adjustment reforms, I show how it is responsive to a legitimating environment that consists of private donors, international finance institutions, and the Ghanaian government, all of which put pressure on CAS to specifically target "street children" and to adopt a policy of choice that places primary responsibility for development on the individual child. I argue that the legitimating environment is neoliberal in orientation, especially with respect …

Retrofit Reconfigurable Flight Control System And The F/A-18c, Matthew E. Doyle

Masters Theses

The United States Navy has completed the initial flight test of a Reconfigurable Control Law System (RCLAWS) on the F/A-18C. The purpose of reconfigurable control is to allow for the safe operation of an aircraft that has experienced a sudden change in aircraft dynamics resulting from aircraft damage or flight control effector damage. The RCLAWS utilized during this flight test are novel in that they are designed to augment the production flight control system instead of replacing it. In order to reduce verification and certification requirements, this retrofit reconfigurable methodology supplements pilot commands to compensate for undesirable aircraft dynamics instead …

Latent Variable Models With Applications To Spectral Data Analysis, Yi Fang

Masters Theses

Recent technological advances in automatic data acquisition have created an ever increasing need to extract meaningful information from huge amount of data. Multivariate predictive models have become important statistical tools in solving modern engineering problems. The purpose of this thesis is to develop novel predictive methods based on latent variable models and validate these methods by applying them into spectral data analysis.

In this thesis, hybrid models of principal components regression (PCR) and partial least squares regression (PLS) is proposed. The basic idea of hybrid models is to develop more accurate prediction techniques by combining the merits of PCR and …

Fields With Dreams: The Distribution Of Farmland With Publicly-Funded Conservation Easements In Pennsylvania, Amy Sue Hill

Masters Theses

Conservation easements have played an increasingly significant role in the American movement to preserve farmland from urban development. Conservation easements are legal instruments that enable a landowner to sell his right to develop his property to an outside party, typically a government entity or a private land conservancy. The distribution of conservation easements used to preserve farmland is highly variable. Conservation easements often are found in regions where productive farmland and intense development pressure collide. Conservation easements are most common in places where both public and private sectors give strong financial and political support for conservation.

This thesis analyzes the …

Forced Resonant Periodic Shock Waves And Mean Pressure Shift In A Closed Tube, Eric James Jacob

Masters Theses

The thesis outlines an experiment done in the oscillation of a closed tube near to its fundamental frequency. A tube with a length of ten feet was oscillated via a piston driven by a DC motor. The pressure waveform and mean pressure was recorded at the end of the tube and the mean pressure was measured at the middle of the tube. When the tube was excited near to its 1^st mode non-linear features such as shock-like waveforms, cascading of energy to higher modes and mean pressure shift were recorded.

These Results are only possible to predict by using …

System Identification And Parameter Estimation Of The Piper Pa32-301 Saratoga, Catherine Anne Kelly

Masters Theses

The purpose of this project was to estimate the longitudinal stability derivatives of the Piper Saratoga (tail number N22UT), one of the aircraft owned and operated by the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), using the System Identification Programs for Aircraft, SIDPCAC. After the instrumentation error was reduced by means of a data compatibility analysis, the stability derivatives were estimated using both an output error and an equation error parameter estimation technique.

Following a discussion of the test aircraft and instrumentation and a brief overview of stability derivatives and parameter estimation, the flight test is discussed in detail along with …

Compressible Flow In Slab Rocket Motors, Brian A. Maicke

Masters Theses

In this thesis, the compressible flow inside a rectangular, porous channel is considered. A Rayleigh-Janzen perturbation is applied to the inviscid, steady, two-dimensional, isentropic flow equations. Closed form expressions are derived for the main properties of interest. The results of the study are verified via numerical simulation, with laminar and turbulent models, and with available experimental data. The critical point where the flow field reaches sonic conditions is determined analytically. Our analysis captures the steepening of the velocity profiles that has been reported in several studies using either computational or experimental methods. Explicit design criteria are presented to quantify the …