Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of The Flail Space Model Utilizing Event Data Recorder Technology, Douglas John Gabauer

Theses and Dissertations

Developed in the early 1980's, the flail space model has become the standard method for estimating occupant risk in full-scale crash tests involving roadside safety features. The widespread availability of airbags and increased seat belt usage rates in today's vehicle fleet, however, raise serious questions regarding the validity of the model. Recent implementation of Event Data Recorder (EDR) technology in a number of late model vehicles presents a different perspective on the assessment of the validity of occupant risk based on the flail space model. EDRs are capable of electronically recording data such as vehicle speed, brake status and throttle …

Development Of An Augmented Haptic Control For In-Vehicle Law Enforcement Applications, Edward R. Guest Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Typical police vehicles are filled with as much technology as the department can afford. Everything from the newest digital camera system to a simple entertainment radio is within the reach of an officer. Currently, most of these systems are installed without any consideration toward the other systems or the interaction required between the driver and the car. The lack of a systems approach in the installation has spawned a project to look at the safety and overall system installation in the New Jersey State Police vehicles.

The research presented in this thesis suggests consolidation of the various controls into one …

Spatially Varying Threshold Models For The Automated Segmentation Of Radiodense Tissue In Digitized Mammograms, Richard Edson Eckert Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The percentage of radiodense (bright) tissue in a mammogram has been correlated to an increased risk of breast cancer. This thesis presents an automated method to quantify the amount of radiodense tissue found in a digitized mammogram. The algorithm employs a radial basis function neural network in order to segment the breast tissue region from the remainder of the X-ray. A spatially varying Neyman-Pearson threshold is used to calculate the percentage of radiodense tissue and compensate for the effects of tissue compression that occurs during a mammography procedure. Results demonstrating the efficacy of the technique are demonstrated by exercising the …

Multi-Sensor Data Fusion Using Geometric Transformations For The Nondestructive Evaluation Of Gas Transmission Pipelines, Philip James Kulick

Theses and Dissertations

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) plays a vital component in the operation and maintenance of large infrastructure such as gas transmission pipelines, nuclear power plants, aircraft, bridges and highways, etc. As this infrastructure continues to age it is essential that the inspection techniques reliably and accurately predict the integrity of these systems. No single NDE method is capable of inspecting all types of anomalies and extracting all required information – a combination of methods must be used and the resulting data fused. Moreover, newer systems that are developed are often made of composite materials that include metals and dielectrics. One interrogation modality …

Hdl Implementation Of A Controller Area Network Node, Anthony Richard Marino

Theses and Dissertations

With increasing technology inside automobiles, especially law enforcement vehicles, there is a growing need for centralized wiring and device interconnection methods. Each new technology, such as GPS navigation units and in-vehicle video systems, includes a corresponding wiring harness that needs installation. The summation of all these hardwired technologies leads to large volumes of wire that negatively affect safety, power demands, and future design opportunities. A new trend among automotive manufacturers is to design and implement innovative networks that allow for shared communications between technologies.

This thesis presents the design, development, and implementation of an in-vehicle network that will centralize connections …

Wind Scatterometry With Improved Ambiguity Selection And Rain Modeling, David W. Draper

Theses and Dissertations

Although generally accurate, the quality of SeaWinds on QuikSCAT scatterometer ocean vector winds is compromised by certain natural phenomena and retrieval algorithm limitations. This dissertation addresses three main contributers to scatterometer estimate error: poor ambiguity selection, estimate uncertainty at low wind speeds, and rain corruption. A quality assurance (QA) analysis performed on SeaWinds data suggests that about 5% of SeaWinds data contain ambiguity selection errors and that scatterometer estimation error is correlated with low wind speeds and rain events.

Ambiguity selection errors are partly due to the "nudging" step (initialization from outside data). A sophisticated new non-nudging ambiguity selection approach …

Selecting Appropriate Product Concepts For Manufacture In Developing Countries, Danielle Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a noticeable lack of production of indigenously engineered and manufactured products in Less Developed Countries (LDC's). Few products developed in these LDC's could be viable in competitive markets or even sold as components and supplies to other manufacturers of competitive goods. Assumintg that these less developed countries do not innovate and manufacture because they cannot, the next logical question to ask is why can they not?

This thesis looks at the problems of manufacture and design in LDC's from the standpoint of Product Development. It begins by looking at development theories, namely top down and bottom up and …

Establishing A Quantitative Foundation For Exactly Constrained Design, Alisha M. Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

Exactly constrained (EC) design is a robust design method which can be used for mechanical assemblies. It entails using the minimum number of constraints to eliminate all desired motion.

While found by some engineers in industry to have many benefits (including robust assembly, no binding or play, ease of assembly, and the ability to tolerate the wear of parts), EC designs remain somewhat unrecognized by academia. One reason for this minimal exposure may be the lack of a quantitative foundation for such designs. This thesis describes the history and current background for EC designs, and it also begins to develop …

Three Attempts At Cold War Neutralization: Its Success In Austria And Laos And Its Failure In Vietnam, Benjamin Crawford

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

During the Cold War, the inherent mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union kept the two superpowers from cooperating even on many projects that might have proven mutually beneficial. Nevertheless, they were willing to work together at least occasionally; two such examples are the neutralizations of Austria (in 1955) and of Laos (in 1962). Despite very different world orders in those two countries at those times, the weaker superpowers in each contest, the Soviets in Austria and the Americans in Laos, took very similar actions. They followed the same three-stage process from the outbreak of the dispute to …

Determination Of Phase Fraction, Lattice Parameters And Crystallite Size In Mechanically Alloyed Fe-Ni Powders, Dileep Simhadri

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This is the first systematic report on the synthesis of mechanically alloyed Fe-Ni powders ball milled at liquid nitrogen temperature. Pure Fe-Ni samples were ball milled in a SPEX 8000 shaker mill at liquid nitrogen temperature. X-ray diffractometry was used to determine the phase fractions of the bcc and fcc phases in the alloys and to determine the lattice parameters and crystallite size. The main objective of this project is to study how the milling at low temperatures affects the region of two phase co-existence, phase structure and crystallite size. It was found that the composition ranges of the bcc …

Creating A Portable Wireless Display, Srivatsa Gundala

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Real time computing has become a vital part in military applications. Moreover certain operations require that the soldiers carry computing devices to assist them. These devices, besides providing them with location-based information, should also be transmitting the requested data. In this thesis, we present a portable wireless display prototype, which renders the desktop of a remote computer. The prototype functions under the range of an 802.11b or Bluetooth wireless network. The Software interfacing is done with Virtual Network Computing (VNC). This thesis is a first step towards analyzing and creating head/wrist mounted displays capable of transmitting images from a remote …

A Theoretical And Empirical Analysis Of The Impact Of The Digital Age On The Music Industry, Norbert Michel

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

We present an in-depth analysis of the music industry and use our findings to judge the practical assumptions and design of an original theoretical model. The model is in three stages, where, in a Hotelling-type framework, the last agents to act are consumers who choose between copying, purchasing, or staying out of the market for music. Prior to the last stage, the record label chooses its profit maximizing price and, in the first stage, we incorporate the artist-label bargaining agreement into a theoretical framework using the Nash cooperative bargaining solution. The current structure of the music industry is a combination …

An Accurate Vo2max Non-Exercise Regression Model For 18 To 65 Year Old Adults, Danielle I. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a regression equation to predict VO2max based on non-exercise (N-EX) data. All participants (N = 100), aged 18-65 years old, successfully completed a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) to assess VO2max (mean ± SD; 39.96 mL∙kg-¹∙min&sup-1; ± 9.54 mL∙kg-¹∙min-¹). The N-EX data collected just before the maximal GXT included the participant's age, gender, body mass index (BMI), perceived functional ability (PFA) to walk, jog, or run given distances, and current physical activity (PA-R) level. Multiple linear regression generated the following N-EX prediction equation (R = .93, SEE = 3.45 mL∙kg-¹∙min-¹, %SEE = …

The Political Determinants Of The Impact Of Natural Disasters: A Cross-Country Comparison, Ezra Boyd

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

While people all over the world are vulnerable to natural disasters, the available data clearly demonstrate a great deal of cross-country variance in the impact of catastrophic events. For example, while Hurricane Mitch took an estimated 13,000 lives when it struck Honduras and Nicaragua, the stronger Hurricane Andrew took only 26 lives when it impacted the United States. What factors explain this difference? Thus far, disaster researchers have emphasized economic and social vulnerability as determinants of disaster impact; the conventional wisdom accepts that poor and underdeveloped countries are more vulnerable than wealthy, developed countries. I argue that the political institutions …

The Accidental Place: Louis Armstrong Park Out Of Place On The North Side, Yvonne Estrade

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The failed New Orleans Cultural Center Complex was cultural genocide to an area of the neighborhood known as Treme, where a tribute to the jazz great and native son, Louis Armstrong, was planned as an afterthought. The questions remain, was the planning and building of Louis Armstrong Park responsible for the genocide of the Treme neighborhood, is the park an appropriate use of land, and what are the prospects for the park's future? This thesis examines the cultural gumbo of New Orleans history, explores the early days of Louis Armstrong and the development of jazz, sets the record straight by …

The Effect Of Faults Upon Ground Water Flow In The Baton Rouge Fault System, Mosa Nasreen

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Baton Rouge Fault (BRF), a growth fault, traverses Baton Rouge Parish, the study area. This fault is a part of the Baton Rouge Fault System (BRFS), located in South Louisiana. There are ten aquifers in the Baton Rouge area, which are the main source of freshwater. Beds dip and thicken toward the south. Aquifers in the Baton Rouge area are disrupted by the BRF. Aquifers contain fresh water in the updip (north of the BRF) and saline water in the downdip (south of the BRF) directions. Saline water has intruded into some of the aquifers north of the BRF …

Biofiltration For Control Of H2s From Wastewater Treatment Plant Gases, Vivian Bermudez

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A low-cost and efficient methodology was used to test the performance of a biofilter removing gaseous hydrogen sulfide generated in the headworks and a primary clarifier of a local Wastewater Treatment Plant. The contaminated gas stream is distributed upward through 1,718 m3 of filter material. With a flow rate varying between 3,503.0 m3/h and 4,587.3 m3/h and hydrogen sulfide inlet concentrations between 0.8 and 146 ppm, hydrogen sulfide was efficiently eliminated by the wood bark biofilter. The removal efficiencies ranged from 97.5% to 99.9%. The mean water content of the filter material was determined to be 67.1%. The excess water …

Prevalence Of Tobacco Use Among African-American College Students, Michael Celestin

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors that may protect African-American young adults in college from early onset of cigarette smoking, and factors that may place them at risk for cigarette smoking, using the framework of the Social Cognitive Theory. It was hypothesized that existing regulation of smoking, positive attitude toward academics and school connectedness would be related to low cigarette-smoking rates, while exposure to pro-tobacco promotions would be related to high cigarette smoking rates. A convenience sample of 576 undergraduates at Dillard University of New Orleans completed a Harvard College Alcohol Study survey. Forty six percent (n=269) completed the survey. Ninetyone percent …

Lekhost A Tize: An Experiment In Film Production Methodology, Talley Mulligan

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Proliferation and convergence of new technologies as well as the diverse media it has given rise to have had a dramatic impact on the theory and practice of contemporary filmmaking. This trend also holds considerable implication for the range of cinematic forms likely to be embraced in the future as well as the methodologies necessarily exploited in their making. The formal and expressive possibilities inherent in the climate of experimentation existing at this unique juncture in history encourage out-of-the-ordinary solutions to long-standing problems while begging important questions regarding the process and goal of filmmaking. Taking the films of the Czech …

A Comparison Of Predicted Brace Loads In Temporary Retaining Structures And Observed Brace Loads In Two Full Scale Test Sections, Daniel Haggerty

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents analyses of the results of a geotechnical instrumentation program performed by Eustis Engineering Company for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) during the construction of two covered canals in New Orleans, Louisiana. At each site, a cast-in-place concrete culvert was constructed within a sheeted and braced excavation. Information provided by Eustis Engineering Company to the USACE is presented describing the existing soil conditions, the construction schedule, the geotechnical testing apparatus and instrumentation, and the data produced from the geotechnical instrumentation program. In this thesis, several theoretical approaches available for estimating the strut loads in braced excavations …

Development Of Discontinuous Galerkin Method For 1-D Inviscid Burgers Equation, Kiran Voonna

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this research work is to apply the discontinuous Galerkin method to a classical partial differential equation to investigate the properties of the numerical solution and compare the numerical solution to the analytical solution by using discontinuous Galerkin method. This scheme is applied to 1-D non-linear conservation equation (Burgers equation) in which the governing differential equation is simplified model of the inviscid Navier-stokes equations. In this work three cases are studied. They are sinusoidal wave profile, initial shock discontinuity and initial linear distribution. A grid and time step refinement is performed. Riemann fluxes at each element interfaces …

The Relationship Among Psychosocial And Environmental Determinants Of Physical Activity, Physical Activity Levels, And Body Mass Index In Adolescent African American Females, Flint Mitchell

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examined personal, social, and demographic factors related to physical activity (PA) level and body mass index (BMI) in adolescent African American (AA) females. The participants were 211 AA females from selected parochial schools in a city in the southern U.S. Participants completed the Physical Activity Determinant Scale (PADS: Mitchell & Kontos, 2002), the Three Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR: Weston, Petosa & Pate, 1997), the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ: Godin & Shepard, 1985), and demographic items. Height and weight measures were taken to assess BMI. Results from logistic regression indicated that the personal factor was a significant …

Inspector Discretion And Industry Compliance In The Street-Level Implementation Of Building Codes, William Mclean

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines inspector discretion and industry compliance in the street-level implementation of building codes. In particular, this study examines the effects that agency-level, individual-level, and environmental variables have on the choice of inspectors to exercise discretion. Unique to this study is the examination of policy congruence between building departments and street-level inspectors as a predictor of industry compliance with regulatory policy. In addition, the various effects of building department enforcement philosophies, departmental capacity for enforced compliance, and environmental variables are considered. The findings indicate that regulatory policy implementation and impact are complex phenomena. There is no single, best predictor …

The Effects Of Telephone Intervention On Arthritis Self-Efficacy, Depression, Pain And Fatigue In Older Adults With Arthritis, David Pariser

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The current study was conducted to examine the effects of telephone intervention on arthritis self-efficacy, depression, pain and fatigue in older adult patients in different clinical settings. Eighty-five subjects from two clinics were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 45) or intervention (n = 40) groups. The study was a mixed quantitative/qualitative design. Each subject completed several pre-tests including the Arthritis Self-Efficacy (ASE) scale, the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS), and numeric rating scales for both pain and fatigue. All subjects received an informational packet on self-management of arthritis and developed an action plan and personal goals for self-management …

Using Mixed Methodology To Assess High Risk Sexual Behavior And Adult Stage Among Bolivian Truck Drivers, William Sorensen

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Bolivia has a high STI rate and an accelerating HIV/AIDS rate. The majority of the country's newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases come from the province of Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia, where this study took place. In this study, the investigator assessed the notion that Bolivian truck drivers are a bridge population of HIV transmission within heterosexual networks. This investigation determined risks of HIV/STI transmission through interviews, surveys, and workshops given to the truck drivers. Special attention was given to self reports of sexual behavior, cognitions and ego maturation stages, in order to assess risk. Mixed methodology was the research paradigm …

A Lived Experience Of Being A Mother Of A Child With Depression: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry, Maralou R. Brose

Theses and Graduate Projects

There have been few studies that have attempted to understand the world of parents raising a child with depression. This study introduces the magnitude of the problem of childhood depression and explores what it means to be the mother of an adolescent with depression. For this study, three mothers of adolescents wit.h depression were questioned interviews were in unstructured interviews. The taped transcribed, and the resulting texts were Four core themes were analyzed using a six-stage process. extracted-maternal role, support, and grief-and reveal_ed what it was family disequilibrium, like for mothers raising a child with depression. Hermeneutic phenomenology provided the …

Wal-Mart, Magazine Street, And Retail Competition, Richard Moore

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the impact of a mega-store on the existing businesses in a specific area--Magazine Street in New Orleans. The potential mega-store is a 200,000 square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter that is part of the retail component of the St. Thomas housing re-development. The focus of this project is the retail competition that might be generated by this mega-store. Businesses were studied and placed into categories as either direct or indirect competitors to the mega-store. Previous research identified certain categories of store types that could be impacted (either positively or negatively) by the location of national stores in their …

Perilous Polities? Regime Transition And Conflict 1950-2000, Ursula Daxecker

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

While evidence continues to mount that democracies resort to military force reluctantly, the transition to democracy may in fact be a dangerous and conflictual one. With the eyes of the world now focused squarely on democratization, a reassessment of the relationship between regime change and inter-state conflict seems fitting. To date, the evidence remains mixed. No clear consensus has emerged on whether regime transition either increases or decreases conflict propensities. The research here builds on models of democratization and conflict by including a more fully specified vector of conflict variables and by using an updated set of cases. Further, interaction …

A Global Conservation Assessment Of Temperate Forests: Status And Protection, Jennifer Gagnon

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Global biodiversity protection requires the development of protected areas that include representative samples of different ecosystems and their associated biodiversity (Dudley 1992, Scott et al. 2001a). I compared long-term decline and protection of forests in three major biomes; boreal, temperate and tropical. I found that forests in the temperate biome are less abundant and less protected than forests in the boreal and tropical biomes. I conducted regional analyses for five continents on the degree of protection of temperate forests across naturally occurring geographic and elevational ranges. My results indicate that protected temperate forests do not represent the full geographic and …

Enhancement Of Cots Gis Web Publishing Software, Jin Chen

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the modern geographic information systems, COTS software has been playing a major role. Customizing COTS software is inevitable because large organizations' needs usually exceed COTS built-in functions. However, this is often a challenge to COTS users, since the source code of COTS is rarely available. In my thesis project, I have enhanced some functions of a GIS COTS product, ArcIMS, by taking advantage of this web publishing tool's well-thought architecture of services and its applications of the XML messaging technology. Multiple users now can access the same ArcIMS map service but with only constrained viewing power. Login dialog has …