Digital Commons Network^™

Nanofiltration Membrane Pilot Studies For Disinfection By-Product Control, Eric J. Lynne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Watertown, South Dakota currently uses conventional softening to treat ground water to remove hardness, iron and manganese, and natural organic matter. The distribution system has experienced elevated concentrations of disinfection by-products, which will require additional treatment to comply with future limits set by the Stage 2 Disinfectant/Disinfection By-Products Rule. A nanofiltration membrane system has been proposed to remove additional natural organic matter from the softened water. Removing the natural organic material disinfection by-product precursors should reduce the concentration of disinfection by-products. The use of nanofiltration membranes has been previously documented to reject total organic carbon, while allowing desirable levels of …

Efficient Tracking Of Many Objects In Structured Environments, Nathan Jacobs, Michael Dixon, Scott Satkin, Robert Pless

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

We consider the special case of tracking objects in highly structured scenes. In the context of vehicle tracking in urban environments, we offer a fully automatic, end-to-end system that discovers and parametrizes the lanes along which vehicles drive, then uses just these pixels to simultaneously track dozens of objects. This system includes a novel active contour energy function used to parametrize the lanes of travel based only on the accumulation of spatio-temporal image derivatives, and a tracking algorithm that exploits longer temporal constraints made possible by our compact data representation; we believe both of these may be of independent interest. …

Modeling Scenes And Human Activities In Videos, Arslan Basharat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we address the problem of understanding human activities in videos by developing a two-pronged approach: coarse level modeling of scene activities and fine level modeling of individual activities. At the coarse level, where the resolution of the video is low, we rely on person tracks. At the fine level, richer features are available to identify different parts of the human body, therefore we rely on the body joint tracks. There are three main goals of this dissertation: (1) identify unusual activities at the coarse level, (2) recognize different activities at the fine level, and (3) predict the …

Feasibility Study: Consolidated Dispatch Center For Police, Fire And Ems Services, Daila Shimek, Ryan Foster, Holly Cooper, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Caitlin Johnson

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report provides an assessment of the feasibility of consolidation of public safety dispatch for 14 communities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The findings are that consolidation of dispatch services among the participating communities would reduce staffing costs by an estimated $1.7 million annually. Consolidation of services would reduce the duplication of services and redundant capital projects. Instead of the duplicate purchase of expensive equipment by several communities, the cost of large capital will be distributed over a larger base of beneficiaries. Centralization will reduce the physical blueprint of dispatch operations which in turn should reduce operating costs such as natural …

Intraspecific Comparison Of Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, And Dispersal Among Three Subspecies Of Townsend’S Big-Eared Bats, Corynorhinus Townsendii Townsendii, C. T. Pallescens, And The Endangered C. T. Birginianus, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kirk W. Navo, Craig W. Stihler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, is distributed broadly across western North America and in two isolated, endangered populations in central and eastern United States. There are five subspecies of C. townsendii; C. t. pallescens, C. t. australis, C. t. townsendii, C. t. ingens, and C. t. virginianus with varying degrees of concern over the conservation status of each. The aim of this study was to use mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA data to examine genetic diversity, population differentiation, and dispersal of three C. townsendii subspecies. C. t. virginianus is found in isolated populations in the eastern United States and …

To License Or Not To License Revisited: An Examination Of State Statutes Regarding Private Investigators And Digital Examiners, Thomas Lonardo, Doug White, Alan Rea

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In this update to the previous year's study, the authors examine statutes that regulate, license, and enforce investigative functions in each US state. After identification and review of Private Investigator licensing requirements, the authors find that very few state statutes explicitly differentiate between Private Investigators and Digital Examiners. After contacting all state agencies the authors present a distinct grouping organizing state approaches to professional Digital Examiner licensing. The authors conclude that states must differentiate between Private Investigator and Digital Examiner licensing requirements and oversight.

Critical Infrastructure Protection Status And Action Items Of Turkey, Bilge Karabacak, Sevgi Ozkan

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Critical infrastructures are the physical and virtual systems essential to the minimum operations of the economy and the government. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) is a critical agenda item for governments in the developed countries. In these countries, policies and procedures on CIP are already in place and required laws are in action as well. In Turkey, some official introductory studies have been performed in 2009. However, there are a number of steps that Turkey still has to take. In this study, key definitions are provided firstly. After the definitions, the efforts of USA, EU, OECD and NATO are summarized. The …

The Effects Of Technology On Literacy(S), Thomas Glen Petersen

Masters Theses

"One of the challenges when measuring the effects of technology on literacy(s) is finding a control group where technology; does not play a major role in the culture. The Amish successfully live in a Technocracy where mechanical/electronic tools are used only when absolutely necessary; the Amish are not dependent on them for survival. The crux of the Amish philosophy is humility, serving the community and serving God. Ironically, they have suffered tremendous repercussions for adopting a wholesome, selfless lifestyle which is contrary to most popular world views, regardless of religious or spiritual views"--Purpose, page 40.

Wireless Intelligent Structural Health Monitoring System, Belle Ashwin

Theses and Dissertations

Metal structures are susceptible to various types of damages, including corrosion, stress damage, pillowing deformation, cracks etc. These kinds of damages in the metal structures occur mainly due to operational conditions and exposure to the environment. Our research involves a portable integrated wireless sensor system with video camera and ultrasound capabilities which is being developed to investigate corrosion damage on real structures in real time. This system uses images of the metal surfaces, which are captured from an integrated wireless sensor and then quantified and analyzed using computational intelligence. The quantification of the obtained images is done with specialized component …

A Holistic Scada Security Standard For The Australian Context, Christopher Beggs

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems which control Australia’s critical infrastructure are currently demonstrating signs of vulnerabilities as they are being interconnected to corporate networks, essentially exposing them to malicious threats. This paper discusses the vulnerabilities associated with SCADA systems, as well as discussing various SCADA standards and initiatives that have been developed in recent years to mitigate such threats. The paper presents the requirement for a holistic SCADA security standard that is practical and feasible for each SCADA industry sector.

Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project: Alagnak Wild River Resident User Study, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report represents a thematic summary of findings from the Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study, the final project in a larger series of studies conducted for the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project. The National Park service administers the 56 miles of designated Wild River along the Alagnak in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages fish and wildlife populations along the river. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and …

Integration Of Environmental Information Systems, Madilyn Fletcher, Dwayne Porter, Jeremy Cothran, Jesse Cleary

S.C. Water Resources Conference

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Region

Joint Adaptive Distributed Rate And Power Control For Wireless Networks, James W. Fonda, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Steve Eugene Watkins

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel adaptive distributed rate and power control (ADRPC) protocol is introduced for wireless networks. The proposed controller contrasts from others by providing nonlinear compensation to the problem of transmission power and bit-rate adaptation. The protocol provides control of both signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) and quality-of-service (QoS) support to bit-rate adaptation. Bit-rate adaptation is performed by local estimation of congestion levels, rendering little packet overhead, using Lyapunov based adaptive control methods. Performance of the proposed control scheme is shown through analytical proof and simulation examples.

Merrifield, Urban Wildlife Management Inc., And California Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators Association, V. Lockyer And California Structural Pest Control Board: United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit, Case No. 05-16613, Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain,

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Maxine M. Chesney, District Judge, Presiding. Argued and Submitted August 16, 2007—San Francisco, California. Filed September 16, 2008, Before: Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, Michael Daly Hawkins, and Kim McLane Wardlaw, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge O’Scannlain; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge Hawkins

Timothy Sandefur, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, California, argued the cause for the plaintiffs-appellants and filed briefs; Meriem L. Hubbard, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, California, was on the briefs. Diann Sokoloff, Deputy Attorney General, Oakland, California, argued the cause for the defendants-appellees and filed a …

Developing A Virtual City For Emergency Preparedness Planning And Training, Jon K. Morgan

Theses

Existing techniques for emergency preparedness planning and training fail or lack the ability to convey training on a broad scale and timely fashion. Skill sets that are required for planning, mitigation, response and recovery issues are lost through information overload or failure to identify other channels in which to convey the information. In order to resolve some of the issues with currently existing methods such as tabletop training exercises (TTX), instructional video learning and full-scale exercises we can turn to virtual environments.

In a virtual environment teams can interact with their surroundings from the comfort of the office without having …

Water Current, Volume 40, No. 3, Summer 2008

Water Current Newsletter

Latest on Water Science, Economics and Law at October Colloquium
Water is Theme for UNL at September's Husker Harvest Days
From the Director: What I Didn't Do During My Summer Vacation
Meet the Faculty: Jinsheng You, Gary L. Stone
Water.unl.edu Gateway to All Things Water
Water Resources Advisory Panel Expands; Members to Reconvene in September
Agricultural Water Management Network
UNL and China Explore
Hydroinformatics Collaboratory
Water and Climate Change: Perfect Storm in Sight
2008 Water and Natural Resources Tour: Republican River Basin of Kansas and Nebraska
Water Brief News
A Primer on Emerging Contaminants
What's New at the Water Sciences …

An Experimental Study On U-Commerce Adoption: Impact Of Personalization And Privacy Concerns, H. Sheng, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Ubiquitous commerce (u-commerce) represents “anytime, anywhere” commerce. U-commerce can provide a high level of personalization, which can bring significant benefits to customers. However, privacy is a major concern to customers and an obstacle to the adoption of u-commerce. This research examines how personalization and context can impact customers’ privacy concerns as well as intention to adopt u-commerce applications. As u-commerce is new and emerging, we used the scenario-based approach to operationalize personalization and context in an experimental study. The experimental results show that the effects of personalization on customers’ privacy concerns and adoption intention are situation dependent.

The New Social Movement: Environmental Justice In The Bronx, Kelsey Ripper

Student Theses 2001-2013

It can be argued that the birth of the Environmental Justice movement was 1982 in Warren County, North Carolina during a battle over the implementation of a PCB waste site. Unfortunately though, environmental injustices have been occurring throughout most of human history. The exploitation of minorities manifests itself in many ways, and one of those ways is through unhealthy and unsafe environmental conditions. These conditions are often the result of unfair policies which unjustly skew the burden of pollution and waste onto minority or low-income groups. These groups in particular often lack the financial resources or political power necessary to …

Dod Role For Securing United States Cyberspace, Jane J. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

The cyber attacks on Estonia in late April and the early weeks of May 2007 significantly crippled the country, preventing it from performing banking, communications, news reporting, government transactions and command and control activities. Estonia is considered a “Wired Society”, much like the United States. Both countries rely on the cyberspace infrastructure economically and politically. Estonia sought assistance outside the country to recover from and to address the attacks. The cyber attacks on Estonia focused world-wide attention on the effects that cyberspace attacks could have on countries. If a cyber attack of national significance occurred against the United States, what …

Complex Adaptive Systems Based Data Integration : Theory And Applications, Eliahu Rohn

Dissertations

Data Definition Languages (DDLs) have been created and used to represent data in programming languages and in database dictionaries. This representation includes descriptions in the form of data fields and relations in the form of a hierarchy, with the common exception of relational databases where relations are flat. Network computing created an environment that enables relatively easy and inexpensive exchange of data. What followed was the creation of new DDLs claiming better support for automatic data integration. It is uncertain from the literature if any real progress has been made toward achieving an ideal state or limit condition of automatic …

Unpasteurized Milk And Soft Cheese Outbreaks: An Overview Of Consumer Safety, Taygan Yilmaz

Student Theses 2001-2013

Unpasteurized (also called raw or farm-fresh) milk is currently banned in more than half of all U.S. states. There is substantial controversy over whether unpasteurized milk is safe for human consumption. Although less than 1% of the total U.S. population is known to consume these products, proponents of raw milk claim that unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses are more nutritive than pasteurized milk and soft cheeses. However, there have been a multitude of disease outbreaks linked to raw milk and soft cheese consumption, which involved pathogens including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes. While some believe an outright ban would …

Collaborative Learning Guide For Ecosystem Management, Christine Baumann Feurt

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Community-based ecosystem management is an approach to getting things done. It manifests as actions that collectively maintain or restore nature’s ability to provide clean water, clean air and support for living systems. Sustaining the earth’s natural capital requires integration within the system of social capital. Through collaboration, people can accomplish the first step toward sustainability – the development of a collective vision of desired future outcomes for the places where they live, work and play. The individual perspectives that shape these visions take many forms. They are present in town Comprehensive and Open Space plans, in mission statements for organizations …

Gjxdm Documents And Small Law Enforcement Agencies, Darin Dillard

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that while the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) is a complete and effective solution for criminal justice agencies it is complex to implement and difficult for smaller law enforcement agencies to put into practice. The paper presents the current implementation steps for a new GJXDM document and describes the process of implementing an existing GJXDM document. The paper also presents a tool for agencies to start using and processing GJXDM documents. Also offered within the paper is a design for a central repository for increasing GJXDM information sharing and dissemination of …

An Analysis Of The Feasibility Of A Joint Economic Development District Between The City Of Brunswick And Hinckley Township, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Daila Shimek, Michael Mcgoun, Ryan Foster

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Agency-Sponsored Treasure Hunts: Providing Alternatives To Traditional Geocaching, Virginia Reams, Stuart West

United States National Park Service: Publications

Geocaching, a sort of modern-day treasure hunt using Global Positioning System (GPS) units, has been prohibited in most national parks largely due to federal regulations prohibiting disturbance or damage of natural features and leaving behind unattended property. National parks, including Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, are continually challenged by unauthorized geocache sites within their borders. The National Park Service (NPS) must take enforcement action when necessary to prevent resource damage and ensure visitor safety. However, it has become clear that geocaching is a well-established, popular pastime that is more than just a trend, and some parks perceive positive …

Taming Crowded Visual Scenes, Saad Ali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer vision algorithms have played a pivotal role in commercial video surveillance systems for a number of years. However, a common weakness among these systems is their inability to handle crowded scenes. In this thesis, we have developed algorithms that overcome some of the challenges encountered in videos of crowded environments such as sporting events, religious festivals, parades, concerts, train stations, airports, and malls. We adopt a top-down approach by first performing a global-level analysis that locates dynamically distinct crowd regions within the video. This knowledge is then employed in the detection of abnormal behaviors and tracking of individual targets …

Sharpshooting Suburban White-Tailed Deer Reduces Deer–Vehicle Collisions, Anthony J. Denicola, Scott C. Williams

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Too many deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) are one of the primary reasons local governments implement lethal deer management programs. However, there are limited data to demonstrate that a reduction in deer (Odocoileus spp.) densities will result in a decline in DVCs. We conducted sharpshooting programs in 3 suburban communities to reduce deer numbers and to address rising DVCs. Annual or periodic population estimates were conducted using both helicopter snow counts and aerial infrared counts to assess population trends. Management efforts were conducted from 3 to 7 years. Local deer herds were reduced by 54%, 72%, and 76%, with resulting reductions …

Comprehensive Planning In Louisiana, Lynn A. Maloney-Mújica

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the factors associated with the implementation of land use planning policies and tools among the parishes (counties) of Louisiana. There is an absence of statutory standards, strict guidelines, and other external drivers for planning in Louisiana and the extent to which local governments regulate land use varies widely among local jurisdictions. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical model of intrinsic factors that might explain why some parishes have decided to intervene in land use by adopting a high number of planning policies and tools, and why others have failed to adopt few, if …

An Analysis Of The Benefits And Patterns Of Public Support For Urban Forestry Programs, Barbi Marisa Landano

LSU Master's Theses

Trees are an essential element in a healthy urban community. They provide many benefits if they are properly managed and maintained throughout their lives. In order to accomplish this, urban forestry programs need to be established and there needs to be a good support system within the city. The objectives of this study are to identify key factors that may influence public support for urban forestry programs and to examine the role of nonprofit organizations in building support for and implementing urban forest programs. Surveys of Baton Rouge, Louisiana residents were conducted to identify the variables that are associated with …

Evaluation Of An Electrified Mat As A White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Barrier, Thomas W. Seamans, David A. Helon

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) pose economic and safety problems for agricultural and transportation industries. We tested an electronic mat to determine if it would reduce deer crossing through fence openings. We measured deer intrusions and corn consumption at five sites with charged mats and five sites with non-charged mats. Weekly intrusions at treated sites decreased an average of 95% from pre-treatment. Weekly intrusions at control sites were reduced 60% during weeks 1 and 2 and increased to 10% reduction by week 6. Weekly corn consumption at treated sites decreased from pretreatment through all treatment weeks. Weekly corn consumption …