Digital Commons Network^™

The Use And Effectiveness Of Online Social Media In Volunteer Organizations, Amy J. Connolly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Volunteer organizations face two challenges not found in non-volunteer organizations: recruiting and retaining volunteers. While social media use is increasing amongst individuals, its use and effectiveness for volunteer recruitment and retention by volunteer organizations is unknown. The dissertation reports the results of three studies to investigate this important question. Using a mixed-methods approach, it addressed the dual nature of social media and its effectiveness by including volunteer organizations and social media users.

This dissertation found that although volunteer organizations are not using social media effectively, they could virtualize requirements of the recruitment process by focusing on relatable events instead of …

On Non-Cooperative Multiple-Target Tracking With Wireless Sensor Networks, Ye Zhu, A. Vikram, Huirong Fu, Yong Guan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, we propose an approach to track multiple non-cooperative targets with wireless sensor networks. Most existing tracking algorithms can not be directly applied to non-cooperative target tracking because they assume the access to signals from individual targets for tracking by assuming that: 1) there is only one target in a field; 2) signals from different co-operative targets can be differentiated; or 3) interference caused by signals from other targets is negligible because of attenuation. We propose a general approach for tracking non-cooperative targets. The tracking algorithm first separates the aggregate signals from multiple indistinguishable targets via the blind …

City Of San Luis Obispo Open Space Vegetation Management Plan, Danielle Rose Althaus

Master's Theses

This Master’s Professional Project is focused on the development of a draft Vegetation Management Plan for the City of San Luis Obispo Open Space properties. The purpose of the plan is to provide a comprehensive document which identifies how the city is addressing wildfire preparedness in city-owned open space properties. Methods used in plan development include a literature review, content analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), a course audit, and consultation with city staff and other stakeholders. Each open space property is identified in the plan, describing its location, vegetation, topography, assets, access points, water supply, evacuation routes, historical fire data, …

Risky Business: Recommendations For The Insurance Industry To Contribute To Greater Disaster Risk Reduction And Climate Change Adaptation, Jessie G. Rountree

Master's Projects and Capstones

The private insurance industry is susceptible to increasing risk from climate change and can serve as a catalyst to change behavior to minimize loss. The research examined the current impact and future potential of the insurance industry to reduce both physical and financial risk. The insurance industry currently raises awareness, assigns an economic value to risk, advocates for climate change action, and takes measures to reduce physical risk through mitigation. As well, the industry has proven to be a critical influencer to encourage risk-adverse behavior and regulation. Recommendations to the industry to have a greater impact include: 1) pursue more …

Got Milk?: Exploring The Truth Behind America’S Drink And Nature’S Perfect Food, Andora Leung

2014 Student Theses

The product of milk is a staple to American culture and diet. Described as the “perfect food,” this notion has been ingrained through decades of misleading information as well as persuasive marketing and advertisement implemented by government officials and industry leaders. However as health risk rise, questions concerning the validity of milk calorie and nutritional value, the use of bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and subtherapeutic antibiotics rise as well. In my thesis paper, I will study the history of the dairy industry and how their agenda quickly transitioned from the benefit of the customer to the benefit of the industry. …

Historical Baselines For Large Sharks In Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Usa): Putting Recent Observed Increases Into Context, Elizabeth Mccormack

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Over the last decade, observations of sharks in the waters around Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) have increased, possibly related to increases in seal populations. However, historical data are needed to put these recent increases into a long-term context. Using newspaper articles, photographs, and fishing tournament records, we compiled historical data on sharks in the waters around Cape Cod from approximately a one hundred year period, from 1830 to 1939. We compared these to trends in modern observations to establish baselines. As well, we document trends in commercial and cultural value of sharks in New England since the early 19th century. …

Progression Magazine, 2014 Spring, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

The Financial Crisis Was Good For Something: Improved Nonprofit Efficiency, Caitlin Paige Britt

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explores the need for financial performance measures in the nonprofit sector and the impact the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis had upon nonprofits’ efficiency. This analysis tests the hypothesis that the financial crisis actually improved nonprofit efficiency by forcing nonprofits to eliminate unnecessary costs, continue to produce their services, thus improving operational efficiency, despite decreased donor contributions and increased user need. Entries reported on nonprofits’ IRS 990 forms from 2003-2010 determined whether nonprofit efficiency was significantly different after the crisis. The efficiencies used to measure the impact of the Financial Crisis include: Program Expense Efficiency, Administrative Expense Efficiency, Fundraising Expense …

Smart Data Collection Using Mobile Devices To Improve Transportation Systems, Tharindu Dasun Abeygunawardana

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Travel time is a matter that affects most of us, especially those that live in highly congested cities. Ideally, we want to reduce travel time as much as possible, thereby freeing up more of our time and enabling a higher quality of life. Data collection of transportation metrics helps us get a clearer picture of the transportation system, and helps us make smarter choices when it comes to improving the existing system. The rapid emergence of interconnected mobile devices carried along by travelers opens up many possibilities for gathering data as they travel, and also to serve them relevant data …

Online Media Use And Adoption By Hurricane Sandy Affected Fire And Police Departments, Apoorva Chauhan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis work, I examine the use and adoption of online communication media by 840 fire and police departments that were affected by the 2012 Hurricane Sandy. I began by exploring how and why these fire and police departments used (or did not use) online media to communicate with the public during Hurricane Sandy. Results show that fire and police departments used online media during Hurricane Sandy to give timely and relevant information to the public about things such as evacuations, damages, weather, and cleanup and to engage in two-way communications with their constituents. In their messages, fire and …

Canaries In The Urban Data Mine: Analytics For Smarter City Life, Robert J. Kauffman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Technology-based sensors and data analytics have created unprecendented levels of informedness for consumers, corporations, the public and government agencies. The information they generated provides a basis for smarter cities and more sustainable urban living.

The Impact Of Professional Sports Franchises On Local Economies, Jeffrey Pierro

Honors Projects in Mathematics

There is no doubt that professional sports franchises and stadiums generate a significant amount of economic activity, but is the impact on the local economy positive, negative, or neutral? Studies have shown that, while franchises can give the economy a boost in the short term, there are little to no long-term positive effects. This capstone will examine the trend in public financing of stadiums, look at the impact of stadium location, explore the factors of the economy that are impacted by professional sports franchises, and determine if the effects vary by sport or by region. Several major case studies will …

Building Footprint Extraction: A Land Use Classification Comparison Of Satellite Imagery Vs. Orthoimagery, Elisa Trepanier

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The Town of Windham, Maine Proposed Municipal Budget FY 2012-2013 called for $12,750 for professional services to develop a building footprint database. There are several municipal applications for building footprints including, but not limited to: Taxation/valuation of properties; setbacks for code enforcement; public safety planning; historical analysis of building patterns; general planning, where to encourage growth and redevelopment; zoning analysis and recreational planning. Due to the town’s in-house GIS (Geographic Information Systems) capabilities, the project will be developed within the Assessor’s Office and based on the 2012 Maine Office of GIS 6 Orthoimagery for Windham. The following is an effort …

Using Multi-Objective Value Estimation To Support Predictive Analytics For Human Service Project Management, David D. Wingard

Dissertations

Human service organizations need outcome measurement approaches that support project management for efficiency and effectiveness. While, in recent years, human services have increased their capacity to manage data and measure outcomes empirically, several barriers remain. First, current outcome measurement practices are not designed to effectively support the management of human services programs for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Second, human services organizations need a methodology to manage programs to identified outcomes. This dissertation explored meaningful solutions to both issues. In Paper 1 (Chapter II), this dissertation assessed strengths and limitations of current outcome evaluation approaches and suggested an innovative application of …

Ubiquitous Interoperable Emergency Response System, Matthew J. Passini

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In the United States, there is an emergency dispatch for fire department services more than once every second - 31,854,000 incidents in 2012. While large scale disasters present enormous response complexity, even the most common emergencies require a better way to communicate information between personnel. Through real-time location and status updates using integrated sensors, this system can significantly decrease emergency response times and improve the overall effectiveness of emergency responses. Aside from face-to-face communication, radio transmissions are the most common medium for transferring information during emergency incidents. However, this type of information sharing is riddled with issues that are nearly …

Probabilistic Modeling Of Lava Flows: A Hazard Assessment For The San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona, Aleeza Harburger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study serves as a first step towards a comprehensive hazard assessment for the San Francisco volcanic field in northern Arizona, which can be applied to local response plans and educational initiatives. The primary goal of this thesis is to resolve the conditional probability that, given a lava flow effusing from a new vent in the San Francisco volcanic field, it will inundate the city limits of Flagstaff. The spatial distribution of vents within the San Francisco volcanic field was analyzed in order to execute a lava flow simulation to determine the inundation hazard to Flagstaff. The Gaussian kernel function …

Seasonal Dynamics Of A Suburban Energy Balance In Phoenix, Arizona, Winston T. L. Chow, Thomas J. Volo, Enrique R. Vivoni, G. Darrel Jenerette, Benjamin L. Ruddell

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Observations of local-scale urban surface energy balance (SEB), which include fluxes of net all-wave radiation (Q*), and eddy covariance measurements of sensible (QH) and latent heat (QE) were collected in an arid Phoenix, AZ suburb from January to December 2012. We studied diurnal variations in SEB partitioning over four distinct seasons: winter, equinoxes, and summer; the latter period is further subdivided into (1) months prior to and (2) months occurring during the North American Monsoon. Largest flux densities were observed in summer, with most available energy partitioned into QH. Much less energy is partitioned into QE, but this term is …

Roadmap For Graduating Students With Expertise In The Analysis And Development Of Secure Cyber-Systems, Ann Q. Gates, Salamah Salamah, Luc Longpre

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Modern society is intensely and irreversibly dependent on software systems of extraordinary size and complexity. This includes software systems in domain areas such as defense, energy, communication, transportation, and manufacturing. Due to the rapid expansion and reliance on the global Internet for day-to-day functions of individuals, organizations, governments, and industry around the world, cyber-security has emerged as an essential component of computing curricula. To address regional and national needs, the Computer Science Department has defined a roadmap for educating and preparing students who have expertise in the analysis and development of secure cyber-systems. Toward that vision, the department has set …

Fingerprinting Ieee 802.15.4 Devices With Commodity Radios, Ira Ray Jenkins, Rebecca Shapiro, Sergey Bratus, Ryan Speers, Travis Goodspeed

Computer Science Technical Reports

We present a reliable method of PHY-layer fingerprinting of IEEE 802.15.4-conformant nodes with commodity digital radio chips widely used in building inexpensive IEEE 802.15.4-conformant devices. Typically, PHY-layer fingerprinting requires software-defined radios that cost orders of magnitude more than the chips they can fingerprint; our method does not require a software-defined radio and uses the same inexpensive chips. For mission-critical systems relying on 802.15.4 devices, defense-in-depth is thus necessary. Device fingerprinting has long been an important defensive tool; reducing its cost raises its utility for defenders. We investigate new methods of fingerprinting 802.15.4 devices by exploring techniques to differentiate between multiple …

The View From Ventress - 2014, University Of Mississippi. College Of Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts Newsletters

Special Section: The Rise of Health Professions. Over the past decade, the health-care sector added jobs month after month, even when jobs were disappearing elsewhere in the economy. The field is projected to add many more in the coming decade, so it makes sense that the number of students majoring in health-related fields rose sharply. Roughly one in 10 college graduates now gets a health-related degree.

Forecast Of Chinese Investment In Us Shale Gas, Zhizhou Zhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will make a forecast of the future growth of Chinese investment in the US shale gas industry in the short term (within the next 5 years) and in the long term (in more than 10 years). The thesis's purpose is to study the purpose, trend as well as the impact on China itself in China's recent asset acquisition activities in the US shale gas. Following an introduction to the shale gas development in the US and China, this thesis will make a forecast with the methodology including extrapolation, qualitative analysis, political risk analysis and scenario analysis. The conclusion …

The Bad Guys Are Using It, Are You?, Hong-Eng Koh

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

From Occupy Wall Street to 2011 England riots to Arab Spring to Mumbai 26/11 to the ethnic cleansing rumors in India and increasingly used by pedophiles, social media is a very powerful tool for pedophiles, troublemakers, criminals and even terrorists to target individuals and even to go against the establishment. On the other hand, social media can save lives in a disaster, and its a natural extension of community policing or engagement. Community engagement is a must-have strategy for any public safety and security agency. However, this strategy requires the removal of stovepipe processes and systems within an agency, allowing …

The Role Of Platelets In Hyaluronan Degradation, Sami Albeiroti

ETD Archive

Following tissue injury, platelets rapidly interact with the exposed extracellular matrix (ECM) of blood vessel wall and the surrounding tissues. Hyaluronan (HA) is a major polysaccharide component of the ECM and plays a significant role in regulating inflammation. Human platelets can degrade HA from the surfaces of activated endothelial cells into fragments capable of inducing immune responses by monocytes. In addition, platelets contain the enzyme hyaluronidse-2 (HYAL2), one of two major hyaluronidases that digest HA in somatic tissues. The deposition of HA increases in the inflamed tissues in several inflammatory diseases, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This study provides evidence …

Eastern Michigan University Graduate Catalog, 2014-2015, Office Of The Registrar

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Science And Public Policy Of Earthquake Hazard Mitigation In The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Alice M. Orton

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

In the central United States, undefined earthquake sources, long earthquake recurrence intervals and uncertain ground motion attenuation models have contributed to an overstatement of regional seismic hazard for the New Madrid Seismic Zone on the National Seismic Hazard Maps. This study examined concerns regarding scientific uncertainties, overly stringent seismic mitigation policies and depressed local economy in western Kentucky through a series of informal interviews with local businessmen, public officials, and other professionals in occupations associated with seismic mitigation. Scientific and relative economic analyses were then performed using scenario earthquake models developed with FEMA’s Hazus-MH software. Effects of the 2008 Wenchuan …

Study On Investment In Water And Wastewater Infrastructure And Economic Development, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management in the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston was tasked by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board (MWRAAB) with asking and answering a very fundamental question relating to public infrastructure: “What is the relationship between investment in water and wastewater infrastructure and economic growth?” To do so, Center staff not only researched the positive results of investing in infrastructure, but also took time to consider what failing to invest in adequate water and wastewater infrastructure might mean. Additionally, the Center …

Developing A Conceptual Framework For Modeling Deviant Cyber Flash Mob: A Socio-Computational Approach Leveraging Hypergraph Constructs, Samer Al-Khateeb, Nitin Agarwal

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In a Flash Mob (FM) a group of people get together in the physical world perform an unpredicted act and disperse quickly. Cyber Flash Mob (CFM) is the cyber manifestation of flash mob coordinated primarily using social media. Deviant Cyber Flash Mob (or, DCFM) is a special case of CFM, which is categorized as the new face of transnational crime organizations (TCOs). The DCFM phenomenon can be considered as a form of a cyber-collective action that is defined as an action aiming to improve group’s conditions (such as, status or power). In this paper, we conduct a conceptual analysis of …

The Middle Of Nowhere? : Managing Northern Rocky Mountain Ghost Towns, Krista Evans

All Master's Theses

Numerous abandoned hard rock mining settlements in the American West are now referred to as ghost towns. As tourist attractions and significant historic resources, preserving and managing these remote ghost towns can be challenging. Heritage managers face a number of issues, from implementing an appropriate preservation strategy to attracting enough visitors to remain economically viable. The purpose of this study is to perform a comparative analysis of current management methods used at several notable ghost towns. Additionally, the study explores how tourist perceptions of these landscapes can influence ghost town preservation strategies. I accomplish this by performing case studies at …

Water Trust Board, Joanne Hilton, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In 2001, the New Mexico legislature passed the Water Project Finance Act. The stated purpose of the Water Project Finance Act is to provide a financing mechanism to promote water use efficiency, water resource conservation and protection, and fair distribution and allocation of water to all users. The Water Trust Board was created in the Act. Its purpose is to: 1) oversee and administer the Water Trust Fund and Water Project Fund; 2) review and recommend funding for qualifying water projects to the legislature; and 3)pursue additional funding opportunities.

Data Preparation For Validation Study Of Hazus Canada Flood Model, Heather Mcgrath, Emmanual Stefanakis, M Mccarthy, Miroslav Nastev

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

As our climate changes, the occurrence of extreme weather events and heavier rainfall becomes more common. This change in weather patterns and precipitation results in a greater number of recorded flood events and a larger magnitude of flood events. Canadian municipalities are therefore facing a pressing demand to perform hazard assessments to identify communities at risk and measure potential economic and societal losses due to flood events. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed a standardized tool, Hazus-MH, for loss estimation from natural disasters for use in the US. Recently, Hazus has been adapted for use in Canada. This paper introduces …