Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Protecting Critical Infrastructure With Games Technology, Adrian Boeing, Martin Masek, Bill Bailey

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

It is widely recognised that there is a considerable gap in the protection of the national infrastructure. Trying to identify what is in fact ‘critical’ is proving to be very difficult as threats constantly evolve. An interactive prototyping tool is useful in playing out scenarios and simulating the effect of change, however existing simulators in the critical infrastructure area are typically limited in the visual representation and interactivity. To remedy this we propose the use of games technology. Through its use, critical infrastructure scenarios can be rapidly constructed, tested, and refined. In this paper, we highlight the features of games …

Information Sharing: Hackers Vs Law Enforcement, David P. Biros, Mark Weiser, Jim Burkman, Jason Nichols

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

The fields of information assurance and digital forensics continue to grow in both importance and complexity, spurred on by rapid advancement in digital crime. Contemporary law enforcement professionals facing such issues quickly discover that they cannot be successful while operating in a vacuum and turn to colleagues for assistance. However, there is a clear need for greater IT-based knowledge sharing capabilities amongst law enforcement organizations; an environment historically typified by a silo mentality. A number of efforts have attempted to provide such capabilities, only to be met with limited enthusiasm and difficulties in sustaining continued use. Conversely, the hacker community …

Security Metrics - A Critical Analysis Of Current Methods, Manwinder Kaur, Andy Jones

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

This paper documents and analyses a number of security metrics currently in popular use. These will include government standards and commercial methods of measuring security on networks. It will conclude with a critical look at some of the problems and challenges faced when using the metrics available today, and also with the development of new metrics.

Application Of Web Services To A Simulation Framework, Matthew Bennink

All Theses

The Joint Semi-Automated Forces (JSAF) simulator is an excellent tool for military training and a great testbed for new SAF behaviors. However, it has the drawback that behaviors must be ported into its own Finite State Machine (FSM) language. Web Services is a growing technology that seamlessly connects service providers to service consumers. This work attempts to merge these two technologies by modeling SAF behaviors as web services. The JSAF simulator is then modeled as a web service consumer.
This approach allows new Semi-Automated Forces (SAF) behaviors to be developed independently of the simulator, which provides the developer with greater …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Application Of Ag Nanostructures, Stephen Hudson

All Dissertations

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been used for many centuries; however their properties were not truly scrutinized until Michael Farady's investigations in the 1850's. Advances in the field of nanotechnology over the last three decades have enabled insights into the properties of materials as their dimensions are reduced to the nanoscale. The repercussions of these insights are seen in many modern applications.
In this dissertation, properties of novel nanostructures based on Ag NPs are presented and discussed. The exceptional optical properties of Ag NPs stem from the collective oscillations of the conduction electrons known as plasmon resonances. The excitation of …

Switch On And Switch Off Nanosensors For The Detection Of Nerve Gas Agents, Shankar Varaganti

Dissertations

The central hypothesis of this research is the development of novel nanosensors by a bottom-up approach for the detection of nerve gas agents. The nanosensor assembly consists of four main parts; nanoparticles (N), Monomer (M), Complex (C) and Receptor (R). Two novel Ru (II)-bipyridyl and zinc complexes with tryptophan receptors either in 4,4' or 5,5' position of the bipyridyl ring have been synthesized and characterized by using ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, mass spectrometry and absorption spectroscopy. Silica nanoparticles or quantum dots are used as a platform for the nanosensors. Highly conjugated stilbene type compounds are used as monomers. …

Maximizing Warfighter Capability Using Surveyed Necessity Measurement: Application To The Usaf F-15c Fleet, John M. Colombi, David R. Jacques, Dennis D. Strouble

Faculty Publications

Within the Department of Defense, with changing missions to counter dynamic and asymmetrical threats, the acquisition workforce strives to maximize capability for joint warfighting. How acquisition professionals measure and select capability improvements for the nation’s weapon systems is a perpetual challenge, made even more complex with constrained defense budgets. This study identifies a method for determining which upgrades should be purchased (production) for which aircraft in the F- 15C fleet by optimizing a capability proxy measure. Each upgrade’s “necessity” for a given mission area was obtained by conducting a survey of over 250 experienced F-15C pilots. The solution presented in …

Searching For Max: The Engineer, The War And The World´S Longest Cave (Part 1), Bernd Kliebhan

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

In 1908 the German engineer Max Kämper mapped 35 miles of Mammoth Cave, KY. The “Kämper Map,” forgotten in the archives for half a century, is nowadays considered as a masterpiece of underground cartography. Little was known about Max Kämper despite several attempts of American speleo-historians. Most traces were wiped out in two world wars. Nevertheless the authors could find out details of the biography of Max Kämper in German archives. The text is based based upon the radio story “Suche nach Max,” broadcasted by Hessischer Rundfunk - hr1 December 26, 1999, audio download available on http://www.kliebhan.de/kaemper.htm

An Agent-Based Combat Simulation Framework In Support Of Effect-Based And Net-Centric Evaluation, Robert Joseph Bowen

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The use of information technologies (IT) and information networks has proliferated in industry as a method to achieve competitive advantage. The U.S. Military and its allies, in recent years, have employed IT to improve the way they conduct operations, speed decision making, and increase the span of control of commanders. This has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way military commanders employ combat units today. These (Information Age) forces no longer have to be able to see each other or even communicate directly in order to synchronize maneuvers. Dispersion is now favored over mass, relying on the IT network …

A Confidence Paradigm For Classification Systems, Nathan J. Leap

Theses and Dissertations

There is no universally accepted methodology to determine how much confidence one should have in a classifier output. This research proposes a framework to determine the level of confidence in an indication from a classifier system where the output is or can be transformed into a posterior probability estimate. This is a theoretical framework that attempts to unite the viewpoints of the classification system developer (or engineer) and the classification system user (or war-fighter). The paradigm is based on the assumptions that the system confidence acts like, or can be modeled as a value and that indication confidence can be …

Religion And Science At The Turn Of The Century, Calvin Jongsma

Pro Rege

This article was published in the 2007 issue of the online Journal of the ACMS (Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences).

Collecting Open Source Intelligence Via Tailored Information Delivery Systems, William Sousan, Qiuming Zhu, Ryan Nickell, William Mahoney, Peter Hospodka

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The Internet offers a plethora of freely available information for possible use in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) operations. However, along with this information come challenges in finding relevant information and overcoming information overload. This paper presents the results of an ongoing research in a Tailored Information Delivery Services (TIDS) system that aids users in retrieving relevant information through various open intelligence sources. The TIDS provides a semantics-based query constructor that operates in a “What You Get is What You Need (WYGIWYN^TM)” fashion and builds ontology based information tagging, theme extractor, and contextual model.

Challenges Of Creating A Knowledge-Based Society: Education & Research For India & Gujarat, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering Phase Conjugation In Fiber Optic Waveguides, Steven M. Massey

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research effort was to demonstrate the path to continuous wave, coherent beam combination through stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugation in optical fiber. This work experimentally determined the fiber parameters necessary for phase conjugation in step-index optical fiber. Continuous wave phase conjugation using stimulated Brillouin scattering in step-index fibers was achieved for the first time with a fidelity of 0.8 and a threshold power of 16 W in a 15-m fiber with 0.13 NA. A fidelity of 0.8 was also achieved using 40 m of fiber with 0.06-NA and a threshold power of 15 W. The fidelity …

Monitoring Metal Containing Particulates Distribution On A College Campus Using Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) Leaves As Receptors., Suresh Chandra Regmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to determine the distribution of particulates carrying heavy metals at selected sites on a college campus using dandelion leaves as collectors. As a comparison, sites far away from the campus surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway Car Racing Stadium were also monitored. To reduce the probability of memory effects from the long-term atmospheric deposition or absorption of metals from soil a seasonal plant, dandelion, was used to monitor the metal contents. The metals monitored are cadmium, calcium, copper, chromium, iron, lead, and zinc. Fourteen sites were monitored and samples were collected once a week initially (growing time of the …

Optical And Electrochemical Molecular And Nanoscale Sensors For The Selective Detection Of Organophosphorus Based Pesticides, Chandrima De

Masters Theses

Organophosphorus based pesticides are highly toxic and represent serious environmental concerns. These compounds tend to easily enter ground water and cause drastic pollution. The toxicity levels of the organophosphorus pesticides however are based on their structures, and hence methods for their selective detection are in high demand. The creation of new materials for sensing and actuation requires careful manipulation of the responsive units required to control analyte selectivity. We have successfully designed and synthesized a molecular sensor based on the family of stilbenes that not only can detect organophosphorus pesticides, but also distinguish between them. Four different pesticides have been …

Spectroscopic Study Of Compressible Mobile Phase And Stationary Phase Behavior In Chromatography, Lawrence R. Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Raman spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence, and sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy are used to investigate the behavior of compressible mobile phases and stationary phases under a variety of chromatographic conditions. Efforts to understand and optimize separations employing compressible mobile phases have been limited by a lack of understanding of the mobile phase density gradient. Mobile phase compressibility leads to gradients in linear velocity and solute retention and affects separation speed and efficiency, especially in packed columns. This work describes on-column density measurement of CO2, a common carrier fluid for SFC and SGC, in packed capillary columns using Raman microspectroscopy. On-column detection by …

Back Matter

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Developing Network Situational Awareness Through Visualization Of Fused Intrusion Detection System Alerts, Serafin A. Avitia V

Theses and Dissertations

With networks increasing in physical size, bandwidth, traffic volume, and malicious activity, network analysts are experiencing greater difficulty in developing network situational awareness. Traditionally, network analysts have used Intrusion Detection Systems to gain awareness but this method is outdated when analysts are unable to process the alerts at the rate they are being generated. Analysts are unwittingly placing the computer assets they are charged to protect at risk when they are unable to detect these network attacks. This research effort examines the theory, application, and results of using visualizations of fused alert data to develop network situational awareness. The fused …

A Secure And Efficient Communications Architecture For Global Information Grid Users Via Cooperating Space Assets, Victor P. Hubenko Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

With the Information Age in full and rapid development, users expect to have global, seamless, ubiquitous, secure, and efficient communications capable of providing access to real-time applications and collaboration. The United States Department of Defense’s (DoD) Network-Centric Enterprise Services initiative, along with the notion of pushing the “power to the edge,” aims to provide end-users with maximum situational awareness, a comprehensive view of the battlespace, all within a secure networking environment. Building from previous AFIT research efforts, this research developed a novel security framework architecture to address the lack of efficient and scalable secure multicasting in the low earth orbit …

An Analysis Of Botnet Vulnerabilities, Sean W. Hudson

Theses and Dissertations

Botnets are a significant threat to computer networks and data stored on networked computers. The ability to inhibit communication between servers controlling the botnet and individual hosts would be an effective countermeasure. The objective of this research was to find vulnerabilities in Unreal IRCd that could be used to shut down the server. Analysis revealed that Unreal IRCd is a very mature and stable IRC server and no significant vulnerabilities were found. While this research does not eliminate the possibility that a critical vulnerability is present in the Unreal IRCd software, none were identified during this effort.

Exploration Of The Chemical And Biological Processes Through Molecular Dynamics Simulation And Blocklocalized Wavefunction Method, Yuchun Lin

Dissertations

Computer simulation plays a crucial role in interpreting, unifying and guiding experimental observations. In this dissertation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the block-localized wavefunction (BLW) method have been used to explore the chemical and biological processes.

Detailed MD simulations were performed to study the transportation of NH₄⁺, NH₃ and H₂O through the Escherichia coli ammonium transporter (AmtB) membrane protein. A periplasmic recruitment vestibule was identified and the entrance of an NH₄⁺ into this vestibule requires only 3.1 kcal/mol. In the end of this vestibule, the phenyl ring of Phe107 dynamically opens and …

Darfur: Rainfall And Conflict, Michael Kevane, Leslie C. Gray

Economics

Data on rainfall patterns only weakly corroborate the claim that climate change explains the Darfur conflict that began in 2003 and has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million persons. Rainfall in Darfur did not decline significantly in the years prior to the eruption of major conflict in 2003; rainfall exhibited a flat trend in the thirty-years preceding the conflict (1972-2002). The rainfall evidence suggests instead a break around 1971. Rainfall is basically stationary over the pre- and post-1971 sub-periods. The break is larger for the more northerly rainfall stations, and is less noticeable for En …

Greenpeace, Earth First! And The Earth Liberation Front: The Progression Of The Radical Environmental Movement In America, Christopher J. Covill

Senior Honors Projects

Causes of worldwide environmental destruction created a form of activism, Ecotage with an incredible success rate. Ecotage uses direct action, or monkey wrenching, to prevent environmental destruction. Mainstream conservation efforts were viewed by many environmentalists as having failed from compromise inspiring the birth of radicalized groups. This eventually transformed conservationists into radicalists. Green Peace inspired radical environmentalism by civil disobedience, media campaigns and direct action tactics, but remained mainstream. Earth First’s! philosophy is based on a no compromise approach. They took direct action tactics further than Green Peace was willing too. Earth First’s! direct action campaigns epitomize modern environmental radicalism. …

Preparation And Characterization Of Macroporous Electrodes For Electrochemical Bioassays, Ashwin Rao

All Dissertations

Applications such as point-of-care medical diagnosis and in-the-field biological warfare agent detection require portable bioassays which are less laborious yet cost effective. Conventional sandwich bioassays see limited use for such applications as it involves time consuming steps of reagent treatment and washings, and are restricted to use inside laboratories. We explore new platforms for sandwich bioassays required by such applications. The platform we have developed is based on electrochemical methods of detection. Flow-through three-dimensional electrodes suitable for use in electrochemical sandwich bioassays were fabricated. A composite of superporous agarose and reticulated vitreous carbon (SPA-RVC) material was used for the fabrication …

The Devil’S Calculus: Mathematical Models Of Civil War, Ajay Shenoy

Honors Scholar Theses

In spite of the movement to turn political science into a real science, various mathematical methods that are now the staples of physics, biology, and even economics are thoroughly uncommon in political science, especially the study of civil war. This study seeks to apply such methods - specifically, ordinary differential equations (ODEs) - to model civil war based on what one might dub the capabilities school of thought, which roughly states that civil wars end only when one side’s ability to make war falls far enough to make peace truly attractive. I construct several different ODE-based models and then test …

Method Of Preparing A Chiral Substrate Surface By Electrodeposition, Jay A. Switzer, Hiten M. Kothari, Shuji Nakanishi, Eric W. Bohannan

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A solid substrate comprising a surface comprising an achiral array of atoms having thereupon a chiral metal oxide surface. The chiral metal oxide surface is prepared by electrodeposition of a chiral metal oxide array from a solution of a chiral salt of the metal. In one embodiment, chiral CuO is grown on achiral Au(001) by epitaxial electrodeposition. The handedness of the film is determined by the specific enantiomer of tartrate ion in the deposition solution. (R,R)- tartrate produces an S—CuO(l 1 T) film, while (S,S)-tartrate produces an R—CuO(Tl 1) film. These chiral CuO films are enantiospecific for the electrochemical oxidation …

38th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

Western Kentucky University 38th Annual Student Research Conference program and student abstracts. Saturday, April 12, 2008, Carroll Knicely Conference Center, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Back Matter

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.