Digital Commons Network^™

Study Of Blast Wave Impact On Concrete, Ajit Geevarghese John

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The past decade has brought an upsurge of terrorist attacks throughout the world. A common form of attack is bombings employed against a civilian structure. These bombs lead to blast waves resulting from high explosive bursts in air, causing severe structural damage to buildings that often collapse before evacuation is possible. These blast waves subject the buildings to repeated dynamic loading in the form of reflecting shock waves which then finally lead to their destruction. Many studies have been carried out to understand the static loading of these structures. The current study is to protect existing buildings from an explosion. …

Research For Dynamic Seal Friction Modeling In Linear Motion Hydraulic Piston Applications, Brian Edward Suisse

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This paper presents a unique physics-based analytic model for dynamic seal friction in hydraulic actuators as a function of cylinder pressure, seal material, piston rod dimensions, piston rod seal gland dimensions, and other influencing factors. Results from a series of friction tests are presented. Finite element analysis of an installed seal is used to predict contact stress between the seal and the gland, providing a normal force against the sealing surface. This information is used to determine coefficients of friction within the test specimen. From the analysis, a pressure-sensitive model is generated. The friction model is overlaid on the test …

Marriage Or Career? Domestic Ideology In George Gissing's The Odd Women, Kuo-Wei Hsu

English Theses - Archive

Although George Gissing is acclaimed for his progressive thoughts on liberating women from patriarchy by establishing financial independence, some critics challenge such praise for Gissing by arguing that he is still confined within patriarchal thinking because he still adheres to domestic ideology, which advocates that women should stay within the domestic sphere and be protected from corruption of the outside world. The discussion of this thesis is divided into two main parts: first, despite their efforts to fight for freedom in marriage, women fail to escape from the control of patriarchy because through domestic ideology patriarchy still drives women back …

Overseas Language Learning Experience: Student Beliefs About Their Teachers' Qualifications, Frank Bradford Bailey

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

This study investigates ESL student beliefs about ESL teachers' overseas experience (OE), language learning experience (LLE), and overseas language learning experience (OLLE), the combination of the two, as well as student attitudes toward native-English-speaking teachers. Data is gathered via an online survey from students of university or college-affiliated Intensive English Progams in the United States. The results show that respondents consider OE and LLE to be important experiences for ESL teachers, and strongly prefer native-english-speaking teachers, although non-native-english-speaking teachers have both OE and LLE. Results suggest that OLLE may be considered a separate factor, but sample size was too small …

Game Theoretical Models And Algorithms For Rate Control In Video Compression, Jiancong Luo

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This thesis investigates game theory based rate control algorithms for optimizing the bit allocation in video compression. The first algorithm utilizes the cooperative bargaining game in a MB level rate control algorithm to optimize the perceptual quality while guaranteeing "fairness" in bit allocation among macroblocks. The algorithm first allocates the target bits to frames based on their coding complexity; a method to estimate the coding complexity of the remaining frames is proposed. Next, macroblocks of a frame play cooperative games such that each macroblock competes for a share of resources (bits) to optimize its quantization scale while considering the human …

Investigation Of Minimum Response For Damage Assessment, Jeffrey Kirk

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Assessment of structural damage based on changes in vibratory response characteristics has been researched for many years, with much attention directed toward the use of modal parameters. Modal responses contribute to form points of local minima in the frequency response of a system. The frequency and amplitude values corresponding to these points of minimum response can be analytically determined, experimentally measured, and shown to exhibit sensitivity to damage. This work was performed to investigate the possible contribution that explicitly targeted minimum response information could provide in a damage detection process. A simple 6-DOF discrete spring-mass system was used to conduct …

Deformable Haptic Models For Surgical Simulation, Xiuzhong Wang

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Surgical simulation is in great need for surgical training, analysis, planing and rehearsal. The core of this simulation is the deformable models for the organs. The deformable model must provides both realistic visual effects (graphics) and high fidelity force feedback (haptics) in real time, without distractive visual artifacts and misleading tactile clues. In view of the requirement of physical accuracy, physically based deformable models are favorable for surgical simulation. Physically based deformable modeling has been a serious research topic for about twenty years in the computer graphics community. For computer animation, a great deal of work has been done so …

Effects Of Base Station Power Control And Soft Handoff On The Outage And Capacity In The Forward Link Of Cdma Systems, Dongdong Li

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This thesis focuses on the capacity analysis of the forward link of code division multiple access (CDMA) systems by characterizing the base station (BS) power distribution. With the rapid growth of data and multi-media traffic, the forward link becomes the system bottleneck. How to design an efficient call admission algorithm in the forward link to effectively use the limited base station power while guaranteeing certain quality of service is important to increase the forward link capacity. To effectively use the limited BS power, we need to understand the BS power distribution given a certain traffic pattern. However, the characterization of …

Group Key Distribution Via Local Collaboration In Wireless Sensor Networks, Anuj Chadha

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Wireless sensor networks have been recognized as one of the most important technologies in the networking world. Security of sensor networks is one of the major concerns today. To this end, a whole suite of protocols have been designed to provide various security features which includes key management. This thesis covers the issue of group key management in wireless sensor networks. Traditional cryptographic techniques can be used to provide communication privacy and integrity, but do not provide scalable solutions to group key management. A group key management scheme for sensor networks has been discussed that targets at fast response to …

Distributed Streaming For Video On Demand, Shraddha Rumade

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

With the advent of digital media, implementing reliable Video on Demand (VoD) systems over the best effort Internet is a potential issue. Distributed streaming for Video on Demand presents a combination of two techniques. The first being Distributed Video Streaming using Multicast (DVSM) [1] involves video streaming from multiple servers to overcome path congestion. The second technique, Asynchronous Hybrid mechanism for Video on Demand [2] implements segmentation-based periodic broadcast to effectively share network bandwidth. In this work we aim at providing path diversity of multiple senders and maximizing bandwidth sharing via multicast. We exploit alternate paths in case of congestion …

Statistical Analysis Of Rock Fabrics, Boris Avdeev

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

The main goal of the work is to present new procedures for statistical analysis of fabric data for structural geology. After an introduction to the problems of orientation analysis, discussion of different types of the orientation data and a brief review of the existing techniques and statistics for the orientation data, a comprehensive discussion of several proposed methods is given. The first part of the methodology chapter states a general model in terms of a structural frame and introduces some notation. The second part is a detailed description of a pooled estimator, which is intended to assess a structural frame …

The Least-Squares Finite Element Method For Grid Deformation And Meshfree Applications, Dionisio Laeber Fleitas

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Grid adaptation is often needed to improve the numerical solution of a Partial Differential Equation (PDE), due to, for example, shock waves and boundary layers. In moving boundary problems, the grid needs to be regenerated or adapted to fit the new domain. In this work, a LSFEM deformation method is developed for grid generation on fixed or moving domains. The LSFEM is a finite-elements method which seeks to minimize the PDE residual equation through the least-squares method. A new class of numerical methods currently being researched is the meshfree methods, in which the main goal is to numerically solve PDEs …

Automating Inhabitant Interactions In Home And Workplace Environments Through Data-Driven Generation Of Hierarchical Partially-Observable Markov Decision Processes, Gregory Michael Youngblood

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Markov models provide a useful representation of system behavioral actions and state observations, but they do not scale well. Utilizing a hierarchy and abstraction through hierarchical hidden Markov models (HHMMs) improves scalability, but these structures are usually constructed manually using knowledge engineering techniques. We introduce a new method of automatically constructing HHMMs using the output of a sequential data-mining algorithm, Episode Discovery, and apply it to solving automation problems in the intelligent environment domain. Repetitive behavioral actions in sensor rich environments such as smart homes can be observed and categorized into periodic and frequent episodes through data-mining techniques utilizing the …

The 2d4d Ratio And Cyclic Shifts As Predictors Of Self-Perceived Quality And Permissiveness, Jason Cole Lyons

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

The following paper discusses the findings from background research leading up to a discussion of findings from the present study. The relationships between female sexual permissiveness and female's self-perceived quality (SPQ) as a potential mate, male quality, and female age were evaluated. A woman's SPQ was predicted to correlate negatively with acceptance of sexual propositions but the data failed to support the prediction. It was further predicted that when male quality was relatively greater than female SPQ, the probability of accepting a casual sex proposition would be greater. Partial support for this prediction was found. Older females were more likely …

A First-Principles Study On Bulk Cuo: Electronic Structures And Native Point Defects, Dangxin Wu

Physics Theses - Archive

In this thesis, we have performed a first-principles study on strongly correlated monoclinic cupric oxide (CuO) by using the LSDA+U method implemented in the PAW method. Based on the optimized structural parameters, which are in good agreement with the experimental data, the electronic structure and the magnetic properties are obtained. Our calculations show that CuO is a semiconducting material with an indirect gap of about 1.0 eV. The semiconducting nature of CuO from our calculations is consistent with many experiments, but is qualitatively different from the LSDA calculations which incorrectly predict CuO to be metallic. The indirect gap of 1.0 …

Development Of A Steel Bridge System - Simple For Dead Load And Continuous For Live Load, Atorod Azizinamini, Aaron Jon Yakel, Mohammadreza Farimani

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Time And Frequency Of Applications Of Entomopathogenic Nematodes And Their Persistence For Control Of Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella Occidentalis, Difabachew Belay, Lemma Ebssa, Christian Borgemeister

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Post application persistence of two entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora strain HK3 and Steinernema carpocapsae strain DD136, was studied against soil-dwelling late second instar larvae (L2) of western flower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). The nematodes were applied at 200 and 400 infective juveniles (IJ) cm-2, and L2 WFT were introduced at 0 (same day), 3, 6, 9 or 12 days after nematode application (DANA). Heterorhabditis bacteriophora caused higher thrips mortality than S. carpocapsae in most of the tests and both species persisted for at least 6 days, causing WFT mortality of up to 76 and 37.8%, respectively. …

Generalism Versus Specialism: Responses Of Diadegma Mollipla (Holmgren) And Diadegma Semiclausum (Hellen), To The Host Shift Of The Diamondback Moth (Plutella Xylostella L.) To Peas, A. Roßbach, B. Löhr, S. Vidal

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

A population of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) (DBM) was recently found to infest sugar snap- and snowpeas in the Rift Valley in Kenya, causing heavy damage. The influence of this host shift on host location preferences of two parasitoids was investigated: The indigenous Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren) regarded as a relative generalist, and Diadegma semiclausum(Hellen), regarded as highly specific to DBM. The attractiveness of different odour sources was compared for the two parasitoid species using a Y-tube olfactometer using naïve females. D. mollipla was not significantly attracted to any cabbage related odours but showed a significant preference …

Chapman Releases 2005 Economic Forecast Update, Chapman University Media Relations

Chapman Press Releases 2003-2011

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Grain Legumes And Cover Crops On Maize Yield And Plant Damage By Busseola Fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In The Humid Forest Of Southern Cameroon, A. Chabi-Olaye, C. Nolte, F. Schulthess, C. Borgemeister

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Field trials were run in the humid forest zone of Cameroon to investigate the effects of crop rotation, cover crops and bush fallow on infestations by the noctuid stemborer Busseola fusca (Fuller) and on yield of maize. A continuous maize production system was compared with crop sequence systems, in which maize followed a grain legume (cowpea, soybean), cover crop (mucuna, pigeon pea) or a bush fallow. Compared to the continuous maize cropping system, maize in the crop sequence with legume and fallow systems had significantly higher leaf and stem nitrogen content at 35 and 63 days after planting (DAP), respectively. …

Chapman Trustee, Wife Establish Italian Professorship, Chapman University Media Relations

Chapman Press Releases 2003-2011

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Tattoos On Perceptions Of Credibility And Attractiveness, John S. Seiter, Sarah Hatch

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined the effects of tattooing on perception of a male's and a female's credibility and attractiveness. 74 undergraduates viewed a photograph of a tattooed or nontattooed male or female model and then rated dimensions of the models' credibility and attractiveness. Analysis indicated that, although the models' attractiveness ratings were not affected by having a tattoo, their credibility ratings were generally lower when wearing a tattoo than when not wearing one.

Spink County, Sd Air Photos (1953 - Part A), Plant Science Department

South Dakota Counties Aerial Photos Collection

Pedology CD 05-9
This file contains 193 images from 1953 for Spink County, SD.

The photos are from Spink (1953 – Part A) County, SD. No index map was prepared for the photos. The original photo scale was 1:20,000 or 3.2 inches = 1 mile. The inventory of images does not represent coverage of the entire county. The images contained in this file represent part of the air photo collection for Spink County, SD that the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Pedology Project had on June 2005.
The structure of the files is as follows:

1. There is a file folder …

Spink County, Sd Air Photos (1939 Field Notes + Soil Lines), Plant Science Department

South Dakota Counties Aerial Photos Collection

Pedology CD 05-8
This file contains 94 images from 1939 for Spink County, SD.

The photos are from Spink (1939 Field Notes + Soil Lines) County, SD. No index map was prepared for the photos. The original photo scales were 1:15,840 or 4.0 inches = 1 mile and 1:20,000 or 3.2 inches = 1 mile. The inventory of images does not represent coverage of the entire county. The images contained in this file represent part of the air photo collection for Spink County, SD that the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Pedology Project had on June 2005.

The structure of …

Spink County, Sd Air Photos (1939 Part C + Field Notes), Plant Science Department

South Dakota Counties Aerial Photos Collection

Pedology CD 05-6
This file contains 119 images, plus 23 backside images, from 1939 for Spink County, SD.

The photos are from Spink (1939 Part C + Field Notes) County, SD. No index map was prepared for the photos. The scale of the original photos was 1:15,840 or 4.0 inches = 1 mile. The inventory of images does not represent coverage of the entire county. The images contained in this file represent part of the air photo collection for Spink County, SD that the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Pedology Project had on June 2005.
The structure of the file …

The Effect Of Patriotic Messages On Restaurant Tipping, John S. Seiter, R. H. Gass

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study compared the effectiveness of 2 types of patriotic messages with a warmth/ ingratiation message and a control condition on restaurant tipping. Two female food servers waited on 100 parties eating dinner. When diners were finished with their meals, servers left them 1 of 4 messages on their checks: “Have a Nice Day,”“God Bless America,”“United We Stand,” or no message. Results indicated that parties who received the “United We Stand” message left significantly higher tips than did those receiving no message or the “Have a Nice Day” message. No other significant differences were found. These results and their implications …

Environmental, Genetic, And Maternal Effects On Life-History Traits Of The Striped Ground Cricket, Allonemobius Socius, Diana Lea Huestis

Biology Theses - Archive

Organismal fitness is affected by environmental and genetic factors. More importantly, an interaction between an individual's genotype and current environmental conditions influences the success of that individual in its environment. Significant geographic and environmental correlates of allele frequencies at the Idh-1 locus, combined with a significant genotype-by-environment (GxE) interaction between Idh-1 genotype and temperature that affected fitness of Allonemobius socius, support the hypothesis that allele distributions in this species are the result of natural selection on performance of different genotypes at different temperatures. Additionally, I found that an interaction between parental diapause history and egg-incubation temperature affected the proportion of …

The Parody Of Romance, Tara Donalson

English Theses - Archive

In Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway studies the romance formula, identifying a set of generic criteria which offer its readers escapist purposes. Christian writers have established their own formula on the romance. In my thesis, I look at the parallel formulas found in secular and inspirational romance fiction, searching how inspirational romance evangelizes and gives spiritual instruction to its readers. Secular romance creates stories which explore the idea of everlasting love. They create a relationship between a flawed hero and innocent heroine who fall in love at first sight; out of this imperfect relationship …

Spink County, Sd Air Photos (1953 Part B), Plant Science Department

South Dakota Counties Aerial Photos Collection

Pedology CD 05-10
This file contains 159 images from 1953 for Spink County, SD.

The photos are from Spink (1953 – Part B) County, SD. No index map was prepared for the photos. The original photo scale was 1:20,000 or 3.2 inches = 1 mile. The inventory of images does not represent coverage of the entire county. The images contained in this file represent part of the air photo collection for Spink County, SD that the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Pedology Project had on June 2005.
The structure of the file is as follows:

1. There is a file folder …

Spink County, Sd Air Photos (1939 Part D + Field Notes), Plant Science Department

South Dakota Counties Aerial Photos Collection

Pedology CD 05-7
This file contains 122 images, plus 13 backside images, from 1939 for Spink County, SD.

The photos are from Spink (1939 Part D + Field Notes) County, SD. No index map was prepared for the photos. The scale of the original photos was 1:15,840 or 4.0 inches = 1 mile. The inventory of images does not represent coverage of the entire county. The images contained in this file represent part of the air photo collection for Spink County, SD that the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Pedology Project had on June 2005.
The structure of the file …