Digital Commons Network^™

Gender And Color Specific Differences In Event Related Potentials, Abhishek Trikha

Theses and Dissertations

This project analyzed gender and color-specific differences in event-related potentials (ERPs). Previous studies have shown that males process color differently than females. In a recent study, sex differences were found in ERPs during a visual object recognition task. There were higher EEG amplitudes in females (especially P300) than males. Significant sex and color-specific differences have been found in diseases involving altered dopamine (DA) machinery. Thus, we analyzed differences between ERPs in males vs females during a color task. We also compared the color-specific differences in ERPs between males and females. Males and females participated in EEG recording sessions for 2 …

Eit, Slow Light, And Sealing Methods For Embedding Rubidium Into The Arrow System, Katherine Barnett Hurd

Theses and Dissertations

Light-matter interactions are fundamentally based on the quantum mechanical principles that govern photons, electrons and other fundamental particles. One very interesting phenomenon within all of light-matter interactions is Electromagnetically Induced Transparency(EIT). This phenomenon causes an otherwise absorbing atomic transition to stop absorbing through quantum mechanical interference of probability wave functions. Corresponding to that change in absorption, will be a sudden, large change in the index of refraction. This change in the index of refraction leads to another phenomenon in which the group velocity of light can be slowed down dramatically. In the past, many researchers have been able to achieve …

A Comparative Verification Of Forecasts From Two Operational Solar Wind Models, Donald C. Norquist, Warner C. Meeks

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The solar wind (SW) and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) have a significant influence on the near‐Earth space environment. In this study we evaluate and compare forecasts from two models that predict SW and IMF conditions: the Hakamada‐Akasofu‐Fry (HAF) version 2, operational at the Air Force Weather Agency, and Wang‐Sheeley‐Arge (WSA) version 1.6, executed routinely at the Space Weather Prediction Center. SW speed (V_sw) and IMF polarity (Bpol) forecasts at L1 were compared with Wind and Advanced Composition Explorer satellite observations. Verification statistics were computed by study year and forecast day. Results revealed that both models’ mean Vsw are …

Strict Isolation Compliance: A Quality Improvement Initiative Implementation Process, Debra Apenhorst

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is a retrospective description and evaluation of an implementation process for a quality improvement initiative. The intent of the quality improvement initiative was to improve compliance with isolation as a means of reducing healthcare associated infections. The project evaluates the effectiveness of the implementation strategies through the lens of the Health Belief Modal and Watson's theoretical framework. This evaluation considers the health beliefs of healthcare workers and the impact on behavior and implications of nurse as vigilant guardian, protecting the patients by decreasing the risk of acquiring an infection while receiving medical care. Integral to Watson's theory is the …

Advanced Topics On State Complexity Of Combined Operations, Yuan Gao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

State complexity is a fundamental topic in formal languages and automata theory. The study of state complexity is also strongly motivated by applications of finite automata in software engineering, programming languages, natural language and speech processing and other practical areas. Since many of these applications use automata of large sizes, it is important to know the number of states of the automata. In this thesis, we firstly discuss the state complexities of individual operations on regular languages, including union, intersection, star, catenation, reversal and so on. The state complexity of an operation on unary languages is usually different from that …

Designing The Digital Ecosystem Of The Virtual Museum Of The Pacific, Peter Eklund, Peter Goodall, Tim Wray, Brogan Bunt, Amanda Lawson, L. Christidis, V. Daniel, M. Van Olffen

Amanda Lawson

The Virtual Museum of the Pacific is a digital ecosystem implemented as Web 2.0 application that experiments with information and knowledge acquisition for a digital collection of museum artifacts from the Australian Museum. The Virtual Museum of the Pacific allows several search methods: attribute search based on a control vocabulary, query refinement and query-by-example but importantly it facilitates a number of social media interfaces that enable content to be added and tagged, the control vocabulary to be extended, user perspectives to be defined and narratives added via wiki. We characterize the design of the Virtual Museum of the Pacific as: …

Collectionweb Digital Ecosystems: A Semantic Web And Web 2.0 Framework For Generating Museum Web Sites, Peter Eklund, Peter Goodall, Amanda Lawson, Tim Wray

Amanda Lawson

CollectionWeb is a development platform for Web-based social media sites that distribute, display, annotate and management digital collection content. CollectionWeb is based on an approach that generates semantic navigation interfaces that induces pages from collection metadata using Formal Concept Analysis.

The Art Collection Ecosystem: Discovering Art Using Formal Concept Analysis, Tim Wray, Peter Eklund, Amanda Lawson

Amanda Lawson

We describe an application and case study in the design and evaluation of the Art Collection Ecosystem (ACE) | a Rich Internet Application that supports the ability of users to browse and explore art collections using Formal Concept Analysis. With a view of a system that allows browsing of tagged content, 25 participants conducted a usability study within the context of a popular social media website - Flickr. We describe key design elements within its user interface and incorporate re- visions of its design based on user feedback. We incorporate these results into a framework called CollectionWeb - a set …

Is Solution For The Global Environmental Challenge: An Australian Initiative, Trevor A. Spedding, Aditya K. Ghose, Helen M. Hasan

Trevor Spedding

There is a complex range of interrelated environmental issues that currently challenge decision-makers across the world. To date the reputation of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Australia, and elsewhere, has been quite negative with respect to its effect on the environment. The recent "Green IT" initiatives of the Australian Computer Society to reduce carbon emission are manifestations of this. While not denying the worth of this agenda, the authors of this paper suggest that it is timely to promote a more positive position for ICT as a source of solutions to environmental problems. In this paper, we …

Socially Innovative And Commercially Viable: Partners Or Prisoners Of Future Business Developments, Patrick M. Dawson, Trevor A. Spedding, Michael D. Clements, Lisa Daniel

Trevor Spedding

There is a growing need for supply chain partners to work together in improving their performance and systems of operation. New information and communication technologies can be used to improve operations and facilitate the building of closer relationships, but they can also serve to undermine relations and create tensions. RFID represents the first major improvement traceability technology that potentially supersedes barcodes and our study seeks to develop a simulation model that moves beyond a purely technical analysis, towards an assessment that is able to accommodate the social and cultural dimensions in providing a dynamic roadmap for change.

Carbon-Centric Computing: It Solutions For Climate Change, Aditya K. Ghose, Helen M. Hasan, T. Spedding

Trevor Spedding

IT has a role to play in the current debate on climate change. The current discourse on IT and climate change views IT in a negative light, as a polluter. What remains unrecognized is the critical role of IT as a source of solutions to the climate change problem. We live in a massive, inter-connected Planet Earth Supply Chain. IT provides a range of tools to model, manage and optimize this supply chain. The University of Wollongong Carbon-Centric Computing Initiative (CCCI) seeks to seed a program of research that addresses the climate change problem with a range of computing technologies …

Mapping Literature Infrastructure In Australia, Wenche Ommundsen, Michael Jacklin

Wenche Ommundsen

This report, a partnership project co-funded by the University of Wollongong and the Australia Council for the Arts, presents findings from research into the literature infrastructure of Australia. ‘Literature infrastructure’ refers to the organisations within the literature sector that actively support writers and their work: state writers’ centres, Varuna – The Writers’ Centre, the Australian Society of Authors, literary journals, genrebased organisations, and writers’ festivals. The study aims to determine where each organisation sits in the ‘supply chain’ of support and what contribution it makes to the literature sector as a whole: what services and opportunities are offered to writers, …

Phd_Thesis - Tactical Modelation Of Volleyball Game (Modelação Da Performance No Jogo De Voleibol Estudo De Indicadores Preditivos Do Rendimento Desportivo Em Equipas De Alto Nível), Rui Marcelino

Rui Marcelino

The purpose of this study was to study elite men Volleyball game as a complex entity that is adaptable to situational contexts. In this sense, situational variables such as home advantage, quality of opposition, match status and match periods were examined as having a possible influence on sports performance. The first empirical study analyzed 65.949 game actions taken from 275 sets played in the 2005 Men World League and examined the odds of winning each one of the five sets of the match according to game location (home vs. away); results showed that the advantage for home teams (home advantage) …

2010 Newsmakers: Celebrating Our Own, Paul Mayne, Jason Winders

Vivian C. McAlister

How will we remember 2010? Probably through these faces. This year, the Western News starts a new, if not wholly original, tradition. Our Newsmakers 2010 section celebrates the best of research, academia and volunteer spirit that we have to offer on this campus. We spotlight, in brief words and striking images, the accomplishments of some of our favourites from the last year. One of the most powerful women in Canada. A student with an eye for the greater good. And a man who would do anything, including posing with a zebra, for the United Way. A football coach. A ground-breaking …

Retinylidene Iminium Salts And Related Systems, Gary Stephen Shaw

Gary M. Shaw

This thesis encompasses some investigations into the structure and chemistry of iminium salts. The interest in this work stems from previous investigations of the visual pigment rhodopsin and a related protein, bacteriorhodopsin. Both of these proteins have been shown to consist of an iminium salt linkage between the chromophore and the protein. Also, these compounds are able to absorb light in the visible region of the spectrum and undergo efficient isomerization processes. A series of iminium salts related to these natural chromophores were prepared and characterized by a variety of spectroscopic methods in both solution and the solid states. In …

Vet Leadership For The Future: Contexts, Characteristics And Capabilities : Research Briefing., Hamish Bennett Coates, V Lynn Meek, Justin Brown, Tim Friedman, Peter Noonan, John Mitchell

Dr Justin Brown

Key insights:

Leadership is about managing change and guiding growth in fluid environments.

Leadership requires a ‘change capable culture’ that gives space to lead.

VET needs strategies for managing the looming succession crisis.

Too little is known about leaders and their work.

Leaders’ roles and work focus are not clearly defined.

Markers of effective performance are not clearly defined and deployed.

Produce a framework of key capabilities and competencies.

Effective leadership education must be current and shaped by understanding of effective practice.

Using The Nominal Group Technique To Select The Most Appropriate Topics For Postgraduate Research Students' Seminars, Sandra C. Jones

Sandra Jones

In 2003, the Faculty of Health & Behavioural Sciences at our university offered a series of postgraduate research seminars. The series of seminars, selected by a three-person faculty team, received a mixed reaction - some seminars attracted a large proportion of the students whereas others were poorly attended. Thus, it was decided to continue the seminar series in 2004, but to undertake some formative evaluation to determine the students' preferences for the seminar topics. It was important to gain input from as many students as possible, and to allow maximum latitude for responses. It was decided to conduct a two-stage …

Hugo De Vries., Daniel Trembly Macdougal

The Open Court

No abstract provided.

Capital Punishments And Religious Arguments: An Intermediate Approach, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

Determining the place and use of capital punishment in the American legal system is a challenging affair and one that is closely associated with and determined by religion's role in American legal decision-making. Both capital punishment and religion are controversial issues, and tend to challenge legal scholars and practitioners about whether they should function together or alone as valid parts of the legal system in the United States. Professor Levine argues that religious arguments should be employed to interpret and explain American legal thought when the need or proper situation arises. He uses capital punishment as an example of how …

Evaluation Of Micro Irrigation Systems, Charles M. Burt, Robert E. Walker, Stuart W. Styles

Stuart W. Styles

No abstract provided.

Free To Move: Migration, Tax Competition And Redistribution, Woojin Lee

Woojin Lee

We study a model of tax competition between two countries when both skilled and unskilled workers make their migration decisions simultaneously and wages are endogenously determined. If both factors of production are allowed to migrate freely and when the demand for skilled labor is not so elastic, the problem typically predicted in the literature of tax competition that increased mobility of production factors will pose a severe threat to redistribution possibility is less acute than it might first appear. The equilibrium tax rate can be not only positive but also increasing in the degree of mobility of unskilled workers. This …

Racism, Xenophobia, And Redistribution, Woojin Lee, John Roemer, Karine Van Der Straeten

Woojin Lee

We report here a summary of our recent research on the effect that the race issue, in the United States, and the immigration issue in European countries, is having on the degree of redistribution and the size of the public sector that is implemented through political competition. We model political competition as taking place on a two dimensional policy space, where the first issue is the tax rate, or the size of the public sector, and the second issue is the race or immigration issue. Our substantive conclusion is that the conservative economic agenda has been given new life in …

Values And Politics In The Us: An Equilibrium Analysis Of The 2004 Election, Woojin Lee, John Roemer

Woojin Lee

The CNN exit polls after the 2004 election rated ‘moral values’ the most important issue; next came ‘jobs and the economy.’ Eighty percent of the voters who rated moral values the most important issue voted for Bush while eighty percent of the voters who rated jobs and the economy the most important voted for Kerry. We study the extent to which the distribution of voter opinion on moral values influences the positions that parties take on the economic issue, which we take to be the size of the public sector, through political competition. There are at least two distinct ways …

The Game Of Unity?: The 2007 Cricket World Cup As A Catalyst Toward Caribbean Identity Construction, Peta-Gaye J. Wiggan

Communication Theses

It was paramount for the English-speaking Caribbean to host a successful 2007 Cricket World Cup and field an outstanding West Indian cricket team for the international sporting mega-event. For CARICOM and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), there were two principle goals – first, to exhibit regional Caribbean identity, and second, to be triumphant under the leadership of the West Indian cricket team’s captain, Trinidadian Brian Lara. Identities are multifaceted and intricate, negotiated and renegotiated, based on a history of economic, political and cultural forces. This thesis interrogates Caribbean identity through textual analysis of the broadcast of the opening ceremony …

Chaos And Universality In Two-Dimensional Ising Spin Glasses, Alan Middleton, Creighton K. Thomas, David A. Huse

Physics - All Scholarship

Recently extended precise numerical methods and droplet scaling arguments allow for a coherent picture of the glassy states of two-dimensional Ising spin glasses to be assembled. The length scale at which entropy becomes important and produces "chaos", the extreme sensitivity of the state to temperature, is found to depend on the type of randomness. For the $\pm J$ model this length scale dominates the low-temperature specific heat. Although there is a type of universality, some critical exponents do depend on the distribution of disorder.

Eudora Welty's Theatrical Sketches Of 1948: Summer Diversion Or Lost Potential? Bye-Bye Brevoort And Other Sketches, Leslie H. Gordon

English Theses

Eudora Welty is well-known for her many works of fiction and non-fiction, but not known for her works for the theater. In the summer of 1948 Welty moved to New York and wrote, in collaboration with another writer, a musical revue entitled What Year Is This? Only one of the sketches, “Bye-Bye Brevoort,” was ever produced. This and other sketches in the unpublished manuscript deserve to be studied alongside Welty’s other work. These writings provide a window into her love of New York, her vast knowledge of the fine arts, and the evolution of her writing styles. In January of …

Within Classroom Peer Effects And Tracking: Assessing The Impact Of Classroom Peer Variation And Ability Tracking With Disaggregated High School Data, C Kevin Fortner

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on two distinct relationships: 1) classroom peer ability and student end-of-course test outcomes and 2) school tracking policy and student end-of-course test outcomes. Utilizing the education production function and hierarchical linear models, this dissertation contributes to the literature in the field of public policy by extending the work of previous scholars and focusing attention on these relationships in three high school subjects (English I, Algebra I, and Biology). In addition, I present a novel method for identifying tracking intensity within schools. The primary research questions addressed in the dissertation include: 1) To what extent does the ability …

Three Essays On The Search For Economic Efficiency, Jason J. Delaney

Economics Dissertations

The chapters of this dissertation examine efficiency failures in three areas of applied microeconomics: experimental economics, public finance, and game theory. In each case, we look at ways to resolve these failures to promote the public good. The first chapter, “An Experimental Test of the Pigovian Hypothesis,” looks at two different policies designed to reduce congestion in a common-pool resource (CPR). We present an experiment with training and a simplified decision task and find that subject behavior converges to the Nash prediction over a number of periods. A Pigovian subsidy effectively moves subject behavior to the pre-subsidy social optimum. Finally, …

Serum Vitamin Concentrations Are Associated With Metabolic Syndrome And Insulin Resistance In Us Children, Nida I. Shaikh

Nutrition Theses

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a concern in the US. Association between vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome (MetS), insulin resistance (IR), and inflammation is unclear in children. Objective: The relationship between serum vitamin D and MetS, C-reactive protein (CRP), and Homeostatic Model Assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) was investigated. Design: Data from 3 cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001-2006 for 3700 (1820, boys; 1880, girls) children and adolescents, aged 12-17 y were used to assess prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng>/mL) and association between serum vitamin D and prevalence of MetS, various components of MetS, CRP, and HOMA-IR …

The Poet And The "Temple Of Delight": Allegory In "Ode On Melancholy" And Blake's "Songs", Stuart H. Hunt

English Honors Theses

In the final stanza of John Keats’s “Ode on Melancholy,” there are capitalized emotions such as “Joy” that are characters within the poem. William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” include personified emotions in much the same way. In this paper I will define allegory as using a “radical dispersonification” in which personified objects within the poem point to something abstract that exists on its own, outside the context of the poem. Given the similarity of Keats’s poem and Blake’s “Songs,” there is the possibility that as Romantics, Blake influenced Keats. In the sense that Blake’s “Songs” are …