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Engineering Design Challenge, Lindsay B. Wheeler, Brooke A. Whitworth, Amanda L. Gonczi Dec 2014

Engineering Design Challenge, Lindsay B. Wheeler, Brooke A. Whitworth, Amanda L. Gonczi

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An Approximation Algorithm For The Stable Marriagae Problem With Ties And Incomplete Lists, Rommel Jalasutram Dec 2014

An Approximation Algorithm For The Stable Marriagae Problem With Ties And Incomplete Lists, Rommel Jalasutram

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Consider the bipartite matching problem with two sets of participants: men (L) and women (R). Each person participating has a strict and complete preference list over participants from the other set. The goal is to pair men and women such that no one can improve their partner by breaking away from the centralized matching scheme. Problems that exhibit this flavor are commonly classified as ordinal matchings. Gale and Shapley showed how to obtain such a matching (otherwise known as a “stable” matching). Generalizations of this model have found relevance in several centralized matching schemes such as the National Residency Matching …

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An Integrated Systems Engineering Methodology For Design Of Vehicle Handling Dynamics, Mandar Hazare Dec 2014

An Integrated Systems Engineering Methodology For Design Of Vehicle Handling Dynamics, Mandar Hazare

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The primary objective of this research is to develop an integrated system engineering methodology for the conceptual design of vehicle handling dynamics early on in the product development process. A systems engineering-based simulation framework is developed that connects subjective, customer-relevant handling expectations and manufacturers' brand attributes to higher-level objective vehicle engineering targets and consequently breaks these targets down into subsystem-level requirements and component-level design specifications. Such an integrated systems engineering approach will guide the engineering development process and provide insight into the compromises involved in the vehicle-handling layout, ultimately saving product development time and costs and helping to achieve a …

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Majorana Fermions In Chiral Topological Superconductors, Eugen Florin Dumitrescu Dec 2014

Majorana Fermions In Chiral Topological Superconductors, Eugen Florin Dumitrescu

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Majorana fermions were first proposed in the context of high energy physics by Ettore Majorana in 1937, just before his mysterious disappearance. Now, over 70 years later, signatures of condensed matter ana-logues of Majorana fermions are finally appearing in low-dimensional superconductor-based heterostructures. In low-dimensional systems, these order parameter, defect-bound Majorana quasiparticles obey non-Abelian quantum statistics and can therefore be used as the building blocks of a topological quantum computer. In this thesis we will analyze the signatures associated with, and the robustness of, Majorana bound states in a variety of one-dimensional superconducting platforms. Our main result is the finding that …

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Evidence Of Self-Directed Learning On A High School Robotics Team, Nathan R. Dolenc, Claire Mitchell, Robert H. Tai Dec 2014

Evidence Of Self-Directed Learning On A High School Robotics Team, Nathan R. Dolenc, Claire Mitchell, Robert H. Tai

Journal of Youth Development

Self-directed learning is described as an individual taking the initiative to engage in a learning experience while assuming responsibility to follow through to its conclusion. Robotics competitions are examples of informal environments that can facilitate self-directed learning. This study examined how mentor involvement, student behavior, and physical workspace contributed to self-directed learning on one robotics competition team. How did mentors transfer responsibility to students? How did students respond to managing a team? Are the physical attributes of a workspace important? The mentor, student, and workplace factors captured in the research showed mentors wanting students to do the work, students assuming …

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Robust Geotechnical Design - Methodology And Applications, Lei Wang Dec 2014

Robust Geotechnical Design - Methodology And Applications, Lei Wang

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This dissertation is aimed at developing a novel robust geotechnical design methodology and demonstrating this methodology for the design of geotechnical systems. The goal of a robust design is to make the response of a system insensitive to, or robust against, the variation of uncertain geotechnical parameters (termed noise factors in the context of robust design) by carefully adjusting design parameters (those that can be controlled by the designer such as geometry of the design). Through an extensive investigation, a robust geotechnical design methodology that considers explicitly safety, robustness, and cost is developed. Various robustness measures are considered in this …

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The Challenges And Opportunities Throughout The Life Cycle Of Landscape-Scale Collaborative Conservation Organizations: Case Studies In The Southern Appalachians And The Northern Rockies Ecosystems, Jennifer Thomsen Dec 2014

The Challenges And Opportunities Throughout The Life Cycle Of Landscape-Scale Collaborative Conservation Organizations: Case Studies In The Southern Appalachians And The Northern Rockies Ecosystems, Jennifer Thomsen

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Currently our natural environment is threatened by climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other transboundary issues. To address these problems, it is thought that conservation organizations and land management agencies should attempt to manage at larger geographic scales and across political boundaries. The Crown Managers Partnership (CMP) and the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative (SAMAB) are two such organizations that work at an ecoregional scale to support collaboration among agencies, aboriginal groups, conservationists, scientists, and other stakeholders for the conservation and restoration of the Northern Rocky Mountain and the Southern Appalachian regions in North America. Over the past decades, …

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Chasing Polys: Interdisciplinary Affinity And Its Connection To Physics Identity, Tyler Scott Dec 2014

Chasing Polys: Interdisciplinary Affinity And Its Connection To Physics Identity, Tyler Scott

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This research is based on two motivations that merge by means of the frameworks of interdisciplinary affinity and physics identity. First, a goal of education is to develop interdisciplinary abilities in students' thinking and work. But an often ignored factor is students interests and beliefs about being interdisciplinary. Thus, this work develops and uses a framework called interdisciplinary affinity. It encompasses students interests in making connections across disciplines and their beliefs about their abilities to make those connections. The second motivation of this research is to better understand how to engage more students with physics. Physics identity describes how a …

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Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge Development And Belief Change Within A Technology-Enhanced Mathematics Course, Vecihi Zambak Dec 2014

Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge Development And Belief Change Within A Technology-Enhanced Mathematics Course, Vecihi Zambak

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With the adoption of Common Core State Standards, mathematics teachers have been expected to emphasize conceptual understanding as much as procedural and computational fluency in their teaching. Development of a sound mathematical content knowledge during their teacher education could enable mathematics teachers to meet this expectation. The infusion of technology into the domain of mathematics education has also modified the nature of mathematical content knowledge. Regarding the expectations and changes in the nature of mathematical content knowledge, in this dissertation, I examined the influence of Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) on pre-service middle grade mathematics teachers' Specialized Content Knowledge (SCK); how their …

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Afterschool Sustainability, Hilary D. Joyce, Rebecca Wade-Mdivanian, Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Allison Gibson Dec 2014

Afterschool Sustainability, Hilary D. Joyce, Rebecca Wade-Mdivanian, Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Allison Gibson

Journal of Youth Development

Youth participation in quality extended learning opportunities (ELOs) results in positive academic, physical, mental health, and social/emotional outcomes. Funding is essential to implementing and sustaining quality ELOs; however multiple funding barriers and challenges exist. Understanding the types of funds available for ELOs and the factors that influence sustainability is critical. Through surveys and telephone interviews of ELO providers, this descriptive study identified and examined ELO funding streams, the ways ELO providers use these funding streams, and the barriers and challenges to sustainability. ELO programs often relied on one major funding stream coupled with nutrition supports as well as in-kind resources. …

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Unusually Low Thermal Conductivity In The Argyrodite Ag8gete6 Attributed To Strong Anharmonicity, Dale Hitchcock Dec 2014

Unusually Low Thermal Conductivity In The Argyrodite Ag8gete6 Attributed To Strong Anharmonicity, Dale Hitchcock

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Arguably the main focus of thermoelectric materials research over the last decade has been the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity through nanostructuring. This approach has proved quite effective in many instances, but has several inherent drawbacks including not only the metastability of many of the nanostructures used, but also difficulty decoupling the effects on the thermal properties of materials from the effects on their electrical properties. Some more recent research has focused on reduced thermal conductivity in materials with strong anharmonicity. In these systems anharmonicty in the crystal structure, whose strength can be gauged by the so-called Gruneissen parameter leads …

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Serious Toys: Teaching Computer Science Concepts To Pre-Collegiate Students, Yvon Feaster Dec 2014

Serious Toys: Teaching Computer Science Concepts To Pre-Collegiate Students, Yvon Feaster

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Advancements in science and engineering have driven innovation in the United States for more than two centuries. The last several decades have brought to the forefront the importance of such innovation to our domestic and global economies. To continue to succeed in this information-based, technologically advanced society, we must ensure that the next generation of students are developing computational thinking skills beyond what was acceptable in past years. Computational thinking represents a collection of structured problem solving skills that cross-cut educational disciplines. There is significant future value in introducing these skills as early as practical in students' academic careers. Over …

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Experimental Evidence For Colloid-Facilitated Transport Of Plutonium, Hilary Emerson Dec 2014

Experimental Evidence For Colloid-Facilitated Transport Of Plutonium, Hilary Emerson

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Colloid-facilitated transport of the actinides has been observed previously in the field on the kilometer scale. The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanisms of colloid-facilitated transport with controlled settings and conditions. The experimental work in this dissertation investigates transport of a ternary complex with iron oxide colloids, organic ligands and actinides in the presence of quartz or a natural sandy soil as well as simplified systems building up to the ternary complexes. The first three papers investigate the following: (1) unsaturated transport of iron oxide colloids in a natural sandy soil lysimeter with and without natural organic …

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Empowering Citizens In A Global Era: A Grounded Theory Study Of Community Gardens, Anita Tam Dec 2014

Empowering Citizens In A Global Era: A Grounded Theory Study Of Community Gardens, Anita Tam

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In our global era, the modern food system can be viewed as consisting of a dominant macro-level corporate food industry, challenged by broad-based meso-level food justice and democracy movements, which are in turn fueled by micro-level community food initiatives. Research has yet to examine the role of community gardens in the context of this complex, multi-level food system. Grounded theory methodology was thus used to explore the deeper meaning of the community gardening experience to participants, in order to better understand the ways in which community gardens may scale up and contribute to democratizing the food system. Analysis of the …

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Design With Emotion: Improving Web Search Experience For Older Adults, Tamirat Abegaz Dec 2014

Design With Emotion: Improving Web Search Experience For Older Adults, Tamirat Abegaz

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Research indicates that older adults search for information all together about 15% less than younger adults prior to making decisions. Prior research findings associated such behavior mainly with age-related cognitive difficulties. However, recent studies indicate that emotion is linked to influence search decision quality. This research approaches questions about why older adults search less and how this search behavior could be improved. The research is motivated by the broader issues of older users' search behavior, while focusing on the emotional usability of search engine user interfaces. Therefore, this research attempts to accomplish the following three objectives: a) to explore the …

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Studies Of Imbalance Difference Theory In Modeling Conversion Between Differential Mode And Common Mode Signals, Li Niu Dec 2014

Studies Of Imbalance Difference Theory In Modeling Conversion Between Differential Mode And Common Mode Signals, Li Niu

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This dissertation describes three related studies regarding the imbalance difference theory in modeling the conversion between differential mode and common mode/antenna mode signals. The topics covered are: rigorous derivation of imbalance difference theory for modeling radiated emission problems, modeling the conversion between differential mode and common mode propagation in transmission lines, and modeling the loading impedance on differential mode signals due to radiated emissions. The imbalance difference theory describes a method for calculating the coupling between differential mode signals and common mode signals due to changes in electrical balance on a transmission line. It provides both physical insight and a …

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Investigating The Effects Of Biochemical And Biophysical Signals On Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation, Ruikai Chen Dec 2014

Investigating The Effects Of Biochemical And Biophysical Signals On Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation, Ruikai Chen

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In blood vessel engineering, an optimal bioartifical scaffold can be characterized as a 3D tubular structure with high porosity for nutrient diffusion and enough mechanical strength to sustain in vivo dynamic environment. The luminal surface of the scaffold is supposed to have a continuous layer of endothelial cell that is ideally non-immunogenic and non-thrombogenic while the media layer of the construct is assigned for the ingrowth of vascular smooth muscle cell which can provide structural integrity and contractility. While reconstructing endothelial cell layer has been at the center of interest in most polymeric vascular replacements related research, growing VSMCs has …

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Thermo-Mechanical Characterization Of Glass And Its Effect On Predictions Of Stress State, Birefringence And Fracture In Precision Glass Molded Lenses, Dhananjay Joshi Dec 2014

Thermo-Mechanical Characterization Of Glass And Its Effect On Predictions Of Stress State, Birefringence And Fracture In Precision Glass Molded Lenses, Dhananjay Joshi

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The Precision Glass Molding (PGM) process was established as an economical and sustainable option for the production of aspherical glass optics to satisfy the increased industrial demand. Applications of precision molded aspherical lenses range from consumer electronics products such as cell phone cameras to defense and medical systems. An aspherical lens can eliminate the spherical and optical aberrations as compared to a spherical lens thus making the lens system more compact and lighter. In spite of being a clean and environmentally friendly process, the lens molding operation suffers from a few drawbacks such as lens profile deviation, stress birefringence/refractive index …

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Modeling Sustainability In Renewable Energy Supply Chain Systems, Fei Xie Dec 2014

Modeling Sustainability In Renewable Energy Supply Chain Systems, Fei Xie

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This dissertation aims at modeling sustainability of renewable fuel supply chain systems against emerging challenges. In particular, the dissertation focuses on the biofuel supply chain system design, and manages to develop advanced modeling framework and corresponding solution methods in tackling challenges in sustaining biofuel supply chain systems. These challenges include: (1) to integrate 'environmental thinking' into the long-term biofuel supply chain planning; (2) to adopt multimodal transportation to mitigate seasonality in biofuel supply chain operations; (3) to provide strategies in hedging against uncertainty from conversion technology; and (4) to develop methodologies in long-term sequential planning of the biofuel supply chain …

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Materials Science Of Electrochemical Formation Of Tungsten Nanosharp Probes, Maryana I. Nave Dec 2014

Materials Science Of Electrochemical Formation Of Tungsten Nanosharp Probes, Maryana I. Nave

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This dissertation is centered on the development of a methodology that aims to engineer millimeter long and ten microns thin nanosharp tungsten probes. The current state of the art of electropolishing techniques is reviewed. We discuss the probes produced by electrochemical etching of a wire until it breaks into two pieces. This process is difficult to control because of the complexity of the associated hydrodynamic flows. These techniques were called convection-limited electropolishing (CLE) because the kinetics of wire etching is controlled by the convective diffusion of ions. We introduced a newly developed technique, precipitation-limited electropolishing (PLE), which enables production of …

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Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology For Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules, Githin Alapatt Dec 2014

Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology For Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules, Githin Alapatt

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With a cumulative generation capacity of over 100 GW, Photovoltaics (PV) technology is uniquely poised to become increasingly popular in the coming decades. Although, several breakthroughs have propelled PV technology, it accounts for only less than 1% of the energy produced worldwide. This aspect of the PV technology is primarily due to the somewhat high cost per watt, which is dependent on the efficiency of the PV cells as well as the cost of manufacturing and installing them. Currently, the efficiency of the PV conversion process is limited to about 25% for commercial terrestrial cells; improving this efficiency can increase …

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Spatial Distribution And Genetic Variability Of Reniform And Lance Nematodes In Cotton Agroecosystems, Claudia Holguin Dec 2014

Spatial Distribution And Genetic Variability Of Reniform And Lance Nematodes In Cotton Agroecosystems, Claudia Holguin

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Rotylenchulus reniformis (reniform nematode) and Hoplolaimus columbus (Columbia lance nematode) are two of the main plant-pathogenic nematode species affecting cotton production in the United States. For the selection and implementation of effective management practices it is important to understand distribution patterns and population genetic structure of these two nematodes in cotton agroecosystems. In a three-year field study, the spatial distribution of reniform nematode was characterized in two commercial fields in South Carolina to determine the effects of relations with soil texture and crop rotation on reniform nematode distribution (Chapter 1). Results of this project suggest that population densities of reniform …

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Numerical Decoding, Johnson-Lindenstrauss Transforms, And Linear Codes, Yue Mao Dec 2014

Numerical Decoding, Johnson-Lindenstrauss Transforms, And Linear Codes, Yue Mao

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Many computational problems are related to the model y = Ax + e, including compressive sensing, coding theory, dimensionality reduction, etc. The related algorithms are extremely useful in practical applications for high performance computing, for example, digital communications, biological imaging and data streaming, etc. This thesis studies two important problems. One problem is related to efficient decoding for Reed-Solomon codes over complex numbers. In this case, A and y are given, and the goal is to find an efficient stable algorithm to compute x. This is related to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The other problem is related to fast algorithms …

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Gender And Ethnicity Classification Using Partial Face In Biometric Applications, Jamie Lyle Dec 2014

Gender And Ethnicity Classification Using Partial Face In Biometric Applications, Jamie Lyle

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As the number of biometric applications increases, the use of non-ideal information such as images which are not strictly controlled, images taken covertly, or images where the main interest is partially occluded, also increases. Face images are a specific example of this. In these non-ideal instances, other information, such as gender and ethnicity, can be determined to narrow the search space and/or improve the recognition results. Some research exists for gender classification using partial-face images, but there is little research involving ethnic classifications on such images. Few datasets have had the ethnic diversity needed and sufficient subjects for each ethnicity …

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Toward Understanding The Thermodynamics And Mechanisms Of Actinide Sorption Reactions, Shanna Estes Dec 2014

Toward Understanding The Thermodynamics And Mechanisms Of Actinide Sorption Reactions, Shanna Estes

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The environmental fate of actinides is greatly influenced by interfacial reactions, including sorption onto solid surfaces. Because changes in the primary hydration sphere of the actinide are expected to greatly influence the thermodynamics (i.e., reaction enthalpy and entropy) of these reactions, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may provide insight into actinide sorption mechanisms. Additionally, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may enhance the ability to model or predict these reactions in environmental or engineered systems where variable or elevated temperatures are expected. However, few researchers have studied actinide sorption thermodynamics. Therefore, this research examined the thermodynamics of Eu(III) (a trivalent actinide analog), Th(IV), …

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Sustainable Heritage Tourism: A Tourist-Oriented Approach For Managing Petra Archaeological Park, Jordan, Mohammad Alazaizeh Dec 2014

Sustainable Heritage Tourism: A Tourist-Oriented Approach For Managing Petra Archaeological Park, Jordan, Mohammad Alazaizeh

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Although sustainability of heritage tourism has become a major concern from the perspectives of both academics and practitioners, the majority of research and studies have tended to understand the cultural and educational issues of heritage tourism rather than focusing on the application of sustainability in a practical context. To achieve sustainability in heritage tourism, heritage sites should be managed effectively in a way that ensures preservation of heritage resources and provides quality experiences to the tourists. Traditionally, heritage tourism planning and management relied on a top-down, professional-led approach that ignores the interests of different stakeholders (e.g., heritage tourists) in heritage …

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Synthesis And Characterization Of Chemically Functionalized Shape Memory Nanofoams For Unattended Sensing Applications, Anna Paola Soliani Dec 2014

Synthesis And Characterization Of Chemically Functionalized Shape Memory Nanofoams For Unattended Sensing Applications, Anna Paola Soliani

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The work in this dissertation is devoted to the synthesis and characterization of novel materials for off-line unattended sensing: shape-memory grafted nanofoams. The fabrication process and characterization of highly efficient, polymeric nanosensor element with the ability to selectively detect analytes and retain memory of specific exposure events is reported. These shape memory nanofoams could potentially act as efficient and highly sensitive coatings for evanescent waveguide-based optical monitoring systems. On exposure to specific analytes, the polymeric coatings locally change their internal structure irreversibly at the nanolevel, affecting the local optical properties such as refractive index. Currently, enrichment polymer layers (EPLs) are …

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Trust In Self, Trust In Others: The Impact Of Emotions On Advice Behavior, Benjamin Slade Dec 2014

Trust In Self, Trust In Others: The Impact Of Emotions On Advice Behavior, Benjamin Slade

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This dissertation proposes that task-specific self-confidence, trust in motives, and trust in competency are the three main drivers for advice use and willingness to pay for advice. After developing this general argument, the paper then focuses on how emotions influence advice use and willingness to pay for advice. Furthermore, this paper argues that the influence of emotions on advice is partially mediated by task specific self-confidence, trust in motives, and trust in competency. This model elaborates on the underlying emotional mechanisms which may guide the mediation paths, and then tests this expected pattern with four different incidental emotions; regret, pride, …

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Neutron Study Of Structure And Dynamics Of Rigid Polymers, Naresh Osti Dec 2014

Neutron Study Of Structure And Dynamics Of Rigid Polymers, Naresh Osti

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The structure and the dynamics in two different classes of rigid polymers; ionomers and rigid luminescent polymers, have been investigated predominantly by neutron techniques. Rigidity of the backbones of both polymers affects their properties. For ionomers, it affects transport pathways, therefore, their applications for energy and separation membranes. In luminescent polymers, it determines the conformations of the chains and their electro-optical response. One group of the polymers consists of rigid hydrophobic para-phenylene backbone decorated with pendant phenyl side chains functionalized with sulfonic acid (SPP). The other family of polymers consists of poly para-phenyleneethynylene (PPE) backbone that becomes conjugated upon conformational …

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Efficient And Reliable Simulation, Memory Protection, And Driver Generation In Embedded Network Systems, Jiannan Zhai Dec 2014

Efficient And Reliable Simulation, Memory Protection, And Driver Generation In Embedded Network Systems, Jiannan Zhai

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Embedded systems are widely used, from consumer electronics, to industrial equipment, to spacecraft. With embedded systems becoming more complex, new challenges are presented to application developers. In this dissertation, we focus on three of the most important: (i) Network simulation tools are widely used for sensor network testing and evaluation. Simulation performance affects the efficiency of the application developers who use these tools. The performance of a single host system represents a performance bottleneck for large-scale network simulation. A distributed simulator offering higher performance is needed to support fast, large-scale network simulation. (ii) Single event upsets (SEUs), which occur when …

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