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Batch And Online Implicit Weighted Gaussian Processes For Robust Novelty Detection, Padron Ruben Ramirez Jan 2015

Batch And Online Implicit Weighted Gaussian Processes For Robust Novelty Detection, Padron Ruben Ramirez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims mainly at obtaining robust variants of Gaussian processes (GPs) that do not require using non-Gaussian likelihoods to compensate for outliers in the training data. Bayesian kernel methods, and in particular GPs, have been used to solve a variety of machine learning problems, equating or exceeding the performance of other successful techniques. That is the case of a recently proposed approach to GP-based novelty detection that uses standard GPs (i.e. GPs employing Gaussian likelihoods). However, standard GPs are sensitive to outliers in training data, and this limitation carries over to GP-based novelty detection. This limitation has been typically …

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Analytical Study Of Computer Vision-Based Pavement Crack Quantification Using Machine Learning Techniques, Soroush Mokhtari Jan 2015

Analytical Study Of Computer Vision-Based Pavement Crack Quantification Using Machine Learning Techniques, Soroush Mokhtari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Image-based techniques are a promising non-destructive approach for road pavement condition evaluation. The main objective of this study is to extract, quantify and evaluate important surface defects, such as cracks, using an automated computer vision-based system to provide a better understanding of the pavement deterioration process. To achieve this objective, an automated crack-recognition software was developed, employing a series of image processing algorithms of crack extraction, crack grouping, and crack detection. Bottom-hat morphological technique was used to remove the random background of pavement images and extract cracks, selectively based on their shapes, sizes, and intensities using a relatively small number …

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Information Propagation Algorithms For Consensus Formation In Decentralized Multi-Agent Systems, Christopher Hollander Jan 2015

Information Propagation Algorithms For Consensus Formation In Decentralized Multi-Agent Systems, Christopher Hollander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Consensus occurs within a multi-agent system when every agent is in agreement about the value of some particular state. For example, the color of an LED, the position or magnitude of a vector, a rendezvous location, the most recent state of data within a database, or the identity of a leader are all states that agents might need to agree on in order to execute their tasking. The task of the decentralized consensus problem for multi-agent systems is to design an algorithm that enables agents to communicate and exchange information such that, in finite time, agents are able to form …

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Functional Characterization Of Green Sorption Media And Scaling Of Pilot Studies For Copper Removal In Stormwater Runoff, Cameron Houmann Jan 2015

Functional Characterization Of Green Sorption Media And Scaling Of Pilot Studies For Copper Removal In Stormwater Runoff, Cameron Houmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Green adsorption media with the inclusion of renewable and recycled materials can be applied as a stormwater best management practice for copper removal. A green adsorption media mixture composed of recycled tire chunk, expanded clay aggregate, and coconut coir was physicochemically evaluated for its potential use in an upflow media filter. The results found that the use of the green adsorption media mixture in isolation or the coconut coir with an expanded clay filtration chamber could be an effective and reliable stormwater best management practice for copper removal. A suite of tests were conducted on the media mixture and the …

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Assessment Of Terrain Database Correlation Using Line-Of-Sight Measurements, Leonardo Oyama Jan 2015

Assessment Of Terrain Database Correlation Using Line-Of-Sight Measurements, Leonardo Oyama

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The uncountable number of tools for the creation of synthetic terrains poses as a challenge for simulation interoperability. The permutations of tools, elevation maps, and software settings leads to combinations of poorly correlated virtual terrains. An important issue in distributed simulations is the lack of line-of-sight correlation. For example, in military networked simulations, consistent intervisibility between simulated entities is crucial for a fair-fight, especially when simulations include direct-fire weapons. The literature review presented in the Chapter Two discusses a multitude of interoperability issues caused by discrepant terrain representations and rendering engines noncompliant to any standard image generation process. Furthermore, the …

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Characterization Of A Spiking Neuron Model Via A Linear Approach, Amirhossein Jabalameli Jan 2015

Characterization Of A Spiking Neuron Model Via A Linear Approach, Amirhossein Jabalameli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, characterizing spiking neuron models has been extensively researched as an essential issue in computational neuroscience. In this thesis, we examine the estimation problem of two different neuron models. In Chapter 2, We propose a modified Izhikevich model with an adaptive threshold. In our two-stage estimation approach, a linear least squares method and a linear model of the threshold are derived to predict the location of neuronal spikes. However, desired results are not obtained and the predicted model is unsuccessful in duplicating the spike locations. Chapter 3 is focused on the parameter estimation problem of a multi-timescale …

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Evaluating Travelers Experience With Highway Advisory Radio (Har) And Citizens Band Radio Advisory System (Cbras) On Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Toll Roadways And Florida Interstate Highways, Nabil Muhaisen Jan 2015

Evaluating Travelers Experience With Highway Advisory Radio (Har) And Citizens Band Radio Advisory System (Cbras) On Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Toll Roadways And Florida Interstate Highways, Nabil Muhaisen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to evaluate travelers' experience with Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) and Citizens' Band Radio Advisory System (CBRAS) technologies on both Florida Interstate Highway system (FIH) and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) toll roads. To achieve this goal, two different survey tools were used. The first tool is a random digit dialing phone survey known as CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing). The second tool is a field survey that intercepts travelers at the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) service plazas and the Florida Interstate Highway (FIH) rest areas. HAR and CBRAS are traditional components of the Advanced Traveler …

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Design Of High-Efficiency Rare-Earth Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor And Drive System, Hanzhou Liu Jan 2015

Design Of High-Efficiency Rare-Earth Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor And Drive System, Hanzhou Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilization of renewable energy has become the future trend in the trucking industry. Electrical power generated from renewable energy can replace part of the fuel usage. There is usually limited space for storing on-board battery. Thus, to better utilize the battery power, it becomes critical to have an efficient energy conversion device that can transfer energy from battery to amenities such as air conditioner, microwave, TV, mini refrigerator, etc. In this dissertation, a designed permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) can be such energy conversion device for an electric Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) application, which will have a desired output power …

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Investigating Biological Assumptions Through Radical Reimplementation, Joel Lehman, Kenneth O. Stanley Jan 2015

Investigating Biological Assumptions Through Radical Reimplementation, Joel Lehman, Kenneth O. Stanley

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

An important goal in both artificial life and biology is uncovering the most general principles underlying life, which might catalyze both our understanding of life and engineering lifelike machines. While many such general principles have been hypothesized, conclusively testing them is difficult because life on Earth provides only a singular example from which to infer. To circumvent this limitation, this article formalizes an approach called radical reimplementation. The idea is to investigate an abstract biological hypothesis by intentionally reimplementing its main principles to diverge maximally from existing natural examples. If the reimplementation successfully exhibits properties resembling biology, it may support …

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Mbbc: An Efficient Approach For Metagenomic Binning Based On Clustering, Ying Wang, Haiyan Hu, Xiaoman Li Jan 2015

Mbbc: An Efficient Approach For Metagenomic Binning Based On Clustering, Ying Wang, Haiyan Hu, Xiaoman Li

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Background: Binning environmental shotgun reads is one of the most fundamental tasks in metagenomic studies, in which mixed reads from different species or operational taxonomical units (OTUs) are separated into different groups. While dozens of binning methods are available, there is still room for improvement. Results: We developed a novel taxonomy-independent approach called MBBC (Metagenomic Binning Based on Clustering) to cluster environmental shotgun reads, by considering k-mer frequency in reads and Markov properties of the inferred OTUs. Tested on twelve simulated datasets, MBBC reliably estimated the species number, the genome size, and the relative abundance of each species, independent of …

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Modeling Undetected Live Poliovirus Circulation After Apparent Interruption Of Transmission: Implications For Surveillance And Vaccination, Dominika A. Kalkowska, Radboud J. Duintjer Tebbens, Mark A. Pallanscha, Stephen L. Cochi, Steven G. F. Wassilak, Kimberly M. Thompson Jan 2015

Modeling Undetected Live Poliovirus Circulation After Apparent Interruption Of Transmission: Implications For Surveillance And Vaccination, Dominika A. Kalkowska, Radboud J. Duintjer Tebbens, Mark A. Pallanscha, Stephen L. Cochi, Steven G. F. Wassilak, Kimberly M. Thompson

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

Background: Most poliovirus infections occur with no symptoms and this leads to the possibility of silent circulation, which complicates the confirmation of global goals to permanently end poliovirus transmission. Previous simple models based on hypothetical populations assumed perfect detection of symptomatic cases and suggested the need to observe no paralytic cases from wild polioviruses (WPVs) for approximately 3-4 years to achieve 95% confidence about eradication, but the complexities in real populations and the imperfect nature of surveillance require consideration. Methods: We revisit the probability of undetected poliovirus circulation using a more comprehensive model that reflects the conditions in a number …

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Covariance Matrix Estimation For The Cryo-Em Heterogeneity Problem, E. Katsevich, Alexander Katsevich, A. Singer Jan 2015

Covariance Matrix Estimation For The Cryo-Em Heterogeneity Problem, E. Katsevich, Alexander Katsevich, A. Singer

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

In cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a microscope generates a top view of a sample of randomly oriented copies of a molecule. The problem of single particle reconstruction (SPR) from cryo-EM is to use the resulting set of noisy two-dimensional projection images taken at unknown directions to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the molecule. In some situations, the molecule under examination exhibits structural variability, which poses a fundamental challenge in SPR. The heterogeneity problem is the task of mapping the space of conformational states of a molecule. It has been previously suggested that the leading eigenvectors of the covariance matrix of …

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A Design And Implementation Plan For Professional Development And Curriculum Modules Of Historical Literacy In The Social Studies Classroom, Daniel Cowgill Jan 2015

A Design And Implementation Plan For Professional Development And Curriculum Modules Of Historical Literacy In The Social Studies Classroom, Daniel Cowgill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation in practice was to create professional development and curriculum modules focused on historical literacy in order to help teachers fully engage students in learning historical literacy skills. Historical literacy is the ability to understand the importance of the source of a document, being able to close read a text, to place a source within its proper context, and to corroborate the information from one source to another. The implementation of a program of this nature is designed to help teachers and students develop these skills with the hope that it positively impacts not only student …

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Critical Programming: Toward A Philosophy Of Computing, John Bork Jan 2015

Critical Programming: Toward A Philosophy Of Computing, John Bork

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beliefs about the relationship between human beings and computing machines and their destinies have alternated from heroic counterparts to conspirators of automated genocide, from apocalyptic extinction events to evolutionary cyborg convergences. Many fear that people are losing key intellectual and social abilities as tasks are offloaded to the everywhere of the built environment, which is developing a mind of its own. If digital technologies have contributed to forming a dumbest generation and ushering in a robotic moment, we all have a stake in addressing this collective intelligence problem. While digital humanities continue to flourish and introduce new uses for computer …

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Improving Fairness, Throughput And Blocking Performance For Long Haul And Short Reach Optical Networks, Sana Tariq Jan 2015

Improving Fairness, Throughput And Blocking Performance For Long Haul And Short Reach Optical Networks, Sana Tariq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Innovations in optical communication are expected to transform the landscape of global communications, internet and datacenter networks. This dissertation investigates several important issues in optical communication such as fairness, throughput, blocking probability and differentiated quality of service (QoS). Novel algorithms and new approaches have been presented to improve the performance of optical circuit switching (OCS) and optical burst switching (OBS) for long haul, and datacenter networks. Extensive simulations tests have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. These simulation tests were performed over a number of network topologies such as ring, mesh and U.S. Long-Haul, some high …

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The Effects Of Chronic Sleep Deprivation On Sustained Attention: A Study Of Brain Dynamic Functional Connectivity, Yiling He Jan 2015

The Effects Of Chronic Sleep Deprivation On Sustained Attention: A Study Of Brain Dynamic Functional Connectivity, Yiling He

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that about 35-40% of adults in the U.S. suffer from insufficient sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation has become a prevalent phenomenon because of contemporary lifestyle and work-related factors. Sleep deprivation can reduce the capabilities and efficiency of attentional performance by impairing perception, increasing effort to maintain concentration, as well as introducing vision disturbance. Thus, it is important to understand the neural mechanisms behind how chronic sleep deprivation impairs sustained attention. In recent years, more attention has been paid to the study of the integration between anatomically distributed and functionally connected brain regions. Functional connectivity has been widely used …

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Evaluation Of Strength And Hydraulic Properties Of Buried Pipe Systems Used For Stormwater Harvesting, Mario Samson Mena Jan 2015

Evaluation Of Strength And Hydraulic Properties Of Buried Pipe Systems Used For Stormwater Harvesting, Mario Samson Mena

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity has been identified as a global issue. Both water harvesting and an efficient water piping system are some of the important factors to meet the water demand. In this study, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes used as an underground storage was evaluated and a Microsoft EXCEL based model was developed, called PIPE-R Model. To study the structural integrity of the pipes, laboratory and field testing were conducted. For the water harvesting, UCF Stormwater Management Academy designed an EXCEL based model to simulate the system's performance to store and redistribute water for an average year. The purpose of PIPE-R Model …

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Fabrication And Study Of Graphene-Based Nanocomposites For Sensing And Energy Storage, Matthew Mcinnis Jan 2015

Fabrication And Study Of Graphene-Based Nanocomposites For Sensing And Energy Storage, Matthew Mcinnis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Graphite is an allotrope of carbon made up of atomically thin sheets, each covalently bound together, forming a π-conjugated network. An individual layer, called graphene, has extraordinary electrical, thermal and physical properties that provide the opportunity for innovating new functional composites. Graphene can be produced directly on a metallic substrate by chemical vapor deposition or by chemical oxidation of graphite, forming a stable aqueous suspension of graphene oxide (GO), which allows for convenient solution processing techniques. For the latter, after thermal or chemical reduction, much of the properties of the starting graphene re-emerge due to the reestablishment of π-conjugation. The …

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The Design Plan For A Comprehensive Financial Literacy Program, Karemah Manselle Jan 2015

The Design Plan For A Comprehensive Financial Literacy Program, Karemah Manselle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need for financial literacy among Americans has become a national topic of interest. Economists, financial professionals, educators, and government officials recognize there is an overall deficit of financial knowledge. More specifically, higher education administrators have become increasingly concerned with ensuring that financial literacy tools are available to college students. Students of today face higher tuition and education-related costs, are less likely to receive grant funding to assist with their educational expenses, and are more likely to be in debt, carrying higher student debt loads than previous generations. Further, students lack the financial knowledge needed to make sound financial decisions. …

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The Relationship Between Participation In An Academic Intervention Program And Performance In Coursework For At Risk Eighth-Grade Middle School Students, Victoria Hyatt Jan 2015

The Relationship Between Participation In An Academic Intervention Program And Performance In Coursework For At Risk Eighth-Grade Middle School Students, Victoria Hyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of the research was to examine the academic intervention program implemented to address academic concerns in the middle grades in one large urban school district in central Florida. Educational leaders at all levels are concerned with the choice of one in four students who make the decision to not complete high school coursework, leaving before earning a high school diploma. The researcher examined to what extent, if any, participation in the middle grades academic intervention program affected academic success in coursework and what difference, if any, there were between academic coursework grade point averages and at-risk eligibility factors, …

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The Effect Of A Metalinguistic Approach To Sentence Combining On Written Expression In Eighth Grade Science For Students Who Struggle With Literacy, Lynne Telesca Jan 2015

The Effect Of A Metalinguistic Approach To Sentence Combining On Written Expression In Eighth Grade Science For Students Who Struggle With Literacy, Lynne Telesca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent data indicate that less than 50% of American secondary students are able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency in reading, writing, and science (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2007, 2011, 2012a, 2012b). Secondary students* are expected to develop advanced literacy skills, especially in writing, in order to be ready for college and careers. Students are expected to develop these advanced literacy skills, within all academic subjects. In other words, they are expected to develop disciplinary literacy skills. The statistics are alarming overall, but they are particularly alarming in the area of science. Students need strong literacy skills, including written expression, …

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University Of Central Florida Factbook 2014-2015, University Of Central Florida Jan 2015

University Of Central Florida Factbook 2014-2015, University Of Central Florida

Historical Fact Book and Enrollment

Historical fact book and enrollment data for the University of Central Florida.

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Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Multimode Optical Solitons, Logan G. Wright, William H. Renninger, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Frank W. Wise Jan 2015

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Multimode Optical Solitons, Logan G. Wright, William H. Renninger, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Frank W. Wise

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

As optical fiber communications and fiber lasers approach fundamental limits there is considerable interest in multimode fibers. In nonlinear science, they represent an exciting environment for complex nonlinear waves. As in single-mode fiber, solitons may be particularly important. Multimode solitons consist of synchronized, non-dispersive pulses in multiple spatial modes, which interact via the Kerr nonlinearity of the fiber. They are expected to exhibit novel spatiotemporal characteristics, dynamics and, like single-mode solitons, may provide a convenient intuitive tool for understanding more complex nonlinear phenomena in multimode fibers. Here we explore experimentally and numerically basic properties and spatiotemporal behaviors of these solitons: …

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Asymptotic Analysis Of The Svd For The Truncated Hilbert Transform With Overlap, Reema Al-Aifari, Michel Defrise, Alexander Katsevich Jan 2015

Asymptotic Analysis Of The Svd For The Truncated Hilbert Transform With Overlap, Reema Al-Aifari, Michel Defrise, Alexander Katsevich

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

The truncated Hilbert transform with overlap H-T is an operator that arises in tomographic reconstruction from limited data, more precisely in the method of differentiated back-projection. Recent work [R. Al-Aifari and A. Katsevich, SIAM J. Math. Anal., 46 (2014), pp. 192213] has shown that the singular values of this operator accumulate at both zero and one. To better understand the properties of the operator and, in particular, the ill-posedness of the inverse problem associated with it, it is of interest to know the rates at which the singular values approach zero and one. In this paper, we exploit the property …

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The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Mathematics, Fall 2015, Patti Mccall Jan 2015

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Mathematics, Fall 2015, Patti Mccall

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

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Overexpression Of Human Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase In Mice; The Effect Of Increase Superoxide Scavenging On Autonomic Control Of The Heart., Jeffrey Hatcher Jan 2015

Overexpression Of Human Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase In Mice; The Effect Of Increase Superoxide Scavenging On Autonomic Control Of The Heart., Jeffrey Hatcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dysregulation of the autonomic cardiovascular control is a complication of diseases including diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and aging. A common factor in these conditions is an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neural, cardiac, and endothelial tissues. Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is an intracellular anti-oxidant enzyme that catalyzes dismutation of the superoxide anion (O2.-) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Expression and function of this enzyme are diminished in pathologies that impair cardiovascular autonomic control. This study employed mice overexpressing a transgene for human SOD1 (hSOD1) to determine if its overexpression would alter autonomic regulation of BP, HR, and BRS in …

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A Study On The Analyzing Priority Of Limiting Factors In Live, Virtual, And Constructive (Lvc) Simulation Interoperability Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Method, Youngkun Yoo Jan 2015

A Study On The Analyzing Priority Of Limiting Factors In Live, Virtual, And Constructive (Lvc) Simulation Interoperability Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Method, Youngkun Yoo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Each Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) simulation model has been developed and used with many benefits. When system developers created each simulation model, focused on specific standards to fit to their own respective purposes. Consequently, there have been interoperability issues among simulation models that have many limitations. To be specific, despite various efforts to achieve and maintain complete interoperability in LVC simulation environment, substantial limiting factors have remained in technical and managerial fields. Thus, analyzing and prioritizing limiting factors in LVC simulation is the effective way to solve interoperability problems while saving budget and time. The purpose of this research …

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Mass Spectral Studies To Investigate Butylbenzene Fragmentation Pathway And Pyrolysis Products., Balasubramaniam Lingam Jan 2015

Mass Spectral Studies To Investigate Butylbenzene Fragmentation Pathway And Pyrolysis Products., Balasubramaniam Lingam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation research, two fundamental studies involving gas chromatography mass spectrometry of n-butylbenzene and pyrolysis products are presented. In the first study, fragmentation pathways of n-butylbenzene in quadrupole ion trap have been investigated. At low energy, product ion corresponding to m/z 92 and m/z 91 are formed via competitive parallel dissociation. Studies have also shown that at higher energy m/z 92 has sufficient internal energy to undergo further fragmentation yielding m/z 91 via consecutive dissociation. Thus in order to discern the fragmentation pathways of n-butylbenzene, the technique of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) was applied to the mass spectral data. …

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An Analysis Of The Perceived Impact Of Lesson Study On Improving Secondary School Stem Teacher Effectiveness, Daniel Thompson Jan 2015

An Analysis Of The Perceived Impact Of Lesson Study On Improving Secondary School Stem Teacher Effectiveness, Daniel Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which participating in lesson study was perceived to have an impact on teacher effectiveness. Secondary STEM graduates who come into education need a model of collaborative reflective practice for continuous improvement. Lesson study is one possible model of professional learning that is both reflective and collaborative (Sims & Walsh, 2009, p. 731). The cyclical nature of lesson study makes it a natural fit for continuous improvement. Yet, little research into the effectiveness of lesson study as a tool for new teacher preparation or for middle and high school teachers …

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The Design, Implementation, And Refinement Of Wait-Free Algorithms And Containers, Steven Feldman Jan 2015

The Design, Implementation, And Refinement Of Wait-Free Algorithms And Containers, Steven Feldman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research has been on the development of concurrent algorithms for shared memory systems that provide guarantees of progress. Research into such algorithms is important to developers implementing applications on mission critical and time sensitive systems. These guarantees of progress provide safety properties and freedom from many hazards, such as dead-lock, live-lock, and thread starvation. In addition to the safety concerns, the fine-grained synchronization used in implementing these algorithms promises to provide scalable performance in massively parallel systems. My research has resulted in the development of wait-free versions of the stack, hash map, ring buffer, vector, and a multi-word compare-and-swap …

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