Digital Commons Network^™

Forecasting Anomalous Events And Performance Correlation Analysis In Event Data, Sonya Leech [Thesis]

Dissertations

Classical and Deep Learning methods are quite common approaches for anomaly detection. Extensive research has been conducted on single point anomalies. Collective anomalies that occur over a set of two or more durations are less likely to happen by chance than that of a single point anomaly. Being able to observe and predict these anomalous events may reduce the risk of a server’s performance. This paper presents a comparative analysis into time-series forecasting of collective anomalous events using two procedures. One is a classical SARIMA model and the other is a deep learning Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) model. It then …

Laying The Foundation To Improve Literacy In A K-12 Islamic School Through The Introduction Of A Professional Learning Community: A Formative Evaluation, Hanan Matari, Ruqia Ali

Dissertations

To improve professional development, a professional learning community (PLC) was initiated at a small, K–12 Islamic school in northwest suburban Chicago, IL. This evaluation describes and assesses the initiation and year-one implementation of the PLC, and focuses on teachers’ literacy instruction skills. A formative evaluation approach was used to monitor and assess progress and encourage teachers’ ownership of their learning. Teachers collaborated in large and smaller grade or subject area PLC groups to identify, chart, and implement new teaching strategies under peer observation for feedback. Teachers succeeded in establishing school-wide literacy strategies; however, issues challenged the PLC’s future—time, resources, and …

Patient Outcomes Associated With Delayed Rapid Response System Activation: A Retrospective Comparative Study, Ricardo Padilla

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of the dissertation study was to determine the difference in survival and length of stay (LOS) between patients who experienced a delay in Rapid Response System (RRS) activation and those patients who had no delay.

Rationale: There is evidence to support that the RRS is often not activated in a timely manner potentially leading to negative patient outcomes.

Background: Delaying treatment for in-hospital clinical deterioration has been associated with Serious Adverse Events (SAEs), including increased mortality, protracted LOS during hospitalization, and significant increased financial costs. The RRS was created as a hospital-wide approach to prevent SAEs; however, …

The Practice Of Assessment Data Use In Student Affairs: The Need For An Expanded Conceptualization, Mark D. Manderino

Dissertations

Over the past three decades, student affairs assessment, as an organized functional area, has matured and established itself as an essential and expected component within higher education in the United States (Elkins, 2015; Ewell, 2002; Henning & Roberts, 2016). While professionals know that data use is part of the process of assessment (Banta & Blaich, 2010), there has not been sufficient evidence of what use of assessment looks like both in higher education and specifically student affairs, or how best practice strategies encourage assessment data use (Kinzie, Hutchings, Jankowski, 2015). There is a dearth of empirical evidence related to use …

Explicitly Teaching Scientific Argumentation: Using Action Research To Study High School Science Readiness And Detracking, Ami Lefevre

Dissertations

Access to advanced-level science courses can be difficult for those students who start in a tracked system. Tracking is an educational practice where students are assigned to different classes based on ability level. African American and Hispanic students are most at risk since most minority students are found in the lower level track (Burris, 2014; Mehan, 2015; Oakes, 2005). This investigation used an action research approach to determine how explicitly taught elements of scientific argumentation would impact student mastery of argument skills and influence instructional practices by a professional learning community. A mixed method study was used to collect qualitative …

Charter Schools And Special Education Enrollment Rates, Mary Ann Lind

Dissertations

There is a growing concern that public charter schools, as publicly funded entities, which are mandated to ensure FAPE and IDEA, are lagging significantly behind public non-charter schools, when it comes to special education student enrollment. This potentially creates an unbalanced special education student ratio between public non-charter schools and public charters. This dissertation examines the enrollment rates of special education students between public charters and public non-charter schools in a large, metropolitan American school district, over a five-year period. This body of work examines causality and the effect of enrollment data along with the potential implications.

Daxx As A Restrictor Of Tumor Initiating Cell Survival In Er+ Breast Cancer And Its Therapeutic Implications, Daniel Seamus Peiffer

Dissertations

Breast cancer overall is the second most common cause of cancer related death in women, with one in eight women being diagnosed during their lifetime. Breast cancer itself is divided into subtypes based on the expression levels of the hormone receptors including the estrogen receptor (ER) and the progesterone receptor (PR), as well as expression of the growth factor receptor epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). ER+ breast cancer is the most common breast cancer diagnosis, and these tumors are defined as being initially dependent on activation of the receptor for growth. Based on this, targeted endocrine therapies (ETs) have …

Perceptions Of High School Principals Of The Role Of Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support-- Formally Rti-- In Bringing About Social Justice And Equity For Black Boys, La Wanna Marie Wells

Dissertations

Historically, Black males are disproportionately represented as the least likely to graduate at every level of education and the demographic most likely placed in Special Education courses, incarcerated, as victims of homicide and who live in poverty. The United States of America implemented a voluntary program, Multi-tiered Systems of Support for educators to "intervene" with proactive measures that target groups that systemically fail: students of color, English learners, students with disabilities and the poor. The purpose of this research is to observe the perceptions of school principals who have implemented Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) as an education program for …

Development Of Composite Honeycomb Protective Structures For Above-Ground Steel Storage Tanks Against Wind-Borne Debris, Tamara Grooms Baker

Dissertations

Within the civil engineering industry, the evaluation of a retro-fit system or more- specifically, a post-installed, glass fiber reinforced polymer and honeycomb system over steel is evaluated on how this retro-fit system can help minimize impact and critical kinetic energy onto steel storage tanks caused from wind-borne debris to structures in hurricane prone regions. Determining an accurate formula for critical kinetic energy for steel has also been an on-going process in our industry for over 200 years. This research helps to get one-step closer to accurately determining a valid equation. Existing theories and equations of critical kinetic energy have been …

Physically Derived Two-Dimensional Predictive Model For Dual-Gate Devices Using Quintic Splines, Scott C. Wolfson

Dissertations

This dissertation presents the first ever application of quintic splines in the development of a dual-gate Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) model based on the well-known drift-diffusion system of differential equations. The techniques and methodologies presented advance the current state of the art in this particular area by implementing improved two-dimensional numerical techniques and limiting the use of common accuracy reducing assumptions intended to decrease semiconductor equation complexity and simulation execution time. This results in the first known two-dimensional physics based model that uses this numerical technique, is valid in all regions of operation, includes Non-Quasi Static transient …

Solar Energetic Particles Transport In Meandering Magnetic Field, Ashraf Moradi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of Absorption-Coefficient-Based Narrow-Band Model And Its Application To The Calculation Of Radiative Heat Transfer In One And Two-Dimensional Enclosures, Annette Fisher

Dissertations

A narrow band model (NBM) with the absorption coefficient as the fundamental radiative property is investigated so that numerical solution methods compatible with the differential form of the radiative transfer equation (RTE) may be employed. The advantage of a NBM based on the absorption coefficient rather than the transmissivity is that the expression for the mean absorption coefficient is independent of the functional form of the probability density function for spectral line intensities, P(S). Accordingly, it is seen that the narrow-band mean absorption coefficient κ_η=^S/_d, where S and d are the mean line …

Control Of Emission Dynamics Of Quantum Dots Via Plasmonic Nanostructures And Lattices, Rithvik R. Gutha

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Study Of Effects Of Rigid Body Vibrations On External Hypersonic Flow Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, Tyler Englestad

Dissertations

Vibrations plague wind tunnel data and are caused by several factors, such as sensor placement, flow inconsistencies due to imperfect collimation, and the sub-scale model mechanically vibrating upon its mounting apparatus, called a sting. This study focuses on the latter source, particularly at hypersonic velocities, due to fundamental changes that occur within the flow at these speeds. These flow changes differ from those at lower velocities, where the mechanical vibrations are generally superimposed upon the data and thus are easily remove via notch or band-stop filtering. Therefore, traditional post-processing noise removal techniques are not as effective. This dissertation presents an …

Technical Reviews In Complex Development Programs, Robert M. Braunger

Dissertations

Technical reviews in major complex defense and space projects are high-stakes events that technically assess programs costing up to billions of dollars, probing the work of hundreds of engineers. These technical reviews evolved since the 1960s into an industry-standard systems engineering process. Prior research argues that technical reviews at the subsystem level are the most technically important---conflicting with other work positing that mission-level technical reviews critically contribute to failures of government programs. Reviews are important, but research on reviews is inconsistent, fragmented, and lacks supporting data. To understand the practice of technical reviews and the alignment between practice and literature, …

Characterization Of Putative Peptidyl-Trna Hydrolase Domain Containing 1, Geordan L. Burks

Dissertations

Putative peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase domain containing 1 (PTRHD1) is a eukaryotic protein predicted to be a Pth2-like peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase. Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolases (Pth) perform the essential function of recycling tRNA from peptidyl-tRNA in the event of translational failure. This function is ubiquitous in all domains of life. Homologues of bacterial (Pth1) and archaeal (Pth2) Pths are present in eukaryotes; however, simultaneous knockout of Pth1 and Pth2 has no effect on cell viability, suggesting the presence of additional proteins in eukaryotes that contain Pth activity. PTRHD1 was proposed as one such eukaryotic Pth and was tested for Pth hydrolase activity. While PTRHD1 did …

Three-Dimensional Modeling Of Fusion Yield In Plasma Jet-Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion, Kevin John Schillo

Dissertations

Controlled nuclear fusion in a laboratory is a challenging problem. After more than half a century of research, no fusion reactor has been developed that is capable of generating more energy than what is required to operate the reactor. Creating accurate simulations of the fusion plasma conditions at peak compression is crucial to guide the development of future fusion experiments and ultimately determine what is necessary to create a viable fusion reactor. This dissertation presents an investigation into three-dimensional simulations of neutron and alpha particle yield of deuterium-tritium fusion. An overview of the physics of nuclear fusion presents the attractive …

Study Of Plume Dynamics From Laser-Ablated Elemental Materials For Propulsion Application, M. Shane Thompson

Dissertations

The efficacy of utilizing material ablation from picosecond laser pulses onto elemental metal targets for propulsion applications is studied by a variety of measurement methods to characterize laser ablation plume dynamics. A 100 ps, 532 nm laser is used for ablating elemental metals, and the resulting ablation plume dynamics are measured by time-of-flight (TOF) energy analyzer probes, a piezoelectric force sensor, and an intensified imager. Results indicate that plume dynamics exhibit a material dependence and behave in a manner indicative of laser-induced plasma formation and expansion, and indicate that ablation-based laser propulsion is characterized by high specific impulses (on the …

Development Of Carbon Reinforced High Performance Cementitious Composites (Crhpc²) For Reverse Bending, Matthew Pinkston

Dissertations

Cementitious composites offer design flexibility and can be tailored to a variety of applications. However, when used in unique and structurally demanding situations, consistent performance is critical. The objectives of this study are: 1) to develop a new class of lightweight cementitious composites that exhibit consistent structural performance and 2) to introduce novel methods for their construction. These, so-called Carbon Reinforced High Performance Cementitious Composites (CRHPC2), are envisioned for uses ranging from aerospace and lightweight construction to energy transfer and structural morphing. Beams are fabricated by placing lightweight (776-806 kg/m3), high-performance cementitious matrices having low flexural moduli (776-913 MPa) over …

Ion-Atom Charge-Exchange Collisions And Their Effect On Plasma-Neutral Coupling, Anthony M. Destefano

Dissertations

The heliosphere is a cavity carved out of the interstellar medium by the supersonic outflow of solar wind (SW) from the Sun. The local interstellar medium (LISM) is partially ionized with the neutral particles penetrating the heliosphere unimpeded by the electric and magnetic (EM) fields. In order to model the heliosphere, both a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and a kinetic Boltzmann (or fluid) approach should be used to represent the plasma and neutral particles, respectively. Even though neutral particles are unaffected by EM fields, certain collisions that exchange charge between ions do occur called charge-exchange. This charge-exchange process, in the form of …

Detection Of Offensive Youtube Comments, A Performance Comparison Of Deep Learning Approaches, Priyam Bansal

Dissertations

Social media data is open, free and available in massive quantities. However, there is a significant limitation in making sense of this data because of its high volume, variety, uncertain veracity, velocity, value and variability. This work provides a comprehensive framework of text processing and analysis performed on YouTube comments having offensive and non-offensive contents.

YouTube is a platform where every age group of people logs in and finds the type of content that most appeals to them. Apart from this, a massive increase in the use of offensive language has been apparent. As there are massive volume of new …

A Look Inside The Black Box: Understanding Communicative Exchanges In Online Learning Environments, Sara Douglas

Dissertations

Participation in academic discussions and peer collaboration activities is instrumental to student engagement, motivation, and mastery of course content. These activities also improve 21st century skills, such as listening, managing diverse viewpoints, and communicating effectively. Although online learning options in the United States have dramatically increased in the past decade, there is limited evidence that online high school courses offer sufficient opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate with teachers and peers. The purpose of this mixed-methods study seeks to find out if, how, and why students interact with others in online courses. Findings from observations of five high school …

The Contribution Of P. G. Wodehouse To The Field Of Gastronomy Through His Character, The French Chef, Anatole, Elizabeth Wilson

Dissertations

In her paper ‘A Cultural Field in the Making: Gastronomy in 19th-Century France’, Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson argues that the field of gastronomy came into existence in the middle of the nineteenth century in France. This field of gastronomy was constructed from two elements, the significance that gastronomy, defined at the time as a structured set of culinary practices, had attained in France by the nineteenth century, but also, the contribution of writers of culinary discourse who wrote about this gastronomy. These writers came from different disciplines and included the realist fiction writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), whose work Ferguson describes …

Angels And Sub-Divine Supernatural Beings: Their Characteristics, Function, And Relationship To God And Humanity In Deuteronomy-Kings, Joni Amanda Mcguire-Moushon

Dissertations

This research analyzes selected passages in Deuteronomy-Kings in order to determine the characteristics and roles of supernatural sub-divine beings within these books. Then this data is compared with the angelology of the Second Temple period in order to identify the similarities and the extent of the differences between them.

Deuteronomy contains references to supernatural sub-divine beings, such as “demons” and “holy one(s)”. While Deuteronomy affirms the existence of sub-divine beings, it forbids the Israelites to worship them. In the books of Joshua and Judges, there is awareness of supernatural beings and their roles as warriors, messengers, and tormentors. However, in …

Variations In Individualistic And Collectivistic Cultural Orientation And The Protective Factors That Contribute To Resilience: Comparisons From Jamaica, Rwanda, And The United States, Stacey Nicely

Dissertations

Problem

Despite the advancement in resilience research, and although mental health professionals are encouraged to become culturally competent, it is still unclear how I/C cultural orientation influence various protective factors that contribute to resilience. Individualists emphasize independence and autonomy while collectivists emphasize interdependence and in-group consensus (Hofstede, 1991; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Therefore, it is expected that the protective factors that promote resilience will also operate differently for individualists as compared to collectivists (Triandis, 1995). Yet, mental health practitioners have very little information available to them to guide their intervention efforts with individualists and collectivists. When practitioners work with individuals …

Examining Perceptions Of Service Quality Of Student Services And Satisfaction Among International Students At Universities In Indiana And Michigan, Mordekai Ochieng Ongo

Dissertations

Problem

Universities in the United States face financial constraints, intense competition for students, declining student enrollment, and constant student attrition. However, an increasing number of international students seek higher education abroad, especially in the U.S. Providing quality services to these international students might help institutions attract and retain more of them. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been done on international students’ perceptions of service quality, especially of non-academic services. This study fills that gap by using a modified SERVPERF questionnaire to investigate international students perceived service quality and satisfaction at eight universities in Indiana and Michigan.

Method

The purpose of …

The Influence Of Pornography Consumption, Religiosity, And Family Sexual Communication On Emerging Adults' Engagement In Hookup Culture In The United States, Angie Powels Horner

Dissertations

Purpose

The primary purpose of the current research was to understand the influence of considerable social-cultural factors, including pornography consumption, religiosity, and family sexual communication, on the sexual values and behaviors of the emerging adult population. Particularly, how pornography consumption, religiosity, and family sexual communication influence emerging adult engagement in hookup culture was examined.

Method

Participants completed several surveys, which measured participants’ pornography consumption, personal religiosity, family sexual communication, and engagement in hookup culture. A path analysis model was used to analyze the relationship between the proposed variables.

Results

The path analysis model indicated that the initial model was a …

Islam, Christianity, Traditional Religions And Power Politics In Northern Nigeria Since Pre-Islamic Period, Emmanuel M. Abar

Dissertations

Problem

Currently in Northern Nigeria, religious interaction among the three major religious traditions, Islam, Christianity, and African Traditional Religion, is marred by violent religious conflicts. Also, competing concepts of religious legitimacy, which appeal to the historical heritage of Nigeria, are often used to validate and justify the violation of religious freedom. Does the current state of religious interaction among the various religious groups reflect the true heritage of religious interaction in Northern Nigeria? Or is it possible that the history of the interaction between African Traditional Religions, Islam, and Christianity in the past might actually be a heritage that points …

Ceramic Architectural Models From The Madaba Plains Region: A Selected Art Historical Analysis, Stefanie P. Elkins

Dissertations

Problem

Architectural models can be described as small, ceramic, house-shaped structures that come in an often bewildering array of shapes and sizes. They appear all over the ancient Near East, and although evidence shows that they were created as early as the Neolithic period, they seem to have peaked in popularity and proliferation during the Iron Age. A few studies and several typologies have been offered over the years, but none have addressed iconography or artistic motifs as well as shape. Furthermore, no in-depth typology of architectural models within the country of Jordan has been offered. This dissertation explores the …

Motivation For The Sharing Of Material Possessions In Acts, Philo's De Vita Contemplativa And The Didache: A Comparative Study, Lena V. Toews

Dissertations

Luke, in the book of Acts, depicts the sharing of possessions as a practice in the Jerusalem community of the first century. Several pericopes, occurring primarily in the first part of the book of Acts, embody the idea of shared property and seem to have important parallels to other sources of the time, including the Jewish author Philo’s work De vita contemplativa, where he describes a group he calls, “Therapeutae,” and in the Jewish Christian document Didache. This study seeks to identify beliefs correlated with the material sharing practices in the community of Acts and compare them with De vita …