Digital Commons Network^™

Preliminary Study Of Optical-Flow Based Background-Oriented Schlieren Measurements, Hassan A. Ghazwani

Masters Theses

This research describes an experimental study on the density gradient by applying the Background Oriented Schlieren technique with the physics-based optical flow using a simple setup. The design of the BOS setup primarily consists of a background which has random dots, and a high-speed camera focused on the dots. Variation of the density between the undisturbed image and the disturbed image led to a shift of the dots, which is used to generate displacement field by using the optical flow method. In addition: different pressure conditions were applied, to provide distinct displacement fields. Finally, the density gradient of flow was …

Application Of Wavelet Transform In Structural Health Monitoring, Yashodhya Swarna Sri Dhanapala Liyana Kankanamge

Masters Theses

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a process of implementing a damage detection strategy in structures to evaluate the condition of existing structures to ensure the safety of users in the future. The changes in the material, geometric and/or structural properties affect structural responses, which can be captured and analyzed for condition assessment. Various vibration-based damage detection algorithms have been developed in the past decades. Among them, the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) gained popularity as an efficient method of signal processing to build a framework to identify model properties and detect damage in structures. In this study, the application of wavelet …

Optimization Methodology For Cvt Ratio Scheduling With Consideration Of Both Engine And Cvt Efficiency, Steven Beuerle

Masters Theses

A transmission ratio schedule is developed to optimize the fuel consumption for an automotive continuously variable transmission (CVT) connected to an internal combustion engine (ICE). Although the optimal operating line (OOL) generated from an engine brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) map can be used to generate a CVT ratio schedule that yields maximum engine efficiency, it was found that OOL-based CVT ratio scheduling does not necessarily offer the best fuel economy because optimal CVT efficiency does not always correspond to OOL tracking. To develop a CVT ratio schedule that can offer the best fuel economy, a novel ratio-scheduling methodology is …

The Failure Of Westphalia: A Constructivist Examination Of Western And Middle Eastern Relations, Jayson Warren

Masters Theses

This thesis is not intended to be a dogmatic or pedantic endorsement of any one religion, ethic, or culture. To the contrary, it is the intent of the author to examine a number of competing ideas, philosophies, and belief systems in order to extrapolate their geopolitical implications and to pursue them to their logical (albeit sometimes inevitable) conclusions. Too often, any number of presuppositions at work within a given situation go overlooked and subsequently skew geopolitical analysis and resulting policy decisions. This thesis seeks to transcend mere opinion or speculation and achieve instead a framework of Constructivism for pragmatic comprehension …

Current Perceptions Of Music Therapists On The Benefits And Liabilities Of State Licensure, Dianne Sawyer

Masters Theses

This qualitative study investigated a state task force perceptions of music therapists who served on the task force to become licensed. Participants included six licensed music therapists, all of which were female. Through Naturalistic Inquiry, participants provided information about the perceived benefits and liabilities for music therapists, accessibility to clients, funding sources, and other healthcare professionals causing harm. Collected data was analyzed to determine common themes, perceived benefits and drawbacks of licensure, and the push for more regulations based on music therapists’: years of experience, level of education and advanced trainings. The overall perception from the licensed music therapists, is …

A Genetic Algorithm Incorporating Design Choice For The Preliminary Design Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Michael Mull

Masters Theses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently at the forefront of aerospace technologies. The design of these aircraft is complex and often performance characteristics are coupled to multiple design attributes. At the early design phase both discrete and continuous design choices are present limiting the feasibility of traditional derivative based optimization techniques. In place of these methods, the design space can be explored using a genetic algorithm that mimics the process of natural selection, providing a capable and reliable base airframe constructed from the required performance metrics. By incorporating a genetic multidisciplinary optimization algorithm early in the conceptual design phase, aircraft …

The Effects Of Individual And Social Comparison Graphic Feedback On Incented Performance, Yngvi Freyr Einarsson

Masters Theses

This study examined whether graphic displays of individual performance and graphic displays of the individual performance of each group member would increase performance when individuals were paid monetary incentives. All participants were paid piece-rate pay and there were three conditions: (a) no feedback, (b) graphic display of individual performance, and (c) graphic display of the performance of each group member. Participants were 80 undergraduate students who performed a computerized data entry task. The main dependent variable was the number of correctly completed entries. A monotone ANCOVA was used to detect performance differences, using data from the first session as a …

Analytical Study Of Miniature Thermoelectric Device, Mohammed Dhannoon

Masters Theses

Miniature thermoelectric devices (TE) have been regarded as hopeful devices to attain efficient cooling in microprocessors and other small-scale devices. To recognize the performances of miniature thermoelectric coolers, a thermoelectric cooling module is theoretically analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the thermoelectric element length effect and the substrate material type influence on the cooling performance. The electrical contact resistance and thermal contact are taken into account.

Furthermore, miniature thermoelectric is compared with large thermoelectric, and effective material properties of miniature thermoelectric are studied. The obtained results also demonstrate power density (cooling/heating power per unit area of the …

A Location Allocation Model For Retention Basin Placement On Vacant Land In Detroit, Mi, Keith Chapman

Masters Theses

The principal objective of this research is to develop a location-allocation model for vacant lots in the City of Detroit, MI, to analyze for the suitability of retention basin placement. The model will place the retention basins in areas that will effectively reduce the amount of stormwater runoff that reaches the surrounding storm drains. Detroit needs stormwater mitigation to relieve the burden that is currently on the outdated combined sewer system (CSS). The Detroit Future City strategic framework suggests the use of blue infrastructure controls to alleviate the sewer system and reduce the number of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The …

Warrior Health: A Study Of Female Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Who Engage In Outdoor Adventure Recreation, Julia Smith

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to show the impact of outdoor adventure recreation on female veterans who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study followed a phenomenological approach in order to gain an overall view of what the veterans experienced, using observation and interviews in order to gather information. Conclusions showed female veterans desire female-veteran-only activities; desire relationships with fellow female veterans; and enjoy outdoor adventure recreation that includes teamwork, planned activities, and relaxation. In order to ensure the best possible avenue for PTSD health in female veterans, future research may include a focus on the impact of …

Toward A Thomistic Environmental Ethic: How Aquinas's Metaethic Provides The Groundwork For An Environmentally And Zoologically Responsible Moral System, William Merle Green

Masters Theses

While the trend in contemporary discussions of environmental ethics is often to dispense with traditional anthropocentric conceptions of morality in favor of more biologically and ecologically inclusive perspectives, I will argue that Natural Law Theory and Virtue Ethics, both integral components of the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, provide the groundwork for an ecologically and zoologically responsible ethic. Thus, utilizing the core of Aquinas’s ethical system, I will attempt to construct a robust moral framework that is Thomistic in every important sense while at the same time satisfies the sufficiency conditions for a successful environmental code of conduct.

Perception Of Roles Of General Education Teachers & Special Education Teachers In Regard To The Inclusion Of Students With A Cognitive Impairment In The General Education Classroom, Justine B. Keuning-Lafrence

Masters Theses

The field of education has grown and changed to include students with a cognitive impairment being educated in the general education classroom. In order for these students to access the general education curriculum and achieve academic success, general education teachers and special education teachers must collaborate effectively to provide for the needs of these students. Effective collaboration depends on teachers having a perception of their roles and their co-workers’ roles that is compatible with their co-workers’ perceptions. This study looks at the perceptions of both general education teachers and special education teachers in regard to students with a cognitive impairment …

Sexual Health Education Among The Intellectually And Developmentally Delayed Populations: An Examination Of Medical Providers Perspective, Sarah E. Nota

Masters Theses

Sexuality is a recognized human right as it influences mental, social and emotional wellbeing. Despite this, individuals with intellectual or developmentally delays (ID/DD) rarely receive the necessary sexual education. ID/DD persons are also at an increased risk for sexual abuse, further demonstrating the strong need for education. A natural setting in which to receive unbiased and informative sexual health information is through their medical provider. The purpose of this research was to examine current clinic standards, education, and perceptions of medical providers in regards to sexual education for ID/DD adolescents. Medical providers and students within West Michigan were surveyed with …

Building Principals’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Their Ability To Supervise Special Education Programing And Staff, Candida J. Marek

Masters Theses

This study uses quantitative data analysis to reveal Michigan building principals’ selfefficacy dependent on number of years on the job and types of certification they hold. These findings reveal the need for principals to have more opportunities to better understand this special population they are leading and are responsible for. Albert Bandura has established much research on self-efficacy and cognitive theory. Applying that research to that of principal responsibility reveals a need for more knowledge and confidence in the area of Special Education. Principals report that this area is not addressed formally in their certification journey and the need to …

A Transcutaneous Data And Power Transfer System For Osteogenesis Monitoring Sensors, Deepak Dileepkumar

Masters Theses

Implant devices are widely used in health care applications such as life support systems, patient rehabilitation devices and patient monitoring devices. Medical implants have enabled physicians to obtain relevant real time information regarding an organ, or a site of interest with in the body and suggest treatment accordingly. In some cases, the position of the implant within the body or threats of infections prevents wired communication techniques to extract information from the implant. Wireless communication is the alternative in such cases. Distraction osteogenesis is one such application where wireless communication can be established with callus growth monitoring sensors to obtain …

Preparing For 1:1 Technology: Impact On Collaboration, Instruction, And Student Learning, Pamela R. Schwallier

Masters Theses

The purpose of this action research project was to examine how the preparation of a 1:1 technology initiative, through professional development and early access to devices, in secondary (6-12) schools affected personal computing skills of teachers as well as collaboration, instruction, and student learning. This study takes place at West Ottawa Public Schools where district educators received personal Chromebooks and had ongoing professional development throughout the 2015-2016 school year to prepare specifically for the successful adoption of the 1:1 technology model in the 2017-2018 school year. The district is able to provide personal Chromebooks for all students entering grades 7-12 …

Ransoming For The Faith: Medieval Perceptions Of The Role Of Mercedarians In Catalan Society, Spencer Thomas Hunt

Masters Theses

The Medieval advent of institutionalized religious ransoming marked a clear shift in popular concern for captive aid. The present study examines the Catalan based Order of Merced in an attempt to reevaluate the role of religious ransoming in Christian communities. This project reconstructs internal and external perceptions of the Mercedarian brothers and their chosen vocation of ransoming through an analysis of contemporaneous discourse about the order and patterns of lay engagement with the brothers. The first section utilizes published collections of papal and royal records. These documents, combined with the polemic and apologetic texts of the thirteenth-century Christian author Pedro …

Second Law Of Thermodynamics Analysis Of An Internal Combustion Engine Fueled With Methane, Muataz Abotabik

Masters Theses

The second law of thermodynamics is a powerful tool for calculating the amount of energy that can be converted to work (i.e., the exergy or availability of a system), which cannot be predicted using the first law. The objectives of this research project are to quantify the availability during the compression, combustion and expansion processes of a spark-ignited engine fueled with methane; and to highlight differences in the thermo-mechanical availability of the ideal and spark-ignition (SI) engine cycles. A cooperative single-cylinder research engine was used to measure the data required for availability analysis at equivalence ratios ranging between 0.83 and …

Pore Characterizations And Distributions Within Niagaran – Lower Salina Reef Complex Reservoirs In The Silurian Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend, Michigan Basin, Agam Arief Suhaimi

Masters Theses

The Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend (NNPRT) has generated significant oil and gas production in Michigan. The best reservoir rock in the Reef Trend reservoirs are from porous and permeable dolomite of the Guelph Dolomite. Low-to-non reservoir limestone occurs interstratified with reservoir dolomite in many locations. This study utilizes available cores data, thin section Petrographic Image Analysis (PIA), Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) and a newly developed Niagaran Reef depositional model (Rine, 2015) to characterize the distribution of pore geometry within each dolomitized Niagaran Reef Complex (Brown Niagaran – Lower Salina Group) reservoir facies and lithofacies. This study shows that …

Agents Of Justice: Female Plaintiffs In The King’S Court In Thirteenth And Fourteenth-Century England, J. Savannah Shipman

Masters Theses

It has often been assumed that medieval women, noble or common, had little or no agency, were forced into submissive roles by dominating men, and had little control over their day-to-day lives. Theoretical statements about law served to support these assumptions as they forbade women from prosecuting men for any crimes other than the murder of her husband or for rape. Yet the records of the court proceedings before the king and his justices and the Calendar of Patent Rolls paint a very different picture. The sources themselves show that women regularly came to court to gain compensation and justice …

The Effects Of A Peer Feedback Treatment Package On Math Performance In Students With Moderate Cognitive Impairments, Allaina Sheltrown

Masters Theses

Despite the increased demand for data collection in the special education settings, an agreed upon method for collecting data has yet to be identified. Two procedures that have demonstrated robust outcomes for collecting academic data for individual students are self-management and peer feedback. Self-management involves the student collecting measures on his or her own behavior(s). Peer feedback includes a student serving as a tutor and presenting academic materials and feedback to a tutee. Past research has yet to combine the two methods and include the methods to track and monitor Individual Education Program (IEP) goals. The current study aims to …

Approved For All Audiences: A Longitudinal Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of Women In Movie Trailers, Brooke S. O’Neil

Masters Theses

Movie trailers are ever present in our society and impactful in the way society constructs views about various aspects of life. Trailers are unique in that they are specifically tailored and edited to entice audiences to buy tickets to the film. Further, prior research has indicated that in various forms of media, women are continuously underrepresented, disproportionately sexualized, stereotyped, and victimized. The present study examines the portrayal of women through a content analysis of 230 of the top grossing trailers across seven decades: 1950-2015. The research focuses on women’s representation, sexualization, gender roles, and violence. The analysis reveals that in …

Stratigraphy Of The Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Michigan Basin: Review And Revision With An Emphasis On The Ellsworth Petroleum System, Bryan J. Currie

Masters Theses

Compression associated with the formation of the Transcontinental Arch and the Acadian Mountains initiated subsidence in the Michigan Basin and lead to a depositional switch in the Michigan Basin from an oxic shallow-water carbonate platform (Traverse Group and Squaw Bay Limestone) to a deep anaerobic sea floor and the beginning of Upper Devonian Antrim Shale. The vertical distribution of the different Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian formations and members demonstrates large scale cycles of anaerobic-dysaerobic transitions attributed fluctuations in sea-level, different rates of subsidence and sediment influx triggered by different orogenic events to.

The regional understanding and the distribution of the different …

The Effect Of Flexibility On Interaction Of Two Fibers Settling In Moderate Reynolds Numbers, Ahmed Alhasan

Masters Theses

The behavior of solid particles in a fluid has become an important topic. The need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of fluid-particle interaction is the motivation for the present work. The characteristics of fibers suspensions depend on the many variables such as flexibility, Reynolds numbers, density and aspect ratio. The aim of this work is to probe effects of these variables on sedimentation behavior by using a fiber-level simulation technique. In this techniques, a D3Q15 model in a lattice Boltzmann equation with a Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) approximation is used to simulate motion of fluids, where Navier-Stokes equations are solved …

Junot Díaz’S The Brief, Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao And Its Punishment Of Failed Gender Performances, Bruno Yupanqui Tovar

Masters Theses

Junot Díaz’s renowned novel, The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Oscar Wao), presents the brief and wondrous life of its main character, Oscar Wao, but also describes the exceptional lives of Lola and Belicia, his sister and mother, respectively. While the story’s title asserts an enthusiastic tone to the lives of Oscar—and the females in his family—the story actually reveals the victimization and demise of these characters. Though Díaz offers the spell of Fukú americanus, a Dominican superstition, Feminist Theorist Judith Butler provides a more advantageous, concrete explanation for the subjugation of these characters. Butler argues that culture dictates …

Medium As King: Social Media & The Political Campaign, Isaac Shea

Masters Theses

There is a growing need for a greater understanding of the intersection between great content, effective targeting and proper media usage in mediated communication and especially in American politics. As more campaigns move their efforts online in an attempt to reach a rapidly growing digital constituency, more content will continue to be less visible. The major quest for this study will be to challenge the long-standing idea that “content is king” which Bill Gates termed at the inception of the internet. A theoretical background of Marshall McLuhan and Kathleen Hall Jamieson will not only allow us to answer this question, …

Peer Disagreement And Rationality: An Analysis Of Richard Feldman's Conciliatory View, John Molinari

Masters Theses

How should one's beliefs be affected by one's knowing that other people, who are equally well-informed, rational, and intelligent – in other words, persons who are epistemic, or intellectual, peers – believe differently? In this thesis I look at a certain answer to this question. Richard Feldman argues that when two persons who have (roughly) the same level of intelligence and who are (roughly) equally well-informed disagree, the only rational response is for both persons to give up their disputed beliefs and suspend judgment. I look at two objections to Feldman’s view, one from Ernest Sosa and the other from …

The Problem Of Evil And The Probity Of Theodicy From William Rowe's Evidential Evidential Of Evil, Olaoluwa Apata

Masters Theses

In this research, we discussed the types of evil: moral and natural, which are cited by atheistic philosophers as evidence against the existence of God. The so-called evidence from evil has been used by the atheistic and other non-theistic scholars to raise hypothesis on evaluating the possibility or likelihood that an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good God exists in a world that is littered with evil. Moral evil is evil that arise from the misuse of free will by moral agents, while natural evils are natural disasters such as: earthquakes, famine, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. We discussed moral evil and …

The Library Under The Sun: Knowledge And Vanity In Umberto Eco’S The Name Of The Rose, Elizabeth Lamont

Masters Theses

Umberto Eco’s debut novel The Name of the Rose is so saturated with theoretical conversations and allusions that it can be read as a work of critical theory almost as much as it can be read as the wonderful detective novel that so many people have enjoyed. This thesis approaches the novel accordingly, engaging with the theoretical questions and ideas presented in the novel and evaluating them based on a biblical worldview. The central theoretical questions in the novel revolve around what can be known and how. Many critics have argued that the novel answers these questions of epistemology in …

Understanding College Students’ Exam Process In A General Chemistry Course, Angela Willson

Masters Theses

The main way most college chemistry courses assess what a student has learned is through a summative exam. After introductory science courses, such as general chemistry, many students cite poor teaching and disappointing grades in these courses as a reason for dropping out of STEM programs. There has been a lack of qualitative research on students’ experiences of the complete process of taking an exam from start to finish, or the exam process, which includes preparing for an exam, taking an exam, receiving feedback, and responding to feedback after the exam has been graded.

My goal in this exploratory study …