Digital Commons Network^™

Profiles Of Urban, Low Ses, African American Girls’ Attitudes Toward Science: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Study, Gayle Buck, Kristin Cook, Cassie F. Quigley, Jennifer Eastwood, Yvonne Lucas

Publications

The purpose of this study was to increase the science education community’s understanding of the experiences and needs of girls who cross the traditional categorical boundaries of gender, race and socioeconomic status in a manner that has left their needs and experience largely invisible. A first of several in a series, this study sought to explore how African American girls from low SES communities position themselves in science learning. We followed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory strategy, in which two data collection phases, qualitative following the quantitative, were employed to investigate 89 African-American girls’ personal orientations towards science learning. By using …

The Economic Situation, 2009 September, Bruce Yandle

Publications

Quarterly report on the economic situation of the United States and South Carolina.

Accelerating Sift On Parallel Architectures, Amy Apon, Seth Warn, Wesley Emeneker, Jackson Cothren

Publications

SIFT is a widely-used algorithm that extracts features from images; using it to extract information from hundreds of terabytes of aerial and satellite photographs requires parallelization in order to be feasible. We explore accelerating an existing serial SIFT implementation with OpenMP parallelization and GPU execution.

Unmanned Aircraft System Propulsion Systems Technology Survey, Christopher Griffis, Timothy Wilson, Jeffrey Schneider, Peter Pierpont

Publications

This technology survey is an investigation of various propulsion systems used in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Discussed are existing and near-future propulsion mechanisms of UAS, such as reciprocating piston engines, Wankel rotary engines, gas turbine engines, rocket-powered systems, electric motors, and battery-based systems. Also discussed are systems that use proton exchange membrane fuel cells, photovoltaics, ultracapacitors, and propellers. Each system is described in reference to a larger conceptual framework, with instances and profiles of existing UAS employing the system being described. Advantages and disadvantages of each type of propulsion system are identified along with associated technical issues and their respective …

Heavy-Fueled Intermittent Ignition Engines: Technical Issues, Jeffrey Arthur Schneider, Timothy Wilson, Christopher Griffis, Peter Pierpont

Publications

This report contains an overview of the technology and engineering issues with nonturbine heavy-fueled engines for general aviation aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. In recent years, interest in these types of engines has grown, partly due to the cost, safety, and worldwide availability of gasoline fuels. Within 3 to 5 years, up to five engines will seek Federal Aviation Administration certification as heavy-fuel powerplants. Although there has been some progress, there is no universal standard for certification of these engines (under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 33), or their installation into normal category fixed-wing aircraft or rotorcraft …

Waves In Inhomogeneous Solids, Arkadi Berezovski, Mihhail Berezovski, Juri Engelbrecht

Publications

The paper aims at presenting a numerical technique used in simulating the propagation of waves in inhomogeneous elastic solids. The basic governing equations are solved by means of a finite-volume scheme that is faithful, accurate, and conservative. Furthermore, this scheme is compatible with thermodynamics through the identification of the notions of numerical fluxes (a notion from numerics) and of excess quantities (a notion from irreversible thermodynamics). A selection of one-dimensional wave propagation problems is presented, the simulation of which exploits the designed numerical scheme. This selection of exemplary problems includes (i) waves in periodic media for weakly nonlinear waves with …

Analysis And Modeling Of Ducted And Evanescent Gravity Waves Observed In The Hawaiian Airglow, D. B. Simkhada, J. B. Snively, M. J. Taylor, S. J. Franke

Publications

Short-period gravity waves of especially-small horizontal scale have been observed in the Maui, Hawaii airglow. Typical small-scale gravity wave events have been investigated, and intrinsic wave propagation characteristics have been calculated from simultaneous meteor radar wind measurements. Here we report specific cases where wave structure is significantly determined by the local wind structure, and where wave characteristics are consistent with ducted or evanescent waves throughout the mesopause region. Two of the documented events, exhibiting similar airglow signatures but dramatically different propagation conditions, are selected for simple numerical modeling case studies. First, a Doppler-ducted wave trapped within relatively weak wind flow …

Aviation Safety Information Analysis And Sharing -- General Aviation (Asias -- Ga), Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

A presentation on the collaborative government and industry initiative on data sharing and analysis to proactively discover safety concerns before accidents or incidents occur, leading to timely mitigation and prevention.

An Assessment Of Shoreline Management Options Along The South Carolina Coast, 2009 August, James B. London, Caitlin S. Dyckman, Jeffery S. Allen, Courtney C. St. John, Samantha R. Jackson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing Abrasion Test Standards For Evaluating Lunar Construction Materials, Ryan L. Kobrick, David M. Klaus, Kenneth W. Street

Publications

Operational issues encountered by Apollo astronauts relating to lunar dust were catalogued, including material abrasion that resulted in scratches and wear on spacesuit components, ultimately impacting visibility, joint mobility and pressure retention. Standard methods are being developed to measure abrasive wear on candidate construction materials to be used for spacesuits, spacecraft, and robotics. Calibration tests were conducted using a standard diamond stylus scratch tip on the common spacecraft structure aluminum, Al 6061-T6. Custom tips were fabricated from terrestrial counterparts of lunar minerals for scratching Al 6061-T6 and comparing to standard diamond scratches. Considerations are offered for how to apply standards …

Overexpression Of A Mutant Form Of Ehraba, A Unique Rab Gtpase Of Entamoeba Histolytica, Alters Endoplasmic Reticulum Morphology And Localization Of The Gal/Galnac Adherence Lectin, B. H. Welter, Lesly A. Temesvari

Publications

Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite that causes amoebic dysentery and liver abscess. Vesicle trafficking events, such as phagocytosis and delivery of plasma membrane proteins, have been implicated in pathogenicity. Rab GTPases are proteins whose primary function is to regulate vesicle trafficking; therefore, understanding the function of Rabs in this organism may provide insight into virulence. E. histolytica possesses a number of unique Rabs that exhibit limited homology to host Rabs. In this study we examined the function of one such Rab, EhRabA, by characterizing a mutant overexpressing a constitutively GTP-bound version of the protein. Overexpression of mutant EhRabA resulted …

Access Mars: Assessing Cave Capabilities Establishing Specific Solutions: Final Report, Abdul Mohsen Al Husseini, Luis Alvarez Sanchez, Konstantinos Antonakopoulos, Jeffrey (Johannes) Apeldoorn, Kenneth Lowell Ashford Jr., Kutay Deniz Atabay, Sara Langston, Et Al.

Publications

The human race has evolved, grown and expanded through the exploration of Earth. After initial steps on the Moon, our next challenge is to explore the solar system. Mars shows potential for both scientific discovery and future human settlement, and so is a prime candidate for the next leap of human exploration. Such a bold endeavor will be a driver for an unprecedented worldwide cooperative effort and the catalyst for a new era of international, intercultural and interdisciplinary human relations. Scientific and technological progress will also accelerate as mankind is ushered into a new era of space exploration.

Currently proposed …

Heretical Dna Sequences?, David G. King, Yechezkel Kashi

Publications

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Research And Practice In Early Childhood Through Formative And Design Experiments, Barbara A. Bradley, David Reinking

Publications

This article describes formative and design experiments and how they can advance research and instructional practices in early childhood education. We argue that this relatively new approach to education research closes the gap between research and practice, and it addresses limitations that have been identified in early childhood research. We provide examples of this approach's potential benefits, trace its origins, present its defining characteristics, illustrate a representative framework for conducting a formative experiment using an example from our own work and we argue that formative and design experiments introduce useful new metaphors into early childhood research.

The Economic Situation, 2009 June, Bruce Yandle

Publications

Quarterly report on the economic situation of the United States and South Carolina.

Maturation And Reproduction Of Shovelnose Sturgeon In The Middle Mississippi River, Sara J. Tripp, Quinton E. Phelps, Robert E. Colombo, James E. Garvey, Brooks M. Burr, David P. Herzog, Robert A. Hrabik

Publications

Shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus in the middle Mississippi River provide one of the last commercially viable sturgeon fisheries in the world, yet their maturation and reproduction have not been linked. During 2005 and 2006, we sampled adult and age-0 shovelnose sturgeon to link age at maturation, the timing and periodicity of spawning, age-0 sturgeon production, and the resulting age-0 growth rates. Age at maturity was later than previous estimates, the minimum age of first maturation being 8 years for males and 9 years for females. Total egg count was slightly lower than previously reported (mean = 29,573 per female; SE …

Synoptic-Scale Characteristics And Precursors Of Cool-Season Precipitation Events At St. John's, Newfoundland, 1979-2005, Shawn M. Milrad, Eyad H. Atallah, John R. Gyakum

Publications

The issue of quantitative precipitation forecasting continues to be a significant challenge in operational forecasting, particularly in regions susceptible to frequent and extreme precipitation events. St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, is one location affected frequently by such events, particularly in the cool season (October–April). These events can include flooding rains, paralyzing snowfall, and damaging winds.

A precipitation climatology is developed at St. John’s for 1979–2005, based on discrete precipitation events occurring over a time period of up to 48 h. Threshold amounts for three categories of precipitation events (extreme, moderate, and light) are statistically derived and utilized to categorize such events. …

Dredging And Dredged Material Beneficial Use In Ireland, Colm Sheehan, Joseph R. Harrington, Jerry Murphy

Publications

This article provides an overview of the dredging industry in Ireland which may be small by international standards but is of critical importance to the nation’s Ports and Harbours. Open sea disposal of dredged material is most common, but a range of beneficial uses for the coarser fraction of dredged material has been practiced. Details on different aspects of dredging in Ireland are presented including a review of current beneficial uses. A specific site at Fenit Harbour in Tralee Bay is examined to assess the potential for a specific beneficial use of dredged material using geotubes in breakwater and revetment …

X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism Of Pulsed Laser Deposited Co2mnsn And Co2mnsb Thin Films Grown On Gaas (001), Moti R. Paudel, Christopher S. Wolfe, Naushad Ali, Shane Stadler, Joseph A. Christodoulides, David L. Ederer, Yinwan Li, Thomas A. Callcott, John W. Freeland

Publications

We present the structural and element specific magnetic properties of Co₂MnSn and Co₂MnSb thin films grown on GaAs (100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectra were measured for 400 A thick films at the L_2,3 edges of Co and Mn. Element specific moments for Co and Mn in Co₂MnSn were calculated from the x-ray absorption and XMCD spectra using the XMCD sum rules. The ratios of orbital to spin magnetic moments for Co and Mn were calculated for Co₂MnSn and Co₂MnSb.

Method To Measure Planar Displacement Using Centroid Calculation, Carlos A. Montes, Laine Mears, John C. Ziegert

Publications

No abstract provided.

Warning! Engineers In Training: Introducing Middle School Students To Industrial Engineering, Its Usefulness, And Its Applications, M. Grubb, A. Berger, D. Browning, M. Mayorga, Laine Mears

Publications

The McCants Middle School Pre-engineering class is designed to teach engineering skills to students with a predisposition for and interest in math and science. This team’s initiative is to use Industrial Engineering tools to enhance the existing pre-engineering course curriculum. The purpose of this study is to make middle school students better aware of an engineer’s thought process as it pertains to effectively planning and working on projects, and to measure the impact of our influence. Through this study, we want to improve the overall quality of the student’s projects and ultimately increase the retention and quantity of students interested …

The Reestablishment Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius), Mary Snow, Richard Snow

Publications

Conservation biology and restoration ecology are concerned not only with protecting fragile ecosystems but also with intervening in an attempt to repair what has been damaged largely through anthropogenic activities. As a result of high demand as a medicinal herb and the failure of harvesters to conserve, the federal government has placed American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) on the list of plants that may be in danger of extinction. Ginseng favors a habitat ranging from 30 to 50 degrees north latitude and minimum cold cycles of 45 days with temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. Other specific criteria include 20 inches of …

Ecological Flows In New Mexico - It Has Been Done, Adrian Oglesby

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Pragmatics Of Allocating Water For Stream Flows, Steve Harris

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Technology Survey Of Emergency Recovery And Flight Termination Systems For Uas, Richard Stansbury, Wesley Tanis, Timothy Wilson

Publications

For safe flight in the National Airspace System (NAS), either under the current interim rules or under anticipated longer-term regulatory guidelines facilitating unmanned aircraft system (UAS) access to the NAS, the UAS must incorporate technologies and flight procedures to ensure that neither people nor property in the air, on the ground, or on or in the water are endangered by the failure of an onboard component, by inappropriate unmanned aircraft (UA) response to pilot commands, or by inadvertent entry by the UA into prohibited airspace. The aircraft must be equipped with emergency recovery (ER) procedures and technologies that ensure that …

Simulation And Behavior Of Corrosion Deteriorated Reinforced Concrete Members, M. A. Shayanfar, Amir Safiey

Publications

Several reinforced concrete (RC) infrastructures are now crumbling from corrosion of steel bars in concrete. The paper presents the recent advancements in analytical simulation of corrosion aftereffects on behavior of RC members. The model juxtaposes the experimental findings with analytical relationships. The implementation of the model into a nonlinear finite element formulation as well as the experimental and analytical backgrounds are discussed. The abilities of the resulted program have been studied by modeling some experimental specimens showing a reasonable agreement between the analytical and experimental findings.

Foiling The Black Knight, Kelly C. Smith

Publications

Why is the academy in general, and philosophy in particular, not more involved in the fight against the creationist threat? And why, when a response is offered, is it so curiously ineffective? I argue, by using an analogy with the battle against the Black Knight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that the difficulty lies largely in a failure to see the nature of the problem clearly. By modifying the analogy, it is possible to see both why large sections of the academy have remained unmoved and also why many of the reactions to the threat …

Numerical Simulations Of Snake Dissipative Solitons In Complex Cubic-Quintic Ginzburg-Landau Equation, S.C. Mancas, Harihar Khanal

Publications

Numerical simulations of the complex cubic-quintic Ginzburg-Landau equation (CCQGLE), a canonical equation governing the weakly nonlinear behavior of dissipative systems in a wide variety of disciplines, reveal five entirely novel classes of pulse or solitary waves solutions, viz. pulsating, creeping, snaking, erupting, and chaotical solitons. Here, we develop a theoretical framework for analyzing the full spatio-temporal structure of one class of dissipative solution (snaking soliton) of the CCQGLE using the variational approximation technique and the dynamical systems theory. The qualitative behavior of the snaking soliton is investigated using the numerical simulations of (a) the full nonlinear complex partial differential equation …

Safety Management Systems Update And Progress, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

The Safety Management System (SMS) Day Panel Charge on March 18, 2009, delivered by Dr. Alan Stolzer, was intended to provide participants with references, tools, vocabulary, and encouragement to adopt academic and laboratory curricula that would prepare students for careers in the SMS environment.

Grb 080913 At Redshift 6.7, J. Greiner, T. Krühler, J. P. U. Fynbo, A. Rossi, R. Schwarz, S. Klose, S. Savaglio, N. R. Tanvir, S. Mcbreen, T Totani, B B. Zhang, X F. Wu, D Watson, S D. Barthelmy, A P. Beardmore, P Ferrero, N Gehrels, D A. Kann, N Kawai, A Küpcü Yoldaş, P Mészáros, B Milvang-Jensen, S R. Oates, D Pierini, P Schady, K Toma, P M. Vreeswijk, A Yoldas, B Zhang, P Afonso, K Aoki, D N. Burrows, C Clemens, R Filgas, Z Haiman, Dieter H. Hartmann

Publications

We report on the detection by Swift of GRB 080913, and subsequent optical/near-infrared follow-up observations by GROND, which led to the discovery of its optical/NIR afterglow and the recognition of its high-z nature via the detection of a spectral break between the i and z bands. Spectroscopy obtained at the ESO-VLT revealed a continuum extending down to λ = 9400 Å, and zero flux for 7500 Å<λ< 9400 Å, which we interpret as the onset of a Gunn–Peterson trough at z = 6.695± 0.025 (95.5% confidence level), making GRB 080913 the highest-redshift gamma-ray burst (GRB) to date, and more distant than the highest-redshift QSO. We note that many redshift indicators that are based on promptly available burst or afterglow properties have failed for GRB 080913. We report on our follow-up campaign and compare the properties of GRB 080913 with bursts at lower redshift. In particular, since the afterglow of this burst is fainter than typical for GRBs, we show that 2 m class telescopes can identify most high-redshift GRBs.