Digital Commons Network^™

Evolutionary Implications On Contextualism, John Mark Gowan

Theses

Contextual knowledge-attribution and natural selection are both processes that allow knowledge-attributions and organisms to evolve, respectively. The difference between Contextual knowledge-attribution and natural selection is the existence of intention: natural selection is an unintentional process that is possible because of random physical variations while Contextual knowledge-attribution is an intentional process that is possible because of random memetic variations. Evolutionary Contextualism, as a memetic theory, is the theory that knowledge-attributions evolve based upon unequal probabilities within a context created by falsifiable standards that are dependent upon attributer intentions. If Contextualism is a memetic theory that concerns knowledge, and memetic evolution is …

Two Degrees Of Intentionality: Approaching The Ascription Of Psychological Content In Non-Linguistic Creatures, Michael Joseph Ferreira

Theses

We often include intentional (psychological) states in the explanation of complex non-human animal behavior. How, if possible, should we characterize intentionality in other species without trivializing our own? I aim to develop a strategy, compatible with intentional realism, for approaching the ascription of intentionality in non-linguistic species. One way to approach the question, one rehearsed in multiple contexts, is to question the conditions under which conceptual mental representations might obtain in non-linguistic species. I follow a similar, but less developed strategy. I argue, following some recent literature, that it is likely that concepts split into (at least) two kinds. If …

Honoring The Sacred Space Within, Karen Marie Pelc

Theses

Not Included

Patterns Of Habitat Use By Primates In Eastern Ecuador, Seema Nayan Sheth

Theses

Lowland tropical rain forests of western Amazonia are characterized by the most speciose primate communities in the Neotropics, immediately leading to the question of to what extent does niche partitioning by primate species serve as a mechanism to promote species co-existence. Because the primate assemblages that we observe today reflect a combination of ecological and evolutionary processes, this study examines habitat occupancy and its relationship to phylogeny and space in a diverse diurnal primate community in an undisturbed lowland rain forest of Amazonian Ecuador. Specifically, the following null hypotheses are explored as potential factors that shape community structure: (1) mean …

Curriculum For A 3 Day Iep Seminar, Stephanie Metzler

Theses

This seminar has been created to teach future teachers, like yourselves, how to create an effective educational plan for students with disabilities, with a strong emphasis on Deaf students.

Feral Child: The Legacy Of The Wild Boy Of Aveyron In The Domains Of Language Acquisition And Deaf Education, Wayne Cayea

Theses

Language Acquisition has been hotly debated since Chomsky's theory of innate ability in the 1950s. Feral children. i.e.. wild children who grow up in extreme isolation, provide a unique opportunity to study the process of language acquisition. What we can learn can have a major impact on what and how we teach our young students, especially deaf - students whose language development may be delayed. Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, a famous feral child, is the focus of this study. He was discovered in the French wilderness in 1800, after three to eight years alone in the forest. After …

Discovery Learning In Mathematics Education: Using Multimedia Technology To Reach Teachers, Rachel Lewis

Theses

Being a teacher requires the dual skills ofboth knowing a content area and knowing effective methods for teaching that content. Teachers ofdeafstudents, however, frequently have more training related to deafness rather than their content area. At issue is access to resources which could remedy this problem. This paper outlines the development of an online workshop which will serve as a pilot project to explore ways to get pedagogical and content knowledge from skilled professionals to both teachers in the field and students in teacher preparation programs. The mathematical preparation of teachers of the deaf was reviewed and a workshop topic …

Creating Landscapes With Simulated Colliding Plates, Alex Jarocha-Ernst

Theses

The creation of realistic virtual terrain has been a longstanding computer graphics problem, as terrain will form the backdrop of any virtual world. Approaches to this problem to date have taken one of two approaches: either fractally generating landscapes, or simulating the processes of water and thermal erosion. I have developed a new method to synthesize virtual landscapes, by simulating some of the geological forces that create real-world landscapes

I model the collision and deformation of simulated tectonic plates, and create features that mimic those found along real-world plate boundaries. This is achieved through the use of a meshless object …

10 Second Jimmy, Kevin Mcnulty

Theses

A descriptive narration of a project to create a 3-D computer animated film, "10 Second Jimmy," about an old man whose wife's rejection of him has unforeseen consequences. Includes proposal, original storyboard, color film stills, character sketches, modeling, discarded ideas, inspiration images, and promotional poster.

Modeling And Optimization Of Biological Nutrients Removal In Wastewater Treatment Processes Considering Advanced Kinetic Modeling Techniques, Nawras Nabil Ai Ghazaly

Theses

In the field of wastewater treatment, there is an increasing demand to improve the effluent

quality especially if it is going to be discharged to surface water. Effluent discharged

to surface water should have minimum nutrients level (nitrogen and phosphorus) in order

to avoid eutrophication and the resulting algal blooms which deplete the water from the oxygen

needed by other plant and animal species. Moreover, there is a demand to reduce the chemical

consumption in the treatment processes and to depend as much as we can on the biological

Treatment methods in achieving the required effluent quality in terms of …

Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells On Thin Film Tyrosine Derived Polycarbonates, Tamunotoyne Briggs

Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells, harvested from adult bone marrow, are promising in the field of regenerative medicine because of the vast differentiation potential into various cell lines such as: osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and neurons. Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) could be an important tool in the treatment of orthopedic deficiencies such as bone defects. The extent of in vitro human mesenchymal stem cell growth, adhesion, motility and differentiation into osteoblasts is a function of the material surface chemistry which is mediated by protein adsorption onto the surface. A library of tyrosine derived polycarbonates allows the tailoring of material …

Auto Detection In Autism, Gayathri Chandar

Theses

Autism is a neurobiological disorder in which, certain regions of the brain are affected. The main features of autism are impairment in communication, social interaction, language and deficit in imitation and theory of mind. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), haemodynamic responses during a bilateral finger tapping task are analyzed for both autistic subjects and normal control subjects. fMRI is a noninvasive technique to image the activity of the brain related to a specific task. Generally, the active voxels in the IMRI images are detected using parametric or non-parametric statistical methods in which the fMRI response is assumed to have …

Network Activity Arising From Optimal Diameters Of Neuronal Processes, Juliane Gansert

Theses

Electrical coupling provides an important pathway for signal transmission between neurons. In several regions of the mammalian brain electrical synapses have been detected, and their role in the synchronization of neural networks and the generation of oscillations has been studied theoretically. Recently, it has been found that the amplitude of the postsynaptic potential is maximized for a specific diameter of the postsynaptic fiber.

In this thesis, the impact of the fiber's diameter on the success or failure of the action potential initiation and propagation is studied theoretically. Systems of two coupled neurons, as well as small networks, are investigated. The …

Location Estimation In A 3d Environment Using Radio Frequency Identification Tags, Adwitiya Akash Jain

Theses

RFID tag location estimation in a 3D environment is investigated. The location of the tag with unknown coordinates can be estimated with certain accuracy. However, accuracy can be improved using the knowledge based on measurement of additional reference tags with known location. This thesis studies the mathematical formulation and practical realization of location sensing using RFID tags.

Deviating from the standard use of RFID technology which employs one tag reader to identify the presence of tag, here multiple tag readers with known location are used to estimate the physical location of an individual tag, with/without the help of few reference …

Development Of A System To Measure Cardiac Function In The Drosophila Melanogaster Animal Model, Heather Anne Reinhardt

Theses

Previous studies have shown that several genes are evolutionarily conserved from lower organisms to man, where a number of genes have been directly linked to cardiac function and disease. The Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit Fly) has a genome similar to humans and therefore has proven to be an important animal model to study the role of genetics in cardiac function and disease development. Fruit flies are an important basic science model because of the ease with which genes can be manipulated and quickly expressed due to the short lifespan of the fly. Although standard techniques exist to affect the genome of …

Environmental Policy In Jordan : Analysis, Gap Identification, And Strategies For Improvement, Diana Saed

Theses

Jordan is a country with a tremendously fragile environment. It faces substantial environmental challenges due to its delicate environmental resources and its limited financial assets. These challenges are aggravated by the scarcity of available water, deterioration of the water resources, land contamination, desertification, mismanagement of land use, and air pollution. Attempting to describe the “State of the Environment” and to provide an informed analysis of the threats to the nation’s environment is a Herculean task. This analysis examines the efforts made by Jordan in regard to protection and management of the environment. This thesis provides a snapshot of the major …

A Data Gathering Toolkit For Biological Information Integration, Munira Lokhandwala

Theses

SYSTERS is a biological information integration system containing protein sequences from many protein databases such as Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL and also protein sequences from complete genomes available at Ensembl, The Arabidopsis Information Resource, SGD and GeneDB. For some protein sequences their encoding nucleotide sequences can be found in their corresponding websites. However, for some protein sequences their encoding nucleotide sequences are missing.

The goal of this thesis is to. collect all nucleotide sequences for the protein sequences in SYSTERS and store them in a common database. There are two cases. The first case is that if the nucleotide sequences can …

Performance Analysis Of Collaborative Hybrid-Arq Protocols Over Fading Channels, Igor Stanojev

Theses

Impairments due to multipath signal propagation on the performance of wireless communications systems can be efficiently mitigated with time, frequency or spatial diversity. To exploit spatial diversity, multiple-antenna technology has been thoroughly investigated and emerged as one of the most mature communications areas. However, the need for smaller user terminals, which results in insufficient spacing for antenna collocation, tends to limit the practical implementation of this technology. Without compromising terminal dimensions, future wireless networks will therefore have to exploit their broadcast nature and rely on collaboration between single-antenna terminals for exploiting spatial diversity.

Among cooperative schemes, Collaborative ARQ transmission protocols, …

3-Dimentional Visualization Of Cancer Metastasis On The Liver, Thomas Nowacki

Theses

None provided.

Multispectral Imaging And Analysis Of The Archimedes Palimpsest, D. Michael Hansen

Theses

The Archimedes Palimpsest is a manuscript that has been preserved for approximately 1,000 years. Among its pages are some of the few known sources of treatises from the Greek mathematician Archimedes. The writing has been overwritten with prayer text, called the Euchologion, and portions of the faded Archimedes text are difficult to read. This research investigates methods to detect the presence of ink in the Archimedes Palimpsest using state-of-the-art image processing techniques applied to data from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scans.

In an effort to extract more legible text, various methods of imaging have been applied to the Archimedes manuscript. Recent …

Connections, Adam Werth

Theses

The thesis describes a project to create a cohesive body of work relating to the themes of the connections between individuals, personal accountability, social responsibility, and social passivity. In addition to creating this body of work, the artist also created a website related to it (which provided an opportunity for feedback as well as links to social resources), and placed advertisements in public papers directing the public to the website by using provocative statements such as 'You are fat'

Trial, Chen-Ni Hsu

Theses

Not Included

Support Within A Community, Lance Neirby

Theses

A description of the author's thesis project to create a sculpture installation demonstrating the significance of support within a community, using the form of Foxtail Bristle Grass as a model for a metal and wood sculpture. Includes photos of the thesis exhibition as well as other works that inspired its creation.

Anti-Individualism And Rationality, Adam J. Arico

Theses

Paul Boghossian has argued that externalist descriptions of mental content are unfit for assessments of rationality. An individual, he suggests, can comport with the principles of logic and rationality if and only if she is able to introspectively recognize the content of her thoughts and beliefs without relying on empirical evidence. Jessica Brown argues, first, that Boghossian¿s notion of rationality is unrealistic and incompatible with modern experimental data, and second, that his principles of transparency of mental content are unreasonable and, ultimately, self-defeating. In defending Boghossian¿s notion of rationality, and subsequently his transparency principles, this paper attempts to respond to …

Why Do Students Seek Enrollment Into A Bachelor's Degree Program In Hospitality Management?, Terrance R. Dinan

Theses

This study identifies underlying factors which influence students to enroll in a hospitality management bachelor's degree program. It is an important study for educational institutions from the standpoint of recruitment and for the purpose of assessing student aspirations. This study focuses exclusively on the question: "Why do students seek enrollment into a bachelor's degree program in hospitality management?"

New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York is the sole institution surveyed in this study.

The findings of this study indicate that students seek such enrollment because they have come to believe that hospitality industry jobs are …

Does Exposure Science Support The Concern Over Indoor Air Quality?, Kenneth Kasper

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the growing concern over indoor air quality (IAQ) and determine if such concern is warranted. The first questions that steer this effort include: Does scientific research substantiate a causal link between IAQ contaminants and human health? In addition, which indoor air contaminants appear to present the greatest health risks? These questions were answered primarily by reviewing exposure science based criteria that have been developed by federal and state agencies and then comparing these criteria to nominal concentrations that have been measured in the workplace. The second purpose of this thesis was to …

A Recipe, Bradley Josephine Selin

Theses

This thesis describes the author's master's exhibition of ceramic storage containers. It discusses how the work expresses the theme of gardening. The author also includes images of some of the works which have influenced her design.

Doppler Ultrasound Technique Used To Determine The Blood Flow Viscosity In The Middle Cerebral Artery Of A Canine Animal Model, Raj P. Ganpath

Theses

The cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery of an canine animal model was measured using the Doppler Ultrasound technique. A transducer was designed with a 20 MHz piezoelectric crystal and used for the application. An in vitro calibration system was designed and machined for the purpose of testing and calibrating every transducer before using it in vivo. Preliminary tests included experiments on the in vitro system and measurement of blood flow velocity in the human wrist artery (metacarpal artery). The effect of using different transmission media (agarose and gelatin) was determined through the many in vitro and …

Learning Hangul With Games: Applying Multimedia Techniques To Educational User Interfaces For Young Korean-American Children, Eun-Hee Han

Theses

This program is designed to motivate four- and five-year old Korean-American children to learn Hangul, the Korean language. Multimedia techniques make these lessons fun and interesting, by using lively visual images, sounds, and animation to communicate the material and have children practice Hangul. To do so, the program utilizes a three-part methodology:

** Lesson 1 is word recognition,

** Lesson 2 teaches Korean language characters

** Lesson 3 teaches sentences.

Once children understand the lesson concepts, they play games to reinforce their understanding of those concepts. This practice stimulates functions of the brain and provides an interesting way for the …

Writing, Illustrating And Designing A Printed And An Interactive Book For Children, Sara Ponce-Rivera

Theses

The thesis, Writing, Illustrating and Designing a Printed and an Interactive Book for Children, as the title states, consists of creating a book for children and then developing it as an interactive educational application. The book as well as the interactive book, target children between the ages of seven to ten years old.

The title of the book is. The Island of My Childhood Dreams. The content is about my reflection of growing up in Puerto Rico, and its illustrations are used in the interactive book as the framework to further explore the cultural aspects of the island.

The interactive …