Digital Commons Network^™

The Application Of Index Based, Region Segmentation, And Deep Learning Approaches To Sensor Fusion For Vegetation Detection, David L. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the application of index based, region segmentation, and deep learning methods to the sensor fusion of omnidirectional (O-D) Infrared (IR) sensors, Kinnect sensors, and O-D vision sensors to increase the level of intelligent perception for unmanned robotic platforms. The goals of this work is first to provide a more robust calibration approach and improve the calibration of low resolution and noisy IR O-D cameras. Then our goal was to explore the best approach to sensor fusion for vegetation detection. We looked at index based, region segmentation, and deep learning methods and compared them with a goal of …

Breakdown Of Relations: American Expansionism, The Great Plains, And The Arikara People, 1823-1957, Stephen R. Aoun

Theses and Dissertations

Arikara people had been adapting their tribal structures to European influences since Europeans first arrived on the northern Plains in the early seventeenth century. Their sedentary lifestyle, focused on agriculture and hunting, increasingly included trade with French, British, and American trappers by the seventeenth century. The goods procured from European traders, such as firearms and other metallurgical works, began to upset the balance of geopolitical power on the Plains, setting the stage for the violence and political realignments at the center of this thesis. As my research reveals, by the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, tensions between the …

Weaponization Of Space: Subverting The Architecture Of Occupation, Majdulin Nasrallah

Theses and Dissertations

Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and oppression of the Palestinian people has manifested itself in countless ways. The built environment, fueled by spatial theory, has been transformed into an instrument of war that serves a military agenda. In this context, the physical environment is not simply the arena of conflict, but a weapon wielded by occupying forces. This research investigates spatial control through seemingly mundane architecture and military practices, which are deployed deliberately to strangulate Palestinian livelihood and prosperity. Derived from Deleuze and Guittari’s delineation of smooth and striated space, with an emphasis on walls and barriers, this thesis subverts …

Perceived Impact Of Ambient Operating Room Noise By Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Marianne S. Cosgrove

Theses and Dissertations

It is widely acknowledged that elevated levels of noise are commonplace in the healthcare environment, particularly in high acuity areas such as the operating room (OR). Excessive ambient noise may pose a threat to patient safety by adversely impacting provider performance and interfering with communication among perioperative care team members. With respect to the certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), increased ambient OR noise may engender distractibility, diminish situation awareness and cause untoward health effects, thereby increasing the possibility for the occurrence of error and patient injury.

This research project analytically examines the perceived impact of ambient noise in the operating …

William Bernard Cooke, George Cooke, And J.M.W. Turner: Business Of The Topographical Print Series, Saskia C. Turpijn

Theses and Dissertations

The organization of eighteenth and nineteenth-century British printmaking and publishing was based on economic principles and occurred in the collaborative sphere of the engraver’s studio. Print designers, engravers, printers, and publishers formed a professional network that operated on economic principles, publishing prints that served to generate income for its participants. These ventures faced great challenges in the lengthy and laborious processes of engraving and publishing, and in financing the project for the duration of that time.

This project examines the economic structure of early nineteenth-century prints. Using comprehensive accounting records, it analyzes two well-known topographical print series. The profitable Southern …

Smoke Signals: New Contexts For The Emergence, Spread, And Decline Of Effigy Pipes In Southeastern North America, A.D. 1000-1600, Charles Van De Kree

Theses and Dissertations

The cultural significance of effigy pipes among southeastern groups during the Mississippian period (A.D. 1000-1600) has yet to be fully understood. Recent studies, however, have provided new archaeological contexts for framing explanations of their possible use and distribution among such groups. Apart from conjectures about their use as ceremonial objects, selection for effigy pipes in the Mississippian Southeast was directly related to fluctuating environmental and demographic conditions under which such objects were manufactured and distributed. These conditions provided the appropriate context for their emergence as costly signaling devices through which elite or special interest groups advertised fitness levels, typically expressed …

About Men: A Retrospective Into The Evolution Of The Male Form Through The Female Gaze, Laura Briseño

Theses and Dissertations

It is philosophized that subjectivity is founded on subjection, a subjection based on the view point of the viewer. Through the centuries the idea of the male form has been transformed through various representations from the context of art, architecture, and culture from Ancient Greece (Classical period of 5th and 4th centuries BC) to Contemporary art (1946–present).

The purpose is to create an exhibition that provides a female gaze on the representations of the male form through or in art. Examining how and why male forms are represented in the content we know them as of current curation. Which brings …

1. Synthesis And Characterization Of A Vanadium Based Transition State Mimic For Organophosphate Hydrolase 2. Catalytic Oxidation Of Thioanisole And 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide Using Resin Bead Supported Oxoperoxidovanadium(V) Complexes, Efram Goldberg

Theses and Dissertations

Two vanadium(V) complexes were prepared for different projects. First the ONS tridentate ligand 14 was prepared according to literature procedure. This ligand was chosen to make the ONS dioxovanadium complex 15 for conjugation to a protein and to eventually elicit catalytic antibodies for the hydrolysis of the chemical weapon VX. Complex 15 was prepared in 65% overall yield and a full characterization was performed including X-ray diffraction. Initial screening performed at the Naval Research Laboratory indicated an IC50 of 84 nM for inhibition of a bacterial cholinesterase. It was also found to be 50% as effective as the control antiobiotic …

Construction Of Reality: Symbolic And Social Practice Of Michael Kurzwelly’S Słubfurt And Nowa Amerika, Olga Kostyrko

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is concerned with the analysis of two long-term community-based socially engaged art projects of German artist Michal Kurzwelly: “Słubfurt” (1999-2018) and “Nowa Amerika” (2010-2018). The research methodology for the analysis is drawn from the fields of art theory and criticism, and sociology. More specifically, in order to evaluate the social impact of long-term social art practices on the local community I borrow the criteria from the sociological discourse of bottom-up community development, while simultaneously, combining it with the insights from art criticism to discuss aesthetic dimensions of the work. I am arguing that Michael Kurzwelly’s projects are good …

An Artful Habitat:Creating An Environment For Divergent Expression, Marilyn Edna Bambrough

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last century, teaching techniques and philosophies have changed extensively in the art classroom. Teaching methods have spanned a range that stretches from highly rigid, to self-expressive, more learner centered approaches. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest and research regarding the role of creativity in visual art education. This research project focused on the qualities of effective art instruction using elements from a number of historical ideologies, with the intent to study creative development in students. The research used a case-study methodology informed by a reflective, action research methodology. Research was used to determine effective …

Time Sensitive Functionals Of Marked Random Measures In Real Time, Kizza M. Nandyose Frisbee

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we study marked random measures that model stochastic networks (under attacks), status of queueing systems during vacation modes, responses to cancer treatments (such as chemotherapy and radiation), hostile actions in economics and warfare. We extend the recently developed time sensitivity technique for investigating the processes’ behavior about a fixed threshold to a novel time sensitive technique in three important directions: (1) real-time monotone stochastic processes; (2) two-dimensional signed random measures; and (3) antagonistic stochastic games with two active players and one passive player. The need for the time sensitive feature in our study (i.e., an analytical association …

Reconstruction Of The 3d Temperature And Species Concentration Spatial Distribution Of A Jet Engine Exhaust Plume Using An Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer Hyperspectral Imager, Mason D. Paulec

Theses and Dissertations

The measurement of combustion byproducts is useful for determining pollution of any fuel burning application, efficiency of combustion, and determining detectability of aircraft exhausts. Both intrusive and non-intrusive techniques have been utilized to measure these quantities. For the majority of the non-intrusive techniques, the absorption and emission spectra of the gases are utilized for measurements. For this research, the use of the Telops Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer (IFTS) Hyperspectral Imager (HSI) was explored within the scope of combustion diagnostic methods, as an option for remote measurements of a jet turbine to determine concentration of species and temperature of the combustion …

Revulsion, Restlessness, And Rage Through The Body In Pain: Radical Affects And Political Consciousness In The Ariel Poems, Erin P. Beach

Theses and Dissertations

The affective path to radicalism unfolds in Plath's Ariel in three stages. Revulsion identifies a shared source of conflict with a clear patriarchal enemy. Restlessness mimics the context and pace of rebellion, including the acute crises that give way to a societal awakening. Rage connotes incipient action and a commitment to upheaval as an act of restorative justice. The associated “ugly feelings” that facilitate such affects are a reflection of how, historically, progress has come at the cost of suffering. Plath’s language and its capacity for commanding this perverse sense of the sublime – particularly its ability to control …

Breaking Down The Barriers To Operator Workload Estimation: Advancing Algorithmic Handling Of Temporal Non-Stationarity And Cross-Participant Differences For Eeg Analysis Using Deep Learning, Ryan G. Hefron

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on two barriers to using EEG data for workload assessment: day-to-day variability, and cross- participant applicability. Several signal processing techniques and deep learning approaches are evaluated in multi-task environments. These methods account for temporal, spatial, and frequential data dependencies. Variance of frequency- domain power distributions for cross-day workload classification is statistically significant. Skewness and kurtosis are not significant in an environment absent workload transitions, but are salient with transitions present. LSTMs improve day- to-day feature stationarity, decreasing error by 59% compared to previous best results. A multi-path convolutional recurrent model using bi-directional, residual recurrent layers significantly increases …

Multi-Level Multi-Objective Programming And Optimization For Integrated Air Defense System Disruption, Aaron M. Lessin

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. military's ability to project military force is being challenged. This research develops and demonstrates the application of three respective sensor location, relocation, and network intrusion models to provide the mathematical basis for the strategic engagement of emerging technologically advanced, highly-mobile, Integrated Air Defense Systems. First, we propose a bilevel mathematical programming model for locating a heterogeneous set of sensors to maximize the minimum exposure of an intruder's penetration path through a defended region. Next, we formulate a multi-objective, bilevel optimization model to relocate surviving sensors to maximize an intruder's minimal expected exposure to traverse a defended border region, …

Determination Of Age-Related Differences In Activation And Detoxication Of Organophosphates In Rat And Human Tissues, Edward Caldwell Meek

Theses and Dissertations

The mechanism of toxic action for organophosphates (OPs), originally developed as insecticides, is the persistent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) resulting in accumulation of acetylcholine and subsequent hyperstimulation of the nervous system. Many OPs require bioactivation via cytochromes P450 to oxon metabolites which are anticholinesterases. Organophosphates display a wide range of acute toxicities. Differences in the OPs’ chemistries results in differences in the compounds' metabolism and toxicity. Acute toxicities of OPs appear to be principally dependent on compound specific efficiencies of detoxication, and less dependent upon efficiencies of bioactivation and sensitivity of AChE. Esterases, such as carboxylesterase (CaE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), …

A Network-Based Method For The Analysis Of Use And Function In Stone Tool Kits: Implications For Late Prehistoric Settlement Patterning In Northeast Mississippi, Jason Nathaniel Ervin

Theses and Dissertations

A network-based method is developed for analyzing use in stone tool assemblages, where 'use' denotes the tasks for which chipped edges are suitable. Modeling chipped edges as nodes, use-wear and retouch as edge traversals, use-life trajectories of chipped edges as inter-connecting paths, and `tools' as subnetworks over which design tolerances are maintained on edge morphology, the method is an attempt to improve on existing models, allowing for complex, continuous change and multiple uses throughout a chipped edge's use-life. Avoiding analogy-based categories, the method is designed to highlight rather than obscure the possibilities for use and multi-use. Potential for integration into …

Functionalized And Nanostructured Fibers For Photocatalysis And Energy Conversion, Jared R. Jaksik

Theses and Dissertations

Fiber-type / flexible materials present a unique opportunity for the incorporation of photocatalytic / energy generating technology, as they typically have a broad surface area exposed to light (clothing, curtains, carpet). In this work, several methods of harvesting incident light striking a flexible substrate to perform useful work are examined. In the first section a gold and silver nanoparticle augmented TiO2 thin film textile coating is evaluated for its self-cleaning / UV-protective / anti-microbial properties, and stability of the film / substrate over time is examined. In the second section a dye sensitized / hybrid type solar cell architecture based …

Design, Modeling, And Thermal Characterization Of Temperature Gradient Gas Chromatography Micro-Columns, Parker David Schnepf

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a thermal gradient gas chromatography (TGGC) system that is implemented on a micro-scale. The GC column is approximately 20 cm long and is fabricated out of silicon with 21 nickel thin-film heaters evenly placed along the length of the column. Computational heat transfer models using ANSYS Mechanical APDL predict heating and cooling rates up to 32,000 deg C/min and 3,600 deg C/min, respectively. These results are verified through testing an experimental silicon channel. A PI controller which uses resistance measurements to calculate thin-film temperature is used for obtaining dynamic thermal gradient control. This controller is shown to …

Future Melting Away: Water Stress As A Threat To Human Security In Bangladesh And The Role Of International Community, Farzana Afroz Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Bangladesh is considered as one of the frontline states in the global climate change; its policy agendas attempt to respond to the perceived security threats emanating from such changes. Water stress is one of the key problems the country is facing. Yet, links between glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Bangladesh’s climate, growing water stress, and its implications for human security have seldom been studied. Drawing on the concepts of climate change, human security and water stress, the thesis examines the causes of Bangladesh’s freshwater crisis and its contribution to the human insecurity. Here in this study, the influence of …

Control Laws For Autonomous Landing On Pitching Decks, Kendrick Buchala

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the problem of landing a quadcopter onto the pitching deck of a ship, as a partial simulation of a shipboard landing during high seas. The deck is modeled to pitch with a sinusoidal motion. While shipboard landing consists of many stages, only the final landing is simulated in this research. Other ship motions, such as roll and heave, are likewise not considered. The goal is to land the quadcopter in the center of the deck with minimal position and pitch error, where position error measures how far fore or aft of the center of the landing pad …

The Ability Of Novel Phage To Infect Virulent Bacillus Anthracis Isolates, Hyrum Smith Shumway

Theses and Dissertations

Bacillus anthracis is a soil dwelling microbe with pronounced pathogenic potential. Historically, anthrax has infected livestock and man. In the modern-age, anthrax is a bioterrorism concern with major incidents every decade. While the threat of large scale attacks is currently viewed as unlikely, the threat is consistent and constant. Current methods to defend against such an attack focus on antibiotics and containment of public panic. Antibiotic resistance, while not currently an issue for anthrax, could easily become so with genetically engineered weaponized strains created by rogue states or independent actors. This project evolved from collaborations between the Grose lab and …

Design And Characterization Of Polymer Nanocomposites For Engineering Applications, Joseph Richard Nalbach

Theses and Dissertations

Polymer nanocomposites represent an area of materials that can yield useful properties not achievable in bulk materials. Not only can they have such properties but also they can be relatively easy to generate. With dwindling fossil fuels there is an increased need for both new methods to harvest energy and to transport the captured energy more effectively. Two separate nanocomposite materials are created to support this work with dramatically different properties, both to aid in energy efficiency. The first is an energy harvesting foam to fully utilize the structural deformability of such a material. A dissolvable sugar scaffold is combined …

Mitigating Interference With Knowledge-Aided Subarray Pattern Synthesis And Space Time Adaptive Processing, Yongjun Yoon

Theses and Dissertations

Phased arrays are essential to airborne ground moving target indication (GMTI), as they measure the spatial angle-of-arrival of the target, clutter, and interference signals. The spatial and Doppler (temporal) frequency is utilized by space-time adaptive processing (STAP) to separate and filter out the interference from the moving target returns. Achieving acceptable airborne GMTI performance often requires fairly large arrays, but the size, weight and power (SWAP) requirements, cost and complexity considerations often result in the use of subarrays. This yields an acceptable balance between cost and performance while lowering the system’s robustness to interference. This thesis proposes the use of …

Transcription And Translation Of The 1658 Jesuit Annual Letter, Vietnam, Nathan Joseph Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

Transcription and Translation of the 1658 Jesuit Annual Letter, VietnamNathan Joseph RichardsonDepartment of Spanish and Portuguese, BYUMaster of ArtsThis project provides a translation and two transcriptions (semi-diplomatic and normalized) of the 1658 Jesuit Annua letter sent from the Tonkin kingdom (now Vietnam) to Jesuit authorities back in Portugal. Specifically, the letter, which is housed in the archives of the worldwide Society of Jesus in Rome (folder 89, Japonica Sinica series, fols 286-290v), reports the progress of the Jesuit mission in that kingdom. However, it also contains a fascinating account of contemporary political and other events there. The purpose of this …

Water Scarcity And Population Displacement In Southern Iraq: Perceptions And Reality, Tiba Fatli

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that water scarcity causes significant displacement in Iraq’s southern region. It makes two related sub-points. First, in addition to local factors, international and transnational factors contribute to water scarcity and attendant displacement in Southern Iraq. Second, the stakeholders – whether displaced populations, local government officials, federal policy makers, non-governmental organizations or international development organizations – focus on particular factors of water scarcity rather than addressing the causes holistically. In general, researchers and policy-makers underestimate or neglect water-related causes of displacement, not only in Iraq but globally. Even when addressed, emphasis is placed on local and national causes, …

Framing Of Terrorism And Ethiopian Dam On Online Egyptian Publications And Social Media, Noha El Tawil

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims at examining the framing of crises threatening the security and welfare of Egypt embodied in the ongoing terrorism and the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that will drastically decrease the country's water share. The samples are derived from social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, as well as online publications. The nine political Facebook pages selected are among the top 100 in Egypt in terms of followers. The three publications are chosen to reflect the type of ownership which varies from state-owned to privately-owned including partisan publications. The Tweets were picked according to hashtags of …

The Political Economy Of Migrant Smuggling: The Case Of Conflict In Mali, Thomas Hinkel

Theses and Dissertations

The extensive human smuggling networks that have emerged around North Africa and the Sahel have inaugurated a significant shift in the economic landscape of a region that has traditionally been characterized by the gray economy and precarious political arrangements. Ample and detailed research has been produced that highlights how militia groups and non-state actors have been tapping into these flows (via taxation of routes and racketeering against non-armed smuggling enterprises) in order to fund their various projects. The way in which this new economic landscape is affecting local political arrangements is a heretofore little considered, yet highly consequential, development of …

The Neoconservative Theory Of International Politics, Zane Larwood

Theses and Dissertations

Neoconservatism has largely not been considered a theory of international relations. In this paper, I seek to answer the following questions: Can neoconservatism be considered an international relations theory, or is it something else? If it is the former, is neoconservatism a unique theory in and of itself, or is it a variation of an already existing theory, like neorealism or neoliberalism? Given its basis in the monadic democratic peace theory and concrete views on national interests, this paper argues that neoconservatism has all the components of an ontological IR theory and therefore should be treated as such. Though similar …

A Race Of Angels And Their Nameless Longings, Andrew Van Dinh

Theses and Dissertations

I use drawing methods to navigate my diasporic perception and conjure narratives of displacement. This indecipherable distance between self and Other, Vietnam and I, has formed into enigmatic desires, which informs the use of the imaginary in my works as temporary solutions to issues of self-hood and nameless longings.