Digital Commons Network^™

Evil Men Have No Songs: The Terrorist And Literatuer Boris Savinkov, 1879-1925, Irina Vasilyeva Meier

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is devoted to the works of the legendary terrorist mastermind Boris Savinkov (1879-1925), who planned notorious political assassinations at the turn of the twentieth century even as he took part in the leading literary circles of his day. This work situates Savinkov in what Mikhail Bakhtin defines as a “chronotope,” a time-space module that I label “Revolutionary Apocalypse.” I compare the development of revolutionary myths of martyrdom in Revolutionary Russia for both Savinkov and his contemporary Maria Spiridonova to analyze the redefined notions of love, truth, and sacrifice among the Russian intelligentsia that turned these Russian revolutionary terrorists …

Issues In Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy For Measurements In The Deep Ocean And Other High-Pressure Environments, Joseph C. Bonvallet

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes fundamental and applied studies that have advanced the understanding and application laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to the deep-ocean environment and to operation on a deep-ocean submersible. Chapter one is an overview of LIBS including a brief history, LIBS theory, the instrumentation typically used, and a specific application. Chapter two analyzes the effect that monodisperse suspended particles have on LIBS emission intensity and on the formation of a LIBS plasma. This chapter demonstrates that for particle concentrations similar to those found in the neutrally buoyant regions around hydrothermal vents there is little effect on the LIBS emission …

Empowering The Enemy: The Cold War And The East-West Battle For Information Superiority, 1945 - 1969, Stan Trembach

Theses and Dissertations

This comparative study employs a historical perspective to narrow the gap in the existing knowledge of the origins of an information explosion phenomenon that dates back to the early decades of the twentieth century. It argues that the root cause of the unprecedented growth of the overall amount of documents was the rapid expansion of scientific and technical advances across the world and the subsequent spread of modern technologies, particularly those applied to scientific and technical information (STI).

This research is based on the premise that the thriving of the Soviet militaryindustrial complex went hand in hand with the rise …

The Three Dimensionality Model Of State Security And Armed Conflict: Internal And External Dimensions And Lessons From The Middle East, Juri Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to explore the dynamics in the development of civil conflict. Specifically, I attempt to explain the reasons for the occurrence of full-scale internal armed conflicts and the variation in intensity of those conflicts. Given that a substantial portion of previous studies in the field have taken rebel-centric and aggregate cross-country approaches, this research focuses on the state side and how the internal-external environments within which the ruling regime is situated affect its security decisions on rebellion.

The main argument is that internal armed conflict is a serious security problem of incumbent governments in …

Sounding Appalachian: /Ai/ Monophthongization, Rising Pitch Accents, And Rootedness, Paul E. Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Appalachia, the mountainous region that stretches from northern Georgia to Pennsylvania (ARC, 2015), is a region that has been considered culturally and linguistically unique in the United States. There is a small but growing body of literature that has demonstrated that the language varieties of this region, collapsed under the broad heading of Appalachian English (AE), diverge from Mainstream American English and other Southern American English varieties (Wolfram & Christian, 1976, Montgomery & Hall, 2004, Labov et al., 2006, among others). Much of this literature has focused on vowels and morpho-syntax, but other linguistic aspects have not received much attention, …

"Life Under Union Occupation: Elite Women In Richmond, April And May 1865", Amanda C. Tompkins

Theses and Dissertations

This paper crafts a narrative about how elite, white Richmond women experienced the fall and rebuilding of their city in April and May 1865. At first, the women feared the entrance of the occupying army because they believed the troops would treat them as enemies. However, the goal of the white occupiers was to restore order in the city. Even though they were initially saddened by the occupation, many women were surprised at the courtesy and respected afforded them by the Union troops. Black soldiers also made up the occupying army, and women struggled to submit to black authority. With …

Interactions Of The Naphthalene Radical Cation With Polar And Unsaturated Molecules In The Gas Phase, Sean P. Platt

Theses and Dissertations

Characterizing the interactions of solvent molecules with ions is fundamental in understanding the thermodynamics of solution chemistry. These interactions are difficult to observe directly in solution because the number of solvent molecules far exceed that of ions. This lend the gas phase to be the ideal medium in the study ion-solvent interactions on a molecular level. Ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules can readily form hydrogen bonds with neutral solvent molecules in aqueous and interstellar medium. Previous research has been done for stepwise solvation of small molecules such as benzene⁺, pyridine, and phenylacetylene. The similarity in these results …

Exploring The Outcomes Of Rehabilitative Care For Veterans And Service Members Treated For A Disorder Of Consciousness In The Vha Emerging Conciousness Program, Janette A. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past several years, there has been an influx in patients being treated for polytraumatic injuries within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), largely due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also due to advances in life sustaining medical interventions. The polytrauma population includes veterans who have sustained a severe traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury, and a significant loss in cognitive and physical functioning, referred to as a disorder of consciousness. The purpose of the current study was to explore factors related to successful emergence from a disorder of consciousness, using a sample of veterans who were treated …

Capturing Memory, Morgan A. Molenda

Theses and Dissertations

In my work, I present the moments of true emotional clarity and impactful memories from my life. I strive to provide insight into my experiences and my understanding of others’ motivations. The creative process helps safely guide me through memories of the past and understanding of others.

In my abstracted mixed media paintings and crafts, I use bold jewel tones to express strong feelings and passionate emotions. I also incorporate found objects and paints to communicate the layers and varied depth of memories. With the use of these varied materials, I have developed a personal symbolic language that allows me …

Adopting Sustainability Innovations In Restaurants: An Evaluation Of The Factors Influencing Owner-Managers’ Decisions In Richmond, Virginia, Anna Salzberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing restaurant Owner-Managers’ decisions to adopt sustainability innovations in restaurants. A cross-sectional survey research design is used for this study, which entails distributing a survey to restaurants in the City of Richmond, Virginia, to gain an understanding of the factors influencing sustainability innovation adoption. Drawing from both the innovation adoption theory and the theory of planned behavior, the researcher contributes a baseline of the restaurants’ sustainability and the Owner-Managers’ intrinsic motivations. By integrating innovation adoption theory’s perceived innovation characteristics and measuring restaurants’ past sustainability behavior, this study increases the overall …

Britain's First War With Kandy: Landscape, Violence, And Conquest In Colonial Sri Lanka, Elizabeth Anne Mjelde

Theses and Dissertations

Accounts of travel to Sri Lanka published during the period of British conquest (1796 through 1818) reveal a consistent yet problematic tendency: despite ongoing military conflict, visual artists constructed representations of the island as a peaceful and orderly place. The contradiction is heightened when travelers’ uniformly tranquil images of Sri Lanka are juxtaposed with documented acts of destruction to land and property, undertaken by troops during Britain’s first war with the inland kingdom of Kandy, a conflict which eventually led to the island’s complete colonization. The present study reconciles this contradiction through analysis of publications by each of five artists …

Application Of Executable Architectures In Early Concept Evaluation, Ryan M. Pospisal

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores use of executable architectures to guide design decisions in the early stages of system development. Decisions made early in the system development cycle determine a majority of the total lifecycle costs as well as establish a baseline for long term system performance and thus it is vital to program success to choose favorable design alternatives. The development of a representative architecture followed the Architecture Based Evaluation Process as it provides a logical and systematic order of events to produce an architecture sufficient to document and model operational performance. In order to demonstrate the value in the application …

Effects Of Automation On Aircrew Workload And Situation Awareness In Tactical Airlift Missions, David R. Meyer

Theses and Dissertations

In tactical aviation, decision superiority brought upon by high situation awareness remains the arbiter of combat effectiveness. The advancement of sophisticated avionics and highly automated cockpits has allowed for the reduction of aircrew size, and in certain platforms, removal of the crew from the aircraft entirely. However, these developments have not reduced the complex and dynamic interaction between situation awareness and crew workload. While many predictive and experimental methods of evaluating workload exist, situation awareness can only be measured by conducting trials with human operators in a functional prototype. This thesis proposes an innovative methodology to predicatively determine situation awareness …

Support For Comprehensive Sexuality Education And Adolescent Access To Condoms And Contraceptions In South Carolina, Sarah H. Kershner

Theses and Dissertations

A statewide random-digit dialed telephone survey was administered to residents of a historically conservative southern state to 1) assess the level of support for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in public schools, 2) assess the support for availability to condoms and contraception as an effective strategy for reducing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted (STIs) among adolescents and 3) assess the perceived view of reproductive health as a moral or public health issue. Survey data were obtained from 841 South Carolina residents May through June 2013. Findings from the study revealed that the majority (90%) of South Carolina residents support CSE in …

A Mixed-Integer Programming Approach For Jammer Placement Problems For Flow-Jamming Attacks On Wireless Communication Networks, Satish Vadlamani

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we study an important problem of security in wireless networks. We study different attacks and defense strategies in general and more specifically jamming attacks. We begin the dissertation by providing a tutorial introducing the operations research community to the various types of attacks and defense strategies in wireless networks. In this tutorial, we give examples of mathematical programming models to model jamming attacks and defense against jamming attacks in wireless networks. Later we provide a comprehensive taxonomic classification of the various types of jamming attacks and defense against jamming attacks. The classification scheme will provide a one …

Evaluation Of A Cultural Practice And 2,4-D-Based Herbicide Programs For Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth Management, Benjamin Haynes Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

Glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri [S.] Wats) is an economically troublesome weed to southeastern United States soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) growers. Palmer amaranth is troublesome due to its evolution of resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action, competiveness, and prolific seed production. Greenhouse studies were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS to evaluate different rates of 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for control of Palmer amaranth. Field experiments were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS in 2013 and 2014 to evaluate Palmer amaranth emergence using a cultural practice and a …

Certayn And Tru Good Nues: Early English Printing And The 1480 Siege Of Rhodes And The 1565 Great Siege Of Malta, A Comparison, Kevin Stanford

Theses and Dissertations

This paper will compare English print concerning the Siege of Rhodes in 1480 and the Siege of Malta in 1565 in order to address how the responses differed and why. Although there is abundant scholarship on the two sieges and the press, most research concentrates on each specific period rather than comparing the two. The Historians Theresa Vann and Donald Kagay for example, described how John Kaye transformed Guillaume Caoursin’s Obsidionis Rhodiae urbis descriptio through translation for an English-speaking readership and the Order’s relationship to the printing press during the period surrounding the Siege of Rhodes. Helen Vella Bonavita discussed …

The Never Ending Confession: The Confessional Mode In Two Novels By Mempo Giardinelli, Ryan Russel Hill

Theses and Dissertations

In the years following the military dictatorship in Argentina many novels were published that spoke about the violence, terror, and traumas experienced during the Junta's rule. These texts deal with the theme of memory and retell the traumas of the past as a form of mourning. Such novels look back to the past in an effort to redeem it. In this essay I explore the use of the confessional mode in postdictatorial literature as a vehicle for the task of mourning. In two of his novels, Qué solos se quedan los muertos (1985) and Cuestiones interiores (2003), Argentine author Mempo …

High Flow Air Sampler For Rapid Analysis Of Volatile And Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds, Xiaofeng Xie

Theses and Dissertations

Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds are ubiquitous, and some of them are hazardous. The ability to rapidly detect and identify trace levels of them in air has become increasingly important. The conventional device used today for sampling and concentrating them in air is thermal desorption tubes filled with specific sorbents, which can only collect air samples at flow rates of 100-200 mL/min. In order to detect low concentration (ppt level) VOC compounds, long sampling time (>2 h) and sensitive detection are required. At the same time, portable instrumentation for on-site analysis has been developing rapidly. The somewhat lower performance …

Kenneth Burke Meets The Apostle Paul On The Road To Damascus: Mysticism Through Rhetorical Identification, William S. Elkins

Theses and Dissertations

The term “in Christ” is widely recognized within the Christian Church as a signature term of the Apostle Paul. But while the term is recognized as fundamental to his theology, occurring 180 times specifically and 300 times generally, functional usage is minimal. However, when the origin of the term is seen in its original context of the Damascus Road Event Encounter, the unique mystical nature of the term begins to come into focus. At that event the Messiah introduces Paul to a concept that much later (twentieth century) Kenneth Burke labels “identification,” who explains at length identification’s operational dynamics. My …

Resistance, The Church, And A Comparison Of Ceramics From Sixteenth-Century Caluco, El Salvador, Alison Denise Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines ceramics from the church of San Pedro y San Pablo, Caluco, El Salvador, to investigate the pressures of Spanish evangelization during the Colonial Period. It compares the church's ceramic assemblage to two privately-owned houses, also within Caluco. Examining choices in ceramic styles for serving food and drink is one way to examine the colonial policies of reducción, which were to instill a regular, commonplace Christian order in everyday life. The materials in question were a large number of Spanish majolicas, as well as 300 locally-made vessels, and form, decoration, and ware was noted for each. The relative …

Ideographs And American Mass Media: Understanding The Narrative On The Israel-Palestine Conflict And Its Influence On Publics, Savanna Lynn Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the American mass media's narrative on the Israel-Palestine conflict to understand the power of ideographs and their influence on specific publics. I focus on two popular ideographs in mass media reporting,and, in order to examine how these ideographs are utilized to construct a narrative for the media's publics, the political ideologies they represent, the agendas they further, and the consequences their narrow use has on developing counterpublics and emerging alternative narratives around the conflict. I focus my attention on the mass media's coverage of a sixteen day Israeli shelling in Gaza and how public consent is acquired …

Evaluation, Coordination And Execution: An Analysis Of Military Coup Agency At Instances Of Successful Coup D’État, Karim El-Baz

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretically, members of the ground forces are the normal coup plotters as they have sufficient training and equipment to accomplish the objectives of a successful coup. Henceforth, what is quite puzzling is mixed coups. These coups include other officers from other service branches; taking into account, the ability of ground forces to execute the coup without the interference of other service branches. Therefore, the question is why would the coup leader involve those whom he would not tactically need for the coups’ execution. This is only one side of the puzzle that asks why and how a mixed coup agency …

Analysis Of Hypersonic Vehicle Wakes, Matthew A. Kania

Theses and Dissertations

As advancements are made with ballistic missiles, particularly in the area of hypersonic bodies, there is a growing need to advance the methods of detecting these new ballistic weapons. As a result, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center has asked the Air Force Institute of Technology to examine the wake region behind hypersonic bodies. A thorough understanding of the aerothermal phenomena and the chemical reactions occurring in the wake region will enable an advancement of tracking hypersonic bodies. This research examined the wake region behind a hypersonic body using computational fluid dynamics.
This study used Pointwise® to develop a …

Modeling Radiation Effectiveness For Inactivation Of Bacillus Spores, Emily A. Knight

Theses and Dissertations

This research models and analyzes the inactivation of Bacillus spores following a radiation exposure and the process enacted by the Bacillus spore to repair the resulting damage. Irradiation of a spore and the medium surrounding the spore induces chemical reactions that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). This research will consider the reaction- diffusion of these ROS throughout the spore. These ROS can react with the spore's DNA and enzymes to degrade them to such an extent that the DNA cannot be repaired or replicated, thus causing spore death. In order to survive a dose of radiation, a spore must repair …

Adaptive Automation Design And Implementation, Jason M. Bindewald

Theses and Dissertations

Automations allow us to reduce the need for humans in certain environments, such as auto-pilot features on unmanned aerial vehicles. However, some situations still require human intervention. Adaptive automation is a research field that enables computer systems to adjust the amount of automation by taking over tasks from or giving tasks back to the user. This research develops processes and insights for adaptive automation designers to take theoretical adaptive automation ideas and develop them into real-world adaptive automation system. These allow developers to design better automation systems that recognize the limits of computers systems, enabling better designs for systems in …

Modeling Network Interdiction Tasks, Benjamin S. Kallemyn

Theses and Dissertations

Mission planners seek to target nodes and/or arcs in networks that have the greatest benefit for an operational plan. In joint interdiction doctrine, a top priority is to assess and target the enemy's vulnerabilities resulting in a significant effect on its forces. An interdiction task is an event that targets the nodes and/or arcs of a network resulting in its capabilities being destroyed, diverted, disrupted, or delayed. Lessons learned from studying network interdiction model outcomes help to inform attack and/or defense strategies. A suite of network interdiction models and measures is developed to assist decision makers in identifying critical nodes …

Exploitation Of Unintentional Ethernet Cable Emissions Using Constellation Based-Distinct Native Attribute (Cb-Dna) Fingerprints To Enhance Network Security, Timothy J. Carbino

Theses and Dissertations

This research contributed to the AFIT's Radio Frequency Intelligence (RFINT) program by developing a new device discrimination technique called Constellation-Based Distinct Native Attribute (CB-DNA) Fingerprinting. This is of great interest to the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Sensor Directorate, who supported the research and now have new method for improving network security. CB-DNA fingerprints are used to authenticate wired network device identities, thwart unauthorized access, and augment traditional bit-level security measures that area easily bypassed by skilled hackers. Similar to human fingerprint features that uniquely identify individuals, CB-DNA uniquely identifies communication devices and improves the rate at which unauthorized rogue …

On Pecuniary Resiliency, Early Warning, And Market Imitation Under Unrestricted Warfare, David M. Smalenberger

Theses and Dissertations

This study extends established financial market approaches to account for key econophysical attributes, low probability/high impact events, and a market's potential use as early warning for threats. Any disparity between established financial practices and true market conditions may provide incentive for exploitation and may harm national security objectives and interests through cascading effects. These national security concerns may include, in particular, the health of a reserve currency for those countries whose currency serves as one. This is a preferred approach with Unrestricted Warfare-type operations as these techniques may not enable repudiation of the antagonist. Since this approach may remain a …

Multidimensional Analysis Of Nuclear Detonations, Robert C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is to develop the methods for 3-dimensional reconstructions and temperature distributions of early time nuclear fireballs. Initial developments have resulted in the first 2-dimensional temperature distribution of a nuclear fireball using digitized film. This same process was then extended to perform the first limb darkening calculations of nuclear fireballs. Limb darkening coefficients were then used to derive a temperature profile of the nuclear fireball as a function of optical path length. A 3-dimensional reconstruction was performed using a variation of a structure from illuminance technique in combination with limb darkening coefficients to produce structure using …