Digital Commons Network^™

Unified Behavior Framework For Discrete Event Simulation Systems, Alexander J. Kamrud

Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent agents provide simulations a means to add lifelike behavior in place of manned entities. Generally when developed, a single intelligent agent model is chosen, such as rule based, behavior trees, etc. This choice introduces restrictions into what behaviors agents can manifest, and can require significant testing in edge cases. This thesis presents the use of the UBF in the AFSIM environment. The UBF provides the flexibility to implement any and all intelligent agent models, allowing the developer to choose the model he/she feels best fits the experiment at hand. Furthermore, the UBF demonstrates several key software engineering principles through …

Counter Weapon Control, Brian J. Roadruck

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, pursuit-evasion differential game theory is applied to the target defense scenario. The targets, attackers, and the defenders positional information is assumed to be known to the players. With positional information, a computational efficient method of strategy synthesis can be derived applying a differential game theory approach. We demonstrate that when non-optimal strategies are employed by one of the players, e.g. Line Of Sight guidance, the outcome will favor the players that employ the optimal strategy given by the solution of the pursuit-evasion differential game.

Fingerprinting Software Defined Networks And Controllers, Zachary J. Zeitlin

Theses and Dissertations

SDN transforms a network from a calcified collection of hardware into a logically centralized and programmable method of interconnectivity. Changing the networking paradigm shifts a networks security posture. Changes visible to a host connected to the network include small latency differences between a traditional network environment and an SDN environment. This thesis aims to reliably distinguish SDN environments from traditional environments by observing latency behavior. Additionally, this thesis determines whether latency information contributes to the unique fingerprint of SDN controllers. Identifying the controller software gives an adversary information contributing to a network attack. An SDN and traditional network environment consisting …

Indicators Of Terrorism Vulnerability In Africa, Raymond J. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism in Africa has increased more than six-fold since 1997, with an increase in lethality as well. The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to counter this increase in terrorism; however, terrorism in Africa has increased seemingly unabated. Furthermore, these methods used to counter-terrorism have been reactionary as opposed to preventative. To address the terrorism threat to a country, we must first understand which characteristics make a country vulnerable to such a threat. A confirmatory analysis bridges the inter-discipline gap between quantitative and qualitative fields through as assessment of observational findings about the causes of terrorism. An exploratory analysis …

Integrating Agile Combat Support Within Title 10 Wargames, Daniel A. Krievs

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force (AF) Concept Development and Experimentation (CD&E) continually progresses the evolution of AF while achieving national security and military objectives. CD&E experiments on future challenges, procurement of new weapon systems and tests existing/innovative strategies as potential solutions. The primary tool that CD&E utilizes in conducting these experiments is wargaming. This thesis provides a foundation to incorporate logistics into Air Force Title 10 wargames. More specifically, we capture Air Force Materiel Command's (AFMC) Agile Combat Support (ACS) within an unclassified general wargame scenario. Logistics has been omitted from wargames for a multitude of reasons throughout the years. We develop a …

A Game Theoretic Model For The Optimal Disposition Of Integrated Air Defense System Assets, Chan Y. Han

Theses and Dissertations

We examine the optimal allocation of Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) resources to protect a country's assets, formulated as a Defender-Attacker-Defender three-stage sequential, perfect information, zero-sum game between two opponents. We formulate a trilevel nonlinear integer program for this Defender-Attacker-Defender model and seek a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium, for which neither the defender nor the attacker has an incentive to deviate from their respective strategies. Such a trilevel formulation is not solvable via conventional optimization software and an exhaustive enumeration of the game tree based on the discrete set of strategies is intractable for large problem sizes. As such, we …

Non-Rated Air Force Line Officer Attrition Rates Using Survival Analysis, Jill A. Schofield

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force structures its workforce around rank structure and work specialty codes (Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs)). The challenge is to grow and manage personnel to fill a variety of skill sets at a variety of ranks over a 20-30 year planning horizon. To ensure that the missions are accomplished while adhering to congressionally-mandated force allocations, the Air Force is continually attempting to \right size its force by maintaining the correct balance of personnel in each career field. The Air Force conducts its force structure management responsibility by comparing historical attrition rates to current manpower requirements for each AFSC …

Statistical Observations Of Positioning, Navigation, And Timing In A Combat Simulation, Matthew G. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become an important asset in the lives of civilians and defense organizations. GPS uses include positioning, navigation, timing, as well as many other daily applications. With such dependence, protection against attacks on the system is paramount to continue its effectiveness. Attacks on its signal is the easiest way for enemies to degrade and harm not only everyday functioning for civilians, but a nation's defense as well. Jamming interference and spoofing are the two most frequent attacks on GPS signals. Could these two attacks cause significant effect on military operations? We use a System Effectiveness …

Effect Of Malathion On The Microbial Ecology Of Activated Sludge, Seth K. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Decontamination activities may cause the release of contaminated washwater into the wastewater that eventually flows into a wastewater treatment facility. This raises concerns about the effect of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) on the microbial consortia that are responsible for cleaning the wastewater. This study investigated the impact of malathion on the microbial ecology of laboratory scale activated sludge communities. The Simpson Reciprocal Index decreased for three bioreactors operated in the absence of malathion, which showed that the microbial assemblage became less diverse during the course of the study. The species identified in the bioreactors belonged to well-known groups of heterotrophic …

A Delphi Study Using Value-Focused Thinking For United States Air Force Mission Dependency Index Values, Matthew J. Nichols

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) identified that the Mission Dependency Index (MDI) had issues with reflecting the criticality of some mission sets. The MDI is a constructed value assigned to assets that reflects the consequence of failure. The primary mission sets having MDI issues were non-flightline assets. The current Air Force MDI metric relies on data collected using the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) methodology and adapts the data by using facility categorization codes. The result is a method that compares alternatives to each other to develop an individual asset's MDI value. As a corrective measure to …

Reflections Of A Wave: An Analysis Of Photonic Doppler Velocimetry Systems, Brian K. Lagrange

Theses and Dissertations

Munitions are one of the Air Force's most effective weapons in eliminating targets, but also one of the most expensive. Due to the inherent high-cost in deploying munitions, munition shock wave detonation must be better observed and quantified for munitions to be more cost-efficient. PDV systems have the potential to achieve this quantification of shock wave properties on a molecular scale during solid-against-solid impacts. The overall goal of this research was to determine whether the current photonic Doppler velocimetry (PDV) system at Eglin Air Force Base is prepared for future explosive sensitivity testing. This determination was done through an uncertainty …

Evaluation Of The Military Utility Of Employing An Angle Of Arrival Payload Hosted On A Cubesat As An Augmentation To Existing Geolocation Systems, Nicholas S. Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

This research models the performance of the proposed augmentation system as well as three and four-ball TDOA satellite systems and AOA and three-ball TDOA airborne systems individually, and performs geolocation estimate fusion via a variety of techniques to determine the increase in performance due to geolocation estimate fusion in operationally representative scenarios. It also introduces a high fidelity surface of the earth constraint based upon a digital elevation model across all geolocation algorithms. The results from this research show that the proposed augmentation system does have military utility when combined with other geolocation systems of similar or worse individual performance. …

An Old Soldier's View Of The Early Cold War, 1949-1953, Daniel Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This Master's Thesis examines General Douglas MacArthur's strategic assessments which led to his pursuit of the expansion of the Korean War beyond the Yalu River. By examining General MacArthur's actions during the Korean War, I clarify the reason behind his desire to expand the war into Manchuria and China. This evaluation also provides insight into MacArthur's overall early Cold War strategy - 1949-1953. This Master's Thesis challenges the notion that General MacArthur's desire to use atomic weaponry in the expansion of the Korean War as being indicative of a flawed personality or a lack of understanding of the geopolitical situation. …

“Yo El Rey”: Philip Ii’S Anglo-Spanish War Correspondence To Diego De Orellana De Chaves And Others, April 1592 – December 1592, Dallin V. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis transcribes and translates the war correspondence of King Philip II from the year 1592. The original manuscripts are held at the Harold B. Lee Library in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections (Brigham Young University, Provo, UT). The original manuscripts have been diplomatically transcribed meaning that the transcription respects the original orthography, accentuation, abbreviations, and word divisions. For easy comparison, a facsimile of each manuscript has been provided and appears before its corresponding transcription. The translation strategy used is a modified version of a “fluent translation” as described by Lawrence Venuti. Instead of removing all foreign aspects of …

The Role Of Ngos In Empowering Visually Impaired People To Access Education And Employment In Egypt, Nevine Sharaf

Theses and Dissertations

Disability is viewed as a developmental issue given that people with disability are usually excluded from mainstream economic and social opportunities. However, the attention given to the people with disability in Egypt is mostly confined to medical and scientific features. Local NGOs in Egypt have long been working with visually impaired people. However, there is limited literature and empirical research specifying the role of local NGOs in empowering the visually impaired people to access education and employability in Egypt. Thus the purpose of this study is to assess the role that local NGOs play in this regard. The methodology used …

How Do The Variations In Military Organization Influence The Implementation Of Economic Coup Proofing Mechanisms In The Mena Region? The Cases Of Jordan, Syria And Egypt, Reem Mahmoud Abou Refaie

Theses and Dissertations

The Arab uprisings have certainly caused quiet the watershed among scholars of civil-military relations. Incumbents that were rendered coup proofed were suddenly falling victim to the mercy of their militaries. Questions like, “Why is coup proofing more successful in some cases more than others?” and “Does coup proofing work?” guided the literature on coup proofing in the last decade even more so in the last four years. Significant research has been undertaken outlining possible reasons for the success/failure of coup proofing. Some authors have even questioned the viability of the coup-proofing process, but yet, no clear reasoning for variations in …

Crabgrass Piety: The Rise Of Megachurches And The Suburban Social Religion, 1960-2000, Nathan Joseph Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

Although there were less than twenty megachurches (churches averaging over two thousand in weekly attendance) in the United States before 1960, by 2010 there were approximately fifteen hundred. Megachurches are not a homogenous group, but they exist in all parts of the country and they have enough in common to warrant their identification as part of a coherent trend in American evangelical culture. Specifically, most megachurches appeal to an ethos that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s known as the suburban social religion. The suburban social religion combined to differing degrees the American civil religion described by Robert Bellah, meritocratic …

Imaging The Early Cold War: Photographs In Life Magazine, 1945-1954, Kathryn L. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes Life’s early coverage of the Cold War (1945-1954) in order to explicate this publication’s creation and reinforcement of prescriptive attitudes about this ideological engagement through photographically illustrated news. By uncovering Life’s editorial approach this project proposes a new diagnostic for evaluating documentary images by re-configuring Hayden White’s incisive theory of emplotment—the process of engendering historical narratives with meaning— through semiotic models proposed by Louis Hjelmslev and Roland Barthes, thereby offering a useful tool for future scholars to re-examine modern media’s transition towards prizing visual immediacy over critical engagement.

Life’s editors’ link narrative devices …

The Evolution Of Outer Space Law: An Economic Analysis Of Rule Formation, Christopher Michael Hearsey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis comprises a study of those socio-economic dynamics that establish and influence the existence, distribution, and evolution of rules for the outer space environment. In particular, this thesis analyzes how the initial State practice of launching objects into outer space led to the genesis of rules for the outer space environment. The presentation of this thesis includes an introduction, a methodology section, three studies, and a conclusion. The first study considers the formation of initial rules for the outer space environment as a consequence of State practice using historical analysis and game theory. The second study considers how States …

Empire, Tradition, And Ideologies: The Anti-Imperialist League Of The United States 1898-1920, Andrew Faber Larson

Theses and Dissertations

The American Anti-Imperialist League began in Boston in 1898 and shortly thereafter worked to consolidate other anti-imperialist organizations in an attempt to prevent the United States from creating its first overseas empire. The League was united in its opposition to empire yet its organizational structure prevented it from becoming a truly national, and thus unified, special interest group. Early on in 1898, the League’s unity came from its appeals to preserve the traditional American foreign policies of George Washington, ideas surrounding isolation from the affairs of Europe and its focus upon the Americas in particular. The League also advocated for …

Detection Of Traumatic Brain Injury With The Picture Memory Interference Test In College Students, Bryce Erich

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine potential effects of head-injury on individuals’ performance on the Picture Memory Interference Test (PMIT). This study examined differences in the performance of college-aged students with and without a history of head-injury on the PMIT. Data was drawn from an archival dataset of PMIT completions held at UCLA and analyzed with permission. From the total dataset of 12,227 completions, experimental groups were derived and separated based upon assumed severity of head-injury, based upon self-report data. Following exclusions, the final data sub-set for analysis consisted of 6,897 unique completions of the PMIT. Of these, …

Making La Ciudad Blanca: Race, Region, And Reconstruction In Nation Building Bolivia, Caleb Wittum

Theses and Dissertations

Prior to the 1899 Federal Revolution, Sucre elite used the memory of Chuquisaca independence exploits to justify their rule and imagine a future for the Bolivian nation. These symbols became widespread in the Bolivian public sphere and were the dominant national discourse for the Bolivian nation. However, dissatisfied highland elite began crafting an alternative national project and these two competing Nationalisms clashed and eventually led to the 1899 Federal Revolution. Following the war, the Liberal Party allowed and even supported a continuation of the Sucre based origin story in the Valley regions of Bolivia. This has created ideas of “Sucrense …

Pemetrexed, A Modulator Of Amp-Activated Kinase Signaling And An Inhibitor Of Wild Type And Mutant P53, Stuti Agarwal

Theses and Dissertations

New drug discoveries and new approaches towards diagnosis and treatment have improved cancer therapeutics remarkably. One of the most influential and effective discoveries in the field of cancer therapeutics was antimetabolites, such as the antifolates. The interest in antifolates increased as some of the antifolates showed responses in cancers, such as mesothelioma, leukemia, and breast cancers. When pemetrexed (PTX) was discovered, our laboratory had established that the primary mechanism of action of pemetrexed is to inhibit thymidylate 22 synthase (TS) (E. Taylor et al., 1992). Preclinical studies have shown that PTX has a broad range of antitumor activity in human …

Confederate Richmond: A City's Call To Arms, Tucker L. Modesitt

Theses and Dissertations

This work mainly focuses on putting the laborers of the Richmond Armory and the Tredegar Iron Works into the context of Civil War Richmond by focusing on their skills, backgrounds, and loyalties throughout the conflict. It highlights the similarities and differences between the two institutions and the legacies that they left behind in the years following the war. It also sheds light on some of the problems facing the Confederacy during the course of the war and its struggle to procure arms.

Chronic Behavioral And Cognitive Deficits In A Rat Survival Model Of Organophosphate Toxicity, Beverly Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphates (OPs) are a major class of pesticides and nerve agents that elicit acute toxicity by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the enzyme responsible for the degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Acetylcholine accumulation following extensive AChE inhibition leads to an acute cholinergic syndrome characterized by autonomic dysfunction, involuntary movements, muscle fasciculations, respiratory distress, and seizures. Despite their classification as moderate to highly toxic, OP pesticides are the most widely used class of insecticides in the U.S., and are even more commonly used worldwide. Additionally, there is a growing concern that OP nerve agents could be …

Essays On Battle Clusters In Internal Armed Conflicts And Insurgencies: Concept, Causes And Consequences, Chifeng Liu

Theses and Dissertations

With the purpose to re-conceptualize the intensity of internal armed conflicts, I argue that the characteristics such as location, scale and duration of “major battlefields,” i.e. the spatio-temporal clusters of combat events are important in the evaluation of impact of modern civil wars and insurgencies. I start with elaborating and constructing a new concept of conflict magnitude with battle clusters using up-to-date geo-referenced data and spatial statistic methods. In the second article, I first explain the location and duration of major battlefields. The findings indicate that an area with multiple non-state armed groups (NSAGs) is more likely to become main …

Living On The Moon: Women, Home Making, And The House After World War Ii In Shirley Jackson’S We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Leslie Dennis

Theses and Dissertations

In my thesis, I concentrate on Shirley Jackson, her novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and women’s place in post-World War II American society. To start, I introduce Jackson and her role in literary history, the housewife writer in the 1950s and 60s, and magazine culture. Then I move to a historical perspective of the 1950s and propaganda during the atomic war era. I focus my attention on how government literature worked to contain women in the home and control sexuality and gender roles. Following my discussion of domesticity, I concentrate on the history of the Gothic novel …

Perception Of Police In Public Housing Communities, Taylor Brickley

Theses and Dissertations

Research on the relationship between police and citizens consistently finds that attitudes toward police (ATP) are least positive among black citizens in areas of concentrated disadvantage. While much of the research in this area focuses specifically on ATP among young black males in low-income communities because they have the most contact with police, there has been relatively little research that has included older and/or female residents. Additionally, research has yet to examine ATP in racial and economic enclaves that may have different social and environmental characteristics than the surrounding community. This study utilizes in-depth interviews with 60 residents of two …

A Command And Control Approach To Red Teaming, Kaitlin Britt Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

As the military has to react and respond to cyber attacks, they also are having to develop a way to apply cyber operations to the command and control hierarchy already in use. This thesis studies the requirements for a cyber command and control (C3) and conducts an experiment to test whether a C3 approach to red teaming helps users find more vulnerabilities. Since red teaming is similar in setting to the cyber operations setting, if the team finds that a C3 helps team members find more vulnerabilities, then a C3 environment can help the military better respond to cyber attacks. …

Pedagogical And Ekphrastic Elements In The Story Of The Predestined Pilgrim And His Brother Reprobate By Father Alexandre De Gusm, M Cecilia Fischer

Theses and Dissertations

The object of this thesis is to analyze the presence of the pedagogical ekphrastic elements in the novel The Story of The Predestined Pilgrim and his Brother Reprobate by Father Alexandre de Gusmmão. In the past this novel has been an obscure masterpiece outside the circle of those who study early Portuguese language works. In the last half century there has been a crescendo of the study of this novel as more scholars have taken an interest in the pilgrimage motif and in particular using this novel in comparative literature. A monumental contribution to bring this novel out of obscurity …