Digital Commons Network^™

"Quick Tips": A Manual For Not-For-Profit Organizations, Mary Brooks

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of volunteerism within a not-for-profit organization. Meeting the growing demand for volunteers and controlling then high turnover could determine how smoothly a nonprofit organization runs.

In the past the need for volunteers and nonprofit organizations was not as great as it is today. There are at least two reasons for this upward trend. The first reason is more women are working outside the home leaving less leisure time for volunteering. The second reason is the government is playing a smaller role thus causing the public to seek help elsewhere.

Research has attributed the …

Working With Your Employees To Move Through Change Using Communication And Motivation: A Case Study, David G. Buck

Theses

This thesis focuses on effecting change in a government agency by the use of communication, motivation through incentives, and other management tools.

The United States Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) manages, trains, and mobilizes Army personnel. Its largest directorate is the Personnel Records Management Directorate, which houses the Accessions Division. At least 200,000 hard-copy personnel records pass through the Division for verification and processing in a typical year.

Eighty percent of hard-copy records transferred to ARPERCEN were also transferred electronically; however all were band-processed as if new. This entire accessioning process was redundant and inefficient.

Change was coming. The Reserve …

Ontologies For Agents, Michael N. Huhns, Munindar P. Singh

Faculty Publications

An ontology is a computational model of some portion of the world. It is often captured in some form of a semantic network-a graph whose nodes are concepts or individual objects and whose arcs represent relationships or associations among the concepts. This network is augmented by properties and attributes, constraints, functions, and rules that govern the behavior of the concepts. Formally, an ontology is an agreement about a shared conceptualization, which includes frameworks for modeling domain knowledge and agreements about the representation of particular domain theories. Definitions associate the names of entities in a universe of discourse (for example, classes, …

The Agent Test, Michael N. Huhns, Munindar P. Singh

Faculty Publications

The authors consider agents on the World Wide Web, including information retrieval agents. They propose a test for agenthood, involving communication in multi-agent systems.

Mobile Agents, Michael N. Huhns, Munindar P. Singh

Faculty Publications

A lot of agents are executing on the Web, and some of them are starting to move around. While most agents are static (existing as a single process or thread on one host), others can pick up and move their code and data to a new host where they resume executing.

Hierarchical Classification As An Aid To Browsing, John R. Rose, Caroline M. Eastman

Faculty Publications

An approach to browsing large chemical reaction databases is presented. The method that is described builds on earlier work in which unsupervised hierarchical classification was used to extract generalizations of reaction classes from reaction databases for use in reaction knowledge bases. The method described in this paper involves classification based on both semantic and topological features. It supports the creation of deep hierarchies in which succeeding levels represent increasing degrees of abstraction. The creation of a hierarchy allows the user to quickly locate interesting items or classes of items by performing a tree traversal as opposed to sequentially scanning a …

The Legal Architecture Of Virtual Stores: World Wide Web Sites And The Uniform Commercial Code, Walter Effross

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Problem With Baker Hughes And Syufy: On The Role Of Entry In Merger Analysis, Jonathan Baker

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

High-Tech Heroes, Virtual Villians, And Jacked-In Justice: Visions Of Law And Lawyers In Cyberpunk Science Fiction, Walter Effross

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of Automatic License Plate Reading Equipment For Transportation Planning., Lloyd James French

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent technological advances in computer hardware, software, and image processing have led to the development of automated license plate reading equipment. This equipment has primarily been developed for enforcement and security applications, such as monitoring parking garages or border crossings. Because license plate data are used in several transportation planning studies, automated license plate reading equipment has the potential to increase the quality and efficiency of many of the typical activities of transportation planning agencies. The existing applications of automated license plate reading equipment are significantly different than transportation planning applications. First, in existing applications, traffic is highly channelized. Transportation …

Computer Programming: Science, Art, Or Both?, Sandra Trent Gum

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine if spatial intelligence contributes to a student's success in a computer science major or if mathematical-logical intelligence is sufficient data on which to base a prediction of success. The study was performed at a small university. The sample consisted of 15 computer science (CS) majors, enrolled in a computer science class, and 15 non-CS-majors, enrolled in a statistics class. Seven of the CS-majors were considered advanced and seven were considered less advanced. The independent measures were: the mathematics and the English scores from the ACT/SAT (CS-majors); a questionnaire to obtain personal information; …

The Relationship Between Public Sector Higher Education Level-Four Grievant Variables And Third-Party Discipline And Discharge Arbitration Case Determinations At The West Virginia Education And State Employees Grievance Board, Years 1985-1995., Ellen Jane Barnes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the relationship between grievant variables (case description, case issue, gender, seriousness of the case) and case determination (denied/granted). A disk copy of QA4 database years 1985 to 1995 was provided by the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board. The approximate 222 higher education synopses reports were read to locate the population. Fifty-five higher education discipline and discharge synopsis reports were isolated. Key words used by the Board assisted in isolating the population. The 55 higher education synopsis reports were printed out to compare to information on case decisions housed in the West Virginia Secretary of …

Study Of Weathering Actions On Partings And Its Effects On Long-Term Stability Of Coal Pillar., Kousick Biswas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coal seams, in many cases, contain a foreign rock layer (commonly known as partings) and are thus in homogeneous in structural sense as opposed to the common notion of being a homogeneous body. It has also been observed in the field that for the pillars in these coal seams, which have been standing long after mining, the stability depends very much on the weathering action of the parting in the presence of mine moisture. It was observed in the mine that most of the pillar deterioration, in abandoned mining areas, initiated as the parting got weathered and changed into a …

The Effects Of Lifting Height And Asymmetry On Maximum Acceptable Weight Of Lift, Average Heart Rate, And Estimated Biomechanical Loading To The Lumbar Spine., Thomas Gordon Bobick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Epidemiological studies have indicated that work involving lifting heavy objects or lifting and twisting with moderate weights can impose increased compressive, shear, and torsional stresses on a worker's lumbar spine. Current statistics indicate that musculoskeletal sprains and strains account for more than 40% of the 2.0 million lost-time work-related injuries that occurred in 1995. Considering both direct and indirect costs, lost-time musculoskeletal injuries can cost U.S. industries {dollar}70 billion to \\{dollar}80 billion annually. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of lifting symmetrically and asymmetrically from knee height to chest or eye height on the (a) psychophysically …

Experimental And Numerical Aerodynamic Characterization Of A Two-Dimensional Nasp Model In Ground Effect With Thrust Simulation., Robert E. Bond

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) was conceptually designed for flight at hypersonic speeds. Because its airframe configuration was determined by the need for good high-speed flight performance, its low-speed and ground effect characteristics were poor. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the ground effect aerodynamic performance of a two-dimensional model of the NASP with thrust simulation. This study included a comparison between experimental and numerical results. The experiments were conducted in the WVU subsonic wind tunnel, while numerical results were obtained using FLUENT, a commercial finite volume CFD code. The aerodynamic characteristics of the two-dimensional NASP model were …

Risk Based Analysis Of Levees., Anthony Lewis Brizendine

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A multi-phased research program consisted of performance of both laboratory and field test programs, development of hydraulic conductivity probability density functions, and development of a first generation risk model to assess relative risk among groups of levees to determine rank for systemic allocation of scarce rehabilitation resources. The laboratory test program consisted of determining basic soil properties at four USACE WES REMR demonstration sites: Talulla, MS, Sny Island, IL, Skagit, WA, and Elkhorn, CA. Additionally, flexible wall hydraulic conductivity tests were performed with subsequent development of hydraulic conductivity probability density functions (PDF's). The field testing program consisted of conducting in …

New Beginnings: Art, Computers, And The Internet, Carrie Elena Alderfer

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

As-Is Evaluation & Process Design Of The 17/18 Foot Refrigerator At General Electric In Decatur, Alabama, Yongke Thio, Nicole Hagood

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Applications Of Shallow Reflection Seismology., George Guoqi He

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Shallow seismic investigations were conducted at two sites in the Central Appalachian foreland area of West Virginia. Various seismic sources (EWG, primacord, shotgun, and sledge hammer) were used and compared. At one site, data were collected to investigate the effect of longwall mining on the overburden seismic properties. Expanded spread and common offset (CO) data were collected over active panels at different stages of mining. At a second site, EWG is evaluated using common midpoint (CMP) and CO sorting. The emplacement of longwall panels produced various seismically observable effects. Velocity reduction (VR) and signal absorption (SA) zones appear over both …

Burnout And Depression Among Roman Catholic Secular, Religious, And Monastic Clergy., Stephen Gerard Virginia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Burnout and depression among Roman Catholic secular, religious order, and monastic (Cistercian) priests was investigated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Additionally, a Self-Report-Inventory was included (SRI) requesting information on demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (vocational satisfaction, social support, spiritual activities, and physical environment) associated with burnout and depression. All participants were randomly selected from the National Catholic Director. The survey yielded a return rate of 90.67% with 63.11% completing the survey. Secular clergy reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion than did monastic clergy. Secular priests also had significantly …

Application Of Automotive Engine Control Technology To General Aviation Aircraft Powerplants., Christopher John Tennant

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The general aviation industry has lagged behind the automotive industry in powerplant development due to depressed economic conditions in their marketplace. Recent efforts to revitalize the industry have encountered the hindrance of thirty-year-old engine technology. Current automotive engine control technology has been reviewed for its potential for transfer to existing general aviation powerplants. Current automotive engine control technology was classified into basic, correction, and feedback elements for the control of fuel flow and ignition timing. The value of each element was assessed for application to a general aviation powerplant in terms of an aviation duty cycle. An extensive database produced …

Turbulence Modeling Of The Toroidal Wall Heat Load Due To Shear Flows Over Cavities In The Neutral Gas Blanket Divertor Regime, George Vahala, Linda L. Vahala, Joseph Morrison

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Heat loads to the target plate in reactor tokamaks are estimated to be orders of magnitude higher than those that can be withstood by known materials. In regimes of plasma detachment, there is strong evidence that plasma recombination occurs near the divertor plate, leading to a cold neutral gas blanket. Because of the strong coupling between the plasma and the neutrals within the divertor region, there is significant neutral flows along field lines up to Mach 1.2 and Reynolds numbers over 1000. The effects of three dimensional (3D) neutral turbulence within the gas blanket on heat deposition to the toroidal …

Reflection High-Energy Electron-Diffraction Study Of Melting And Solidification Of Pb On Graphite, Z. H. Zhang, P. Kulatunga, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The melting and solidification of Pb thin films on pyrolytic graphite are investigated in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Thin films with thicknesses of 4-150 monolayers are investigated. The surface morphology of the thin films were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Superheating of the Pb thin films by 4±2 to 12±2 K is observed from diffraction intensity measurements. Upon cooling the substrate, the Pb on graphite is seen to supercool by ∼69±4 K.

Femtosecond Photoemission Study Of Ultrafast Electron Dynamics On Cu(100), J. Cao, Y. Gao, R. J. D. Miller, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali, D. A. Mantell

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The energy dependence of the relaxation of photoexcited electrons in copper was measured using femtosecond time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to within 0.3 eV above the Fermi level. By performing lifetime measurements under different surface conditions, several surface dynamical processes were investigated. In particular, an anomalous long lifetime feature, which cannot be explained with Fermi-liquid theory, was observed in the lifetime-energy curve. This feature was found originating from the photoexcitation of the strongly localized Cu 3d electrons. ©1997 American Physical Society

Optical And Electrical Properties Of Cualse² Thin Films Obtained By Selenization Of Cu/Al/Cu... Al/Cu Layers Sequentially Deposited, J. C. Bernède, S. Marsillac, C. El Moctar, A. Conan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Optical and electrical properties of CuAlSe₂ thin films obtained by selenization of Cu/Al/Cu...Al/Cu layers sequentially deposited have been investigated. It is shown that the expected energy gap (2.67 eV) is measured for well crystallized films, whereas a slightly higher value is measured for films not so well crystallized. Raman diffusion also shows differences between well and poorly crystallized films with peaks corresponding to the reference powder for the former samples. A p-type conductivity is found whatever the crystalline quality of the samples. The conductivity of the films depends also strongly on their crystalline properties. When the films are badly …

Cualse² Thin Films Obtained By Chalcogenization, S. Marsillac, K. Benchouk, C. El Moctar, J. C. Bernède, J. Pouzet, A Khellil, M. Jamali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

CuAlSe₂ thin films have been synthesized by chalcogenization of thin Cu and Al layers sequentially deposited by evaporation under vacuum. It is shown that CuAlSe₂ films are obtained with some Cu₂-_δSe and Se phases present at the surface. These surface phases are suppressed by annealing under vacuum and by chemical etching in a KCN solution. At the end of the process, the XRD spectrum demonstrates that textured CuAlSe₂ films have been obtained with preferential orientation of the crystallites along the (112) direction. The gap of the films is 2.7 eV as expected. The …

Field Dependence-Independence And Sports With A Preponderance Of Closed Or Open Skills, Wenhao Liu

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The focus of much research on field dependence-independence in sport settings has been on the relationship of field dependence-independence to sports with a preponderance of closed or open skills since 1970s. Although most of the previous research supported the claim that field dependence is of greater advantage to sports with a preponderance of open skills and field independence an advantage to sports with a preponderance of closed skills, several studies provided inconsistent and contradictory results. In addition, few of those studies involved adequate sports and sample size and some used a different sport classification. Little comparison, if any, of field …

Reclaiming The Law Of Suretyship, Barlow Burke

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Business firms, including miners and mining companies, seek to prevent loss in various ways. When their assets are real property, a mortgage may provide collateral or other security for their activities. As security for a debt, a mortgage is only an effective remedy when it enables the creditor, such as a bank or other lender, to declare a default, seize the title in a foreclosure action, and then use the property to satisfy the mortgage debt. The Latin word for security was securitas, translated as sponsor. The idea of a mortgage lien or a security is that the property itself …

Restoring The Waters, Kathryn M. Mutz, Betsy Rieke, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Books, Reports, and Studies

64 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm

WATER RIGHTS TRANSFERS FOR INSTREAM FLOWS: Oregon Water Trust / Janet Neuman -- Trust water rights program, Washington / Janet Neuman -- Boulder Creek, Colorado / Carol Ellinghouse, Kathryn Mutz -- Lahontan Valley Wetlands, Nevada / David Yardas -- Conclusion : Challenges for water rights transfers -- PROTECTING AND RESTORING THE WATERS: Umatilla River Basin project, Oregon / Becky Hiers, Jim Cole, Jim Esget, Kathryn Mutz -- Trinity River Basin, California / Michelle Leighton Schwartz, Gregory Thomas -- Ash Meadows, Nevada / David Ledig, Kathryn Mutz -- Colorado River : Grand …

Foreword (The Sixth Annual Ernst C. Stiefel Symposium), Aleta Estreicher, Karen Gross

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.