Digital Commons Network^™

Fourth National Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Symposium, Mti Report S-03-01, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On March 23, 2004, the Mineta Transportation Institute brought together experts in surface transportation and students from elementary, middle, and high schools to discuss sustainable transportation topics. The goal was to introduce the students to transportation-related careers and to inspire them to pursue the academic curriculae that would lead to success in those careers. Students from Maryland and California participated in a videoconference, during which they heard a keynote statement from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. Five teams of students also presented project proposals for innovative transportation alternatives during the videoconference. These included two variations of magnetic …

The Case For Clumsiness, Michael Thompson, Marco Verweij

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Most climatologists agree that by burning fossil fuels and engaging in other forms of consumption and production we are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases that float around in the atmosphere. These gases, in trapping some of the sun’s heat, warm the earth and enable life. The trouble is, some predict, that if we continue to accumulate those gases, over the course of the new century the average temperature on earth will rise and local climates will change, with possibly catastrophic consequences. Will this indeed happen? If so, should we do something about it? And if yes, what and when? …

Electronic Manure Handling Process Map, John Harrison, Aditya Toney

All Current Publications

Implementation of an Agriculture Environmental Management System (AEMS) is intended to result in improved environmental performance (Block, 1999; Harrison, 2002). Agriculturalists are generally unfamiliar with the terms ‘aspects and impacts’ (Jackson, Kirschner, Serber, Koelsch, Risse & Bird, personal communication, December 17, 2001).

Parents' Perceptions Of Life Skills Development In The 4-H Cloverbud Program, Theresa M. Ferrari, Carrie A. Hogue, Scott D. Scheer

Journal of Extension

Life skills are an important component of 4-H Youth Development programs. The study reported addresses life skill development of 4-H members who are 5 to 8 years old (also known as 4-H Cloverbuds). The focus was to explore parents' perceptions of their child's life skills development, program benefits, and activities. Parents interviewed in this study viewed the 4-H Cloverbud program as influential in life skill development, particularly in the areas of social skills, learning to learn, and personal development (self-confidence, self-care, and self-direction). Parents also identified health and diversity as important areas. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

A Team Approach Enhances Statewide Water Issues Programming, Richard Koenig, Teresa Cerny-Koenig, Rick Hefelbower, Nancy Mesner

Journal of Extension

The current drought situation and continued urban development have forced water issues to the forefront in the West. At Utah State University, a team composed of five extension specialists and six agents with expertise in soils, ornamental horticulture, turfgrass, water conservation and quality, and irrigation engineering was formed to respond to water issues. The team developed a drought resources Web site, 15 Extension bulletins on water management and conservation, water auditing workshops and training, and irrigation quality testing information. The team summarizes its approach and accomplishments to provide guidance for future issue teams.

Building Basic Living Skills In Youth--Kid's Chef School, Lois Clark, Ruth Anne Foote

Journal of Extension

Kid's Chef School was created to strengthen personal development of youth representing the changing diversity of today's families. It was based on results of county needs assessments indicating a perceived lack of basic living skills in children. Kid's Chef Schools address these needs by giving children opportunities to practice skills as they learn. Learning is accomplished through activities and simulations to teach nutrition, manners, table setting, food safety, hand washing, food preparation skills, and kitchen safety. Program evaluation includes participant and parent evaluation indicating knowledge gain and practice change. Demand for Kid's Chef Schools continues to be strong.

Teaching Complex, In-Depth Programs, John B. Hall, Bill R. Mckinnon, Scott P. Greiner, William D. Whittier

Journal of Extension

Changing demographics of rural Extension audiences create challenges to program delivery, and multiple delivery methods may be needed to effectively improve skills and knowledge of clients. We examined the effectiveness of different delivery methods and changes in client skills, knowledge and abilities as a result of a complex, in-depth program, the Virginia Cow/Calf Management Course. Almost 500 producers took the 5-month course. Changes were measured from pre- and post-course surveys. Skills easily employed by the producers were readily adopted. Experiential learning opportunities and written materials had the greatest impact on producers, while Web-based information and discussion groups were marginally effective.

An Initial Assessment Of An Interactive Web-Based Extension Curriculum To Engage And Prepare Teens As Volunteer Teachers, R Dale Safrit, Harriett C. Edwards, Warren R. Flood

Journal of Extension

The North Carolina 4-H Teens Reaching Youth through Innovative Teams (TRY-IT!) program utilizes Web-based modules to strengthen and expand teen volunteerism. The research described here investigated teens' assessments of two initial TRY-IT! modules. The researchers developed a written questionnaire based upon eight criteria for evaluating Web-based training and collected data from a convenience sample of 67 teen 4-H members. Participants evaluated each component as above average. Based upon the pilot study findings, TRY-IT! promises to be very effective in engaging current and potential teens in volunteerism and community service through the use of Web-based curricula.

Environmental Education And Metaethics, Owen Goldin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

Contrā Dale Jamieson, the study of the metaethical foundations of environmental ethics may well lead students to a more environmentally responsible way of life. For although metaethics is rarely decisive in decision making and action, there are two kinds of circumstances in which it can play a crucial role in our practical decisions. First, decisions that have unusual features do not summon habitual ethical reactions, and hence invite the application of ethical precepts that the study of metaethics and ethical theory isolate and clarify. Second, there are times in which the good of others (including organisms and systems in the …

Globalization: The Relationship Between The State And The Economy, Michael Mena

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many people agree that we live in a changing world. It is a world transformed by globalization. I propose that changes in state policies have led to a change from an international economy to a global economy, thereby contributing to the emergence of contemporary globalization. Changes in state power/authority and policies have affected the overall economy. These changes have caused the economy to transform from a national economy to a global economy.

I test the hypothesis through a case study of Guatemala's Economy. The time period for this study is from 1982 to 2002. The economy of Guatemala is comprised …

Statistical Anomaly Denial Of Service And Reconnaissance Intrusion Detection, Zheng Zhang

Dissertations

This dissertation presents the architecture, methods and results of the Hierarchical Intrusion Detection Engine (HIDE) and the Reconnaissance Intrusion Detection System (RIDS); the former is denial-of-service (DoS) attack detector while the latter is a scan and probe (P&S) reconnaissance detector; both are statistical anomaly systems.

The HIDE is a packet-oriented, observation-window using, hierarchical, multi-tier, anomaly based network intrusion detection system, which monitors several network traffic parameters simultaneously, constructs a 64-bin probability density function (PDF) for each, statistically compares it to a reference PDF of normal behavior using a similarity metric, then combines the results into an anomaly status vector that …

Uncertainty Analysis In Ecological Risk Assessment Modeling, Tepwitoon Thongsri

Dissertations

A probabilistic approach employing Monte Carlo simulations for assessing parameter and risks as probabilistic distributions was used in an ecological risk assessment (ERA) model to characterize risk and address uncertainty. This study addresses the following sources of uncertainty: parameter inputs in the ERA models, risk algorithms and uncertain input concentrations. To achieve this objective, both sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are being conducted. Monte Carlo simulations were used for generating probabilistic distributions of parameter and model uncertainty. All sensitivity, uncertainty, and variability analyses were coded in Visual Basic as part of the ERA model software version 2001, which was developed under …

Wetlands Evaluation Project, Joyce El Kouarti

PREP Reports & Publications

This New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) grant funded a study to identify and evaluate significant wetlands within the six towns that comprise Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (MMRG): Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham and Wakefield. The goals of the study were to heighten awareness of the wetland areas in each town, educate Conservation Commission members and key town officials of the functional values of each selected wetland, and provide educational outreach toward the preservation of the quality of these wetlands using proven planning tools such as outright land purchase, easements, master planning, Prime Wetland designation in zoning, wetlands of special …

A Study To Determine If Multimedia Technologies In A Regular Classroom Enhance Learning And Motivation, Carol Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of infusing multimedia technologies in a regular classroom. The purpose of this study was also to demonstrate that with the use of technology, the students would better understand the important concepts covered in the social studies unit, as well as be motivated to learn.

Thirty sixth grade students conducted research using wireless laptops to find information about a prominent African-American who has made a positive contribution to our society. The control group created an oral presentation and constructed a replica in the form of a doll to represent their person. …

May 31, 2004 Reporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Parametric Synthesis Of Sign Language, Jerome Allen

Theses

The isolation of the deaf community from mainstream society is in part due to the lack of knowledge most hearing people have of sign language. To most, there seems to be little need to learn a language that is spoken by such a small minority unless perhaps a relative is unable to hear. Even with a desire to learn, the task may seem insurmountable due to the unique formational and grammatical rules of the language.

This linguistic rift has led to the call for an automatic translation system with the ability to take voice or written text as input and …

Application Of Bootstrap Resampling In Fmri, Arthika Bappal

Theses

This thesis demonstrates the use of the bootstrap resampling technique considering temporal dependency in the fMRI data to determine the reliability and confidence interval of fMRI parameters. Traditionally, the test-retest method has been used to reliably detect active voxels in the fMRI image of the brain, which is based on repetitive experimentation. The main concern with the test-retest method is the reproducibility of data over these multiple repetitions. Fatigue, habituation, motion artifacts, and repositioning errors are few of the factors, which can affect the reproducibility of data.

The conventional bootstrap resampling technique is based on the assumption that the dataset …

An In Vitro Evaluation Of Tyrosine Derived Polyarylates And Polycarbonate As Polymeric Scaffold For Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Osteogenic Differentiation, Manish Suresh Godbole

Theses

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) obtained from the adult bone marrow are multipotential cells that are capable of differentiating along several lineages. They are readily available and abundant source of cells in the field of tissue engineering. For their use in treating certain connective tissue defect or disorders, their success depends at minimum on the use of scaffolds that support differentiation. Therefore , this thesis details a study that systematically evaluated hMSC differentiation on materials that exhibit gradual range in surface properties as a first study for selecting materials as potential scaffolds. Polycarbonates and polyarylates have combinatorial libraries that exhibit …

Extrusion And Evaluation Of Degradation Rate And Porosity Of Small Diameter Collagen Tubes, Bipinkumar G. Patel

Theses

The limited availability of autografts and failure of small diameter synthetic vascular grafts has stimulated continuing efforts to develop small diameter vascular grafts based on natural materials. The small diameter collagen tubes were extruded using bovine collagen type I. The biodegradation rate was determined and compared for small diameter collagen tubes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and Nhydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to evaluate physio-chemical properties. The samples were also evaluated for their surface area and porosity using mercury porosimeter. The noncrosslinked tubes almost completely degraded after 2 hours. The tubes crosslinked with EDC/NHS degraded slower than the ones crosslinked with …

Spinning Of Collagen Fibers And Characterizing Thermal, Mechanical, Tensile And Structural Properties, Grace Evangelin Tatagiri

Theses

Collagen is the most important building block in the entire animal world. It plays an important role in regeneration of broken bones and wound healing, also helps grow blood vessels to feed the healing areas. The use of synthetic materials has been extensive, but these materials have there own limits and drawbacks. Poor biocompatibility of these materials is the main issue and often result in inflammations. Hence collagen is being heralded as one of the most appropriate replacement as an implantable material. The reasons being that it is a naturally occurring material, exhibits high biocompatibility low antigenicity and host response. …

Measuring The Effects Of An Observational Format On The Professional Growth Of The Faculty At Lake Tract School, Shelli Doran

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design a new teacher observation format used by the building mentors of Lake Tract School in observing the participants. The format revolved around the use of pre and post conferences based on a cognitive coaching approach in order to gain professional development and growth. A total of ten tenured and non-tenured teachers participated in the study. All faculties were surveyed as to their perceptions of the current observational format. The data was analyzed using percentages and the responses of the survey guided the creation of the format. Each participant attended a pre-conference to …

Site-Based Management: A Principal's Strategy For Success, Maria Gioffre

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to determine effective leadership strategies that are the driving force behind the success of site-based management. The intent was to identify key elements that impart some direction to help principals attain strategies that will boost site-based management and its potential to improve the overall quality of educational achievement. It draws on an extensive literature review and includes results from a teacher survey, observations, and informal interviews. The results reported that the respondents generally agreed with the research that presents leadership strategies, which tend to enhance the effectiveness of site-based management. The analysis suggests that …

Doodles To Drawings: The Creative Process Of Drawing & Thinking For Cartooning, Kyle Lindholm

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Doodles to Drawings: The Creative Process of Drawing & Thinking for Cartooning invites the reader into the cartoonist’s mind at work. The author guides the audience through his cartooning process by presenting work from his sketchbook which includes illustrations, sketches, various notes, and final drawings. Diagrams graphically organize the key thinking strategies of the drawings as they progresses. From these illustrations the author extrapolates seven recurring patterns which characterize his own process include: Mental Work, Take-in Information, Free Flowing, Sudden, & Rapid Appearance of Ideas, Sketching as Many Ideas as Possible, Creating Multiple Versions, A Messy Process, and the Need …

Evaluation Of Effect Of Extrusion Process Variables On Mechanical Properties Of Extruded Collagen Tubes And Effect Of Post Extrusion Treatments, Mayank K. Patel

Theses

This study evaluated the effect of extrusion process variable on mechanical properties of extruded collagen tubes made using a specialized extruder, made by ZOKO Corporation of Czechoslovakia. Three extrusion variables were considered; extrusion speed, linear draw rate and rotation speed. Using Taguchi L₄ matrix, a design of experiment (DOE) was run. Two mechanical properties, wall thickness and estimated elastic modulus, were considered as response of this DOE. Data was analyzed statically to evaluate the effect of extrusion variables on both these properties. Result of this study showed that linear draw rate of the extrusion process has the highest influence …

Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Autonomic Nervous System, Jaeyeaon Cho

Theses

Sleep deprivation (SD) has been thought a potential factor to trigger cardiovascular events by increasing the sympathetic nervous system activity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between sleep deprivation and the autonomic nervous system activity by means of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). All data were acquired in the sleep lab of Columbia University.

Data were acquired from the two groups, SD and control. Subjects in the SD group did not sleep for thirty-six hours but subjects in the control group slept at night as usual. There were five different data …

Fabrication Of Nanofiber Scaffolds By Electrospinning And It's Potential For Tissue Engineering, Shobana Shanmugasundaram

Theses

Electrospinning is a fabrication process that uses an electric field to control the deposition of polymer fibers on to a target substrate. This electrospinning strategy can be used to fabricate fibrous polymer mats composed of fiber diameters ranging from several microns down to tens of nanometers. This study assesses the potential of electrospinning, as an alternative scaffold fabrication technique for tissue engineering applications. In this study, electrospinning is adapted to produce tissue-engineering scaffolds of two different size ranges composed of non-woven poly-L-lactide (PLLA) nanofibers and as a first study, the potential use of these scaffolds as tissue engineering scaffolds was …

Deafdigest: Blue Edition, May 30, 2004, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Blue 2004

No abstract provided.

Murray Ledger And Times, May 29, 2004, Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

2004 Commencement Program, Columbia College Chicago

Commencement Programs

The commencement program of the 2004 Columbia College Chicago graduation ceremonies.

The Courier, Volume 37, Issue 26, May 28, 2004, The Courier, College Of Dupage

The Courier

Stories:

Gas Prices Surge

BIC Plaza Crumbles

Campus Services Creates Survey

Student Activities 2005 Budget

Public Safety Campus Crime Statistics

Reversing Roles (Women In The Workforce)

Kill Hannah Plays A Killer Show

Technical Aspects Of ‘The Laramie Project’

Growing From The Ashes (Russell R. Kirt Prairie)

Coaches Of The Year

Softball Chaps Win National Title

Track Coach Hailed Coach Of The Year

People:

Mike Fleischer

Michael Dunn

Jane Vatchev

Deb Di Mateo

LuAnn Zimmick

Mike Losacco

Beth Mitchell

Jason Hyatt

Brett Bridel

Jim Kelly

Marc Gamble