Digital Commons Network^™

The Supreme Court And Foreign Sources Of Law: Two Hundred Years Of Practice And The Juvenile Death Penalty Decision, Steven Calabresi, Stephanie Dotson Zimdahl

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Robust And Efficient Localization Techniques For Cellular And Wireless Sensor Networks, Haseebulla M. Khan

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Localization in wireless networks refers to a collection of tasks that, collectively, determines the location of a mobile user, striving to hide the effects of mobility from the user and/or application. Localization has become an important issue and has drawn considerable attention, as many applications including E-911, cargo tracking, locating patients, location-sensitive billing, etc., require knowledge of the location of user/objects. It was realized, quite a while back, that extending emergency 911-like services (E-911) to continually growing mobile population is one of the extremely important localization applications. The bulk of the proposed solutions to emergency location management in wireless environments …

Modeling, Parameter Identification, And Validation Of Reactant And Water Dynamics For A Fuel Cell Stack, D. A. Mckay, W. T. Ott, A. G. Stefanopoulou

Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper describes a simple two-phase flow dynamic model that predicts the experimentally observed temporal behavior of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack and a methodology to experimentally identify tunable physical parameters. The model equations allow temporal calculation of the species concentrations across the gas diffusion layers, the vapor transport across the membrane, the degree of flooding in the electrodes, and then predict the resulting decay in cell voltage over time. A nonlinear optimization technique is used for the identification of two critical model parameters, namely the membrane water vapor diffusion coefficient and the thickness of the liquid water …

A Study Of Associations Between Third Grade Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Scores And Subsequent Scores In A Rural Tennessee School District., David Cloud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the associations and differences that exist in the NCE scores of students on the TerraNova portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Exam, as well as the possible influence of variables such as initial scores, grade level, gender, and free or reduced lunch status. The population consisted of a stable group of 49 students enrolled in a rural Tennessee school district reported to have taken the annual assessment at the same school as they progressed from 3rd to 8th grade during the 1999 to 2004 school years. The study focused on the performance of students over …

The Colby Echo (2005-12-01), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly, during the academic year, 1898-present.

Assessing The Biological Weapons And Bioterrorism Threat, Milton Leitenberg Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

It is nearly 15 years since biological weapons (BW) have become a significant national security preoccupation. This occurred primarily due to circumstances occurring within a short span of years. First was the official U.S. Government suggestion that proliferation of offensive BW programs among states and even terrorist groups was an increasing trend; second was the discovery, between 1989 and 1992, that the Union USSR had violated the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) since its ratification in 1975 by building a massive covert biological weapons program; third was the corroboration by the UN Special Commission in 1995 that Iraq had maintained a …

Assessing The Biological Weapons And Bioterrorism Threat, Milton Leitenberg Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

It is nearly 15 years since biological weapons (BW) have become a significant national security preoccupation. This occurred primarily due to circumstances occurring within a short span of years. First was the official U.S. Government suggestion that proliferation of offensive BW programs among states and even terrorist groups was an increasing trend; second was the discovery, between 1989 and 1992, that the Union USSR had violated the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) since its ratification in 1975 by building a massive covert biological weapons program; third was the corroboration by the UN Special Commission in 1995 that Iraq had maintained a …

An Ultra Wide Band Simulator Using Matlab/Simulink, Peter Vial, Beata J. Wysocki, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) is a promising technology for sensor networks, broadband wireless data access and location finding applications. This study outlines the development and validation of a single transmitter and receiver system across the multipath channel proposed by Saleh-Valenzuela. We have designed and tested a UWB simulator using MATLAB’s Simulink in combination with the Real Time Workshop(RTW) Tool box for Simulink using the Fixed Step Discrete Solvers of RTW which is required to produce executable simulations on multiple computers (both Linux and Microsoft based devices). This paper outlines the basic design and modules chosen for the simulation and compares …

Using Asterisms To Decode Multi-User Mimo Systems, Phillip Conder, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

The area of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communications systems has received enormous attention recently as they can provide a roughly linear increase in data rate by using multiple transmit and receive antennas. MIMO combined with an Turbo coding has been shown as a promising way to achieve near capacity for wireless channels. This paper proposes applying an Asterism based decoder to produce an additional multi user access scheme on top of the primary access method for Ad Hoc networks. After reviewing Sphere and Asterism decoding for MIMO systems with a larger number of transmit than receive antennas, this paper …

Background Radio Frequency Interference Measurements For Wireless Devices In The Electricity Supply Industry, Duane Robinson, Tadeusz A. Wysocki, V. Smith, K. Popovski

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Incorporation of radio controller units into heavy equipment used in the electricity industry provides numerous advantages including: improved electrical isolation between plant and operator, ability to incorporate an additional remote operator, and reductions in vehicle wiring and hydraulic hoses for equipment control. However, secure operation of vehicles and plant incorporating radio control rely on establishing suitable levels of immunity to possible radio frequency interference. Interference levels in close proximity to high voltage power lines are of special concern to the electricity industry. This paper reports on a preliminary investigation into quantifying the levels of background radio interference at such locations …

Community Analysis Of A Mercury Hot Spring Supports Occurrence Of Domain-Specific Forms Of Mercuric Reductase, Jessica Simbahan, Elizabeth Kurth, James Schelert, Amanda Dillman, Estuko N. Moriyama, Stevan Jovanovich, Paul H. Blum

Papers in Genetics

Mercury is a redox-active heavy metal that reacts with active thiols and depletes cellular antioxidants. Active resistance to the mercuric ion is a widely distributed trait among bacteria and results from the action of mercuric reductase (MerA). Protein phylogenetic analysis of MerA in bacteria indicated the occurrence of a second distinctive form of MerA among the archaea, which lacked an N-terminal metal recruitment domain and a C-terminal active tyrosine. To assess the distribution of the forms of MerA in an interacting community comprising members of both prokaryotic domains, studies were conducted at a naturally occurring mercuryrich geothermal environment. Geochemical analyses …

M4@Si28 (M=Al,Ga) Metal-Encapsulated Tetrahedral Silicon Fullerene, Yi Gao, Xiao Cheng Zeng

Xiao Cheng Zeng Publications

It is known that silicon fullerenes cannot maintain perfect cage structures like carbon fullerenes. Previous density-functional theory calculations have shown that even with encapsulated species, nearly all endohedral silicon fullerenes exhibit highly puckered cage structures in comparison with their carbon counterparts. In this work, we present theoretical evidences that the tetrahedral fullerene cage Si₂₈ can be fully stabilized by encapsulating a tetrahedral metallic cluster (Al₄ or Ga₄). To our knowledge, this is the first predicted endohedral silicon fullerene that can retain perfectly the same cage structure (without puckering) as the carbon fullerene counterpart (T_{d …}

Serological Diagnosis Of Autoimmune Hepatobiliary Diseases, Khalil Abdul-Aziz, Abdul-Aziz Faizal

Saudi Medical Journal

Autoimmune hepatobiliary diseases AIHBD comprise autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and the overlap syndromes. Early diagnosis and treatment of AIHBD are essential for the prevention of the high morbidity, and mortality, that is, otherwise, associated with untreated patients. Screening for AIHBD relies heavily on the use of serological tests for the detection of serum autoantibodies that associate with the diseases. Understanding these tests, and the results produced, is important for the efficient diagnosis/exclusion of these diseases. In this review, we discuss the various tests available in the clinical immunology laboratory for screening of AIHBD and comment on …

Measles Seroepidemiology In 3 Cities In Turkey, Aysegul Gozalan, Gulay Korukluoglu, Demet Kurtoglu, Kikuko Miyamura, Neziha Yilmaz, Morihiro Morita, Berrin Esen, Levent Akin

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate immunity against measles and its relation with some variables among healthy subjects in 3 cities in Turkey. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study on measles antibody titers in the serum samples of 712 people from Antalya, 696 from Diyarbakir and 667 from Samsun, Turkey using particle agglutination test between February 2000 and October 2001. The study groups, informed and asked for their consent by midwives, consisted of randomly selected subjects of all ages older than 6 months. We implemented the study in 3 steps: physical examination, interview and blood collection. RESULTS: We considered titers of >=1:16 …

Treatment Of Vitiligo With Topical 15% Lactic Acid Solution In Combination With Ultra Violet-A, Iqbal A. Bukhari, Khalifa E. Sharquie

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

An Ethnographic-Case Study Of Beliefs, Context Factors, And Practices Of Teachers Integrating Technology, Julie Angers, Krisanna L. Machtmes

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic-case study explored the beliefs, context factors, and practices of three middle school exemplary teachers that led to a technology-enriched curriculum. Findings suggest that these middle school teachers believe technology is a tool that adds value to lessons and to students learning and motivation. Due to a personal interest in technology, these teachers are self-taught and apply for grants to acquire new hardware and software. They receive support for release time to continue with ongoing professional development, which has helped to change their teaching strategies from teacher-centered to student-centered. They are not afraid to take risk using trial and …

The Effects Of Feedback On Hourly Pay And Individual Monetary Incentives, Douglas A. Johnson

Masters Theses

The effects of performance feedback when individuals received fixed or individual incentive pay were examined. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used with approximately 30 college students in each group. Participants attended six experimental sessions. They entered the cash value of simulated bank checks presented on a computer screen. Monetary incentives increased the number of correctly completed checks (p = .000); however feedback had no effect (p = .825). Time spent working and rate of performance correlated strongly with the number of checks completed correctly, suggesting that both influenced the checks completed correctly. The results suggest that incentives increase …

A K-Epsilon Extension For Wall-Bounded Flows On The Broadband Aeroacoustic System Simulator, David González

Masters Theses

The turbulence modeling capabilities of the Broadband Aeroacoustic System Simulator (BASS), an experimental code developed at NASA Glenn Research Center, have been extended to include wall-bounded flow capabilities. This was done by first validating the code's viscous solving routines by comparing numerical solutions to known, simple analytic solutions. Finally, the dynamics of the wall shear flows were accounted for with the use of wall-damping functions incorporated into the turbulence model. The results for both viscous and turbulence routines agree well with published data.

Systems For Predicting Pitzer’S Ion-Interaction Model Parameters, Theresa Balderas Obias

Masters Theses

Pitzer's Ion-interaction Model had been widely used in predicting the non-ideal behavior of solution over a wide range of conditions for natural water systems. The model is successful only when there are sufficient parameters available. However, generating these needed parameters requires a great quantity of work and it would be advantageous to be able to predict the Pitzer's parameters for salt systems when there is no data available.

This research entailed the development of ionic radii dependent equations for Pitzer's binary ion-interaction parameters β_MX⁽⁰⁾, β_MX⁽¹⁾, β_MX⁽²⁾, and C^ϕ_MX . …

Ductile Regime Nano-Machining Of Silicon Carbide, Biswarup Bhattacharya

Masters Theses

This thesis describes experimental work carried out to study the ability to ductile . single point diamond turn both polycrystal Silicon Carbide (SiC) and chemically vapor deposited (CVD) SiC. A Precitech diamond turning machine was used for ductile regime machining of polycrystal SiC at depths of 10 and 25 nm. The possibility of machining SiC in the ductile mode was substantiated by post process analysis of the chips collected during machining and the surface profiles. The force data obtained during machining was recorded and compared later with the different depth of cuts. An investigation into the ability to single point …

Evaluation Of An Oral Health Training Program For School Nurses, Linda Drengler

Master's Projects

Pediatric dental disease is a silent epidemic (Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 2002). Dental decay is commonly unrecognized and under-treated, and can affect children's growth and development as well as their ability to perform in school. Effective interventions to prevent dental decay include water fluoridation, dental sealants, pediatric dental screenings, and dental health education programs. This pre-experimental design study evaluated the effectiveness of an oral health training program for school nurses. This training program was designed based on the First 5 California <;>ral Health Training Program (2003). A non-randomized sample of fourteen (N=l4) school nurses participated in the …

Evaluation Of An Oral Health Training Program For School Nurses, Kelley Haines-Kolostian

Master's Projects

Pediatric dental disease is a silent epidemic (Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 2002). Dental decay is commonly unrecognized and under-treated. Dental disease can affect children's growth and development as well as their ability to perform in school. Effective interventions to prevent dental decay include water fluoridation, dental sealants, pediatric dental screenings, and dental health education programs. This pre-experimental design study evaluated the effectiveness of an oral health training program for school nurses. This training program was designed based on the First 5 California Oral Health Training Program, First Smiles (First Smiles Program of California, 2003). The presentation was …

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of A Diabetes Managment Training Program For Unlicensed Assistive Personnel In Schools, Elaine M. Gomer

Master's Projects

This study evaluated the diabetes management-training program for unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). The purpose of the program was to prepare UAP to recognize and respond to the health care needs of students diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Twenty UAP participated. Teaching strategies were based on Albert Bandura' s social learning theory~ Two instruments were administered before and after the program. One was a 1 0-question survey addressing self-efficacy; the other was a 10 question multiple-choice test measuring knowledge of diabetes. Results of paired t tests indicate consistent and significant improvement in both perceptions of self-efficacy and knowledge (p < .05). This program provides a framework for school nurses training UAP that assist in the health care of students with diabetes. It is important that school nurses capitalize on the contribution that informed confident UAP might contribute to the provision of safe quality care to students with diabetes.

Nurse's Perceptions Of Causes Of Medication Errors And Barriers To Reporting, Virginia M. Ulanimo

Master's Projects

Objective: To describe medical-surgical nurses' perceptions of frequent causes of medication errors, of what constitutes a medication error, and of what are the barriers and empowerments to reporting. The study also explored the nurses' perceptions of the effect of physician order entry (POE) and barcode medication administration (BCMA) on medication errors. Background: Causes of medication errors have been investigated by numerous researchers in an attempt to determine safe medication administration process. Information technology (IT) systems enhance patient safety. No published studies were found on nurses' perceptions of medication errors in a setting with IT systems in place. Method: A descriptive …

Nonlinear Dynamics And Interpersonal Correlates Of Verbal Turn-Taking Patterns In A Group Therapy Session, David Pincus, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Interpersonal processes and dynamics are ubiquitous topics in psychotherapy, yet they are difficult to study and are theoretically fragmented across therapeutic subdisciplines. The current study tests an integrative model of interpersonal dynamics in small groups using nonlinear dynamical systems theory. The conversation of one group therapy session (with six adolescent sex offenders) is analyzed using orbital decomposition, which allows for the identification of patterns in categorical time series data. The results show evidence of selforganizing social patterns, based on formal measures of turbulence (Lyapunov dimension), information novelty (Shannon's entropy), and complexity (fractal dimension). The degree of patterning in turn taking …

Wall Street Meets The Wild West: Bringing Law And Order To Securities Arbitration, Jennifer J. Johnson

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Duck, Duck, Goose: Hunting For Better Recusal Practices In The United States Supreme Court In Light Of Cheney V. United States District Court, Timothy J. Goodson

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Performance Evaluation Models For Strategic Decision-Making: Towards A Hybrid Model, Geraldina Villalobos Quezada

Dissertations

Performance management systems serve strategic, administrative, and developmental purposes; therefore, their role in an organization cannot be overestimated. As a function of this strategic role, different evaluation models have been developed and implemented by organizations: BSC, CIPP, TQM, Six Sigma, and AOP.

Following a review of current evaluation theory and practice models that focus on improving strategic decision-making in organizations, four research questions were developed that sought to identify the interrelationships, evaluation components, evaluation indicators, data collected to support the evaluation,evaluation implementation protocols, quantitative and qualitative analyses, outcomes, and critical factors of the BSC and CIPP models.

A multiple case …

New Efficient Mds Array Codes For Raid Part Ii: Rabin-Like Codes For Tolerating Multiple (>=4) Disk Failures, Gui-Liang Feng, Robert H. Deng, Feng Bao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A new class of Binary Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) array codes which are based on circular permutation matrices are introduced in this paper. These array codes are used for tolerating multiple (greater than or equal to 4) disk failures in Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) architecture. The size of the information part is m \times n, where n is the number of information disks and (m+1) is a prime integer; the size of the parity-check part is m \times r, the minimum distance is r+1, and the number of parity-check disks is r. In practical applications, m can be …