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A Study Of Increased Instructional Time And The Relationship With The Mathematical Achievement Of Intermediate Elementary Students, Elizabeth Anne Lower

Education

The purpose of this study was to determine whether two different approaches to increased instructional time led to a statistically significant increase in math achievement of fifth grade students. The null hypothesis stated that there would not be a statistically significant difference at the .05 level of significance between the math scores of the fifth grade students at schools A and B, as measured by standardized test scores. Data consisted of standardized test scores of annual statewide assessments. The test results were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. The null hypothesis could not be rejected. The results indicated that the …

Congressional Staff Update August 17, 2005, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands.

In collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners, the institute is creating new knowledge, advancing technology, improving education, and engaging the public to enhance public lands stewardship.

Self-Adjusting Finite State Machines: An Approach To Real-Time Autonomous Behavior In Robots, Scott Schwartz

Computer Science Honors Theses

In the Robotics industry, it is a frequent requirement that robots operate in real-time. The usual approach to this issue involves creating robots driven entirely by direct environmental input rather than complicated planning and decision-making AI. This approach means that the current state of the robot in relation to its environment exclusively determines the actions of the robot. In the simplest terms, this approach creates a Finite State Machine (FSM). Clearly, a standard FSM is completely pre-deterministic upon its creation. This is a drawback which immediately disallows the robot to cope with dynamic environments in an autonomous manner. This research …

Coseismic Deformation From The 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake: Contributions From Synthetic Aperture Radar Speckle Tracking, Julie Elliott

Geosciences

The technique of speckle tracking can provide coseismic surface offsets for an earthquake in regions where other geodetic data are not available. These offsets can be used to map the surface deformation and create slip distribution models. This thesis uses speckle tracking to study the 2002 Mw7.9 Denali Fault earthquake, with emphasis on the central section of the rupture. The Denali Fault earthquake began with a thrust event on the Susitna Glacier fault before rupturing unilaterally west to east on the Denali and Totschunda faults with overwhelmingly right-lateral strike-slip motion. A slip distribution estimated from a combination of speckle tracking …

Detection Of Volcanic So₂ In The North Pacific Region Using Aster And Modis, Courtney Kearney

Geosciences

This study investigates the detection of volcanic SO₂ using TIR satellite-based and UV ground-based measurements at volcanoes in the North Pacific during eruptions and low level degassing. The ASTER and MODIS sensors with spatial resolutions of 0.09 and 1.0 km, respectively, are used to quantify SO₂ from the 8.6 um absorption feature of the gas species. Three volcanoes within this region were studied: Mt. Cleveland to test the implementation of the MAP ̲SO2 software, Bezymianny to determine the sensitivity of the algorithm to input parameters during eruption conditions, and Shishaldin to evaluate the detection of SO₂ during low level degassing. …

Trophic Relationships In An Arctic Marine Foodweb And Implications For Trace Element Dynamics, Larissa-A Dehn

Biological Sciences

Tissues of subsistence-harvested Arctic marine and terrestrial mammals and potential prey species were analyzed for isotopes of carbon and nitrogen and selected trace elements describing contaminant pathways in the food web. Feeding habits of ice seals were characterized using stable isotopes and gastric contents analysis. Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) relied on the benthic food chain. Zooplankton and fishes were significant prey for ringed seals (Phoca hispida), while fishes were the principal prey in spotted seals (Phoca largha). Gastric prey composition and isotope ratios varied with age and sex. Effects of age, trophic level, and prey prevalence on trace element concentrations …

Daily Heterogeneity In Habitat Selection By The Porcupine Caribou Herd During Calving, Rachel Rands Jones

Biological Sciences

Caribou exhibit scale-dependent habitat selection, but variance in daily habitat selection by the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH) has not been examined. Investigating temporal variance in habitat selection may clarify the time period when managers may accurately estimate calving-related habitat selection. Annually, 1992-1994, approximately 70 calves were radio-collared within 2 days of birth and relocated daily until departing the calving grounds. We used daily 99% fixed kernel utilization distributions (UD's) to estimate caribou distributions, then estimated daily habitat selection using logistic regression. Habitat variables included relative vegetation greenness, greening rate, landcover class, and elevation. Spatial scales of investigation included concentrated vs. …

Monitoring Stress Hormones In Rehabilitated And Captive Otariids, Lisa Petrauskas

Marine Biology

Cortisol and corticosterone are the primary mammalian stress hormones released in response to a perceived stressor. Cortisol is rapidly metabolized in the blood, while corticosterone is the dominant product in fecal material. Radioimmunoassay procedures to measure fecal corticosterone and serum cortisol in California sea lions were validated, and adrenal response to surgical and non-surgical procedures was assessed. Other objectives included seasonal and behavioral variability in fecal corticosterone concentrations in captive Steller sea lions, as well as adrenal response to various stressors of a rehabilitated Steller sea lion. There was a significant (P ... 0.05) adrenal response for rehabilitated California sea …

Analysis Of Uncertainty In Simulated Exchange Of Heat And Moisture At The Land-Atmosphere Interface, Mihailo Jankov

Atmospheric Sciences

Land surface models (LSMs) serve to describe the atmosphere-land surface exchange in numerical weather prediction models (NWPMs) and global circulation models (GCMs). The use of empirical soil and vegetation parameters in LSMs introduces uncertainty that propagates and affects predictions of the lower boundary conditions. To statistically assess that uncertainty in predicted evapotranspiration (water transport by direct evaporation from bare ground and canopy and transpiration by the canopy) and ground heat flux for natural ranges of atmospheric soil and vegetation conditions, the Gaussian Error Propagation method is utilized. The assessed uncertainties in direct and canopy water evaporation, transpiration and ground heat …

Evaluation Of The Hydro-Thermodynamic Soil-Vegetation Scheme On The Basis Of Observations And A Galerkin Type Finite Element Numerical Scheme, Balachandrudu Narapusetty

Atmospheric Sciences

The Hydro-Thermodynamic Soil- vegetation Scheme (HTSYS), coupled in a two-way mode with the PennState/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesoscale Meteorological Model generation 5 (MM5), has been evaluated for a 5 day typical snow-melt period using the Baltic Sea experiment meteorological data center's soil temperature, snow depth, and precipitation datasets. The HTSVS-MM5 evaluation investigates the coupled system's sensitivity to two cloud models and two radiation models, with their cross effects presented along with skill scores for snow depth changes. The coupled model satisfactorily predicts the soil temperature diurnal course cycles, changes in the snow depths, and accumulated precipitation. HTSVS's soil …

The Inkwell, Armstrong Atlantic State University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

Experimental Investigation Of Fiber-Reininforced Polymer Composite Bridge Deck Panel In Cold Regions, Usha Choppali

Engineering

To build highway bridges in cold regions like Alaska, cast-in-place concrete has been found to be difficult and expensive, especially in winter seasons. Decked Bulb-Tee bridge members can be heavy and the deck cannot be replaced. On the other hand, fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials offer a great opportunity in this area. The primary technical barrier to the use of composite materials in infrastructure applications is lack of data on environmental durability. The present study presents experimental load and strain results of a FRP composite panel that was subjected to cold temperatures. The FRP panel consists of an upper and …

Numerical Modeling And Remote Sensing To Determine Depths Of Lava Tubes And Buried Cylindrical Hot Sources, Antony Ray Berthelote

Geosciences

Estimating depths of buried lava tubes is important for determining the thermal budgets and effusion rates of certain volcanic systems. This research uses a laboratory experiment scaled to an observed lava tube system to measure the 3D temperature field surrounding a buried depth adjustable glass tube with hot honey flowing through it at varying conditions such as flow rate and temperature. Numerical techniques are used to model the laboratory experiment. The input parameters are then applied to non-laboratory situations. The surface thermal distributions from these models are analyzed to empirically derive a depth estimation function using regression techniques. This depth …

Pm Emission From A Commercial Jet Engine -- Project Apex, Donald E. Hagen, Philip D. Whitefield, Prem Lobo, Max B. Trueblood

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Project APEX (Aircraft Particle Emissions eXperiment) was a multi-agency commercial aircraft emission characterization and technology demonstration experiment. Its objective was to characterize particle and trace gas precursor species in the emissions from a NASA DC-8 aircraft with General Electric CFM56-2C1 engines at the engine exit plane as well as selected down stream locations. This was to advance the understanding of particle emissions and their evolution in the atmosphere from a current in-service turbofan engine. The test was conducted at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base California during April 15-30, 2004. Participants included the National Aeronautics …

2005-08-17 Unm News Minute, University Of New Mexico Communication And Marketing Department

UNM News Minute 2005

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Professional Expertise Through Reflection In The Principalship, Eric Mclaren

Publications & Research

The study of principals as learners is important because the landscape of public education is changing. Schools are becoming more diverse and the demands on schools more varied and complex. The role of the principal is increasingly ambiguous, complex, and varied. Principals must adapt and develop'their professional practice. Effective principals learn from experience to meet the shifting expectations of the role and the needs of the school.

Multiple learning experiences help principals become more proficient in their jobs. Initial certification, induction into the role, continuing professional education, and learning from experiences are means to the development of expertise. This study …

Sandspur, Vol 112, No 01, August 16, 2005, Rollins College

The Rollins Sandspur

Rollins College student newspaper, written by the students and published at Rollins College. The Sandspur started as a literary journal.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Company's Online Health And Safety Training Program By Assessing Its Employees Perceptions And Knowledge., Jo Nell Maynard Mullins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate a company’s online H & S training program. The ABC Company’s online 8-hr HAZWOPER refresher course is based on current OSHA standard topics required for certification and principles flexible to fit site- or task-specific situations and conditions.

An 18-question survey was used to evaluate employee perceptions of online training compared to traditional classroom training. Perceptions were compared by demographic variables (e.g. gender, position, race, age and longevity with the ABC Company), which suggested that only age had an influence on employee response. Fifty-five percent of the employees surveyed preferred online training as compared …

A Limit Theorem In Cryptography., Kevin Lynch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cryptography is the study of encryptying and decrypting messages and deciphering encrypted messages when the code is unknown. We consider Λ_π(Δx, Δy) which is a count of how many ways a permutation satisfies a certain property. According to Hawkes and O'Connor, the distribution of Λ_π(Δx, Δy) tends to a Poisson distribution with parameter ½ as m → ∞ for all Δx,Δy ∈ (Z/qZ)^m - 0. We give a proof of this theorem using the Stein-Chen method: As q^{m …}

Extensions Of The Cayley-Hamilton Theorem With Applications To Elliptic Operators And Frames., Alberto Mokak Teguia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Cayley-Hamilton Theorem is an important result in the study of linear transformations over finite dimensional vector spaces. In this thesis, we show that the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem can be extended to self-adjoint trace-class operators and to closed self-adjoint operators with trace-class resolvent over a separable Hilbert space. Applications of these results include calculating operators resolvents and finding the inverse of a frame operator.

The Interquartile Range: Theory And Estimation., Dewey Lonzo Whaley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interquartile range (IQR) is used to describe the spread of a distribution. In an introductory statistics course, the IQR might be introduced as simply the “range within which the middle half of the data points lie.” In other words, it is the distance between the two quartiles, IQR = Q₃ - Q₁. We will compute the population IQR, the expected value, and the variance of the sample IQR for various continuous distributions. In addition, a bootstrap confidence interval for the population IQR will be evaluated.

Potential Energy Surface Around The Tropylium Ion., Kenneth Wayne Bullins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The formation of the tropylium ion, C₇H₇⁺, in the mass spectrum of toluene is a chemical process that has been studied extensively in the past. The advances in computational power of personal computers have made the investigation of the pathway to form this ion and its subsequent decomposition feasible at a fairly high level of theory. The calculations that we performed were at the HF/6-31G (d, p) and the B3LYP/6-311++G (2d) levels. This work will show areas of the potential energy surface around the highly symmetric tropylium ion to give a glance of possible mechanisms …

Paired And Total Domination On The Queen's Graph., Paul Asa Burchett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Queen’s domination problem has a long and rich history. The problem can be simply stated as: What is the minimum number of queens that can be placed on a chessboard so that all squares are attacked or occupied by a queen? The problem has been expanded to include not only the standard 8x8 board, but any rectangular m×n sized board. In this thesis, we consider both paired and total domination versions of this renowned problem.