Digital Commons Network^™

A Healthy Pregnancy Curriculum For Adolescent Mothers: Participants' Perceptions And Effects On Infants' Birth Weight, Rae Konjoian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in birth weight of infants, tobacco use during pregnancy, and Apgar scores of infants between pregnant adolescents who successfully complete a healthy pregnancy curriculum and those who do not and to further examine the adolescent mothers' perceptions of the major concepts included in a healthy pregnancy curriculum. The study involved the collection and analysis of retrospective data to determine differences in birth weight of infants, tobacco use during pregnancy, and Apgar scores of infants. Additionally, a questionnaire, focus group discussions, and follow-up interviews were conducted with former students …

Enhancing The Status Of Non-State Actors Through A Global War On Terror?, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

Soon after September 11, President Bush declared a global war on terrorism and members of terrorist groups "combatants." These declarations are not only generally inconsistent with international law; they also reverse the trend regarding the legal status of international non-state actors. For decades, law-abiding non-state actors, such as international humanitarian aid organizations, enjoyed ever-expanding rights on the international plane. Professor Schachter observed how this trend came at the expense of the nation-state. He also predicted, however, that the nation-state would not fade away any time soon. And, by the late Twentieth Century, the trend toward enhanced status was noticeably slowing. …

A Compact Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry System Using A Photopolymer Reflection Holographic Optical Element, Guntaka Tulasi Sridhar Reddy, Raghavendra Jallapuram, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin, Svetlana Mintova

Conference Papers

A simple and compact electronic speckle pattern interferometry system using a reflection holographic optical element is presented. The reflection holographic optical element is recorded on an acrylamide based photopolymer formulated and prepared at the Centre for Industrial & Engineering Optics. Light intensity of 40mW/cm2 with an exposure time of 60 seconds was used in fabricating the holographic optical element. The vibration mode patterns of a 4 cm diameter thin circular sheet of brass metal attached to a 4 cm diameter paper cone loud speaker are presented.

Impact Of Audio Text, Visual Text And Cueing On Cognitive Load And Performance, Nardina N. Mein

Wayne State University Dissertations

The focus of this study is to examine the effects of cognitive load theory, particularly the effects of redundancy and cueing, when learning from text and diagrams. A review of the literature on cognitive load and cueing is presented in three sections; the literature on split-attention and redundancy, studies investigating the modality effect, and literature of signaling or cueing related to performance and cognitive load in instructional design. In one experiment three hypotheses were tested; that novice participants would have lower cognitive load, higher recall and higher performance with a) cued text vs. plain text, b) audio text vs. visual …

Stochastic Learning Feedback Hybrid Automata For Dynamic Power Management In Embedded Systems, T. Erbes, S. K. Shukla, Pushkin Kachroo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

Dynamic power management (DPM) refers to the strategies employed at system level to reduce energy expenditure (i.e. to prolong battery life) in embedded systems. The trade-off involved in DPM techniques is between the reductions of energy consumption and latency suffered by the tasks. Such trade-offs need to be decided at runtime, making DPM an on-line problem. We formulate DPM as a hybrid automaton control problem and integrate stochastic control. The control strategy is learnt dynamically using stochastic learning hybrid automata (SLHA) with feedback learning algorithms. Simulation-based experiments show the expediency of the feedback systems in stationary environments. Further experiments reveal …

Effect Of Microstructure And Alloying Elements On The Resistance Of Fastener Grade Steels To Hydrogen Assisted Cracking , Nicholas E. Nanninga

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Fastener grade steels with varying alloy contents and heat treatments were employed to measure changes in resistance to hydrogen assisted cracking. The testing procedure compared notched tension specimens fractured in air to threshold stress values obtained during hydrogen charging, utilizing a rising step load procedure. Bainitic structures improved resistance by 10-20% compared to tempered martensite structures. Dual phase steels with a tempered martensite matrix and 20% ferrite were more susceptible and notch sensitive. High strength, fully pearlitic structures showed an improvement in resistance. Carbon content, per se, had no effect on the resistance of steel to hydrogen assisted cracking. Chromium …

Control Algorithms For Large Scale Adaptive Optics, Piotr Piatrou

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In this dissertation, the problem of creating effective large scale Adaptive Optics (AO) systems control algorithms for the new generation of giant optical telescopes is addressed. The effectiveness of AO control algorithms is evaluated in several respects, such as computational complexity, compensation error rejection and robustness, i.e. reasonable insensitivity to the system imperfections. The results of this research are summarized as follows:

1. Robustness study of Sparse Minimum Variance Pseudo Open Loop Controller (POLC) for multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO). The AO system model that accounts for various system errors has been developed and applied to check the stability and performance …

New Media Reading Strategy, Cheryl E. Ball

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation addresses the need for a strategy that will help readers new to new media texts interpret such texts. While scholars in multimodal and new media theory posit rubrics that offer ways to understand how designers use the materialities and media found in overtly designed, new media texts (see, e.g,, Wysocki, 2004a), these strategies do not account for how readers have to make meaning from those texts. In this dissertation, I discuss how these theories, such as Lev Manovich’s (2001) five principles for determining the new media potential of texts and Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen’s (2001) four …

Effectiveness Of A Nondestructive Evaluation Technique For Assessing Standing Timber Quality, Crystal L. Pilon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The research presented in this thesis was conducted to further the development of the stress wave method of nondestructively assessing the quality of wood in standing trees. The specific objective of this research was to examine, in the field, use of two stress wave nondestructive assessment techniques.

The first technique examined utilizes a laboratory-built measurement system consisting of commercially available accelerometers and a digital storage oscilloscope. The second technique uses a commercially available tool that incorporates several technologies to determine speed of stress wave propagation in standing trees.

Field measurements using both techniques were conducted on sixty red pine trees …

Beneficial Reuse And Sustainability: The Fate Of Organic Compounds In The Land-Applied Waste, M. R. Overcash, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims, K. C. Nieman

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Land application systems, also referred to as beneficial reuse systems, are engineered systems that have defined and permitted application areas based on site and waste characteristics to determine the land area size requirement. These terrestrial systems have orders of magnitude greater microbial capability and residence time to achieve decomposition and assimilation compared with aquatic systems. In this paper we focus on current information and information needs related to terrestrial fate pathways in land treatment systems. Attention is given to conventional organic chemicals as well as new estrogenic and pharmaceutical chemicals of commerce. Specific terrestrial fate pathways addressed include: decomposition, bound …

Mapping Of The Aicpa Core Competency Framework To The Skills Tested On The Cpa Exam., American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (Aicpa)

Examinations and Study

No abstract provided.

Aicpa Annual Report 2004-05; America Counts On Cpas, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants

AICPA Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Establishing An Entertainment Engineering Curriculum, Robert F. Boehm, Joe Aldridge, Brackley Frayer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

A new, multidisciplinary program in Entertainment Engineering and Design is being established at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The name of the program could be defined in a number of ways because few programs of this type exist and the field is so broad. Our emphasis is on the application of technology to enhance the entertainment value of live shows and rides. Steps being taken to establish this program are outlined, starting with an undergraduate minor and moving to an undergraduate major. The role of entertainment-based businesses in the development of this new program is also described.

Book Review Of The Process Of Legal Research, 6th Ed., Paul Hellyer

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Invariant Algorithm For Identification And Detection Of Multiple Gas Plumes And Weak Releases, Erin O'Donnell, David W. Messinger, Carl Salvaggio, John Schott

Articles

The ability to detect and identify gaseous effluents is a problem that has been pursued with limited success. It has been shown to bepossible using the Invariant algorithm on synthetic hyperspectralscenes with a strong single gas release. That however, is a veryspecific case and leaves room for further investigation. This studylooks at more realistic detection and release scenarios. Ourimplementation of the Invariant algorithm uses Singular ValueDecomposition (SVD) to select basis vectors from a subspace of targetgases in conjunction with a Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) to determine on a pixel by pixel basis how ``like" the target gas each pixel …

Spectral Imaging Using A Commercial Colour-Filter Array Digital Camera, Roy Berns, Lawrence Taplin, Mahdi Nezamabadi

Articles

A multi-year research programme is underway to develop and deliver spectral-based digital cameras for imaging cultural heritage at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The cameras will be used for documentation, production imaging, and conservation science. Three approaches have undergone testing: a liquid-crystal tunable filter (LCTF) coupled with a monochrome camera, a six-position filter wheel containing absorption filters coupled with a monochrome camera, and a two-position filter slider containing absorption filters coupled with a colour-filter array (CFA) colour camera. The last approach is the most practical as it uses conventional digital …

Evaluation Of A Modified Sinar 54m Digital Camera At The National Gallery Of Art, Washington Dc During April, 2005, Roy Berns, Lawrence Taplin

Articles

On April 26 – 27 2005, the RIT team brought their prototype Sinar 54M camera system to the National Gallery of Art’s Imaging Department. The team included Lawrence Taplin, Mitchell Rosen, and Roy Berns. RIT brought a spectroradiometer to measure the daylight fluorescent viewing illumination and if time allowed, NGA’s CRT display. They also brought a Macintosh G5 to control the camera and for image processing. NGA is using a production Sinar 54M. This enabled a direct comparison between NGA’s digital imaging workflow and the RIT workflow. Both cameras used the same lighting, Broncolor pulsed Xenon, lighting geometry, and photography …

Solving An Mri Spin Relaxometry Problem With Parallel Computing, Alan Kaminsky, Luke Mcomber

Articles

MRI spin relaxometry is the process of recovering the spin density spectrum from the time samples of the spin signal for each pixel of a magnetic resonance image. Since healthy tissue exhibits different spin relaxation rates from diseased tissue, MRI spin relaxometry potentially has utility for diagnosing disease. However, recovering the spin relaxation rates involves solving an inverse problem which requires substantial computation. The computation's running time can be reduced by processing the pixels in parallel on a parallel computer. A parallel program for solving the MRI spin relaxometry problem, SRSolve, was implemented in Java with MPI, its running time …

A Search For Molecular Gas In Ghz-Peaked Spectrum Radio Sources, Christopher P. O'Dea, Jack Gallimore, Carlo Stanghellini, Stefi A. Baum, James M. Jackson

Articles

We present searches for molecular gas (CO, OH, CS, and NH3) in six GHz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources. We do not detect gas in any source and place upper limits on the mass of molecular gas which are generally in the range ~10^9 to a few times 10^10 M⊙. These limits are consistent with the following interpretations: (1) GPS sources do not require very dense gas in their hosts, & (2) The GPS sources are unlikely to be confined by dense gas and will evolve to become larger radio sources (Refer to PDF file for exact formulas).

The Evolving Impact Of Institutional Repositories On Reference Librarians, Marianne Buehler, Adwoa Boateng

Articles

Purpose – The paper's purpose is to share the insights that the staff of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Libraries (Wallace Library, RIT Archives, and the Cary Collection) gained into the role of reference librarians in establishing and operating an institutional repository (IR).

Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducts a literature review on a range of published (1999-2005) works to research the background of IRs and to incorporate it with the authors' own experiences.

Findings – The research findings, involving implementing IRs and specifically the effect on the role of the reference librarian in academic libraries, were found to be …

Sobercamp 2005, Wendy Dimatteo

Articles

No abstract provided.

Geometric Modeling Of Engineered Abrasive Processes, Andres L. Carrano, James B. Taylor

Articles

One of the common issues that arises in abrasive machining is the inconsistency of the surface roughness within the same batch and under identical machining conditions. Recent advances in engineered abrasives have allowed replacement of the random arrangement of minerals on conventional belts with precisely shaped structures uniformly cast directly onto a backing material. This allows for abrasive belts that are more deterministic in shape, size, distribution, orientation, and composition. A computer model based on known tooling geometry was developed to approximate the asymptotic surface profile that was achievable under specific loading conditions. Outputs included the theoretical surface parameters, R^sub …

Loving Your Students - A Faculty Model For Today's Classroom, Anthony Trippe

Articles

This paper reviews research related to four recent business management models of charismatic and inspirational leadership. It goes on to select the key traits and behaviors of these leadership models for the workplace environment and use them as the foundation of a model for a loving faculty member. Like the business leader, the devoted, caring professor leads his engineering students in their quest for knowledge, growth and learning. Based upon peer-reviewed leadership research which reports the value and benefits of a caring, mentoring and loving leader in the business world, the loving professor will also be successful in meeting the …

Walt Whitman’S Temporary Autonomous Zone. , John Roche

Articles

No abstract provided.

Simple Light Slave Synchronizers, Andrew Davidhazy

Articles

The subject of setting off a flash in response to the light of another one is a problem that comes up from time to time in photographic situations. Here is a non-electronic description of how one might make "slave syncs" from scratch and whether they work or not hopefully have some fun in the process.

Breaking The Exposure Time Barrier!, Andrew Davidhazy

Articles

Most of the time there is a desire to make photographs of action events that do not exhibit any motion blur. But blur can be a beautiful thing and this brief article extolls the virtues of braking the sharpness convention

String Vibrations, Andrew Davidhazy

Articles

A little "fib" led to a photographic investigation of vibrating strings to be used as an illustration to go along with an article on the "String Theory". Again, proving that not all photographs need to be sharp to be effective.

Stressed Plastics By Polarization, Andrew Davidhazy

Articles

Many transparent objects, especially those made of plastic, although other materials behave similarly, change the character of an incident beam of light in a manner that is hardly visible to the naked eye. However, this property of can be used to produce some truly spectacular visual results.

The Impact Of Cultural Diversity On Web Site Design, Jack Cook, Mike Finlayson

Articles

Close your eyes. Envision a succulent two-inch slab of dripping-rare prime rib. Is your stomach rumbling, your appetite peaked, or are you offended since your fundamental belief system precludes harming animals? A single image or idea can create many diferent feelings or interpretations. Consider the diversity within your own organization, campus, or community. Does everyone agree on what is appropriate, acceptable, appetizing, or attractive? An image pleasing to one group of people may alienate or even seriously offend many others. Something as simple as color may elicit dramatically different mental images. For example, in the U.S., white is generally associated …

Investigating Alternatives To Rights: The Hungarian Constitutional Court And The Protection Of A Minimum Level Of Assistance, Graham Reynolds

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

In recent years, in the attempt to achieve “fiscal responsibility”, governments have decreased social assistance rates, reduced program eligibility, and terminated social services. As a result, more and more individuals have slipped into poverty. In order to prevent governments from cutting these services to below subsistence levels, this paper proposes that Canada take steps to achieve constitutional protection of a minimum level of assistance. The concept of a constitutionally protected minimum level of assistance has been considered. Most recently, advocates focused their efforts on achieving constitutional protection through the language of rights. However, both through the legislature and the judiciary, …