Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis And Insights From A Dynamical Model Of Nuclear Plant Safety Risk, Stephen Hess, Alfonso M. Albano, John Gaertner

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, we expand upon previously reported results of a dynamical systems model for the impact of plant processes and programmatic performance on nuclear plant safety risk. We utilize both analytical techniques and numerical simulations typical of the analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems to obtain insights important for effective risk management. This includes use of bifurcation diagrams to show that period doubling bifurcations and regions of chaotic dynamics can occur. We also investigate the impact of risk mitigating functions (equipment reliability and loss prevention) on plant safety risk and demonstrate that these functions are capable of improving risk to …

Do Rural Land Markets Increase Inequality? Evidence From A Chinese Province, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Using a 2001 provincial survey, we find that disparities in land-rights distribution have greatly increased in rural China, and the growth of land markets is directly responsible for that. The land markets tend to concentrate land in those who can more efficiently use it. This translates disparities in land-rights distribution to magnified inequality in farm income. However, such widening disparities caused by land markets have compensatory effects on overall rural inequality, as land markets tend to bring up families who would fall at the bottom of income distribution in the absence of such markets. Expansion of markets, in this case, …

Shifts In The Structure Of British Imperialism In The Mid To Late Victorian Period, Josiah J. Patrow

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Into Gamma-Ray And X-Ray Behavior In Supernovae And Related Phenomena, Steven David Rehn

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neutron And X-Ray Diffraction Studies On Praseodymium And Neodymium Rare Earth Phosphate Glasses, Mustafa M. Rajabali

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Community Besieged : A Comparison Of Local And National Television Coverage During The Red River Flood Of 1997, Aaron D. Quanbeck

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Web-Based Learning : Investigating The Role Of Visual Communication Strategies Between Students And Technology, Brandon J. Semler

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Athletes' Use Of Exercise Imagery During Weightlifting, Michael S. Silbernagel

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Calcium Kinetic Studies In Animal Models For Osteoporosis Using ⁴⁷Ca/⁴¹Ca Radiotracers, Jennifer Ann Sattler

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Diabetes Care In School : Enhancing Teachers Level Of Knowledge, Susan L. Lorenz

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Defining (Multiple) Selves: Stories From The Field, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The ‘Self’ in late-modernity is never singular but multiplies across different discourses, practices and positions. It is constructed through difference. It is only through a relation to the ‘Other’ that the ‘Self’ can be defined. This paper endeavours to map the endless negotiations of my ‘Self’ as male Australian academic of Chinese descent, a Malaysian citizen, a Bruneian resident, and an Indonesian specialist, over a period of fieldwork in Jakarta in 2004. It discusses how I defined my multiple ‘Selves’ to different individuals and communities, how they in turn defined me, and how these constructions were always shifting. Depending on …

Human Mental Models Of Humanoid Robots, Sau-Lai Lee, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Sara Kiesler, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Effective communication between a person and a robot may depend on whether there exists a common ground of understanding between the two. In two experiments modelled after human-human studies we examined how people form a mental model of a robot's factual knowledge. Participants estimated the robot's knowledge by extrapolating from their own knowledge and from information about the robot's origin and language. These results suggest that designers of humanoid robots must attend not only to the social cues that robots emit but also to the information people use to create mental models of a robot.

Developing A Strategy For Growth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Finland Using The Natural Church Development Approach Based On A Case Study In The Turku Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Aimo Helminen

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The growth of the Adventist Church in Finland stagnated in the mid 1980s and after that the membership of the church began to slowly decrease. There is a need to look at the past growth patterns of the church in Finland to discover the reasons for the present decline in membership and develop and implement a strategy for church growth.

Method

Current literature was reviewed, including books and articles on the principles and strategies of church growth. These were studied in the context of the Turku Church in order to determine if the principles in the Natural Church Development …

Revitalizing Youth Ministry: A Spiritual Strategy To Minister Effectively To The Millennial Generation, Gustavo Squarzon

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The number of young people dropping out of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has increased 50 percent in the last ten years. Fifty-seven percent of those who left indicated the primary reason was not doctrines or theological issues, but the lack of relevance of the church to their lifestyle, spiritual needs, and everyday challenges. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify the spiritual, emotional, and relational needs of a specific generation, such as the millennial; and to develop a biblical spiritual lifestyle strategy to help today’s churches to reach and effectively minister to the members of that generation.

Method …

Presenting The Gospel Message In Thailand, Khamsay Phetchareun

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

There are over 62,000,000 Buddhists in Thailand. Current Christian approaches to presenting the gospel message to Buddhist people in Thailand have not yielded satisfactory results. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has had negative growth during the past ten years. In addition to approaches currently utilized by Christians there is a need to develop more effective approaches to present the gospel in Thailand.

Method

Buddhist students at Mission College were chosen as a case study. A survey of Buddhist attitudes and a cultural analysis of Thailand form the basis for this strategy. Library research, questionnaires, interviews, and observations were all used …

A Contextual Analysis Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Norway, With Suggestions For Renewal And Growth, Kjell Aune

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Since 1979, when the membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norway peaked, the membership has declined. There are underlying, complex reasons. This project seeks the underlying causes for the decline, and suggests possible solutions.

Method

The study begins by establishing a theological basis for ministry. Norwegian society is then analyzed demographically followed by an analysis of the Adventist Church in Norway, that includes a historical and organizational analysis, a review of the database material for the Adventist Church in Norway, and by four questionnaires designed for (1) Active members, (2) Pastors, (3) Former members, and (4) Young non-Adventists …

Leadership Development In Albania: Equipping Young Pastors For Apostolic Leadership, Leigh Rice

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Albania opened to Christian missions in 1992. The church is new and the pastors are young and with limited experience. Initial rapid growth has been followed by slow decline. Leadership and leadership development is in the hands of foreign missionaries with limited experience in Albania. There is a need to develop culturally-appropriate, apostolic leadership for a country with a predominately Muslim population.

Method

Library research, questionnaires, interviews, and observations were conducted to develop an understanding of the Project Director, the Albanian culture, a theology of leadership and church, and methods in leadership development. An appreciative inquiry approach was used …

A Model For Reaching African American Males In Southeast Atlanta With Seventh-Day Adventism, Ralph P. Peay

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Churches in America are on average 60-70 percent female. Attracting and integrating African American males into church life is a grave challenge. This study focuses on African American males in Southeast Atlanta and seeks to design a model for addressing their sociological and spiritual needs in anticipation of their accession into church membership.

Method

The setting for this study is the Atlanta Boulevard Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southeast Atlanta. The method employed in this project is an exploratory research approach that is designed to identify the social, economic, and other needs of African American males. In order to ascertain …

Training Members In The Greenwich Seventh-Day Adventist Church Towards A More Effective Sharing Of The Gospel, Terry Messenger

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Britain is clergy dependant and as a result the Church is not growing as fast as it could be. Members of the Church are not proficient or confident in leading a person to Jesus.

The Method

A personal profile has been established so it can be seen that much of this project arises out of my own personality and spiritual characteristics. A profile of the Greenwich community as well as the church has been established through research, interviewing, and data gathering from kept records. A Task Force Team (TFT) has been set up …

Restoring Fallen Pastors: A Study On Restoring And Reinstating Clergy Who Have Been Involved In Sexual Misconduct, David Lawrence Bissell

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. Research among Evangelicals and Seventh-day Adventists shows that approximately 12 percent of pastors commit adultery while in the ministry. What happens to an Adventist pastor who commits adultery? The North American Division policies are straightforward. An adulterous pastor should lose his credentials and ordination, be disfellowshipped, and never be rehired by any church entity. However, administrative practices are not consistent with church guidelines. Often a fallen pastor is moved to another district without a lapse in the service record. Some are restored to ministry after having had a time out. This apparent discrepancy may be due to eroding standards …

Predicting Childhood Sexual Or Physical Abuse: A Logistic Regression Geo-Mapping Approach To Prevention, Roland K. Tadoum, Kamila Smolij, Michelle A. Lyn, Craig W. Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study investigates the degree to which gender, ethnicity, relationship to perpetrator, and geomapped socio-economic factors significantly predict the incidence of childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse and non- abuse. These variables are then linked to geographic identifiers using geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop a geo-mapping framework for child sexual and physical abuse prevention.

Using Technology To Teach Technology: Design And Evaluation Of Bilingual Online Physician Education About Electronic Medical Records, Sarah R. Edmonson, Adol Esquivel, Pallavi Mokkarala, Craig W. Johnson, Cynthia L. Phelps

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The "EMR Tutorial" is designed to be a bilingual online physician education environment about electronic medical records. After iterative assessment and redesign, the tutorial was tested in two groups: U.S. physicians and Mexican medical students. Split-plot ANOVA revealed significantly different pre-test scores in the two groups, significant cognitive gains for the two groups overall, and no significant difference in the gains made by the two groups. Users rated the module positively on a satisfaction questionnaire.

Sampling Analysis Of Tar And Particulate In The Producer Gas From Downdraft Gasifier, Srinivas Kolli

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Definition Of Disability In The Americans With Disabilities Act: Its Successes And Shortcomings: Proceedings Of The 2005 Annual Meeting, Association Of American Law Schools Sections On Employment Discrimination Law; Labor Relations And Employment Law; And Law, Medicine And Health Care, Sharona Hoffman, Paul Steven Miller, Chai R. Feldblum, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prenatal Stress And Stress Physiology Influences Human Fetal And Infant Development, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Calvin J. Hobel, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn, Pathik D. Wadhwa

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"Prenatal stress has been proposed as a risk factor that may have developmental consequences persisting throughout the lifespan. Exposing rodents to stress during pregnancy has consequences for brain development, stress regulation, learning, emotionality (increased anxiety), and social behavior (increased withdrawal) of the offspring (Weinstock, 2001; Chapillon et al., 2002). Additionally, non-human primates who experience stress during pregnancy have offspring with enhanced behavioral reactivity to stressors later in life (Clarke et al., 1994), lowered levels of motor behavior (Schneider, 1992), compromised neuromotor responses (Schneider and Coe, 1993), irritable temperament (Schneider et al., 1992), and attentional problems (Schneider et …

Extreme Rainfall In Texas: Patterns And Predictability, John W. Nielsen-Gammon, Fuqing Zhang, Andrew M. Odins, Boksoon Myoung

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Extreme rainfall, with storm total precipitation exceeding 500 mm, occurs several times per decade in Texas. According to a compositing analysis, the large-scale weather patterns associated with extreme rainfall events involve a northward deflection of the tropical trade winds into Texas, with deep southerly winds extending into the middle troposphere. One such event, the July 2002 South-Central Texas flood, is examined in detail. This particular event was associated with a stationary upper-level trough over central Texas and northern Mexico that established a steady influx of tropical moisture from the south. While the onset of the event was triggered by destabilization …

Rational Hyperholomorphic Functions In R4, Daniel Alpay, Michael Shapiro, Dan Volok

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We introduce the notion of rationality for hyperholomorphic functions (functions in the kernel of the Cauchy-Fueter operator). Following the case of one complex variable, we give three equivalent definitions: the first in terms of Cauchy-Kovalevskaya quotients of polynomials, the second in terms of realizations and the third in terms of backward-shift invariance. Also introduced and studied are the counterparts of the Arveson space and Blaschke factors.

Point Evaluation And Hardy Space On A Homogeneous Tree, Daniel Alpay, Dan Volok

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We consider stationary multiscale systems as defined by Basseville, Benveniste, Nikoukhah and Willsky. We show that there are deep analogies with the discrete time non stationary setting as developed by the first author, Dewilde and Dym. Following these analogies we define a point evaluation with values in a C*–algebra and the corresponding “Hardy space” in which Cauchy’s formula holds. This point evaluation is used to define in this context the counterpart of classical notions such as Blaschke factors.

Estimating Surface Wetness On Plants, R.D. Magarey, R.C. Seem, A. Weiss, T. Gillespie, L. Huber

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Plant surface (leaf, stem, petiole, etc) wetness or leaf wetness is an important agricultural weather variable for the prediction of plant diseases (Yarwood, 1978). The estimation of surface wetness has received considerable attention from a diverse group of scientists but unfortunately, no standard for measuring surface wetness has been widely accepted. Since surface wetness is not a true meteorological variable, as is temperature or precipitation, its measurement has not been routinely made as part of a general observation program by most national meteorological agencies. The main problem of not observing surface wetness on a routine basis has been the lack …

Organizational Behavior And Leadership, Steelman Library, Sheila A. Cornea

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.