Digital Commons Network^™

Validity And Reliability Of The Turkish Version Of The Ferrans And Powers Quality Of Life Index Diabetes Version, Zeynep C. Ozer

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Falls And Depression In The Elderly Population, Mustafa Afifi, Nezire Kose

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Radio Frequency Identification Technology: Applications, Technical Challenges And Strategies, Suhong Li, John K. Visich, Basheer M. Khumawala, Chen Zhang

Management Department Faculty Journal Articles

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technology behind RFID systems, identify the applications of RFID in various industries, and discuss the technical challenges of RFID implementation and the corresponding strategies to overcome those challenges.

Design/methodology/approach - Comprehensive literature review and integration of the findings from literature. Findings - Technical challenges of RFID implementation include tag cost, standards, tag and reader selection, data management, systems integration and security. The corresponding solution is suggested for each challenge.

Research limitations/implications - A survey type research is needed to validate the results.

Practical implications - This research offers useful …

Meaning Maker, Kent Manske, Nanette Wilde, Preneo Press, Special Collections, Fleet Library

Artists' Books

volumes. "This is Art." Title from glassine envelope and each brochure. Seven single sheets (11 x 8 ¹/₂ inches), tri-folded, text on both sides, each sheet printed on a different color paper. Each folded sheet has a copyright date. Academic Conference Edition -- American Citizen Edition -- Art Viewing Edition -- Family Gathering Edition -- Higher Education Edition -- Periodic Personal Evaluation Edition -- Relationship to Nature Edition. "'Meaning Maker' is a guided interactive response structure tailored to specific styles of experience."--website. "PreNeo Press is the conceptual and collaborative space of Kent Manske and Nanette Wylde."--Press website. Gift of Laurie …

Play In The Joints Between The Religion Clauses' And Other Supreme Court Catachreses, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

Consistent with its fumbling of late when dealing with cases involving religion, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken to reciting the metaphor of play in the joints between the Religion Clauses. This manner of framing the issue before the Court presumes that the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses run in opposing directions, and indeed will often conflict. It then becomes the Court's task, as it sees it, to determine if the law in question falls safely in the narrows where there is space for legislative action neither compelled by the Free Exercise Clause nor prohibited by the Establishment Clause. The …

Determining Information Requirements For E-Business Systems From Activity Space To Information Space, Kecheng Liu, Lily Sun

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The study of information requirements for e-business systems reveals that the level of detail, granularity, format of presentation, and a broad range of information types are required for the applications. The provision of relevant information affects how e-business systems can efficiently support the business goals and processes. This paper presents an approach for determining information requirements for e-business systems (DIRES) which will allow the user to describe the core business processes, whose specification maps onto a business activity space. It further aids a configuration of information requirements into an information space. A case study of a logistics company in China …

A Collaborative Project Management Approach And A Framework For Its Supporting Systems, Fang Chen, Nicholas C. Romano Jr, Jay F. Nunamaker Jr

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The project management (PM) paradigm has changed during the past decade due to the globalization of business and advancement of information technology (IT). Increasingly, projects involve members from different geographical locations more than at any other time in history. Traditional PM methods may be inadequate to manage distributed projects, and new information systems are needed to support distributed PM. This article provides the rationale for a collaborative PM approach to manage distributed projects and proposes a conceptual framework for the collaborative PM software development. The objective is to present a collaborative PM framework that can guide further research and development …

An Artificial Intelligence Approach To International Market Screening Dss, Kelly E. Fish

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper applies artificial intelligence (AI) computing, Kohonan Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs), to the problem of international market selection (IMS). Broadly speaking, IMS can be summarized to consist of three stages a) screening stage, b) identification stage and, c) selection stage. The screening stage often employs some type of grouping technique so that firms can begin to view the potential markets in terms of similarities and differences over variables of interest. The underlying purpose is to screen out or eliminate markets that do not meet certain criteria established by the firm. Statistical techniques such as cluster analysis, discriminant analysis or factor …

Cross-Border It-Support For The Management Of International Subsidiary Operations: The Diffusion Of Innovations-Based Conceptual Model, Arto Ojala, Nazmun Nahar

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Rapid and effective internationalization has increasingly become important for high-tech companies. Establishing a foreign subsidiary can facilitate effective internationalization for a high-tech company. This study investigates how IT can provide cross-border support to manage international subsidiary operations and makes important theoretical contributions. The research results exhibit how companies can use cross-border IT-support to effectively share and utilize information from the target country environment for international subsidiary operations. This paper also introduces the diffusion of innovations-based conceptual model which deals with various factors that should be taken into account while operating a foreign subsidiary through IT support. The findings are useful …

Simulation Model And Analysis Of A Data Warehouse, Vikas Agrawal, Udayan Nandkeolyar, P.S. Sundararaghavan, Mesbah U. Ahmed

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Data warehouses are large complex systems with many interacting nonlinear components. It is an amalgamation of many different systems and integration of such diverse elements is its primary concern. It is often difficult for a data warehouse manager to predict the performance of the system especially when demand pattern for the required data keeps changing. We have developed a simulation model using ARENA simulation package that will simulate the behavior and performance of a data warehouse system environment based on its overall design. Given such a model, a data warehouse manager can walk through various what-if scenarios and can pinpoint …

A Framework For Agents Conducting E-Business In A Supply Chain, C.W. Leung, T.N. Wong, Domenic Sculli

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper describes the development of an agent-based framework that supports the purchasing function in supply chain management. The framework has been applied in a case situation for planned order releasing from a manufacturer’s materials requirement planning (MRP) system. The proposed framework incorporates a negotiation protocol that can effectively coordinate the negotiation process between a buyer agent and several supply agents, which may represent the manufacturer and its suppliers respectively. These agents negotiate according to their preferred strategies which aim to conclude a deal that achieves their own objectives. The implementation of the negotiation process involves considerations of the price …

Regional Economic Development Issues Within The Information And Communications Technology (Ict) Industry, James M. Henson

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This exploratory research was initiated to develop a computer-based interview tool that would help determine the factors that companies in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry consider a problem in regards to the economic environment within a local study region. Topics included the labor market and community issues, including costs of doing business and quality-of-life questions. A computer-based process was employed in telephone interviews to solicit and record responses from executives in ICT-related companies for the 197 cases that are included in this study. Descriptive data are presented along with a first-order and a second-order factor analysis.

Organizational Learning Stages Of Assimilation, Integration And Optimization And Their Relationship With User Satisfaction Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Edith Galy, Jane Lemaster

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Literature on organizational learning suggests that various processes have to occur in order for an organization to learn. This study provides empirical evidence for measuring organizational learning in three stages: assimilation, integration and optimization. A path model of organizational learning was tested establishing the significance and magnitude of the total effect of assimilation, integration and optimization on the satisfaction level of top information executives in firms with Enterprise Resource Planning systems. The model indicates that the optimization-satisfaction path is the strongest, followed by the integration-satisfaction path. Measuring and improving the factors composing organizational learning is essential for successful implementation of …

Interrelationships Among Language Skills, Externalizing Behavior, And Academic Fluency And Their Impact On The Academic Skills Of Students With Ed, J. Ron Nelson, Gregory J. Benner, Stern Neill, Scott A. Stage

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

There is growing interest in understanding the factors that influence the academic achievement of students with emotional disturbance (ED). Structural equation modeling was used to test the interrelationships among language skills, externalizing behavior, and academic fluency and their impact on the academic skills of students with ED. Results showed that language skills exerted a significant proximal effect and distal effect on academic skills. The effect of language skills was mediated through academic fluency (path coefficient = .389) but also had a proximal effect on academic skills (path coefficient = .359). However, externalizing behavior failed to have a statistically significant effect …

Coordinative Organization Of Lingual Propulsion During The Normal Adult Swallow, Erin M. Wilson, Jordan R. Green

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Lingual propulsion during swallowing is characterized by the sequential elevation of the anterior, middle, and dorsal regions of the tongue. Although lingual discoordination underlies many swallowing disorders, the coordinative organization of lingual propulsion during the typical and disordered swallow is poorly understood. The purpose of this investigation was to quantitatively describe the coordinative organization of lingual propulsion during the normal adult swallow. Tongue movement data were obtained from the X-Ray Microbeam Database at the University of Wisconsin. Movement of four pellets placed on specific tongue regions were tracked in 36 healthy adult participants while they swallowed 10 cc of water …

Negative Impact Of Noise On The Principal Component Analysis Of Nmr Data, Steven M. Halouska, Robert Powers

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Principal component analysis (PCA) is routinely applied to the study of NMR based metabolomic data. PCA is used to simplify the examination of complex metabolite mixtures obtained from biological samples that may be composed of hundreds or thousands of chemical components. PCA is primarily used to identify relative changes in the concentration of metabolites to identify trends or characteristics within the NMR data that permits discrimination between various samples that differ in their source or treatment. A common concern with PCA of NMR data is the potential over emphasis of small changes in high concentration metabolites that would over-shadow signifi …

Glucocorticoid Hormone Levels Increase With Group Size And Parasite Load In Cliff Swallows, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, Mary Bomberger Brown, John C. Wingfield, Charles R. Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Animals often cope with adverse events by releasing glucocorticoid hormones, which in turn promote increased energy assimilation. In captive animals, crowding also leads to increased glucocorticoid activity, probably because of increased levels of social competition. We investigated how group size and ectoparasite infestations affected endogenous levels of the glucocorticoid hormone, corticosterone, in colonial cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, in southwestern Nebraska, USA. Parasites were removed from some colonies by fumigating nests. Baseline levels of corticosterone in breeding adults varied significantly with whether parasites were present, colony size (measured by total number of active nests at a site), and nesting stage. …

Nonparametric Estimation Of Natural Selection On A Quantitative Trait Using Mark-Recapture Data, Olivier Gimenez, Rita Covas, Charles R. Brown, Mark D. Anderson, Mary Bomberger Brown, Thomas Lenormand

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Assessing natural selection on a phenotypic trait in wild populations is of primary importance for evolutionary ecologists. To cope with the imperfect detection of individuals inherent to monitoring in the wild, we develop a nonparametric method for evaluating the form of natural selection on a quantitative trait using mark-recapture data. Our approach uses penalized splines to achieve flexibility in exploring the form of natural selection by avoiding the need to specify an a priori parametric function. If needed, it can help in suggesting a new parametric model. We employ Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling in a Bayesian framework to estimate …

A Coprological View Of Ancestral Pueblo Cannibalism Debate Over A Single Fecal Fossil Offers A Cautionary Tale Of The Interplay Between Science And Culture, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

As the object of my scientific study, I’ve chosen coprolites. It’s not a common choice, but to a paleonutritionist and archaeoparasitologist, a coprolite—a sample of ancient feces preserved by mineralization or simple drying—is a scientific bonanza. Analysis of coprolites can shed light on both the nutrition of and parasites found in prehistoric cultures. Dietary reconstructions from the analysis of coprolites can inform us about, for example, the origins of modern Native American diabetes. With regard to parasitology, coprolites hold information about the ancient emergence and spread of human infectious disease. Most sensational, however, is the recent role of coprolite analysis …

Analytical Solutions For The Electromagnetic Fields Of Tightly Focused Laser Beams Of Arbitrary Pulse Length, Scott M. Sepke, Donald Umstadter

Donald Umstadter Publications

The analytical solution for a monochromatic focused laser beam was recently published [Opt. Lett. 31, 1447 (2006)]. The effect of introducing bandwidth by including a finite-length temporal pulse envelope is included exactly. This is done formally first in the frequency domain for an arbitrary pulse shape, and the specific case of a cosine-squared envelope is then solved analytically for all pulse lengths, thereby decreasing the computation time by 2 orders of magnitude. The inclusion of longer wavelengths reduces the fraction of laser energy in the focus from 86.5% to 83.5% for a 5 fs Ti:sapphire laser and 72.7% in a …

Exact Analytical Solution For The Vector Electromagnetic Field Of Gaussian, Flattened Gaussian, And Annular Gaussian Laser Modes, Scott M. Sepke, Donald Umstadter

Donald Umstadter Publications

The exact vector integral solution for all the electromagnetic field components of a general flattened Gaussian laser mode is derived by using the angular spectrum method. This solution includes the pure and annular Gaussian modes as special cases. The integrals are of the form of Gegenbauer’s finite integral and are computed analytically for each case, yielding fields satisfying the Maxwell equations exactly in the form of quickly converging Fourier–Gegenbauer series.

The Problem Of Secular Sacredness: Ronald Dworkin, Michael Perry, And Human Rights Foundationalism, Ari Kohen

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The concept of human rights ultimately rests on the premise that there are some things that ought to be done for human beings and other things that ought not to be done to human beings in light of the fact that they are human. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these rights stem from the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” (Ishay 1997: 407). Some would argue that this notion has its roots in the natural law and natural rights tradition that is an important …

Determination Of Diphacinone Residues In Hawaiian Invertebrates, Thomas M. Primus, Dennis J. Kohler, John J. Johnston

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatographic analysis combined with a solid-phase extraction clean-up method is used to assess the quantity of diphacinone residue found in invertebrates. Three invertebrate species are exposed to commercially available diphacinone-fortified bait used for rat control. The invertebrate samples are collected, frozen, and shipped to the laboratory. The samples are homogenized after cryogenic freezing. A portion of the homogenized samples are extracted with acidified chloroform–acetone, followed by cleanup with a silica solid-phase extraction column. Diphacinone is detected by UV absorption at 325 nm after separation by the chromatographic system. The method limit of detection (MLOD) for snail …

Developing And Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract, Michele Schoeneberger, Gary Bentrup, Charles A. Francis, Richard Straight

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Conclusions

Based on the practical community applications of woody buffe rs and multifuncti onal areas that grew from the ini tial concepts ofecobelts. we are convinced that this type of initiative is a viable option in establishing a positive interface between different types of human activities. The challenge becomes more real every day, as cities expand and both city-edge subdivisions and acreages create ever more interfaces between people with different and often con!1icting activities and basic values. There is a need to provide some logical and acceptable boundary between these people and their different lifestyles. It is also desirable to …

All Parents Are To Blame (Except This One): Global Versus Specific Attitudes Related To Parental Responsibility Laws, Eve M. Brank, Stephanie A. Hays, Victoria Weisz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Increasing state legislation and media interest give the appearance of public support for parental responsibility laws; however, some national polls suggest otherwise. Based on disparate global and specific attitudes in other areas of the criminal justice literature, it was hypothesized that relatively weak global support for parental responsibility would be diminished even more if a specific juvenile was described. The current studies confirmed that participants were even less supportive of parental responsibility laws when a specific juvenile and his parents were described than they were when they answered questions about parents in general.

Differentiating Phonotactic Probability And Neighborhood Density In Adult Word Learning, Holly L. Storkel, Jonna Armbrüster, Tiffany Hogan

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to differentiate effects of phonotactic probability, the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence, and neighborhood density, the number of words that sound similar to a given word, on adult word learning. A second purpose was to determine what aspect of word learning (viz., triggering learning, formation of an initial representation, or integration with existing representations) was influenced by each variable.
Method: Thirty-two adults were exposed to 16 nonwords paired with novel objects in a story context. The nonwords orthogonally varied in phonotactic probability and neighborhood density. Learning was measured following 1, 4, …

A Continuous 250,000 Yr Record Of Oxygen And Carbon Isotopes In Ostracode And Bulk-Sediment Carbonate From Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho, Walter E. Dean, Jordon Bright, Darrell S. Kaufman, Richard M. Forester

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Oxygen and carbon isotopes from a continuous, 120-m-long, carbonate-rich core from Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho, document dramatic fluctuations in the hydrologic budget of the lake over the last 250,000 yr. Isotopic analyses of bulk sediment samples capture millennialscale variability. Ostracode calcite was analyzed from 78 levels, mainly from the upper half of the core where valves are better preserved, to compare the isotopic value of purely endogenic carbonate with the bulk sediment, which comprises both endogenic and detrital components. The long core exhibits three relatively brief intervals with abundant endogenic aragonite (50±10%) and enriched δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C. …

A Method For Mapping Corn Using The Us Geological Survey 1992 National Land Cover Dataset, S. K. Maxwell, J. R. Nuckols, M. H. Ward

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Long-term exposure to elevated nitrate levels in community drinking water supplies has been associated with an elevated risk of several cancers including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, colon cancer, and bladder cancer. To estimate human exposure to nitrate, specific crop type information is needed as fertilizer application rates vary widely by crop type. Corn requires the highest application of nitrogen fertilizer of crops grown in the Midwest US.We developed a method to refine the US Geological Survey National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) (including map and original Landsat images) to distinguish corn from other crops. Overall average agreement between the resulting corn and other …

Use Of Mammal Manure By Nesting Burrowing Owls: A Test Of Four Functional Hypotheses, Matthew D. Smith, Courtney J. Conway

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Animals have evolved an impressive array of behavioural traits to avoid depredation. Olfactory camouflage of conspicuous odours is a strategy to avoid depredation that has been implicated only in a few species of birds. Burrowing owls, Athene cunicularia, routinely collect dried manure from mammals and scatter it in their nest chamber, in the tunnel leading to their nest and at the entrance to their nesting burrow. This unusual behaviour was thought to reduce nest depredation by concealing the scent of adults and juveniles, but a recent study suggests that manure functions to attract arthropod prey. However, burrowing owls routinely …

Comprehensive Genetic Analyses Reveal Evolutionary Distinction Of A Mouse (Zapus Hudsonius Preblei) Proposed For Delisting From The Us Endangered Species Act, Tim L. King, John F. Switzer, Cheryl L. Morrison, Michael S. Eackles, Colleen C. Young, Barbara A. Lubinski, Paul Cryan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Zapus hudsonius preblei, listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), is one of 12 recognized subspecies of meadow jumping mice found in North America. Recent morphometric and phylogenetic comparisons among Z. h. preblei and neighbouring conspecifics questioned the taxonomic status of selected subspecies, resulting in a proposal to delist the Z. h. preblei from the ESA. We present additional analyses of the phylogeographic structure within Z. hudsonius that calls into question previously published data (and conclusions) and confirms the original taxonomic designations. A survey of 21 microsatellite DNA loci and 1380 base pairs from two mitochondrial …