Digital Commons Network^™

Samats : Semi-Automated Modelling And Texturing System, Joe Hegarty

Masters

The creation of detailed 3D (three-dimensional) building models has become an area of considerable research over the last couple of decades. The accurate modelling of buildings offers LBS (Location Based Services) applications in planning, cultural heritage, tourism and e-commerce among others. The approach taken by the majority of contemporary modelling systems that use terrestrial imagery taken from arbitrary locations requires the user to carry out manual correspondences across the image set. These correspondences are used for two purposes. Firstly, the correspondences are used to determine the exterior orientation parameters (position and orientation) of the cameras used to capture each image. …

Assessing The Ssrn-Based Law School Rankings, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

One noteworthy feature of the SSRN-based rankings is the high correlation between them and other rankings. Black and Caron report correlation coefficients between their two Social Science Research Network (SSRN) school rankings (one based on downloads from SSRN and one based on the number of papers posted on SSRN) and six other published rankings. The correlations provide a useful and creative measure of consistency across studies. If ranking studies are highly correlated, then the least expensive and most efficient study to conduct can be used without incurring the expense and delay of the more labor-intensive ranking methods. SSRN has a …

An Empirical Analysis Of Ceo Employment Contracts: What Do Top Executives Bargain For?, Stewart J. Schwab, Randall S. Thomas

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

What Do We Value? Research On Technology Education Problems, Issues, And Standards In The United States, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Technology education has seen significant changes since the early 1990's. The paradigm shift from industrial arts has been widely received. Communication tools have merged the global community and standards have helped unify content. While many of these changes have been positive, there are compelling calls for research to support technology education practice. How are we addressing this need? More importantly, is the research we are conducting adding value to technology education practice? This study presents a review and synthesis of published research, as well as graduate research, to address these questions. Specifically, research that has addressed recognized problems and issues …

A Holistic Self-Identity Model, Jacquelyne R. Joens

Graduate Research Papers

Parents, educators, business leaders, political leaders, and mental health professionals all appreciate the impact positive self-esteem has on a person's ability to strive and grow. Self-esteem is a complex, multifaceted component of human existence. It is possible to identify and observe the result of a healthy self-esteem or even the outcome of a damaged self-esteem, but the term self-esteem may be antiquated and no longer exemplary of a complete picture of self. This paper examines research and attempts to define a multi-dimensional model of self-esteem, a Holistic Self-Identity Model, which will help to bring into focus the concept of self-identity …

Investigating The Male-Driven Evolution Hypothesis Using Human AluRepeat Elements, Sridhar Ramachandran

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Thousands of copies of short interspersed repeats (SINEs) are scattered essentially ran-domly through the human genome. Although copies of each repeat subfamily are identical at the time of their insertion, they become subject to individual substitutions after insertion. As the relative time of insertion is known for many of these repeats, such "junk DNA" can be used to provide a sizeable number of time-series data points for studying substitution effects in a variety of genomic contexts. This dissertation specifically discusses the usefulness of the Alufamily of SINE repeats towards addressing open problems in genomics, population genetics, and biology in …

A Computational Framework For Analyzing Chemical Modification And Limited Proteolysis Experimental Data Used For High Confidence Protein Structure Prediction, Paul E. Anderson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Prediction of protein tertiary structure based on amino acid sequence is one of the most challenging open questions in computational molecular biology. Experimental methods for protein structure determination remain relatively time consuming and expensive, and are not applicable to all proteins. While a diverse array of algorithms have been developed for prediction of protein structure from amino acid sequence information, the accuracy and reliability of these methods are not yet comparable to experimental structure determination techniques. Computational models of protein structure can, however, be improved by the incorporation of experimental information. Relatively rapid and inexpensive protein modification experiments can be …

Rapid Prototyping Of Microfluidic Packages, Michael Pepper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the area of MEMS there exists a tremendous need for communication between the micro-device and the macro world. A standard protocol or at least multiple standards would be of great use. Electrical connections have been standardized for many uses and configurations by the integrated circuit industry. Standardization in the IC industry has created a marketplace for digital devices unprecedented. In addition to the number of "off the shelf" products available, there exists the possibility for consumers to mix and match many devices from many different manufacturers. This research proposes some similar solutions as those for integrated circuits for fluid …

Mgt 4340 : Strategic Quality Management, Business

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Journey To The Center Of The Core: Computers And The Internet In The Core Curriculum, Jorge Pérez, Meg C. Murray

Faculty Articles

Computers, digitalization and the Internet have transformed modern society. Commerce, education, communication and socialization will never be the same. Surprisingly, many universities do not require a computing course in the core curriculum. Critical information technology (IT) competencies are often taken for granted, to the detriment of students who lack computing and Internet skills. This paper describes an initiative undertaken by a computer science and information systems department to assess and remediate IT skills needed by all university students, regardless of major. The project is evolving along several dimensions: identification of discipline-independent IT competencies, assessment of IT skills among current and …

Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition Through Synthetic Learning Experiences: Implementing Virtual Field Trips Into Classrooms, Alicia Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Synthetic Learning Environment (SLE) the Virtual Field Trip (VFT) was designed to increase vocabulary acquisition and knowledge by utilizing simulation based technologies and leveraging sound educational findings. Vocabulary acquisition is considered a prerequisite to becoming a good reader and therefore a critical predictor of academic and lifelong success for early learners, however, teachers report that students lack the real world knowledge required for vocabulary knowledge. The VFT provides a meaningful context for anchored and situated instruction. Second grade students were assigned to either use the VFT or to listen to stories read aloud by a researcher on a video …

Experimental Techniques For Nonlinear Material Characterization: A Nonlinear Spectrometer Using A White-Light Continuum Z-Scan, Mihaela Balu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this dissertation is to introduce and demonstrate a new method for the rapid determination of the nonlinear absorption spectra and the dispersion of the nonlinear refraction of optical materials in the visible and near IR spectral regions. However, conventional methods like, white-light continuum pump-probe and Z-scan techniques were used to measure the peak 2PA cross-sections for a number of commercially available photoinitiators. In the new method mentioned above, a high energy, broadband femtosecond white-light continuum is used to replace the single wavelength source conventionally used in a Z-scan experiment. In a Z-scan experiment, the transmittance of …

The Effect Of School Culture On Science Education At An Elementary School: An Ethnographic Case Study, Lori Meier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic case study investigated one elementary school to understand how the school's culture influenced its science curriculum design and instruction. The main data was formal and informal semi-structured interviews with key teachers to understand their values, beliefs, practices, materials, and problems with science instruction. To triangulate these data, the researcher observed classroom practice, school-wide activities, and collected artifacts and documents. Data were analyzed using a theoretical framework that emphasizes that culture cannot be reduced to beliefs, values, practices, materials or problems, but rather each aspect of culture is interdependent and mutually reinforcing. The main finding suggests that the school's …

An Examinition Of Competencies, Roles, And Professional Development Needs Of Community College Distance Educators Who Teach Mathematics, Falecia Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the perceptions of both distance education administrators and faculty who teach mathematics online in a Florida community college setting with regard to the relative importance of core competencies and roles in teaching online courses and the need for professional development that is supportive of these competencies and roles. The perceptions of administrators and online faculty for level of importance indicated for core competencies and skill area needs for faculty development when teaching an online course were examined. Results of these perceptions by group were re-examined in relation to gender, age, ethnicity, years of community college teaching experience, …

Analysis Of Aircraft Arrival Delay And Airport On-Time Performance, Yuqiong Bai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While existing grid environments cater to specific needs of a particular user community, we need to go beyond them and consider general-purpose large-scale distributed systems consisting of large collections of heterogeneous computers and communication systems shared by a large user population with very diverse requirements. Coordination, matchmaking, and resource allocation are among the essential functions of large-scale distributed systems. Although deterministic approaches for coordination, matchmaking, and resource allocation have been well studied, they are not suitable for large-scale distributed systems due to the large-scale, the autonomy, and the dynamics of the systems. We have to seek for nondeterministic solutions for …

Ursinus Magazine, Winter 2006, Wendy Greenberg, Meaghan Nelsen, Carol C. Cirka, Steven Bowers, Jill Yamma, Patricia R. Schroeder, Jenn Diamond, David Chamberlain, Patti Galupo

Ursinus Magazine, 1995–Present

The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art calendar • Bomberger Hall is taking its place this spring • Alumni forum • Alumni Advantage for legacy families • Gift of sculpture graces Ninth Avenue entry • Student / faculty achievement • Fred Klee: Building relationships • Transitions • New faculty • In memoriam: Richard P. Richter, President Emeritus 1931-2005 • The new business class • Field day • Turf field dedication • Catch of the day • Restoration: How Hurricane Katrina saved my family • Class notes • Ursinus College inducts seven into Hall of Fame for Athletes • Alumnus …

The $7 Trillion Question: Mutual Funds & Investor Welfare - Alternative Structures And Strategies For Investors, Richard A. Booth, Michael Degeorge, Joseph Hardiman, Henry Hu

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Open-Ocean Carbon Monoxide Photoproduction, Aron Stubbins, Günther Uher, Cliff S. Law, Kenneth Mopper, Carol Robinson, Robert C. Upstill-Goddard

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Sunlight-initiated photolysis of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is the dominant source of carbon monoxide (CO) in the open-ocean. A modelling study was conducted to constrain this source. Spectral solar irradiance was obtained from two models (GCSOLAR and SMARTS2). Water-column CDOM and total light absorption were modelled using spectra collected along a Meridional transect of the Atlantic ocean using a 200-cm pathlength liquid waveguide UV-visible spectrophotometer. Apparent quantum yields for the production of CO (AQY_CO) from CDOM were obtained from a parameterisation describing the relationship between CDOM light absorption coefficient and AQY_CO and the CDOM spectra collected. …

Effects Of Salinity Changes On The Photodegradation And Ultraviolet-Visible Absorbance Of Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Matter, E. C. Minor, J. Pothen, B. J. Dalzell, H. Abdulla, K. Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We performed laboratory studies to determine the effects of salinity on the photodegradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia, an important source of terrestrial DOM to the lower Chesapeake Bay. Samples were created by mixing Great Dismal Swamp water (ionic strength approximate to 0 mol L^-1) with modified artificial seawater solutions of differing salinities while keeping the final dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration constant. These samples were then irradiated for 24 h in a light box providing ultraviolet (UV) light similar to that of natural sunlight. Light absorbance and DOC concentrations decreased after …

Lithofacies, Architecture And Sequence Stratigraphic Interpretation Of The Upper Pennsylvanian Indian Cave Sandstone, Northern Midcontinent Shelf, U.S.A. (Southeastern Nebraska)., Steven A. Fischbein

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Virgilian “Indian Cave Sandstone” (ICS) is herein redefined as at least four incised valley fills (IVFs) of at least two different ages. These IVFs are composed of irregularly bounded, tabular-lenticular units of trough cross-bedded sandstone, grading vertically into tabular-lenticular units of mudstone-and-sandstone-dominated heterolith. Three IVFs, wider (< 2 km) than they are deep (> 30 m), are composed of multiple storeys grading upward from fluvial-to-estuarine facies to upper-estuarine facies. Storey boundaries are delineated by bounding surfaces underlying conglomerates with heterolithic clasts. One IVF (Honey Creek, NE) is smaller than the others, (> 0.5 km wide and > 25 m deep) and appears to be composed of a …

Raising Edith: The Transformation Of A New Generation University: Edith Cowan University 1995-2005, Ken Spillman

Research outputs pre 2011

Adaptation is an important theme in ECU's history between 1995 and 2005, but the university's transmutation in that decade was revolutionary as well as evolutionary. Organisational reform was deliberate, broad, swift and consequential. It was accomplished in the face of significant resistance. The impact was measurable. ECU was ineradicably altered by means of a change management operation which, in the strictly corporate world, might well be described as 'reengineering'- a radical redesign process to 'achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance'.²

Shirley Ottman V. Kenneth Baldwin And Collette Baldwin : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (1996–2006)

No abstract provided.

Through The Looking Glass: Judicial Deference To Academic Decision-Making, Douglas K. Rush

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This paper will review the statutory mandates of Section 504 and the ADA and examine the extent to which courts are willing to defer to institutional decisions concerning program modifications to accommodate learning disabled students. Courts have long recognized that academic decision-makers are entitled to deference, especially when their decisions concern issues related to educational programs. Courts must be vigilant, however, to properly weigh their role as the enforcers of Congressional legislation against the judicial policy of deference to academic decisions. Section I of this article will review the federal statutory and regulatory frameworks governing disability accommodations as they relate …

Undergraduate Catalog, 2006-2007, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Masakazu Shiba, Shizue F. Shiba, Riye Shiba Marital And Family Trust, Masazo Shiba Maital And Family Trust V. Toshiro Shiba, Jean O. Shiba, Seiji Shiba, Della Kono Shiba, Ronald And Natsuye Nishijima, Toshiro Shiba, Riye Shiba Marital And Family Trust, Masazo Shiba Marital And Family Trust : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (1996–2006)

Appeal from the Judgment of the Fourth Judicial District Court, County of Utah, State of UtahThe Honorable James R. Taylor

Richard And Nancy Madsen V. Washington Mutual Bank : Reply Brief, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (1996–2006)

APPEAL FROM THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF SALT LAKE, STATE OF UTAH HONORABLE LEON A. DEVER, JUDGE

John K. Crowley V. Chris Black : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (1996–2006)

No abstract provided.

On State-Dependent Delay Partial Neutral Functional–Differential Equations, Eduardo Hernandez M., Mark A. Mckibben

Mathematics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Plant Paleoecology Of The Late Devonian Red Hill Locality, North-Central Pennsylvania, An Archaeopteris-Dominated Wetland Plant Community And Early Tetrapod Site., Walter L. Cressler Iii

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

The Late Devonian Red Hill locality in north-central Pennsylvania contains an Archaeopteris-dominated plant fossil assemblage, a diverse fossil fauna, and an extensive sedimentary sequence ideal for investigating the landscapes and biotic associations of the earliest forest ecosystems. Sedimentological analysis of the main plantfossil bearing layer at Red Hill indicates that it was a fl ood-plain pond. A seasonal wet-and-dry climate is indicated by well-developed paleovertisols. The presence of charcoal interspersed with plant fossils indicates that fi res occurred in this landscape.Fires appear to have primarily affected the fern Rhacophyton. The specifi city of the fires, the distribution profi …

Continued Fractions And Generalizations With Many Limits: A Survey, Douglas Bowman, James Mclaughlin

Mathematics Faculty Publications

There are infinite processes (matrix products, continued fractions, (r, s)-matrix continued fractions, recurrence sequences) which, under certain circumstances, do not converge but instead diverge in a very predictable way. We give a survey of results in this area, focusing on recent results of the authors.