Digital Commons Network^™

Mix Design For A Concrete Canoe, Ryan Thomas Christensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Each year the American Society of Civil Engineers sponsors a concrete canoe competition. This paper details the work performed by Ryan Christensen for the 2006 concrete canoe competition. His primary focus was on formulating a concrete mix to be used for the Utah State University canoe. Basic information regarding the building and design of concrete canoes is also presented. Finally, general competition results for 2006 are presented for the Utah State University canoe team.

"A Lean Accounting Curriculum", Jake Lewis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper is written as a part of my honors thesis. My objective for my thesis was to develop a curriculum to be used in the classroom here at Utah State University, on the subject of lean accounting. This curriculum includes a set of lecture slides, selection of an assigned textbook, a case study assignment, and a DVD. Also compiled were several other optional materials that may be used as supplements to the aforementioned set of materials or as a means to briefly cover lean accounting in another course if so desired. This paper contains a brief summary of lean …

Moving Object Tracking: Seeking Extensible Solutions, Jeremy Pack

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Moving object tracking is a difficult field with no "best" solution. The documents contained here detail software that was developed in order to perform tracking of objects that are in the line of sight of multiple cameras. Some of the software developed is already in use by the US Army Dugway Proving Ground. Other software represents prototype or early development code. This software was written by Jeremy Pack, who was the lead programmer, and Luke Andrew at the Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah.

Hearing Nothing, Brittany Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Utah State prides itself in its services for students, but recently those services have made negative headlines. Deaf students have filed a lawsuit against the university complaining about the lack of sign language interpreters. But some complain that they are still hearing or seeing no response.

For my Thesis Project, I produced a documentary highlighting the problem both here on our campus, and on a statewide and even nationwide level. I researched the issues, conducted interviews, wrote the script, taped all video and edited the video. The 20 minute documentary was shown publicly on campus in an effort to make …

Amphibian Colonization Of New Habitat : "If You Build It, They Will Come"., Piper Lee Roby-Thomas 1977-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, Wilson Creek running through Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in central Kentucky was restored to its original winding path through a valley field. Early 20th century settlers had previously redirected this creek to run a straight path along the eastern hillside in order to maximize the valley for farming. As part of the restoration to its pre-settler path, seven ponds were created in the corridor of the old streambed, which created habitat for pond-breeding amphibians. Sampling began one year after construction was complete, and over two years the amphibian assemblages of these ponds were compared to those of …

Design Of An Interface For A Decision Support System For Dairy Collection., Charles Milan Braidich 1983-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based tool that extends an operator's cognitive abilities and makes him more effective in decision-making situations. This thesis discusses the characteristics and historical applications of decision support systems. It also discusses the contexts, operator requirements, and policies surrounding a SS for dairy security; in this instance security includes both the physical security of the product and the integrity of the data concerning the product. Finally, this thesis discusses the methodology and resulting design of the DSS for dairy security. Specific tools and considerations involved in the design include the human centered design cycle …

Analysis Of Nmr Spectra Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques., Jason Aaron Gearheart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since its development, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has become one of the primary methods of chemists for structure elucidation, which is the determination of a compound's molecular structure. Current software packages enable scientists to visualize the raw data produced by the spectrometer so that they can manually determine a compound's component parts. This is accomplished by manually comparing the spectrum of the mixture with various reference materials believed to be present. But these software packages can be expanded to do even more. It is the purpose of this thesis to provide an automated analysis package capable of analyzing a mixture …

Animal Experiment (Rabbit) To Demonstrate Changes In Trabecular Bone Mechanical Properties Over Time Using Finite Element Analysis., Shuo Yang 1974-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Decreased strength of trabecular bone is a direct effect of osteoporosis, which can be evaluated by finite element analysis. However, computational limitations have restricted previous trabecular bone analyses primarily to the linear domain. In addition, previous work was largely invasive and the corresponding finite element models were typically homogeneous. Nonlinear heterogeneous finite element analysis was used to calculate trabecular bone apparent strength directly from in vivo micro computational tomography (micro-CT) scans. Through a series of validation experiments, it was shown that this nonlinear modeling is more accurate in evaluating trabecular bone mechanics in osteoporosis than previous work. A parameter driven …

After-Schools Programs And Their Influence On Parent Involvement With Children At Home, Marci Malone

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Eight-year-old Victoria, with hands on hips and chin stuck up, defiantly said, "No mom, I want to stay for After-School Club. I don't care about the dentist." Her mother patiently responded by telling Victoria, "I know you want to stay but we have to leave now or we will be late for our appointment." The little girl, seeming to know from experience that her mother would not budge, stomped her foot as she began leaving the school saying, "I hate when I have to miss After-School Club!"

Foster Parents' Reasons For Fostering And Foster Family Utilization, Kathryn Rhodes, Mary Ellen Cox, John G. Orme, Tanya Coakley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Better utilization of foster families might be linked to parents' reasons for fostering. This study used data from the National Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents to examine relationships between reasons for fostering and types of services and length of service foster parents provide. Top reasons for fostering were child-centered. The least endorsed reasons were self-oriented. Those who fostered to help children with special problems were more likely to have a child placed, had more children, and had fostered more types of special needs children. Parents who fostered because their children were grown were more likely to have a …

Titanium Alloyed With Boron, Seshacharyulu Tamirisakandala, Daniel B. Miracle, Raghavan Srinivasan, Jay S. Gunasekera

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Small additions of boron to conventional titanium alloys have been found to produce significant changes to the microstructures and associated properties. Grain refinement and improved strength and stiffness are first-order effects, which lead to possibilities for developing novel and affordable processing methodologies and to enhance performance over conventional titanium alloys. In this article, we introduce this new class of titanium alloys and describe unique formability benefits achieved via engineering microstructures.

Don't Be A Phish: Steps In User Education, Stefan Robila, James W. Ragucci

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Phishing, e-mails sent out by hackers to lure unsuspecting victims into giving up confidential information, has been the cause of countless security breaches and has experienced in the last year an increase in frequency and diversity. While regular phishing attacks are easily thwarted, designing the attack to include user context information could potentially increase the user's vulnerability. To prevent this, phishing education needs to be considered. In this paper we provide an overview of phishing education, focusing on context aware attacks and introduce a new strategy for educating users by combining phishing IQ tests and class discussions. The technique encompasses …

Societal Aspects Of Phishing, James W. Ragucci, Stefan Robila

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The damage caused by phishing does not only apply to monetary property alone. The fragile bonds of trust that organizations build with their constituents are shattered in the process. As people loss faith in the reliability of electronic communication methods, companies loss their customer base. In the case disasters, people can spend billions in preparation, to analyze weaknesses and improve recovery time, only to have thrust shattered by phishing attacks. This in turn causes a significant loss in money, resources and time. In this study we review the main characteristics of phishing attacks and their impact to society. Based on …

An Experimental Comparison Of Dimensional And Strength Characteristics Of American And Chinese Manufactured Fasteners, Michael Bailey Stroup

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the quality and strength characteristics ofboth American and Chinese manufactured fasteners. The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a significant statistical difference between both manufacturers dimensional and tensile strength characteristics as to the American National Standards Institute's specified tolerances. The researcher selected the independent samples t-test to analyze the raw data collected from the experiment. SPSS 13.0 statistical analysis software was used to determine the degree of correlation between the independent variables: fastener dimensions, and ultimate tensile strengths. The researcher involved utilizing a calibrated micrometer that was capable to producing measurements to the …

Marine Sediment Record From The East Antarctic Margin Reveals Dynamics Of Ice Sheet Recession, Amy Leventer, Eugene Domack, Jennifer Pike, Catherine Stickley, Eleanor Maddison, Stefanie A. Brachfeld, Patricia Manley, Charlie Mcclennen

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Antarctic shelf is traversed by large-scale troughs developed by glacial erosion. Swath bathymetric, lithologic, and chronologic data from jumbo piston cores from four sites along the East Antarctic margin (Iceberg Alley, the Nielsen Basin, the Svenner Channel, and the Mertz-Ninnis Trough) are used to demonstrate that these cross-shelf features controlled development of calving bay reentrants in the Antarctic ice sheet during deglaciation. At all sites except the Mertz-Ninnis Trough, the transition between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene is characterized by varved couplets deposited during a short interval of extremely high primary productivity in a fjordlike setting. Nearly …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Aristotle On Sense Perception: The Enemy Of My Enemy Is Not My Friend: A Reply To Martha Nussbaum And Hilary Putnam, Anthony Crifasi

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Among the many contributions to twentieth century philosophical scholarship by Martha Nussbaum and Hilary Putnam was their 1992 essay, “Changing Aristotle’s Mind,” in which they appealed to “the Aristotelian form - matter view as a happy alternative” between Cartesian dualism and materialistic reductionism. On the one hand, they argued, Aristotle’s view escapes Cartesian mind-body dualism because for Aristotle, there can be no description of animal functions “without making these functions ... embodied in some matter...” On the other hand, Aristotle does not reduce psychological functions to matter, because the Aristotelian psuche or soul is not identified with the matter of …

Sex Offenders In The Community: Their Public Persona And The Media's Corresponding Privilege To Report, Douglas Griswold

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Commerce Clauses: How Raich And American Trucking Dishonor Their Doctrines, John W. Moorman

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

College Voice Vol. 31 No. 10, Connecticut College

2006-2007

No abstract provided.

E-Learning Isolation And Its Effects On Course Satisfaction And Employee Performance, Misty Pegue

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Message From The Provost, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Notes From The Director, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Restoring Central Park: Neglect, Deterioration, And Rejuvenation From The 1960'S To The 1990'S, Samuel Odamah

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Phosphorous And Nitrogen On Prymnesium Parvum Uptake Rate, Camille Rogers

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Diet Composition Of Pronghorn In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Christopher N. Jacques, Jaret D. Sievers, Jonathan A. Jenks, Chad L. Sexton, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) was reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park (WCNP), South Dakota, in 1914, and thus, has inhabited the Park for nearly a century. During the 1990's, a decline in the population raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside WCNP; an investigation into the observed decline was initiated. Primary objectives of our study were to evaluate diet composition and forage selection by pronghorn in WCNP. Microhistological analysis was conducted on 58 fecal samples collected opportunistically from pronghorn during 2002. Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), common juniper (Juniperus communis), and northern bedstraw …

Evaluation Of Habitat Enhancement Structure Use By Spotted Bass, Stanley L. Proboszcz, Christopher S. Guy

The Prairie Naturalist

Habitat enhancement is a common and effective method used to positively influence fish populations. However, there is a paucity of speciesspecific evaluations of stream habitat enhancement structures for warmwater fishes. We evaluated use of half-log, rootwad enhancement structure, and simulated undercut bank (LUNKERS) by adult and juvenile spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) in natural and experimental streams. Enhancement structures were installed in Otter Creek, Kansas. Adult spotted bass use of natural and enhancement structure was documented weekly during summer and fall of 2001 and 2002 with radiotelemetry. Mean total length (TL) of adult fish was 292 mm (SE = …

Detroit Edison Building Ypsilanti, Michigan Historic Structure Report: Façade, Thomas G. Whitaker

Historic Preservation Final Projects

No abstract provided.

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - E-Courts: The Times They Are A-Changin’, James E. Mcmillan

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

The title obviously comes from Bob Dylan’s classic song from 1964. That song captured the spirit of the times and again, in a small way, captures ours as well. This year’s upcoming E-Courts Conference (www.e-courts.org) in December will highlight both the changes that computers have brought to court operations and where things are going in the future.

Court operations have been impacted over the past decade with the implementation of electronic court document filing (aka E-filing). This year the U.S. federal courts will have electronic filing available in nearly all district and bankruptcy courts. We have seen that not as …

Computationally Modeling The Effects Of Surface Roughness On Soft X-Ray Multilayer Reflectors, Jedediah Edward Jensen Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic scattering from a rough two dimensional homogeneous scatterer has been computationally modeled. The scatterer is intended to simulate reflection from a two interface multilayer. The rough scatterer was created from Gaussian random points centered about an ideal interface. The points were connected with a third order spline interpolant which accounts for correlation between neighboring surface atoms. The scalar electric field integral equation (EFIE) and magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) were solved using the Nystrom method to obtain the reflected intensity as a function of observation angle. Verification of the accuracy of the code was obtained by means of comparison …