Digital Commons Network^™

Final Report: Critical Media Literacy In Ireland, Cliona Barnes, Farrek Corcoran, Flanagan Brian, Brian O'Neill

Reports

Critical Media Literacy (CML) is a matter of major public importance. The skill-set of CML is increasingly recognised at national and European level as essential to citizenship and to a healthy democracy. Attempts to foster Media Literacy have been a feature of Irish education for over thirty years. Extensive curriculum reform has taken place to ensure that opportunities for studying the media are available across the primary and secondary curriculum.

However, in 2007 the subject retains a low profile and provision for Media Education is uneven. The subject has a low status within the educational system and media exploration is …

Diseases Affect Cold-Water Corals Too: Eunicella Verrucosa (Cnidaria : Gorgonacea) Necrosis In Sw England, Jm Hall-Spencer, J Pike, Cb Munn

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Linear Error Correcting Codes, Cen Jung Tjhai

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Since Shannon's ground-breaking work in 1948, there have been two main development streams of channel coding in approaching the limit of communication channels, namely classical coding theory which aims at designing codes with large minimum Hamming distance and probabilistic coding which places the emphasis on low complexity probabilistic decoding using long codes built from simple constituent codes. This work presents some further investigations in these two channel coding development streams. Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes form a class of capacity-approaching codes with sparse parity-check matrix and low-complexity decoder Two novel methods of constructing algebraic binary LDPC codes are presented. These methods …

Towards A Conceptual Framework Of Corporate Branding In Retailing, Edmund O'Callaghan

Conference proceedings

The view that corporate brand building in retailing is different to any other context (Burt and Sparks, 2002) is predicated in the belief that ‘goods’ retailers need to manage a range of corporate components, its multiple relationships with customers and its dependence on employees to personify and deliver much of the corporate identity. These differences in operations are perceived as adding a degree of complexity to an already challenging process of corporate brand development. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the corporate brand building process within an SME retail context. It develops on the work of Hatch & Schultz’s …

Does Understanding National Business Cultures Help Build Regional Development?, Amanda Ratcliffe, Thomas Cooney Dr.

Conference proceedings

An EFER report in 1995 observed that little of the growth ofEurope’s top 500 companies came from existing products in existing markets, but almost two-thirds of the growth came from entering new markets. A large majority of Europe’s 500 are active in export markets, with exports accounting for 40% of their turnover as opposed to the 10% export share for SMEs overall. One of the critical reasons for the poor performance of SMEs within the international arena is their ignorance of local business cultures. Yet for a country – or a specific region – to achieve strong economic growth, it …

Software Architecture For Data Storage Concepts Within Future Mobile Telecommunication Systems, Andreas Diehl

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In current mobile telecommunication networks, databases and the subscriber data is distributed among multiple network domains and database systems. The heterogeneous data storage concept is based on the permanent evolution of the mobile networks and the support of different kinds of network technologies. Dependent on the particular network domain and the dedicated technology, distributed subscriber data has to be accessed via specialised protocols.This thesis proposes a novel software architecture for the next generation profile register (NGPR) - an approach to provide subscriber information using a logically centralised register for subscriber data from several mobile network domains. The NGPR subscriber data …

Front Matter

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

International Writing Centers Association Information

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Writing Centers In The Managed University, Daniel Mahala

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Spaced Out: My Adventures At The 2007 Iwca Conference, Michael Mattison

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Review: The Writing Center Director's Resource Book, Thomas Ferrel

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Announcements

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Increasing Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnerships In The Irish Construction Industry, Louis Gunnigan

Doctoral

By 2003 the first Irish Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects had reached the operational stage. Media reports were emerging of significant differences in the effectiveness of these projects.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining …

Removing Obstacles, Candace Schilling

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017

To better grasp the interplay between culture and religion, Professor Brian Hatcher begins by asking some unsettling questions.

Threatened Fishes Of The World: Percilia Irwini (Eigenmann 1927) (Perciliidae), Evelyn Habit, Mark C. Belk

Faculty Publications

Common name: Carmelita de Concepcion (Spanish).

Biological Status Of Leatherside Chub: A Framework For Conservation Of Western Freshwater Fishes, Mark C. Belk, Jerald B. Johnson

Faculty Publications

Outside of anadromous salmonids and a few endangered species, biology of native freshwater fishes of western North America is poorly known. What do we need to know to effectively manage native species and avoid decline and extinction? A recent analysis of the role of science in the Pacific salmon controversy outlines a clear framework for biological evaluation and management of native species. This framework has three components: (1) determine status of populations based on genetic and ecological variation, (2) identify and quantify threats to populations, and (3) determine actions to alleviate threats and promote conservation of populations. We use our …

Turning The Hearts Of Fathers To Their Children: Why Religious Involvement Can Make A Difference, Loren Marks, David C. Dollahite

Faculty Publications

Charles Dickens, the English author and keen observer of human affairs, wrote of revolution-era France: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." In many ways, Dickens' dichotomy regarding "the best of times" and "the worst of times" captures the state of contemporary American fatherhood. Many fathers are more highly involved with their children than the fathers of past generations. Conversely, many other fathers are disconnected from or uninvolved with their children. For many of the fathers who are highly involved in their children's lives, their religious faith is a motivational influence.

The Irish Working Group On Information Literacy: A Cross-Sectoral Approach, Philip Russell, Terry O'Brien

Support services (Former ITT) - Articles

The Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) was established by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) in January 2006 to recommend strategies for the development of information skills at both a theoretical and practical level in the Library and Information Services sector in Ireland.

From the outset, one of the key objectives established was that the work of the WGIL would be approached on a cross-sectoral basis.

Membership of the group comprises ten members from across the range of LIS (Library and Information Services) sectors in Ireland. These include academic, special, schools, public, health and university sectors, and also a …

Faith And Mystery In Kate O'Brien's ''The Ante Room'', Eamon Maher

Articles

Material reproduced by kind permission of Reality

The Influences Of Gender Identity On The Expectancies For Success And Perceived Task Value Of Three Different Activities, Chi Ching Chow

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of gender identity on expectancies for success and perceived task value. The Short form of the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI-SF) was used to identify four gender identities, androgynous, feminine, masculine, and undifferentiated. The Self- and Task- Perception Questionnaire measured expectancies and task values on three physical activities. One hundred thirty-three students (62 males and 71 females) at the University of Northern Iowa who were enrolled in the aerobic training session of the personal wellness class participated. The mean age of the participants was 20.2 years (SD= 1.9). AN OVA results …

Child In Need Of Assistance And A Lack Of Rural Mental Health Care, Katie L. Fisher

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

With the rising number of children in need of mental health services and the increasing cost of these services, methods to address these needs must be developed. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the experience of parents who have been involved in the Child in Need of Assistance process in order to meet their child's mental health needs. Participants in this study were parents of a child who participated in the Child in Need of Assistance program due to the need for mental health services. Qualitative methods were used to examine the experiences of …

Bomb Media 1951-1964, Tristan Edward Abbott

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis looks at nuclear films, commercial and governmental, that were released between 1951 and 1964. Special attention is paid to the recursivity that existed between the propagandic, often outrageously inaccurate Civil Defense films made by the United States government and the subversive popular films made by visionary dissidents.

The films are divided into three periods. The earliest period focuses on Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street and the Robert Aldrich 's Kiss Me Deadly (based on the novel by Mickey Spillane), along with some of the earliest Civil Defense films. Special attention is paid to the politically minded creation …

Optimal Neuro-Controller Synthesis For Impulse-Driven System, Xiaohua Wang, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a new controller design technique for systems driven with impulse inputs. Necessary conditions for optimal impulse control are derived. A neural network structure to solve the resulting equations is presented. The solution concepts are illustrated with a few example problems that exhibit increasing levels of difficulty. Two linear problems-one scalar and one vector-and a benchmark nonlinear problem-Van Der Pol oscillator-are used as case studies. Numerical results show the efficacy of the new solution process for impulse driven systems. Since the theoretical development and the design technique are free from restrictive assumptions, this technique is applicable to many …

The Effects Of The Nutriactive Healthy Experience Intervention On Nutrition Knowledge In Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Jennifer Marie Bruss

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over the past 30 years obesity in elementary school age children has gone from almost non-existence to common place. With obesity on the rise, the occurrence of diseases associated with it such as Type II diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia have also risen for children. These diseases are often carried into adulthood since overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults. This will create another generation of obese children, continue to strain a failing health system, and add additional problems to our economy as the current obese generation heads into retirement.

Poor eating habits and insufficient physical activity …

Cedar Falls Civil War, Cynthia Rae Huffman Sweet

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A catalog for an exhibit about the Civil War, shown at the Cedar Falls Historical Society from February to August 2007. The exhibit included items demonstrating the impact of the war on the Cedar Falls area.

Noise-Robust Automatic Speech Recognition Using A Predictive Echo State Network, Mark D. Skowronski, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Artificial neural networks have been shown to perform well in automatic speech recognition (ASR) tasks, although their complexity and excessive computational costs have limited their use. Recently, a recurrent neural network with simplified training, the echo state network (ESN), was introduced by Jaeger and shown to outperform conventional methods in time series prediction experiments. We created the predictive ESN classifier by combining the ESN with a state machine framework. In small-vocabulary ASR experiments, we compared the noise-robust performance of the predictive ESN classifier with a hidden Markov model (HMM) as a function of model size and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The …

A Precompensation Algorithm For Pwm-Based Digital Audio Amplifiers For Portable Applications, Xiaoxiang Gong, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel precompensation algorithm for a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)-based digital audio amplifier has been developed for portable applications. The Straight-Line Segment PWM (SLSPWM) algorithm results in both low-power and low-complexity devices. The division-free version of this algorithm modifies the algorithm by removing the division using a polynomial approximation. Both SLSPWM and Division-Free SLSPWM feature 16-bit quality performance with fewer calculations compared with previous works. © 2007 IEEE.

Florida Wireless Implantable Recording Electrodes (Fwire) For Brain Machine Interfaces, Rizwan Bashirullah, John G. Harris, Justin C. Sanchez, Toshikazu Nishida, Jose C. Principe

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper reviews on-going efforts towards the development of the Florida Wireless Implantable Recording Electrodes (FWIRE). The FWIRE microsystem platform is a fully implantable flexible substrate microelectrode array that employs state-of-the-art integrate-and-fire (IF) signal representation and wireless interface circuitry for recording neural activity from behaving rodents. The modular nature of the implantable neural recording electrode allows future enhancements to be seamlessly added to improve functionality including but not limited to rechargeability through inductive coupling, custom microelectrode arrays, higher capacity batteries, and more advanced integrated circuit technologies. This paper concentrates on custom integrated circuits such as neural interfacing amplifiers, baseband signal …

Determination Of Laser Absorption Coefficients Of Gas Mixtures Using An Ab Initio Md Model, Zhi Liang, Hai-Lung Tsai, Lan Jiang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In an Effort to Study the Laser Induced Dissociation of Gas Mixtures for an Ongoing Research Project on Diamond Thin Film Coating using Multiple Lasers, It is Necessary to Determine the Absorption Coefficient of Laser Energy by CO2 Gas. an Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) Model is Used to Determine the Laser Absorption Coefficient of CO2 Gas as a Function of Laser Wavelength and Gas Temperature. the Translational, Rotational, and Vibration Motions of Molecules Are All Taken into Account in Our Model. the Intra-Molecular Potential Energy is Obtained by Solving the Kohn-Sham Equation. the Projector-Augmented Wave (PAW) Exchange-Correlation Potential Function …