Digital Commons Network^™

Forecasting In Rapidly Changing Environments: An Application To The Us Motion Picture Industry, Anirban Mukherjee, Kadiyali Vrinda

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Markets with rapidly changing environments provide forecasting challenges because of fewer similarities between past and future outcomes. In this paper, we provide a methodology that enables forecasting with relatively short histories. The application is to the U.S. motion picture industry where we forecast revenues in theatrical, sales (DVD and VHS), and rental channels. Using short market histories of similar products, we account for (1) observed and unobserved movie-specific characteristics, (2) seasonality of demand, (3) competition within and across multiple distribution channels (4) market expansion, substitution and complementarity between movies inside and across distribution channels. We extend the multiplicative competitive interaction …

Creating A 4-H Technology Camp For Middle School Youth, Virginia D. Bourdeau, Erin Taylor

Journal of Extension

A pilot program for middle school youth focusing on building knowledge and skills in science and technology was planned and delivered by university and community partners in a resident camp setting. In-depth classes were taught by volunteer university faculty and community professionals. The small classes and engaged instructors lead to positive camper knowledge gains. The evaluation showed that campers liked their classes and were interested in learning more about the topics, but were less interested in getting a job that involved the topics. Post-camp evaluation showed 100% of campers were interested in retuning to the camp program in 2007.

Sacred Heart University Magazine, Fall 2007, Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Curious Legal Career Of Homer L. Collyer, Robert M. Jarvis

Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Focus, 2007, Fall, Andrews University

Focus

FOCUS (ISSN 1077-9345) is published quarterly, free of charge, for alumni and friends of Andrews University, an institution owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Journal Of The University Of North Florida Fall 2007, University Of North Florida

35th Anniversary Printed Materials

The UNF Journal is published three times a year by the University of North Florida Division of Institutional Advancement to communicate UNF's mission and its accomplishments to alumni and friends of the university.

This edition commemorates the 35th Anniversary of the University of North Florida.

The Multiethnic Placement Act: Threat To Foster Child Safety And Well-Being?, David J. Herring

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Despite the efforts of public officials to reduce the time children spend in foster care, many children live in foster homes for a substantial portion of their childhoods. In fact, a child placed in a foster home may remain in that home for an extended period, with a significant possibility of remaining there permanently. In light of this situation, the decision to place a child in a particular foster home is extremely important.

The federal Multiethnic Placement Act ("MEPA ") significantly affects foster care placement decisions. This law expressly prohibits public child welfare agencies from delaying or denying a child's …

An Assessment Of Factors Affecting Fleet Fuel Performance, Carlo D. Smith, John L. Kent, Cory J. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Improving fuel performance in all modes of transportation is becoming more important as fuel prices increase and concerns over environmental issues rise. This is particularly relevant in the class 8 motor carrier sector which accounts for the majority of fuel consumption among all classes of motor freight movement. The present study evaluated the extent that existing technologies, systems and policies designed to improve fuel efficiency have been and are expected to be adopted by current class 8 fleets. Results suggest that while many of the efforts of suppliers to the industry are focused on new technologies, there remains an opportunity …

Comparison Of Immune And Adverse Effects Induced By Adjuvac And Freund's Complete Adjuvant In New Zealand White Rabbits (Oryctolagus Cuniculus), Jenny G. Powers, Paul B. Nash, Jack C. Rhyan, Christi A. Yoder, Lowell A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Though Freund's complete adjuvant effectively increases immune response to vaccines in various species, its potentially severe inflammatory effects have led many animal researchers to seek alternative immunological adjuvants. In a study of New Zealand white rabbits, the authors compared the immune and adverse effects of Freund's complete adjuvant with the effects of two formulations of AdjuVac, an immunological adjuvant previously developed by their group. ALL three adjuvants improved humoral immune response but also caused inflammation. Inflammatory reactions caused by AdjuVac, however, tended to be Less severe than those caused by Freund's complete adjuvant.

Bactericidal Effects Of Cold Plasma Technology On Geobacillus Stearothermophilus And Bacillus Cereus Microorganisms, Angela D. Morris, Gayle B. Mccombs, Susan L. Tolle, Mounir Laroussi, Wayne L. Hynes

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Cold plasma is a state of matter that contains a large number of particles that are electrically charged. Plasmas generate chemically reactive species and ultraviolet radiation making them useful in decontamination applications (Kong & Laroussi, 2003). Research regarding the inactivation of gram-positive bacteria by cold plasma has been studied by Laroussi et al (2003); however, there is limited research regarding the germicidal effectiveness of cold plasma on Geobacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus cereus microorganisms. The purpose of this study was to determine if cold plasma technology inactivates Geobacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus cereus vegetative cells and spores. This study consisted of 981 …

A Link-Quality-Aware Graph Model For Cognitive Radio Network Routing Topology Management, Andrew Michael James

Theses

Wireless communications is one of the fastest growing fields in the world; however this creates a problem since all wireless signals are fighting for the same limited amount spectrum in any given space. The underutilization of licensed spectrum has created a need for a new way to use it. Cognitive Radio Networks and Dynamic Spectrum Access are a solution to this problem. By opportunistically using spectrum, devices can gain access to more wireless bandwidth while not violating FCC regulations. The concepts of Cognitive Radio Networks and Dynamic Spectrum Access are very new topics and have yet to be fully explored. …

Pend Oreille River Model: Model Scenario Simulations, Robert Leslie Annear, Chris Berger, Scott A. Wells

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is interested in developing a temperature and water quality Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocation for the Pend Oreille River between the Long Bridge near the historical Lake Pend Oreille outlet and Albeni Falls Dam (U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s reservoir) as shown in Figure 1.

This management scenario report is an update of a prior report. The management scenarios had to be rerun because of a modeling error made with the outflows rate of Albeni Falls Dam. The new calibration error statistics were compared with the old statistics in Appendix B: Model Calibration …

A Comparison Of Five Models For Estimating Clear-Sky Solar Radiation, Robert Leslie Annear, Scott A. Wells

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many agencies in the USA are developing management approaches to address water quality concerns and threatened and endangered species habitat requirements in water bodies. Many of these water bodies are water quality limited for temperature. Factors influencing stream temperature include: streamside vegetation, topographic shading, inflows and outflows, stream width, stream depth, light extinction and solar radiation. One of the key driving factors in estimating a water body heat budget is calculating the amount of solar radiation incident on the water surface. Even though it is preferable to measure clear-sky solar radiation, many temperature models rely on theoretical estimates of clear-sky …

Character Design And Marketing – Designer Toys, Yen-Fu Chen

Theses

Designing a series of my characters and one story for those characters is the first step in this project. Those characters will be presented on my design products from 2D to 3D and from t-shirt to cell phone downloads. There are four categories for my design works. The first part is 2D print media. I will put those characters on posters, stickers and post cards. Also, the customers can have my character designs on their t-shirts. The second is that I will have real toy models for my characters. The customers can have my real design works, and they can …

Raps Sheet, October 2007, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Human Choices On Characteristics Of Urban Ecosystems, Lawrence A. Baker, Anthony J. Brazel, Loren Bryne, Alex Felson, Morgan Grove, Kristina Hill, Kristen C. Nelson, Jason Walker, Vivek Shandas

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Most urban ecology in cities remains an "ecology in cities" rather than an "ecology of cities." Accomplishing the latter requires the inclusion of humans within the concept of "ecosystem," both how humans alter the properties of urban ecosystems and how these alterations in turn influence human well-being. These influences are both direct (e.g., physiological and psychological influences on the human organism) and indirect, by influencing ecosystem sustainability. For the 2007 ESA meeting, Larry Baker, Loren Byrne, Jason Walker, and Alex Felson organized a symposium to address the relationships among human choices and urban ecosystems. In the introductory talk of this …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet October 2007, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The October 2007 Monthly packet includes the October agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held June 2007

Inside Unf Vol. 13 No. 9, University Of North Florida

35th Anniversary Printed Materials

The monthly publication for faculty and staff of the University of North Florida. This edition includes the following articles:

Plethora of Activities Fill Founders Month

Founding Staff Member: Janice Nowak

Faculty & Staff

Student Union will Foster a Strong Sense of Community

The Campus Gardener

Practicing Safe Hex (Computing)

Auchter Building Acquisition

Gropper Surprised, Anderson Excited About Awards

Louise Freshman Brown 2007 Distinguished Professor

Educating d 1st Digital gnr8n

Get to Know: Marcia Ladendorff

Soil Survey Of The Bettink Dairy Farm, Riverway Road, Northcliffe, Peter J. Tille, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

This soil survey of the Bettink dairy farm in Northcliffe, Western Australia aimed to: provide detailed soil descriptions to add to information associated with the environment in which the dairy industry in Western Australia is located; collect soil samples at predetermined standard depths from documented farm locations for nutrient analysis; map soils with similar characteristics based on description and analysis.

A Guarantee Of Universal Salvation, Eric Reitan

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.

Una Vision General De Los Problemas Con La Enseñanza De Las Matemáticas En Chile Y Posibles Maneras De Mejorarla, Samuel Hickey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Pcor Partnership Atlas, Wesley D. Peck, Barry W. Botnen, Lisa S. Botnen, Daniel J. Daly, John A. Harju, Melanie D. Jensen, Erin M. O'Leary, Steven A. Smith, James A. Sorensen, Edward N. Steadman, Stephanie L. Wolfe, Darin R. Damiani, John T. Litynski, David W. Fischer

EERC Maps and Infographics

The Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Atlas, 2nd edition, introduces global climate change and provides a regional profile of CO₂ sources and potential sinks across the PCOR Partnership region. Carbon sequestration offers a promising set of technologies through which CO₂ can be stored for long periods of time.

Om-Based Video Shot Retrieval By One-To-One Matching, Yuxin Peng, Chong-Wah Ngo, Jianguo Xiao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper proposes a new approach for shot-based retrieval by optimal matching (OM), which provides an effective mechanism for the similarity measure and ranking of shots by one-to-one matching. In the proposed approach, a weighted bipartite graph is constructed to model the color similarity between two shots. Then OM based on Kuhn-Munkres algorithm is employed to compute the maximum weight of a constructed bipartite graph as the shot similarity value by one-to-one matching among frames. To improve the speed efficiency of OM, two improved algorithms are also proposed: bipartite graph construction based on subshots and bipartite graph construction based on …

Use Of Max-Flow On Facts Devices, Adam Lininger, Bruce M. Mcmillin, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Mariesa Crow

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

FACTS devices can be used to mitigate cascading failures in a power grid by controlling the power flow in individual lines. Placement and control are significant issues. We present a procedure for determining whether a scenario can be mitigated using the concept of maximum flow. If it can be mitigated, we determine what placement and control setting will solve the scenario. This paper treats fourteen cascading failure scenarios and reports on the use of the max-flow algorithm both in determining the mitigation of each scenario and in finding FACTS settings that will mitigate the scenario.

Follow The Leader? Price Change Timing In Internet-Based Selling, R. J. Kauffman, Charles A. Wood

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Internet technologies should lessen information asymmetry, prompting competitive price reactions, but this does not seem to be happening in Internet-based selling. We study empirical regularities of price change timing for music CD vendors and booksellers to assess several theoretical explanations. Our sample includes 123, 680 daily prices for 169 products and 53 firms. Bertrand competition is insufficient to explain our observation that sellers do not shift prices this way. Tacitly collusive responses to competitors' price changes are observed rather than price changes solely in response to demand or cost shifts as would be expected with Bertrand competition. We find evidence …

Models Of Interdisciplinary Research And Service Learning At Hope College, Aaron A. Best, Matthew Dejongh, Amanda J. Barton, Jeff R. Brown, Christopher C. Barney

Publications

"Children love to explore the world around them. In doing so they are not aware of disciplinary boundaries or even of disciplines. They move freely from watching ants (biology) to building structures (engineering) to counting rocks (mathematics and geology) to seeing what things dissolve in water (chemistry). Only as they go to school do they learn that humans divide up the way we learn about the universe and start to think within disciplinary boundaries. In doing so, those children, who are now us, lose the ability to think broadly and use the insights of various ways of thinking to solve …

Determining Domain Similarity And Domain-Protein Similarity Using Functional Similarity Measurements Of Gene Ontology Terms, Lisa Michelle Guntly, Jennifer Leopold, Anne M. Maglia

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Protein domains typically correspond to major functional sites of a protein. Therefore, determining similarity between domains can aid in the comparison of protein functions, and can provide a basis for grouping domains based on function. One strategy for comparing domain similarity and domain-protein similarity is to use similarity measurements of annotation terms from the Gene Ontology (GO). In this paper five methods are analyzed in terms of their usefulness for comparing domains, and comparing domains to proteins based on GO terms.

Option-Based Risk Management: A Field Study Of Sequential Information Technology Investment Decisions, Michel Benaroch, Mark Jeffery, Robert John Kauffman, Sandeep Shah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This field study research evaluates the viability of applying an option-based risk management (OBRiM) framework, and its accompanying theoretical perspective and methodology, to real-world sequential information technology (IT) investment problems. These problems involve alternative investment structures that bear different risk profiles for the firm, and also may improve the payoffs of the associated projects and the organization's performance. We sought to surface the costs, benefits, and risks associated with a complex sequential investment setting that has the key features that OBRiM treats. We combine traditional, purchased real options that subsequently create strategic flexibility for the decision maker, with implicit or …

Antimony Vibrations In Skutterudites Probed By ¹²¹Sb Nuclear Inelastic Scattering, Hans Christian Wille, Raphäel P. Hermann, Ilya Sergueev, Olaf Leupold, Peter Van Der Linden, Brian C. Sales, Fernande Grandjean, Gary J. Long, Rudolf Rüffer, Yuri V. Shvyd'ko

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The specific lattice dynamic properties of antimony in the unfilled CoSb₃ and filled EuFe₄Sb₁₂ skutterudites have been determined by nuclear inelastic scattering at the ¹²¹Sb nuclear resonance energy of 37.1298(2) keV with a 4.5 meV high-resolution backscattering sapphire monochromator. The Sb partial vibrational density of states (DOS) shows a maximum centered at 17 and 16 meV in CoSb₃ and EuFe₄Sb₁₂, respectively. The difference between the Sb DOSs of CoSb₃ and EuFe₄Sb₁₂ reveals that upon filling there is a transfer of 10% of the vibrational states toward …

What Do We Really Know About The American Choice-Of-Law Revolution?, Hillel Y. Levin

Scholarly Works

This Book Review reviews Symeon Symeonides's recent book, The American Choice-of-Law Revolution: Past, Present and Future. I conclude that the book is required reading in the field and that it pushes the law in the right direction in significant ways. However, I suggest that it falls short in its effort to tell the full story of the Revolution, for two reasons. First, the data set is limited to published opinions. Second, we cannot evaluate the Revolution simply by looking at judicial opinions. I argue that scholarship and practice in Conflicts must reengage with one another, and offer a framework for …