Digital Commons Network^™

Managerial Ownership And Firms' Information Environment, Soongsoo Han, Tony Kang, Gerald Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the relation between managerial stock ownership and the firm’s information environment. We focus on three dimensions of the information environment: total, public, and private information precision (Barron, Kim, Lim and Stevens 1998). Our results suggest that firms’ total and public information precision are positively related to managerial ownership. In contrast, there is no clear pattern in private information precision across different levels of managerial ownership. We also observe that managerial ownership has a greater impact on the firm’s public information environment after the implementation of Regulation Fair Disclosure, suggesting that the regulation was effective in improving the firms’ …

Ambiguous Optimistic Fair Exchange, Qiong Huang, Guomin Yang, Duncan S. Wong, Willy Susilo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Optimistic fair exchange (OFE) is a protocol for solving the problem of exchanging items or services in a fair manner between two parties, a signer and a verifier, with the help of an arbitrator which is called in only when a dispute happens between the two parties. In almost all the previous work on OFE, after obtaining a partial signature from the signer, the verifier can present it to others and show that the signer has indeed committed itself to something corresponding to the partial signature even prior to the completion of the transaction. In some scenarios, this capability given …

The Right To Silence Helps The Innocent: A Response To Critics, Alex Stein

Cardozo Law Review

This Article responds to the numerous critics of Daniel J Seidmann & Alex Stein, The Right to Silence Helps the Innocent: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of the Fifth Amendment Privilege, 114 HARV. L. REV. 430 (2000). Under Seidmann and Stein's theory, the right to silence protects innocents who find themselves unable to corroborate their self-exonerating accounts by verifiable evidence. Absent the right, guilty criminals would pool with innocents by making false self-exonerating statements. Factfinders would consequently discount the probative value of all uncorroborated exculpatory statements, at the expense of those innocents who cannot corroborate their true accounts. The right to …

Luigi Zaninelli: Rehearsing, Performing, And Conducting Selected Works 2005-2008, James Ernest Standland

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide a resource for band conductors for rehearsing and performing band compositions of Luigi Zaninelli, specifically Three Dances of Enchantment, Prayer and Canto, and Dwarf of Venice. Certain decisions conductors make and even risks they take can make the difference in an ensemble's understanding of the music. This study provides an analytical view of Three Dances of Enchantment, Prayer and Canto, and Dwarf of Venice in terms of tempi, form, ensemble blend and balance, intonation, melodic lines, and conducting gestures.

Multiple Radar Data Merging In Hydro-Nexrad, Witold F. Krajewski, Bong Chul Seo, Anton Kruger, Piotr Domaszczynski, Gabriele Villarini, James A. Smith

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Hydro-NEXRAD merging algorithms include two options: (1) data-based merging; and (2) product-based merging. Data-based merging algorithm takes volume scan reflectivity data from all radars involved through preprocessing algorithm that performs volume data quality control, interpolates data to synchronize temporal scale between individual radars, and finally combines data onto a common geographic grid. Reflectivity values for a given location are assigned by a weighting function with respect to the distance from the radar. This single reflectivity field is then converted to rainfall amounts using a user-requested standard approach. In product-based merging algorithm reflectivity data from multiple radars are all converted …

Jacksonian Nationalist: Joel R. Poinsett's Role In The Nullification Crisis, Joshua Matthew Cain

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The object of this thesis is to examine the role of Joel R. Poinsetts role in the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833 in South Carolina within the context of his previous experiences abroad. The work will analyze Poinsetts occupations before his role as leader of the Unionists in South Carolina to better understand his actions during the crisis. The work will also examine how his experience in the Nullification Crisis affected his time as secretary of war under Martin Van Buren.

Seasonal Patterns Of Plasma Testosterone Levels, Bite Force, And Locomotor Performance In Non-Territorial Male Lizards, Aspidoscelis Sexlineata, Timothy Adam Gowan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The ability to perform key behaviors associated with reproduction, such as biting and locomotion in male lizards, has been linked to social dominance and reproductive success. The underlying mechanisms that govern variation in performance capacity, however, remain unclear. The steroid hormone testosterone mediates numerous traits associated with reproduction in male vertebrates and has been hypothesized to mediate variation in performance. This study examined seasonal patterns of circulating testosterone, morphology, bite force, and locomotor performance in a non-territorial lizard species to address this hypothesis. Male Aspidoscelis sexlineata (n=133) were collected throughout the active season, and testosterone levels and performance capacities were …

Time-Domain Receiver Design For Mimo Underwater Acoustic Communications, Jun Tao, Yahong Rosa Zheng, Chengshan Xiao, T. C. Yang, Wen Bin Yang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we propose a time-domain receiver design scheme for high data rate single carrier multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) underwater acoustic communications. in this scheme, each received packet is artificially partitioned into blocks for processing. the MIMO channel is initially estimated using training blocks at the front of transmitted packets from all transducers. with the estimated MIMO channel, one data block following the training blocks is equalized. the phase rotation in the equalized data block is compensated by a group-wise phase correction operation, before symbol detection. the newly detected data block along with K - 1 previous data (or pilot) …

Fully Evolvable Optimal Neurofuzzy Controller Using Adaptive Critic Designs, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A near-optimal neurofuzzy external controller is designed in this paper for a static compensator (STATCOM) in a multimachine power system. The controller provides an auxiliary reference signal for the STATCOM in such a way that it improves the damping of the rotor speed deviations of its neighboring generators. A zero-order Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy rule base constitutes the core of the controller. A heuristic dynamic programming (HDP) based approach is used to further train the controller and enable it to provide nonlinear near-optimal control at different operating conditions of the power system. Based on the connectionist systems theory, the parameters of the …

Why Are Women With Leadership Certification Not Pursuing School-Level Leadership Positions, Daphney Denise Ivery

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to understand why women with leadership certification do not seek formal administrative roles. More specifically, the study examined why women with leadership certification choose to pursue a program in administrative preparation; assessed the reasons certified women educators are not moving into formal administrative roles; and identified conditions and structural support systems that these women need in order to help them transition to formal administrative roles. In order to answer the study's major questions, the researcher employed a qualitative research approach with thematic analysis as a major strategy. The researcher then conducted an in-depth …

Understanding Conditions Leading To High School Success As Identified By Urban Georgia At Risk Students, Catherine Michele Nigg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A qualitative research design was used to gather data from in-depth interviews of 10 at risk students at an east-central Georgia high school. The students met at least two of the following at risk characteristics: low SES, failing at least one grade and/or in danger of failing four or more courses this year, and high rate of suspension or absenteeism and/or on probation. The instruments for this study consisted of structured interviews that contained questions to elicit the students' views on school with the aim of determining what they identify as critical to their success. The interviews were guided by …

Teaching Science In The Bible Belt Of The South, Carole Crosby Gilbert

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry that utilizes personal ' passionate ' participatory research (He & Phillion, 2008) to delve into the conflicting experiences encountered by science educators as they teach in the predominantly Christian environment of the rural South. Science standards require teachers to instruct students about scientific concepts that directly contradict theological ideology. Veteran and new teachers alike skate the edges of the chasm that separate science and religion in the performance of their job which is complicated by the homogeneity of the population. Church involvement is an integral part of this community. Christian churches anchor their respective communities providing …

Bridging Aesthetics And Community : A Story Of A Successful School, Julie Marie Sessions

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study begins with the construction of a bridge that symbolizes the philosophers that impact this study: John Dewey, Elliot Eisner, Maxine Greene, and Delores Liston. The bridge is the beginning of a journey where I analyze the concepts of aesthetics and community. This in-depth analysis culminates with the study of a school that successfully incorporates aesthetics and community into its curriculum. The study is based on a methodology known as portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1997) where relationships and community involvement are important elements in telling the story of a school. In order to fully paint this portraiture, interviews were conducted, observations …

Unto The Third & Fourth Generation Of African-Americans: Kaleb Norris's Stories Of Generational Poverty And Inequality In The South, Derrick Marcel Tennial

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry that explores the cross-generational lived affects of educational, political, and public policies on my paternal family from 1899 to the present in Northern Mississippi and West Tennessee. It is an exploration of my family's history and my lived experience as the first person in the family to obtain an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, and a doctorate, who has attempted to use education in a substantive way to break the cycle of generational poverty. Members of six generations of my family are the main characters in the stories collected. Using oral history, I document their experiences. …

Cultural Aesthetic Experience: Perceptions Of Learning Developed Through Cultural Immersion, Nicole Renai Harper

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the role of cultural aesthetic expressions (often also referred to in this study as cultural arts) play in perceptions of learning while individuals are in the ongoing process of being immersed in a non-native culture. This inquiry focused specifically on the narratives of seven expatriates undergoing the process of cultural immersion in Germany, Slovenia and the United States. Using narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; He, Phillion & Connelly, 2005), participants were engaged in discussion, observation and interview for the purpose of exploring and analyzing how they make meaning from previous knowledge and their developing encounters with …

It's Time To Face The Music: Singing The Praises Of Popular Music In Today's Curriculum, Shannon Flatt Dasher

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the possibility of incorporating popular music into the curriculum in order to increase student motivation in a time of standardization. As a classroom teacher, I have witnessed students, time after time become uninterested in the present curriculum. I was curious to find out if by incorporating popular music into the lessons of teachers, students would be more apt to learn in school. Cultural inquiry was used as the main method to guide the collection and analysis of the information from the participants through a cultural studies theoretical framework.

Case Study Of An Urban Elementary School's Transition From Failing To Distinguished School Status, Carla Brice Ross

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study seeks to understand how the multidimensional functioning of an urban high-poverty high-minority elementary school changed as it moved from failing school status to distinguished school status and to determine how school change promoted the organizational well-being of the school using a case study methodology. The multidimensional lenses used to view changes at Eagle included school purpose, culture, structure, leadership, organizational and professional learning, and teacher emotions. Using these lenses to view changes provides an explanation of not only how Eagle transitioned from failing school status to distinguished school status, but more importantly, how it has been able …

Landowner Characteristics Associated With Receiving Information About Invasive Plants And Implications For Outreach Providers, Jennifer Steele, David W. Mcgill, Rakesh S. Chandran, William N. Grafton

Journal of Extension

Based on a survey of woodland owners in West Virginia, we examined the possibility of differences in the characteristics of those who had and had not received information about local invasive plants and implications for outreach providers. Findings suggest that landowners who farmed on their property, held recreation objectives, and lived in the local area were significantly more likely than their counterparts to have received information. A majority of landowners with these characteristics, however, had not heard or read such information. Implications for expanding awareness through both traditional and non-traditional information channels are presented.

Short-Cut Estimates For Annual Hog Cafo Production: Relationship Between Hog Cafo Inventory And The Annual Production, Nalitra Thaiprasert

Journal of Extension

The increasing numbers of hog CAFOs has become a pressing issue around the country, yet estimating the annual hog CAFO production can be a daunting task for local communities. Current accessible information about hog production levels is either complicated or not useful for most interested parties. This article aims to provide a straightforward calculation of annual hog production adjusted to the full-grown hog equivalent based on available inventory data. The calculation could then be applied to the state, county, or farm level, and results easily compared among same-level study areas.

Do Workshops Work For Building Evaluation Capacity Among Cooperative Extension Service Faculty?, Kathleen D. Kelsey

Journal of Extension

A case study used survey design (pre-test, satisfaction, and post-test) to determine if a 1-day workshop affected participants' skills and self-efficacy in regard to conducting evaluation and if workshop participants applied evaluation skills afterwards. Findings indicate that the workshop was effective in building self-efficacy; however, it did not sustain evaluation practice. Formal training may be necessary to develop skills such as logic modeling, data collection and analysis, and reporting findings to solidify evaluation competencies among participants. It is recommended that Extension faculty engage in continuing education in program evaluation as part of a career development ladder to build evaluation capacity.

Eastern Idaho Teens Learn Table Etiquette, Barbara D. Petty, Lorie Dye, Janice Stimpson

Journal of Extension

University of Idaho Extension Educators developed Manner Mishaps to teach teenagers skills for familial, social, and professional dinner settings. Through the use of PowerPoint® slides, demonstrations, the video Etiquette Hotline, and an interactive game, the students learned proper table settings and the use of tableware. Of the 1,086 participants, 97% agreed or strongly agreed that the program was interesting and that participating in the program would be helpful in their future. Student knowledge of etiquette rules and behaviors increased from an average of 65.9% on the pre-test to 95.0% after completing the course.

Cooperative Effort Leads To The Development Of Tools To Assist Pork Producers In Evaluating Structural Soundness Of Replacement Gilts, Kenneth Stalder, Dale Miller, Colin Johnson, Mark Boggess

Journal of Extension

The objective of the project described here was to develop and deliver new visual tools to assist pork producers to evaluate the structural and reproductive soundness of replacement gilts within their sow herds. The development and distribution of the posters demonstrates how Extension, industry commodity groups, industry partners, and business media can work together to deliver the tools needed to have a positive economic impact at the farm level. Ideas like these are needed to meet the increasingly complex educational needs of modern agricultural industries like the U.S. pork industry.

Explaining Inferences In Bayesian Networks, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While Bayesian network (BN) can achieve accurate predictions even with erroneous or incomplete evidence, explaining the inferences remains a challenge. Existing approaches fall short because they do not exploit variable interactions and cannot account for compensations during inferences. This paper proposes the Explaining BN Inferences (EBI) procedure for explaining how variables interact to reach conclusions. EBI explains the value of a target node in terms of the influential nodes in the target's Markov blanket under specific contexts, where the Markov nodes include the target's parents, children, and the children's other parents. Working back from the target node, EBI shows the …

Dit News, 1st.-31st. Of December, 2008, Dit:Students Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

Simulation Of Nanostructured Electrodes For Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Sanjeev M. Rao, Yangchuan Xing

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Pt uniformly deposited on them are being considered in fabricating the catalyst layer of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell electrodes. When coated with a proton conducting polymer (e.g., Nafion) on the Pt/CNTs, each Pt/CNT acts as a nanoelectrode and a collection of such nanoelectrodes constitutes the proposed nanostructured electrodes. Computer modeling was performed for the cathode side, in which both multicomponent and Knudsen diffusion were taken into account. the effect of the nanoelectrode lengths was also studied with catalyst layer thicknesses of 2, 4, 6, and 10 μm. It was observed that shorter lengths …

Pas: Predicate-Based Authentication Services Against Powerful Passive Adversaries, Sriram Chellappan, Xiaole Bai, Wenjun Gu, Xun Wang, Dong Xuan, Bin Ma

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Securely authenticating a human user without assistance from any auxiliary device in the presence of powerful passive adversaries is an important and challenging problem. Passive adversaries are those that can passively monitor, intercept, and analyze every part of the authentication procedure, except for an initial secret shared between the user and the server. In this paper, we propose a new secure authentication scheme called predicate-based authentication service (PAS). In this scheme, for the first time, the concept of a predicate is introduced for authentication. We conduct analysis on the proposed scheme and implement its prototype system. Our analytical data and …

Neural-Network-Based State Feedback Control Of A Nonlinear Discrete-Time System In Nonstrict Feedback Form, Pingan He, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a suite of adaptive neural network (NN) controllers is designed to deliver a desired tracking performance for the control of an unknown, second-order, nonlinear discrete-time system expressed in nonstrict feedback form. In the first approach, two feedforward NNs are employed in the controller with tracking error as the feedback variable whereas in the adaptive critic NN architecture, three feedforward NNs are used. In the adaptive critic architecture, two action NNs produce virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, whereas the third critic NN approximates certain strategic utility function and its output is employed for tuning action NN weights …

Energy Efficiency In Steel Casting Production, Raymond Monroe, Kent D. Peaslee, R. Eppich

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Know Your Audience: An Assessment Of Preferred Learning Styles Of Freshman Students At Red River High School In Grand Forks, North Dakota, Kelly D. Peters

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to identify theories and describe characteristics of learning styles, assess characteristics of freshman students at Red River High School using data from the CAPSOL (Computerized Assessment and Prescription Styles of Learning) Style of Learning Assessment, MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Scores, GPA (Grade Point Average), and North Dakota STARS (State Automated Reporting System), and justify a pedagogical and philosophical change in instruction to adapt instructional strategies to match and strengthen students' learning styles.

The research investigated the relationships between learning style scale scores, GPA, gender, RIT (Rasch Unit) Scores, and socioeconomic factors. This study …

Improvements In Steel Melting Efficiency -- Industrial Trials, Kent D. Peaslee, Semen Naumovich Lekakh, Edith Martinez

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Industrial trials were completed to improve energy efficiency in steel melting. First, the benefits of increased chemical energy from an oxyfuel burner and a Co-Jet system in a basic 20 ton electric arc furnace (EAF) were studied. Observations and measurements were made during production before and after the installation of the two systems. The additional chemical energy improved energy efficiency and resulted in increased production. In addition, production using a basic EAF practice was compared to the traditional acid EAF practice. Second, an industrial trial using a 750 lb ladle with a combination of a lightweight alumina castable refractory and …