Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Economic Profitability Of Specified Risk Management Alternatives For Intermountain West Farmers, Cody D. Bingham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research is to provide quantitative and limited qualitative analysis for the United States Intermountain West on the economic effectiveness of risk management alternatives in an agricultural operation. This research is not meant to be an exhaustive comparison of every potential combination of alternatives and risk scenarios. Instead, specific parameters such as farm size, crops grown, risk attitudes and risk management strategies are set to guide the research and offer a basis of comparison.

This research evaluates several levels of coverage using Multiple Peril Crop Insurance, Crop Revenue Coverage Insurance, Adjusted Gross Revenue – Lite Insurance and …

The Adaptability Of Langmuir Probes To The Pico-Satellite Regime, Andrew Jay Auman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether it is feasible to use Langmuir probes on pico-satellites flying in low Earth orbit over mid- to low-latitude geographic regions. Following chapters on the expected ionospheric conditions and an overview of Langmuir probe theory, a chapter addressing the difficulties involved with pico-satellite Langmuir probes is presented. Also, the necessary satellite-to-probe surface area requirements in order to achieve confidence in pico-satellite Langmuir probe data, for the orbital regions of interest to this thesis, are stated.

Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, And Organic Geochemistry Of The Red Pine Shale, Uinta Mountains, Utah: A Prograding Deltaic System In A Mid-Neoproterozoic Interior Seaway, Caroline Amelia Myer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Red Pine Shale (RPS; ~1120m thick), uppermost formation of the Neoproterozoic Uinta Mountain Group, Utah, is an organic-rich sedimentary succession interpreted as a marine deltaic system that delivered immature sediment from the north that mixed with mature sediment from the east. Multiple data sets suggest regional climate and sea-level changes associated with changing organic-carbon burial rates.

Six facies were identified and represent wave-, tidal-, and river-influenced parts of the distal prodelta to delta front in a marine system. These include the shale facies and associated concretion facies (distal prodelta), the shale-sandstone facies (proximal prodelta to delta front), the slump …

Perceived Crowding And Visitor Support For Use Rationing: A Reanalysis Of Existing Data, Jascha M. Zeitlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis presents a reanalysis of data collected between 1999 and 2006 by the Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (IORT) at Utah State University. These data concern a variety of outdoor recreation sites in Utah, Idaho, and South Dakota, and were collected via intercept, mail, and, to a very limited extent, telephone surveys. Survey instruments contained questions related to visitor perceptions of crowding, overall satisfaction, support for use limits/rationing, and estimates of use density, in addition to other conceptually related factors.

Analyses consisted of multiple regression models for both perceived crowding and visitor support for use limits dependent variables …

Hydrological Characterization Of A Riparian Vegetation Zone Using High Resolution Multi-Spectral Airborne Imagery, Osama Zaki Akasheh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Rio Grande River (MRGR) is the main source of fresh water for the state of New Mexico. Located in an arid area with scarce local water resources, this has led to extensive diversions of river water to supply the high demand from municipalities and irrigated agricultural activities. The extensive water diversions over the last few decades have affected the composition of the native riparian vegetation by decreasing the area of cottonwood and coyote willow and increasing the spread of invasive species such as Tamarisk and Russian Olives, harmful to the river system, due to their high transpiration rates, …

Understanding Unfolding Change And The Value Of Strategic Unification In Recent Usu Information Technology Functional Realignment, Eric S. Hawley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a qualitative case study of the 2005-2008 Utah State University Information Technology reorganization from the perspective of key change advocates. The study identified and documented the unfolding change process involved in the reorganization in terms of dissatisfaction, executive changes, internal executive strategic planning, implementation and initial impacts, and continuous "in situ" strategic planning. The study also answered a set of supporting concluding questions indicating increased value to the institution in areas of customer service and confidence, organization, financial resources, planning and policy, security, and increased/improved services and service functions.

Effective Practices Of Project Lead The Way Partnership Teams, Cody J. Reutzel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to gather information from Project Lead The Way (PLTW) partnership team experts. This project follows the methodology of a modified Delphi study. A review of literature in the areas of curriculum development, pre-college engineering, and the Delphi research technique provided the background for the structure utilized. Top programs from across the country were questioned to identify and come to a consensus on top components essential to developing and utilizing a successful PLTW partnership team. The components were categorized into two lists: effective practices utilized to make a program successful and effective practices employed by …

Extending F10.7'S Time Resolution To Capture Solar Flare Phenomena, Ariel O. Acebal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation ionizes the neutral components in the atmosphere, which is partly responsible for the formation of the ionosphere, and contributes to heating of the atmosphere. Solar flares change the solar spectrum at times by several orders of magnitude. These changes modify the Earth's upper atmosphere, causing problems to communication systems and space operations, such as increased satellite drag. Unfortunately, solar UV measurements are limited since they can only be observed with space-based sensors. In order to work around this limitation, the solar radio emissions at a wavelength of 10.7 cm have been used as a proxy for …

Threat Perception As A Determinant Of Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Public Involvement In Air Pollution Abatement In Cache Valley, Utah, Joshua D. Marquit

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Threat perception related to environmental issues such as air pollution may be a determinant of pro-environmental behaviors. Among the potential threats of air pollution, include the perceived impacts on the psychological, social, and economic wellbeing of a community. Because of rapid increases in population growth, urbanization, and the mountainous landscapes, the American West is extremely susceptible to the adverse impacts of air pollution.

A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Air Quality Perception Survey conducted in Cache County, Utah. The survey focused on the public perception of air pollution in Cache County and perceived impact on personal …

Design Of Tunable Edge-Coupled Microstrip Bandpass Filters, Srinidhi V. Kaveri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is a study of tunability of edge-coupled filters. Microstrip edge-coupled bandpass filters are planar structures and have advantages such as easy design procedures and simple integration into circuits.

Three tuning techniques were implemented. The first technique involved the loading of one open end of each coupled into tunable capacitors. The second technique used a tunable resonator in series with the edge-coupled blocks. The final design made use of tunable feedback sections.

A detailed mathematical analysis of each design was performed. MATLAB code based on the analyses was written. The MATLAB simulations were compared to Agilent Advanced Design System …

Synthetic Complexes Of Relevance To Ni(Ii)-Containing Enzymes, Katarzyna Rudzka

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The work outlined herein presents an investigation of synthetic model complexes of relevance to the active sites of Ni(II)-containing enzymes, particularly urease, glyoxalase I, and acireductone dioxygenase. The research focuses on studying the structural and reactivity features of nickel complexes with biologically relevant substrates. The anion of acetohydroxamic acid is a well-known inhibitor of urease enzymes, including those isolated from Klebsiella aerogenes and Bacillus pasteurii. A precursor to the acetohydroxamate coordination in ureases is proposed to be an interaction between Ni(II) and acetohydroxamic acid. By using a novel supporting chelate ligand capable of secondary hydrogen bonding interactions a novel …

Seasonal Changes In A Eutrophic Lake (Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky) From Summer Stratification Through Fall Turnover, Richard D. Stockwell, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

International Space Exploration And Critical Transparency Of Basic Research: Impact Of The U.S. International Traffic In Arms Regulations, George S. Robinson, Eric Mcadamis

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Chance Operations, Liena Vayzman

SWITCH

This article describes the multimedia exhibit and performance, “Chance Operations,” held in Fall 2008 at the Climate theater in San Francisco. The event featured 14 projects exploring the theme of chance.

An Evolutionary Approach To Image Compression In The Discrete Cosine Transform Domain, Benjamin E. Banham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper examines the application of genetic programming to image compression while working in the frequency domain. Several methods utilized by JPEG encoding are applied to the image before utilizing a genetic programming system. Specifically, the discrete cosine transform (DCT) is applied to the original image, followed by the zig-zag scanning of DCT coefficients. The genetic programming system is finally applied to the one-dimensional array resulting from the zig-zag scan. The research takes an existing genetic programming system developed for the spatial domain and develops DCT domain functionality. The results from the DCT domain-based genetic programming system are compared with …

Safety-Focused Altruism: Valuing The Lives Of Others, Kevin Lee Brady

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The value of statistical life is an estimate of the monetary benefits of preventing an anonymous death. Society's willingness to pay to eliminate private health risks determines agencies' value-of-statistical-life estimates. Most estimates ignore society's willingness to pay to eliminate others' health risks. There are two possible reasons. First, altruism does not exist: Peter is not willing to pay to save Paul's life. The second possible reason is a bit more complicated. Certain economists argue that increasing benefit estimates to account for altruism involves double-counting.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate these possibilities. Accounting for altruism, it turns out, …

Comparison Of The Fuel Needed To Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables From Yellowstone National Park, Melissa Dejonge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which …

Modeling Solutions And Simulations For Advanced Iii-V Photovoltaics Based On Nanostructures, Ryan Aguinaldo

Theses

It is the purpose of the work to develop methods for and present on the computational analyses of advanced III-V photovoltaic devices and their enhancement by the incorporation of semiconductor nanostructures. Such devices are currently being fabricated as part of the research efforts at the Nanopower Research Laboratories; therefore, this work aims to supplement and ground the experimental undertakings with a strong theoretical basis. This is accomplished by numerical calculations based on the detailed balance model and by physicsbased device simulation. The specific materials focus of this work is on the enhancement of the GaAs solar cell. The aforementioned methodologies …

Preliminary Perspectives On The Health Needs Of Pastoral Women On The Borana Plateau Using Participatory Approaches, D. Layne Coppock, Seyoum Tezera, Solomon Desta

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Since 2000, the PARIMA project has conducted participatory research and outreach among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. This has led to notable achievements in terms of forming collective-action groups dominated by women, stimulation of sustainable micro-finance and micro-enterprise activities, and improving linkages of pastoral producers to livestock markets. Despite such gains, there are many other challenges to be addressed. One is poor human health. PARIMA researchers used participatory and qualitative methods to conduct a preliminary assessment of women’s health problems among members of six, well-established collective-action groups from the Borana and Gugi zones in the Oromia Regional State during 2008. Conventional …

Successful Implementation Of Collective Action And Human-Capacity Building Among Pastoralists In Southern Ethiopia: Lessons Learned, 2001-2008, D. Layne Coppock, Seyoum Tezera, Solomon Desta, Getachew Gebru

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Since 2000 the PARIMA project has implemented pilot risk-management activities among poverty-stricken, semi-settled pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. The goal has been to improve human welfare via collective action and capacity building. Outcomes include progress in income generation, asset conservation, and livelihood diversification. The approach has been unique to southern Ethiopia in that a bottom-up, participatory perspective has dominated. It has focused on the priorities and felt needs of local people rather than top-down development of livestock or agricultural technology. Fifty-nine collective-action groups were created. Dominated by women, they have included over 2,300 members and most groups have been recently merged …

Are Cattle Die-Offs Predictable On The Borana Plateau, D. Layne Coppock, Getachew Gebru, Solomon Desta, Sintayehu Mesele, Seyoum Tezerra

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Drought regularly affects rangelands and contributes to high death rates for livestock and poverty for pastoralists. But do livestock losses occur randomly simply when rainfall is low, or are they cyclical and predictable? Previously, PARIMA researchers proposed that high stocking rates—combined with low rainfall—trigger livestock die-offs on the Borana Plateau. It takes about six years for animal numbers to recover, setting the stage for another die-off when a dry year occurs. This “boom-and-bust” cycle is based on observed herd crashes in 1983-5, 1991-3, and 1998-9. Researchers predicted in 2002 that the next major die-off would occur during 2004-06, and one …

What Are Consumers In Moyale, Kenya Willing To Pay For Improved Milk Quality?, D. Layne Coppock, Francis O. Wayua, Mohamed G. Shibia, Moses S. Mamo

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Pastoralists in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia may be able to diversify income by selling milk to urban residents. However, milk sold in open-air markets is often low in quality because it has been transported long distances without refrigeration and is subject to spoilage, or because milk is adulterated prior to sale to boost volume or enhance appearance. Open-air markets are characterized by low-income consumers who must make choices about milk quality with virtually no information other than their own sensory perceptions. PARIMA researchers used an experimental-auction approach to determine what residents in Moyale, Kenya, are willing to pay (WTP) …

Side-Effects Of Pesticides On The Life Cycle Of The Mite Pathogenic Fungus Neozygites Floridana, V. W. Wekesa, M. Knapp, I. Delalibera

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard, is an invasive species in Africa causing considerable damage to Solanaceous crops. The fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana Weiser and Muma from Brazil has been considered a potential candidate for introduction into Africa for the control of T. evansi. To be incorporated in the tomato production system, N. floridana has to be compatible with the pesticides used for the control of other pests and diseases. Pesticides used in tomatoes that might affect the fungus were therefore studied by the use of different methods. Two insecticides (Lambda-cyhalothrin and Methomyl), two acaricides (Propargite …

Making Sense Of The Access Problem: A New Methodology For Analyzing The Postsecondary Education Decision, Farrah Graham

Theses and Dissertations

This study is interested in defining new variables that contribute to the explanation of whether or not an individual applies to postsecondary institutions. Prior research has explained differences based on demographic variables, such as first generation status, income and race, and differences in information and social support that an individual possesses. While these variables have a significant effect on the decision, they do not completely explain why individuals decide to pursue postsecondary education. This research suggests that how an individual moves through the decision process, as well as how information is interpreted and used will have an effect on the …

Tolerance Intervals In Random-Effects Models, Kakotan Sanogo

Theses and Dissertations

In the pharmaceutical setting, it is often necessary to establish the shelf life of a drug product and sometimes suitable to assess the risk of product failure at the desired expiry period. The current statistical methodology use confidence intervals for the predicted mean to establish the expiry period and prediction intervals for a predicted new assay value or a tolerance interval for a proportion of the population for use in a risk assessment. A major concern is that most methodology treat a homogeneous subpopulation, say batch, either as a fixed effect and therefore uses a fixed-effects regression model (Graybill, 1976) …

Animated Database Courseware: Using Animations To Extend Conceptual Understanding Of Database Concepts, Meg Murray, Mario Guimaraes

Faculty Articles

Teaching abstract concepts can be best supported with supplemental instructional materials such as software animations. Visualization and animations have been shown to increase student motivation and help students develop deeper understandings. Through an NSF funded CCLI grant, a set of animations to support the teaching of database concepts is being developed and made freely available. Current modules available cover areas such as database design, interactive SQL, stored procedures and triggers, transactions and database security. In this paper, we provide an overview of the Animated Database Courseware (ADbC) as well as provide examples of how this software might be utilized in …

'Fabrication And Characterization Of Polymer Blends And Composites Derived From Biopolymers', Suraj Sharma

All Dissertations

This research focuses on fabricating blends and composites from natural polymers especially from proteins and natural epoxy, and describing the properties of plastics made from them. Specifically, plastic samples from partially denatured feathermeal and bloodmeal proteins, derived from the animal co-products (rendering) industry, were successfully produced through a compression molding process. The modulus (stiffness) of the material obtained was found to be comparable with that of commercial synthetic materials, such as polystyrene, but was found to have lower toughness characteristics, which is a common phenomenon among plastics produced from animal and plant proteins. Therefore, this study explored blending methods for …

Real-Time Automatic Linear Feature Detection In Images, Guang Zeng

All Dissertations

Linear feature detection in digital images is an important low-level operation in
computer vision that has many applications. In remote sensing tasks, it can be used
to extract roads, railroads, and rivers from satellite or low-resolution aerial images,
which can be used for the capture or update of data for geographic information and
navigation systems. In addition, it is useful in medical imaging for the extraction of
blood vessels from an X-ray angiography or the bones in the skull from a CT or MR
image. It also can be applied in horticulture for underground plant root detection in
minirhizotron images. …

Economic Analysis Of Adoption Of Water-Saving Land Improvements In Northern China, Xuanwen Wang

All Dissertations

Determinants for farmers' choice of water-saving land improvements in Northern China are analyzed with a sample survey of 401 villages. The analysis focuses on two aspects of adoption, whether or not to adopt and if a technology is adopted, how much land to which to apply the technology. In the first stage, 'whether to adopt', multinomial logit models are applied to analyze the discrete choice of alternative land improvement strategies. In the second stage of adoption, 'how much to adopt', both sample selection models and OLS models are utilized to measure the adoption extent of field leveling, use of borders, …

Human Microvasculature Fabrication Using Thermal Inkjet Printing Technology, Xiaofeng Cui

All Dissertations

The current tissue engineering paradigm is that successfully engineered thick tissues must include vasculature. As biological approaches alone such as VGEF have fallen short of their promises, one may look for an engineering approach to build microvasculature. With the advent of cell printing, one may be able to build precise human microvasculature with suitable bio-ink. Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HMVEC) and fibrin were studied as bio-ink for microvasculature construction. Endothelial cells are the only cells to compose the human capillaries and also the major cells of blood vessel intima layer. Fibrin has been already widely recognized as tissue engineering scaffold …