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2009

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A Study Of Land Use Planning Practices And The Relationship Between Population Distribution And Transportation Infrastructure In Kathmandu, Nepal., Walter Suwal Dec 2009

A Study Of Land Use Planning Practices And The Relationship Between Population Distribution And Transportation Infrastructure In Kathmandu, Nepal., Walter Suwal

Theses and Dissertations

This particular paper is meant to investigate planning in Kathmandu, Nepal specifically land use planning practices and the implications on the transportation network(s). Very early on in the research including existing land use (if any), and current transportation networks, it was clear that investigations must be made into the political and planning situation leading up to the modern era in Nepal. The overview of past political events is necessary to explain current planning trends and techniques, and also the mindset of the people of Kathmandu towards planning. Of course universal planning truths can be applied in various international contexts, but …

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Examining Job Satisfaction Online Adjunct Instructors': A Phenomenological Study, Shalyn Lapke Dec 2009

Examining Job Satisfaction Online Adjunct Instructors': A Phenomenological Study, Shalyn Lapke

Theses and Dissertations

The study of job satisfaction for professors in the work place has been prevalent in the research for decades (COACHE, 2007). As online education grows exponentially each year (Allen & Seaman, 2006), this aspect of professorial teaching is emerging as an increasingly critical factor. Many professors that teach in the online sector have taught or are currently teaching in a face-to-face setting as well (Preziosi & Gooden, 2003). Also, many of the professors teaching online courses in the higher education arena are being hired as adjunct instructors. There is a lack of literature dealing with the satisfaction of the educator …

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Evaluation Of The Expansion Of Behavioral Health Services In A Rural, Primary Care Clinic: A Pilot Project, Carolyn L. Donovan Dec 2009

Evaluation Of The Expansion Of Behavioral Health Services In A Rural, Primary Care Clinic: A Pilot Project, Carolyn L. Donovan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The trend towards integrated behavioral health and primary care services has been supported by the literature. To meet the growing demand for such services, one rural primary care clinic initiated and evaluated a pilot program increasing the number of behavioral health providers. One additional counselor was hired for six hours a week for twelve weeks. The aim of the evaluation was to determine if there was an increase in availability of services, improved communication about referred patients among providers, and increased satisfaction among patients. While outcomes were not statistically significant, positive changes were noted in all areas. The implementation was …

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The Development Of A Mesenchymal Stem Cell Based Bone Graft System, Sarina Sinclair Dec 2009

The Development Of A Mesenchymal Stem Cell Based Bone Graft System, Sarina Sinclair

All Dissertations

Greater than 5.5 million fractures are sustained by Americans each year, accounting for more than 500,000 bone graft surgeries. Bone grafts are the second most transplanted material, surpassed only by blood. The current 'gold standard' for bone grafting involves harvesting bone material from the patient's iliac crest, due to its osteoinductive properties. Unfortunately, the surgery required to harvest material from the iliac crest causes additional pain for the patient, relies on a limited amount of available bone tissue, and results in, on average, a 30% rate of donor site morbidity. Both natural and synthetic substitutes have been developed to avoid …

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The Influence Of International Service-Learning On Cultural Competence In Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates And Their Subsequent Nursing Practice, Roxanne Amerson Dec 2009

The Influence Of International Service-Learning On Cultural Competence In Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates And Their Subsequent Nursing Practice, Roxanne Amerson

All Dissertations

A series of research studies was completed over 3 years to evaluate baccalaureate nursing students' transcultural self-efficacy following the completion of service-learning projects. A quantitative pilot study was completed in 2007 with a convenience sample of students (n=60) enrolled in a community health nursing course. Several clinical groups worked with local communities and one clinical group took part in a one-week program in Guatemala. The Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET) was administered at the beginning and completion of the semester. A paired-samples t test demonstrated a significant increase for pre-test to post-test total and subscale scores.
A follow-up field study was …

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A Partnership Based Approach To Professional Learning: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science, John Kenny Dec 2009

A Partnership Based Approach To Professional Learning: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science, John Kenny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a partnership based approach for preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. It involved forming three-way or "triadic" partnerships, consisting of a final year pre-service primary teacher and an in-service colleague, to teach science in the colleague teacher’s classroom, with the support of a teacher-educator. The pre-service teachers had to collaboratively plan, develop and deliver a sequence of science lessons and take major responsibility for teaching a 90 minute science lesson, at least once a week over a six week period. The data was collected during 2007 and 2008. The pre-service teachers kept a reflective journal …

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‘Motivation In Action’ In A Collaborative Primary Classroom: Developing And Sustaining Teacher Motivation, Veronica Morcom, Judith Maccallum Dec 2009

‘Motivation In Action’ In A Collaborative Primary Classroom: Developing And Sustaining Teacher Motivation, Veronica Morcom, Judith Maccallum

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines how the process of scaffolding students to solve their social issues developed mature participation for both the teacher and students. A sociocultural perspective framed the research as the underlying assumption is that students learn from each other, mediated by the teacher or more capable peers. The study provides evidence that teachers play a significant role in mediating positive relationships amongst peers, which in this case, sustained the teacher’s motivation to engage in the challenging and at times exhausting process. The teacher used weekly class meetings to negotiate with students how to share ‘power’ and model democratic decision-making. …

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L2 Teachers’ Pedagogic Knowledge Base: A Comparison Between Experienced And Less Experienced Practitioners, Ramin Akbari, Leila Tajik Dec 2009

L2 Teachers’ Pedagogic Knowledge Base: A Comparison Between Experienced And Less Experienced Practitioners, Ramin Akbari, Leila Tajik

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Second language teacher education community has become increasingly interested in the pedagogical knowledge base of teachers as a window into practitioners' mental lives. The present study was conducted to document likely differences between the pedagogic thoughts of experienced and less experienced teachers. Eight teachers participated in the project. Data were collected through the use of stimulated recall. The analysis of the data shows that there are differences both in the number and the order of the thoughts teachers produced in different groups. Experienced teachers produced an average of five pedagogical thoughts per minute, while their less experienced counterparts produced 3 …

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Teaching Out-Of-Field In Western Australia, Andrew Mcconney, Anne Price Dec 2009

Teaching Out-Of-Field In Western Australia, Andrew Mcconney, Anne Price

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A former head of the American Federation of Teachers, Albert Shanker, once called out-of-field teaching education’s “dirty little secret” (Ingersoll, 2003, p. 5). The practice of allowing or assigning teachers to teach subjects or year levels for which they do not have any formal qualifications has lead to considerable debate within the educational community. Such concerns over the possible negative impact of out-of-field teaching on students, teachers and the broader school community led the Western Australian College of Teaching (WACOT) to commission an exploratory empirical study of the extent of the phenomenon in Western Australia. This paper presents the main …

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Design And Implementation Of An Improvement Of Blowfish Encryption Algorithm, Ashwaq T., Saleh M. Al-Qarrawy, Janan A. Mahdi Dec 2009

Design And Implementation Of An Improvement Of Blowfish Encryption Algorithm, Ashwaq T., Saleh M. Al-Qarrawy, Janan A. Mahdi

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Block cipher is a major part of cipher algorithm like stream cipher and other techniques. Its power comes from dealing with plaintext as parts and operating on each block independently. Blowfish is a secret-key block cipher proposed by B. Shneier. It is a Feistel network, iterating a simple encryption function 16 times. The block size is 8-bytes and the key can be any length up to 56-bytes. In this paper, a Blowfish was improved to encrypt 16-bytes using a variable key length from 8-bytes up to 144-bytes. During the design of Improved Blowfish algorithm, the pragmatic aim was to satisfy …

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Error Estimation For An Integrated Gps/Ins System Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Technique, Salam A., Ahmed M. Hassan, Ali F. Lutfy Dec 2009

Error Estimation For An Integrated Gps/Ins System Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Technique, Salam A., Ahmed M. Hassan, Ali F. Lutfy

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Global Positioning System (GPS) and Strap down Inertial Navigation System (SDINS) can be Integrated Together To Provide A Reliable Navigation System. In This Paper, A Technique For Error Estimation In A GPS/INS System Based On A Low-Cost Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Is Offered. This Technique Is Composed Of Wavelet Transform (WT) And Adaptive Fuzzy System (AFS). The Wavelet Decomposition Is Used To De-Noise The Position And Velocity Components Of The GPS And INS Outputs. An AFS Is Introduced In This Paper To Estimate The Position And Velocity Errors In The Integrated System In Order To Provide Accurate Navigation Information About …

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A Lab View Based Data Acquisition System For Radial Temperature Distribution, Ahmed Mudher, Hazem I. Ali, Ali Farooq Lutfi Dec 2009

A Lab View Based Data Acquisition System For Radial Temperature Distribution, Ahmed Mudher, Hazem I. Ali, Ali Farooq Lutfi

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Lab VIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench) is gaining its popularity as a graphical programming language especially for data acquisition and measurement. This is due to the vast array of data acquisition cards and measurement systems which can be supported by LabVIEW as well as the relative ease by which advanced software can be programmed. One area of application of LabVEW is in the measuring and analyzing of radial temperature distribution. This paper describes a LabVIEW based data acquisition and analysis developed specifically for radial temperature distribution. The temperature is simultaneously measured and displayed.

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Design Of A Stochastic Re-Configurable Artificial Neural Networks Using Fpga, Mutaz S., Hannan A. R. Akkar, Manal H. Jassim Dec 2009

Design Of A Stochastic Re-Configurable Artificial Neural Networks Using Fpga, Mutaz S., Hannan A. R. Akkar, Manal H. Jassim

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

This paper uses the theory of stochastic arithmetic as a solution for the FPGA implementation of a complex feed forward, multi layered neural network. Compared with the traditional digital implementations, the stochastic approach simplifies the computation inVolved and saves digital resources. The architecture combines stochastic computation techniques with a novel Look Up-Table-based that fully exploits the Look Up-Table structure of many FPGAs. Basic operations of simple ANN are mapped into a modular design. The system control module, random pulse generating module , bit stream generating module , LFSR_32(Liner Feedback Shift Register) sub module, modulator sub module, neuron module and bit …

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A Modified Bisected-T Matching Network For Microwave Filter Design, Azad Raheem Dec 2009

A Modified Bisected-T Matching Network For Microwave Filter Design, Azad Raheem

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

In this paper, a proposed method to implement the image parameter filters is presented. It is based on cascading π-networks and using a proposed bisected-T m-derived matching section to the source and load impedances instead of the use of the cascaded T-networks and the classical bisected-π matching sections. The proposed method achieves the advantage of reducing the total number of the inductors in the circuit which is a great benefit for circuit implementation in the recent monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology. The method also finds application in broadband microwave distributed amplifiers design.

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Efficient Analysis Of Loaded Cylindrical Monopole Antennas, Adam Schreiber Dec 2009

Efficient Analysis Of Loaded Cylindrical Monopole Antennas, Adam Schreiber

All Dissertations

In this dissertation is presented a collection of papers focusing on enhancing the efficiency of integral equation solutions of antennas. A method of incorporating network principles into the method of moments is developed. Scattering parameters are determined for two structures: a coaxial-guide/radial-guide junction present in coaxial feeds of monopole and dipole antennas, and a folded coaxial guide junction proposed as part of an inductive load below the feed of the antenna. There is excellent agreement among the data obtained from the proposed method, independent MoM solutions not incorporating network principles, and measurements. An investigation into electrically switching a folded coaxial …

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An Approach Designed For Reginal Prospective Human Health And Ecological Risk Assessment And Its Application To Mercury Risks From A Coal-Fired Power Plant, Pathratipa Sansayavichai Dec 2009

An Approach Designed For Reginal Prospective Human Health And Ecological Risk Assessment And Its Application To Mercury Risks From A Coal-Fired Power Plant, Pathratipa Sansayavichai

All Dissertations

A large and/or long-term released source of a toxic chemical(s) can cause adverse effects to humans and non–human species inhabiting all over the region. The overall goal of this dissertation was to improve practices in risk assessment concerning a regional risk posed by a prospective source. A generic conceptual framework for performing regional prospective human health and ecological risk assessment was developed. The formulation of a priori considerations was used to identify the possible sources of uncertainties in the prospective risk assessment. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling was utilized to reduce uncertainty in a toxicologically safe dose used in risk …

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Interrupting The Workplace: Examining Stressors In An Information Technology Context, Pamela Galluch Dec 2009

Interrupting The Workplace: Examining Stressors In An Information Technology Context, Pamela Galluch

All Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the negative and positive outcomes of information and communication technology (ICT) in facilitating and reducing stress. The goals of this dissertation are twofold: 1) to deepen our understanding of how ICT-enabled interruptions influence individuals' episodic stress and 2) to examine whether ICTs may also be used to diminish stress evoked by ICT-enabled interruptions. Originating from psychology, the demands control model (Karasek, 1979) is used as an overarching theoretical lens to explain this technology-based duality, where technology serves as both a problem causing and a solution alleviating stress. The demands control model suggests that stressors have their …

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Characterization Of Gulf Sturgeon Diel And Seasonal Activity In The Pensacola Bay System, Florida, Beth Wrege Dec 2009

Characterization Of Gulf Sturgeon Diel And Seasonal Activity In The Pensacola Bay System, Florida, Beth Wrege

All Dissertations

We assess temporal and spatial distribution and diel variability in activity of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Pensacola Bay system, Florida, using stationary ultrasonic telemetry. Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (n = 54) migrated through the bay system in fall to wintering areas in the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound. In spring, sturgeon migrated back through the bay system to summering habitats in rivers. Gulf of Mexico sturgeon use East Bay and Escambia Bay primarily as migration routes between riverine areas used in spring and summer and the Gulf of Mexico used in winter. North …

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Wide Area Monitoring And Control, Manish Patel Dec 2009

Wide Area Monitoring And Control, Manish Patel

All Dissertations

Today's interconnected power system is deregulated for wholesale power transfers. In 1996 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission provided open access of the transmission network to utilities. Since then utilities are transferring power over long distances to bring reliable and economical electric supply to their customers. As the number of wholesale power transactions taking place over an interconnected system are increasing, system operators in control areas are forced to monitor the grid on a large scale to operate it reliably. Before scheduling such a large scale power transactions, it is necessary to make sure that such transaction will not violate system operating …

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Improving Computer Game Bots' Behavior Using Q-Learning, Purvag Patel Dec 2009

Improving Computer Game Bots' Behavior Using Q-Learning, Purvag Patel

Theses

In modern computer video games, the quality of artificial characters plays a prominent role in the success of the game in the market. The aim of intelligent techniques, termed game AI, used in these games is to provide an interesting and challenging game play to a game player. Being highly sophisticated, these games present game developers with similar kind of requirements and challenges as faced by academic AI community. The game companies claim to use sophisticated game AI to model artificial characters such as computer game bots, intelligent realistic AI agents. However, these bots work via simple routines pre-programmed to …

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Fire History And Current Stand Structure Analysis Of A Midwestern Black Oak Sand Savanna, Cody Douglas Considine Dec 2009

Fire History And Current Stand Structure Analysis Of A Midwestern Black Oak Sand Savanna, Cody Douglas Considine

Theses

Management and restoration of black oak dominated sand savannas often rely on historic vegetative descriptions (settler accounts, surveyor notes, aerial photographs). It is commonly assumed that fire alone maintains savanna structure and composition, however little information is known about the specific fire frequency needed to maintain these systems. The objective of this study was to quantify and correlate characteristics of stand structure with fire history of the Kankakee Sands savannas in northeastern Illinois. Fire history chronologies were determined through dendrochronological methods from 289 dated fire scars identified on 58 black oak (Quercus velutina) trees located throughout four wooded sites. Tree …

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Feeling Comfortable With Pluralistic Diversity: Using Common Organizational Strategies To Get Uncommon Results In Higher Education Voluntary Service Organizations, Ruth Sessler Bernstein Dec 2009

Feeling Comfortable With Pluralistic Diversity: Using Common Organizational Strategies To Get Uncommon Results In Higher Education Voluntary Service Organizations, Ruth Sessler Bernstein

Student Scholarship

Diversity is a goal of the majority of America's institutions of higher learning. These colleges and universities have made great strides in achieving representational diversity through aggressive recruiting and retention efforts. However, on campus, students infrequently engage in pluralistic diversity. This paper examines a national voluntary service organization at two pluralistically diverse universities. Semi-structured interviews with members and alumni of the association provided insight into the characteristics of the interactions they have had with those who are different from them. These insights enabled us to examine the specific organizational strategies this nonprofit adopted that promoted enriching intercultural interactions.

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From Esteem To Stigma: The Effect Of The Financial Crisis On Banker Engagement, Glen Weaver Dec 2009

From Esteem To Stigma: The Effect Of The Financial Crisis On Banker Engagement, Glen Weaver

Student Scholarship

Absent from a quickly accumulating literature on job engagement is a focus on professionals in the financial industry. There is, in particular, little research on the organization or industry identity of bankers as a discrete group. Nor has the literature explored the relationship of these identities with job engagement or environmental duress. We seized an opportunity to study the effects of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on bankers' identities and passion for their jobs. Semi-structured interviews with 28 mid-level bankers at five prominent US banks that accepted Toxic Asset Relief Program funding (TARP) captured insights about "normal state" (pre-crisis) versus mid-crisis …

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The Effects Of Strategic Outsourcing Management On Absorptive Capacity: A Practioner-Scholar Perspective, Beth Fitz Gibbon Dec 2009

The Effects Of Strategic Outsourcing Management On Absorptive Capacity: A Practioner-Scholar Perspective, Beth Fitz Gibbon

Student Scholarship

Common sense would say, if you are going to outsource innovation, find the most competent supplier and acquire the most codified technology. This research hypothesizes a more counter-intuitive approach by empirically measuring how a firm's outsourcing strategy affects its Absorptive Capacity, which serves here as a proxy for firm sustainability. It is proposed that a complementary buyer-supplier relationship will have a significant positive effect on a firm's absorptive capacity, thereby enhancing its long-term effectiveness, as well as its short-term efficiency. On the other hand, the more competent the supplier relative to the buyer, the less knowledge the outsourcing buyer will …

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The Paradox Of Evidenced-Based Management In Higher Education, Alice J. Walker Dec 2009

The Paradox Of Evidenced-Based Management In Higher Education, Alice J. Walker

Student Scholarship

The potential role for evidence-based management approaches to transform systems of higher learning and meet the growing needs of our knowledge economy is widely proposed. Most of the empirical work on evidence-based practice and management has concentrated on dynamics directly related to the use of evidence. This study takes a broader view of the management process of inquiry in which evidence is collected, interpreted or ignored. Semi-structured interviews with 31 faculty, staff and administrative members of college quality improvement committees were conducted in a grounded approach to qualitative research. What emerged was an intriguing tale of passion, power, and paradox …

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The Role Of School Leadership In Student Achievement In Kenya, Renson Muchiri Mwangi Dec 2009

The Role Of School Leadership In Student Achievement In Kenya, Renson Muchiri Mwangi

Student Scholarship

Despite ample documentation that mathematics mastery can affect national development and notwithstanding long instituted formal government initiatives to improve it, student mathematics performance at the secondary school level in Kenya has deteriorated. Studies on mathematics achievement in Kenya have primarily focused on teachers’ classroom practices neglecting the potential influence of school leadership. We conducted a qualitative study involving Kenyan school principles and other administrative and instructional staff to construct an account of how school leadership is enacted and experienced in the day-to-day practices and how it affects student mathematics mastery. Our findings suggest that principals’ leadership and engagement, demonstrated commitment, …

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Enterprise Information Systems And Organizational Agility: Erp As A Dynamic Source Of Change, Complexity, And Risk, Amol Kharabe Dec 2009

Enterprise Information Systems And Organizational Agility: Erp As A Dynamic Source Of Change, Complexity, And Risk, Amol Kharabe

Student Scholarship

The literature is silent about how organizations that have implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions reconcile the use of these rigid platforms in turbulent competitive environments. We studied three diverse organizations- a $9 billion US retailer, a $3 billion consumer products firm and a $2 billion logistics company- all with ERP solutions in the sustainment phase, to shed light on the impact of changing business needs on overall ERP performance. Semi structured interviews with 24 business and technical professionals revealed that in addition to economic and competitive forces for change to the ERP system, the system itself is paradoxically a …

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Analysis Of The Theoretical Framework Of The Rea Accounting Model Used In The Design Of Accounting Information Systems, Salman Hussein Abdullah Dec 2009

Analysis Of The Theoretical Framework Of The Rea Accounting Model Used In The Design Of Accounting Information Systems, Salman Hussein Abdullah

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Researchers often equate database accounting models in general and the Resources-Events-Agents (REA) accounting model in particular with events accounting as proposed by Sorter (1969). In fact, REA accounting, database accounting, and events accounting are very different. Because REA accounting has become a popular topic in AIS research, it is important to agree on exactly what is meant by certain ideas, both in concept and in historical origin. This article clarifies the analyzing framework of REA accounting model and highlights the differences between the terms events accounting, database accounting, semantically-modeled accounting, and REA accounting. It also discusses potentially productive directions for …

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An Exploratory Investigation Of The Implementation Of Quality Staff Development And Campus Success, Cindy Hays Sadler Dec 2009

An Exploratory Investigation Of The Implementation Of Quality Staff Development And Campus Success, Cindy Hays Sadler

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study was to explore what proportion of staff development as measured by the National Staff Development Council’s Standard Assessment Inventory (SAI) contributes to campus success as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Two exploratory null hypotheses were generated and tested in an attempt to explore outcomes using the SAI and TAKS scores. H0 Campus Success (Y) based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is not a function of implementation of the National Staff Development Council Standards (X) based on Standard Assessment Inventory. H0 Campus success (Y) is not a function …

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Evaluation Of Windows Servers Security Under Icmp And Tcp Denial Of Service Attacks, Hari Krishnea Vallalacheruvu Dec 2009

Evaluation Of Windows Servers Security Under Icmp And Tcp Denial Of Service Attacks, Hari Krishnea Vallalacheruvu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Securing server from Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks is a challenging task for network operators. DDOS attacks are known to reduce the performance of web based applications and reduce the number of legitimate client connections. In this thesis, we evaluate performance of a Windows server 2003 under these attacks. In this thesis, we also evaluate and compare effectiveness of three different protection mechanisms, namely SYN Cache, SYN Cookie and SYN proxy protection methods, to protect against TCP SYN DDoS attacks. It is found that the SYN attack protection at the server is more effective at lower loads of SYN …

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