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2009

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Stock Returns, Risk Factor Loadings, And Model Predictions: A Test Of The Capm And The Fama -French 3 -Factor Model, Daniel Suh Dec 2009

Stock Returns, Risk Factor Loadings, And Model Predictions: A Test Of The Capm And The Fama -French 3 -Factor Model, Daniel Suh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper presents the results of time-series tests of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the Fama-French 3-factor (FF3) model in the estimation of equity capital from a perspective of corporate investment decision-making. This paper addresses Fama-French (1992, "The Cross-section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance) who find that the CAPM beta has little explanatory power in cross-sectional tests of the Fama-French portfolios sorted on market capitalization and book-to-market ratios.;The main tests of this paper are (1) the equivalence of the predicted stock risk premia of the CAPM and the FF3 model, or how significantly the two model-predicted …


Bug Tracking For Improving Software Reliability, Sriram Gadupudi Dec 2009

Bug Tracking For Improving Software Reliability, Sriram Gadupudi

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Bug Tracking for Improving Software Reliability (BTS) is an automated system that can be useful to employees and the managers in any functional organization. Bug Tracking System gives the facility to define the tasks in the organization and also allows the managers to track the bugs spent by the employee for that particular task. A report generation facility is supported in BTS that allows the managers to analyze which are those skills by employee are utilized and those which are not utilized. This tool can help managers for Bug estimation per project or application. This tool helps employees to document …


Structured P2p Technologies For Distributed Command And Control, Daniel R. Karrels, Gilbert L. Peterson, Barry E. Mullins Dec 2009

Structured P2p Technologies For Distributed Command And Control, Daniel R. Karrels, Gilbert L. Peterson, Barry E. Mullins

Faculty Publications

The utility of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems extends far beyond traditional file sharing. This paper provides an overview of how P2P systems are capable of providing robust command and control for Distributed Multi-Agent Systems (DMASs). Specifically, this article presents the evolution of P2P architectures to date by discussing supporting technologies and applicability of each generation of P2P systems. It provides a detailed survey of fundamental design approaches found in modern large-scale P2P systems highlighting design considerations for building and deploying scalable P2P applications. The survey includes unstructured P2P systems, content retrieval systems, communications structured P2P systems, flat structured P2P systems and …


Richmond Public Schools: Post-Court Mandated School Desegregation (1986-2006), Joshua Cole Dec 2009

Richmond Public Schools: Post-Court Mandated School Desegregation (1986-2006), Joshua Cole

Theses and Dissertations

In 1970, cross-town busing was court mandated to enforce school desegregation in Richmond, Virginia. Unitary status was declared in Richmond when cross-town busing ended in 1986. Richmond Public Schools (RPS) no longer operated as a dual school system for blacks and whites after 1986. Class and racial segregation continued to exist in the City of Richmond. RPS remained predominately black and poor. Socio-economic conditions of the city continued to impact the school district. Controversies, mismanagement and low academic achievement stigmatized RPS until state and federal performance measures forced the district to improve. By 2006, RPS was still segregated; however, as …


A Study On Gas Penetration And Fingering Behavior In Injection Molding Of Polymer And Powder Metal Feedstock, Edna I. Orozco Dec 2009

A Study On Gas Penetration And Fingering Behavior In Injection Molding Of Polymer And Powder Metal Feedstock, Edna I. Orozco

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The effect of processing variables on the level of gas penetration in parts fabricated by gas-assisted injection molding from two different materials was compared. The materials used were polypropylene and stainless steel powder metal/thermoplastic feedstock. Software simulation and physical experiments were conducted. Taguchi analysis was used to reduce the number of experiment trials and to find the optimum processing conditions. Four different variables were changed using nine different combinations. The processing variables are the pressure, the delay time before gas is injected, the temperature of the material injected, and the amount of the material injected. The results showed that the …


S2st: A Relational Rdf Database Management System, Anthony T. Piazza Dec 2009

S2st: A Relational Rdf Database Management System, Anthony T. Piazza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The explosive growth of RDF data on the Semantic Web drives the need for novel database systems that can efficiently store and query large RDF datasets. To achieve good performance and scalability of query processing, most existing RDF storage systems use a relational database management system as a backend to manage RDF data. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a Relational RDF Database Management System. Our main research contributions are: (1) We propose a formal model of a Relational RDF Database Management System (RRDBMS), (2) We propose generic algorithms for schema, data and query mapping, (3) …


Curanderismo And Healing Rituals: An Ethnographic And Historical Study Of The Casma Valley In Northern Peru, Maria Esmeralda Perez Dec 2009

Curanderismo And Healing Rituals: An Ethnographic And Historical Study Of The Casma Valley In Northern Peru, Maria Esmeralda Perez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

While curanderismo and shamanism form an important cultural aspect throughout Peru, the healing rituals in the Casma Valley are mostly unknown. This paper attempts to define the historical background of curanderismo in the Casma Valley by describing the traditional healing rituals throughout the Atlantic World. Recounting, not only the history of curanderismo, religion, witchcraft, and sorcery in Latin America, but also the history of these beliefs in Europe and Africa as well. One of the main goals of this paper is to provide sufficient proof of the ties and connections that curanderismo in the Casma Valley in Northern Peru share, …


Ethnobotanical Study In Casma, Peru: The Important Knowledge Of Ethnobotanicals From Local People, Rebecca L. Reyes Dec 2009

Ethnobotanical Study In Casma, Peru: The Important Knowledge Of Ethnobotanicals From Local People, Rebecca L. Reyes

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

I began to investigate how local people use medicinal plants in Peru in the summer of 2007. It soon became apparent that many of the citizens of the small coastal town of Casma have an extensive knowledge of how to identify, prepare, and use these plants. During the summer of 2008, I did extensive research on the subject; however, focused more on the local knowledge of medicinal plants. To put my work in context, I researched ethnobotany more generally and became more aware of the worldwide implications, local background traditions and life, and local knowledge that impact the use and …


The Reevaluation Of Dwight Eisenhower And Bernard Law Montgomery, David Allen Warden Dec 2009

The Reevaluation Of Dwight Eisenhower And Bernard Law Montgomery, David Allen Warden

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery were the two generals that coordinated and implemented the military strategy to invade North Africa to Europe. The two generals combined the militaries of Great Britain and the United States to defeat the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. By May 1945, the Allied forces had succeeded in finishing the war in Europe. Historians soon began to look at the two men and evaluated their ability to work together. This thesis provides a study of the reasons why the two generals were different. The study also evaluates how the two generals were able to work …


Utilizing Concept Mapping As A Teaching And Learning Tool To Prepare For The Science Taks Test, Rosa Linda Zuniga Dec 2009

Utilizing Concept Mapping As A Teaching And Learning Tool To Prepare For The Science Taks Test, Rosa Linda Zuniga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Concept mapping was used with Donna High School students to determine its effect on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Concept mapping was used with models such as the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol model (SIOP), the 5- E model, and the Learning Groups model. This measure was taken because the models used have not helped students improve their TAKS scores significantly. The findings of this research reveals that using the process of concept mapping together with the SIOP model helps students clearly see related concepts and motivates them to think more deeply. Students quickly realize what concepts …


A Realization And Application Of Appropriate French Baroque Ornamentation For The First Four Preludes Of “L'Art De Toucher Le Clavecin” By Francois Couperin, Andres Javier Lopez Dec 2009

A Realization And Application Of Appropriate French Baroque Ornamentation For The First Four Preludes Of “L'Art De Toucher Le Clavecin” By Francois Couperin, Andres Javier Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In his work, L’Art de Toucher le Clavecin (1716-1717), Francois Couperin (1668-1733) details specific instructions for the correct playing of his ornamentation. In addition to the text, Couperin composes a series of didactic preludes in ascending order of difficulty to illustrate his ornamentation in the context of his work. I will focus on the proper interpretation of Couperin’s ornamentation and include a realization of four Couperin preludes. They contain the majority of issues presented by his ornamentation. I shall seek to properly realize Couperin’s ornamentation and use of unequal rhythms using the first four preludes of L’Art de Toucher le …


Rainsford Island Shoreline Evolution Study (Rises), Christopher V. Maio Dec 2009

Rainsford Island Shoreline Evolution Study (Rises), Christopher V. Maio

Graduate Masters Theses

RISES conducted a shoreline change study in order to accurately map, quantify, and predict trends in shoreline evolution on Rainsford Island occurring from 1890-2008. It employed geographic information systems (GIS) and analytical statistical techniques to identify coastal hazard zones vulnerable to coastal erosion, rising sea-levels, and storm surges. The 11-acre Rainsford Island, located in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, consists of two eroded drumlins connected by a low-lying spit. Settled by Europeans in 1636, the Island was later used as the Harbor’s main quarantine station. Previous archeological surveys have identified numerous historically sensitive sites dating to before the Revolutionary War period, including …


The Professional Portfolio: An Evidence-Based Assessment Method, Michelle Byrne, Kathryn Schroeter, Shannon Carter, Julie Mower Dec 2009

The Professional Portfolio: An Evidence-Based Assessment Method, Michelle Byrne, Kathryn Schroeter, Shannon Carter, Julie Mower

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Competency assessment is critical for a myriad of disciplines, including medicine, law, education, and nursing. Many nurse managers and educators are responsible for nursing competency assessment, and assessment results are often used for annual reviews, promotions, and satisfying accrediting agencies' requirements. Credentialing bodies continually seek methods to measure and document the continuing competence of licensees or certificants. Many methods and frameworks for continued competency assessment exist. The portfolio process is one method to validate personal and professional accomplishments in an interactive, multidimensional manner. This article illustrates how portfolios can be used to assess competence. One specialty nursing certification board's process …


Neo-Orthodoxy In Academic Freedom, J. Peter Byrne Dec 2009

Neo-Orthodoxy In Academic Freedom, J. Peter Byrne

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This review essay analyzes two recent books that advance neo-orthodox theories of academic freedom: Matthew Finkin and Robert Post, For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom, and Stanley Fish, Save the World on Your Own Time. Both books develop principles articulated in the American Association of University Professors 1915 Declaration, which emphasize the role of faculty in advancing knowledge and the need to insulate professional evaluation of academic work from lay, political interference. This review essay defends the return to protection of the scholarly search for truth as the touchstone of academic freedom, offers critiques of the authors’ …


Fighting Freestyle: The First Amendment, Fairness, And Corporate Reputation, Rebecca Tushnet Dec 2009

Fighting Freestyle: The First Amendment, Fairness, And Corporate Reputation, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

There are three distinct groups who might want to engage in speech about commercial entities or to constrain those commercial entities from making particular claims of their own. Competitors may sue each other for false advertising, consumers may sue businesses, and government regulators may impose requirements on what businesses must and may not say. In this context, this Article will evaluate a facially persuasive but ultimately misguided claim about corporate speech: that because consumers regularly get to say nasty things about corporations under the lax standards governing defamation of public figures, corporations must be free to make factual claims subject …


Missouri S&T Magazine Winter 2009, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association Dec 2009

Missouri S&T Magazine Winter 2009, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association

Missouri S&T Magazine

No abstract provided.


The Relationship Between Procrastination And Intrapersonal Intelligence In College Students, Christa Grant Dec 2009

The Relationship Between Procrastination And Intrapersonal Intelligence In College Students, Christa Grant

Theses and Dissertations

Procrastination is ubiquitous, encompasses many domains of life, i.e., school, work, and home, and for many people has negative results. Therefore, researchers, educators, psychologists, and counselors need to discover ways to alleviate the problem. When Gardner's multiple intelligences are used in pedagogical implementation in elementary and high schools, researchers have found positive results. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between procrastination and intrapersonal intelligence as well as the other dimensions of multiple intelligence among students in higher education in order to illuminate possible solutions to the problem of procrastination. Because intrapersonal intelligence is associated with the …


Privacy Preserving Portable Health Record (P³Hr), Pavan Roy Marupally, Vamsi Paruchuri, Sriram Chellappan Dec 2009

Privacy Preserving Portable Health Record (P³Hr), Pavan Roy Marupally, Vamsi Paruchuri, Sriram Chellappan

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Personal health records (PHRs) offer significant potential to stimulate transformational changes in health care delivery and self-care by patients. There is a gap between today's personal health records (PHRs) and what patients say they want and need from this electronic tool for managing their health information. Current barriers to PHR adoption among patients include cost, concerns that information is not protected or private, inconvenience, design shortcomings, and the inability to share information across organizations. We propose a novel architecture to bridge the gap based on Privacy Preserving Portable Health Record(P3HR), a device that incorporates a smart card into …


Volition And The Function Of Consciousness, Hakwan Lau Dec 2009

Volition And The Function Of Consciousness, Hakwan Lau

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.


An Eastern Orthodox Conception Of Theosis And Human Nature, Jonathan D. Jacobs Dec 2009

An Eastern Orthodox Conception Of Theosis And Human Nature, Jonathan D. Jacobs

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.


Substance Dualism, Richard Swinburne Dec 2009

Substance Dualism, Richard Swinburne

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.


Development Of A Coal Reserve Gis Model And Estimation Of The Recoverability And Extraction Costs, Chandrakanth Reddy Apala Dec 2009

Development Of A Coal Reserve Gis Model And Estimation Of The Recoverability And Extraction Costs, Chandrakanth Reddy Apala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The United States has the world largest coal resource and coal will serve as the major and dependable energy source in the coming 200 years or more. However, the amount of recoverable coal reserve depends on the geological formations and quality of the coal seams, future development of mining technology and the extraction cost. A NETL sponsored cooperative research was conducted by the researchers at Carnegie Mallon University (CMU) and West Virginia University (WVU) to estimate the recoverable coal reserve. This thesis presents some of the works that WVU performed to enhance the coal reserve model including characterization of coal …


Application And Evaluation Of Spiral Separators For Fine Coal Cleaning, Zhuping Che Dec 2009

Application And Evaluation Of Spiral Separators For Fine Coal Cleaning, Zhuping Che

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Eight buckets of wet coal samples were collected from Shade Coal Preparation Plant, including the feed, clean coal, refuse, and middlings for fine spiral and coarse spiral, respectively. Float-sink analysis was performed on these size intervals using LMT (Lithium Metatungstate) liquids. Size distribution analysis is conducted for each size fraction of the above eight samples to evaluation the effectiveness of spiral separation. Wet sieving method was used for size distribution analysis.;From the tests, the following conclusion can be drawn: (1) The fine spiral is able to recovery 65.5% of the deslime hydrocyclone underflow as clean coal with an ash content …


Computational Environment For The Development Of An Faa Compliant Level 6 Flight Training Device, Steven Mullins Dec 2009

Computational Environment For The Development Of An Faa Compliant Level 6 Flight Training Device, Steven Mullins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A flight simulator can successfully achieve its purpose only if equipped with adequate mathematical models of the aircraft, its sub-systems, and the environment. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has instituted stringent regulations to ensure that flight simulators used for pilot training reach desirable levels of accuracy and fidelity. The purpose of this thesis is to present the development and application of a design strategy and the computational environment associated to it for building an aircraft simulation model that meets the FAA regulations for flight simulator performance. The proposed methodology is based on using flight test data in combination with …


Aerodynamic Design Of A Tilting Wind Tunnel For The Study Of A Glider In Ground Effect, Andres Felipe Velasquez E. Dec 2009

Aerodynamic Design Of A Tilting Wind Tunnel For The Study Of A Glider In Ground Effect, Andres Felipe Velasquez E.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A small, low-speed, open return, tilting wind tunnel has been designed. This wind tunnel is intended to simulate the behavior of an unpowered recreational glider that flies down slopes in ground effect at about 1m above the surface. The required tilting angle is 50°. The wind tunnel has to be capable of holding free-flying models with a recommended scaling factor of 14.2 and with Froude number matching.;The designed wind tunnel uses a centrifugal fan to blow air into the test section through a wide angle diffuser, a settling chamber and a contraction. There are six screens and a honeycomb to …


College Students' Knowledge About Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Relation To Sexual Self-Efficacy, Mychael Brooke Masters Dec 2009

College Students' Knowledge About Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Relation To Sexual Self-Efficacy, Mychael Brooke Masters

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Resources associated with learning about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were investigated in relation to college students' sexual knowledge and sexual self-efficacy. Participants included 50 male and 67 female students ages 18, 19, and 20 at West Virginia University. Self-report surveys included the Sexually Transmitted Disease Knowledge Questionnaire (STD-KQ; Jaworski & Carey, 2007), the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Cecil & Pinkerton, 1998), and a measure developed by the investigator on resources used by college students to learn about STDs. No relationship was identified between resources used to learn about STDs and college students' sexual knowledge. However, sexual knowledge was a significant predictor of …


Interleukin (Il)-1 Regulates Ozone-Induced Nerve Growth Factor (Ngf) And Substance P (Sp) Release In Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (Balf) In Mice, Joshua S. Barker Dec 2009

Interleukin (Il)-1 Regulates Ozone-Induced Nerve Growth Factor (Ngf) And Substance P (Sp) Release In Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (Balf) In Mice, Joshua S. Barker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previous studies show that both IL-1 and NGF increase synthesis of SP in airway neurons after either direct application or ozone exposure. We hypothesize that NGF mediates ozone-induced IL-1 effects on SP, similar to the pathway described for sympathetic neurons in culture. The current study specifically focuses on the effect of ozone on IL-1, NGF, and SP levels in mice BALF and if these mediators can be linked in an inflammatory-neuronal cascade in vivo. The experiments demonstrate in vivo ozone exposure induces an increase of all three proteins in mouse BALF and that both ozone-induced increases in NGF and SP …


Mining And Residential Development Interact To Produce Highly Impaired Stream Conditions In An Intensively Mined Appalachian Watershed, Eric Richard Merriam Dec 2009

Mining And Residential Development Interact To Produce Highly Impaired Stream Conditions In An Intensively Mined Appalachian Watershed, Eric Richard Merriam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Large scale surface mining in southern West Virginia causes significant alteration of headwater stream networks. It is unclear, however, the extent to which mining interacts with other stressors to determine physical, chemical, and biological conditions in aquatic systems downstream. Through a watershed scale assessment of Pigeon Creek, the specific objectives of this study were to: (1) quantify the direct and interactive effects of mining and residential development on in-stream conditions; and (2) identify landscape thresholds above which biological impairment occurs. Our results indicate high levels of impairment to habitat, water quality, and benthic invertebrate communities within this watershed. Statistical analyses …


A Software Response To Hard Drive Encryption, Justin John Mccarty Iii Dec 2009

A Software Response To Hard Drive Encryption, Justin John Mccarty Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Current computer forensic practices primarily advise analysts to review and search all digital evidence within designated labs. This practice does not take into account the possibility of encryption software being present on the suspect machine. As a result, possible evidence may become unrecoverable to the investigator. This paper will review the current standard operating procedures used by law enforcement, complications with current procedures with regard to encryption, and the design of a free to use utility for law enforcement to facilitate live analysis.


The Relationships Of Learning Style Balance And Learning Dimensions To Self-Directed Learning Propensity Among Adult Learners, Sarah Tullos Hutto Dec 2009

The Relationships Of Learning Style Balance And Learning Dimensions To Self-Directed Learning Propensity Among Adult Learners, Sarah Tullos Hutto

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of learning style characteristics to self-directed learning propensity among adult learners. The learning style characteristics investigated were learning style balance as measured by a scoring method developed by Mainemelis, Boyatzis, and Kolb (2002) and learning style dimensions as measured by the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The Oddi Continuous Learning Instrument (OCLI) was used to measure self-directed learning propensity. A questionnaire was used to collect descriptive information about the participants for age, gender, years of professional work experience, and graduate degree program in the categories of business, education, health, and …