Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of Super-Resolution For Face Recognition From Very-Low Resoution Images, James Roger Roeder

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Super-Resolution (SR) involves the registration of multiple images/frames and reconstruction of a single higher resolution image. The goal of this research is to use multiple, very-low resolution images, such as those produced from a video sequence in a wireless sensor network system, as input to the super-resolution process in a face recognition system. The algorithm used for face recognition is the Fisherfaces method with a nearest neighbor classifier used for the recognition decision. Super-resolution consists of two stages, a registration stage and a reconstruction stage.

The testing images were segmented using a simple skin color detection approach. After the cropping, …

Pre-Existing Attitudes About The Legal System: The Thirteenth Juror?, Larissa Angelique Schmersal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The idealized role of the jury is that of a neutral decision maker; however, the degree to which individual verdict preferences represent jurors' pre-existing beliefs about the legal system, theories about issues important to the case at hand, and prior understanding of legal terms remains inadequately explained. The purpose of the current study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of pre-existing attitudes about the legal system upon verdict preferences. Participants were 463 undergraduate students from the University of Texas at El Paso. Consistent with the hypotheses, pre-existing attitudes about the legal system played a role in individual verdicts, …

In Defense Of The Value Of Visual Arts In Public Education:An Examination Of Scholarly Arguments For Functionary Pedagogy And Intrinsic Fulfillment, Monica Lynn Seymore

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A descriptive study sought to find answers to an ongoing dichotomous argument about Visual Arts education in public schools: should Visual Arts function in support of core academic courses or should Visual Arts be taught primarily for their intrinsic value? Multiple sources as well as personal experience teaching art have influenced and contributed to resultant opinion in this study . Two main arguments clarified in detail and delineated in points of their disparate issues, function to defend visual arts in public schools. Conclusion maintain that arguments and support of the intrinsic values students experience through visual arts.

Computational Modeling Studies Of The Structures And Properties Of Organotin(Iv) And Stannyl-Thioether Systems With Comparisons To X-Ray Crystallography, Michelle R. Stem Joseph

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Controlling the toxic effects of organotin(IV) compounds involves engineering the structure of the molecules to optimize their properties. Molecular engineering, coupled with improved capabilities to generate reliable computational optimization models (COMs), will enable researchers to have greater success at harnessing the highly specific cytotoxicity of organotins. For example, as the thio_n ligand phenyl groups were replaced with Cl atoms, the S-Sn intramolecularity was strengthened, the bond distance decreased, and the stannyl tetrahedral structure was deformed from its triphenyl conformation. With each substitution, conformation deformations lowered the damaging bioactivity levels of thio_n. Bonding various ligands to organotin(IV) compounds …

Studies Of Prompt Gamma And Neutron Yield Due To 2.5 Mev Neutrons Using Geant4, Jesus Felipe Tovar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the present work the software GEANT4, a particle transport toolkit based on the Monte Carlo method, developed mostly by CERN, but also by other institutions and universities. GEANT4 is here used to simulate the dispersive effects that 2.5 MeV neutrons undergo after interacting with different elements. This study has the main interest of identifying spectral signatures, that is the type and number of particles yielded after neutron bombardment of special nuclear material under various shielding conditions. Shielding is composed of various attenuating materials with simple geometrical configurations, that can evolve into more intricate geometries through Boolean operations, enclosing a …

Experimental Study Of The Response Of Semiconductor Detectors For Edxrf Analysis., Sunil Kumar Valaparla

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This present work relates to the study and characterization of the response function of an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer. The problems of energy, efficiency and resolution calibration of the system operating in the energy (5-60 keV) range are discussed. We present the operation characteristics of the portable pyro-electric x-ray generator (COOL-X) and the application of the calibrated response spectrum in the elemental analysis using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF).

We study the response of the Si(Li)-Pin XR-100CR semiconductor detector to low energy photons. The photopeak efficiency was determined experimentally by using radioisotopes and compared against a theoretical efficiency curve. The efficiency for gamma …

Remote Control Of Multiple Robots: A Wireless Sensor Network And Virtual Reality Approach, Yingjun Zhu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A tele-operation system of robots based on virtual reality and WSN is established and demonstrated. Pro/E, Blender 3D and Python language are adopted to build up and carry out the virtual environment and virtual robot. Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology has been used to achieve the tele-operation function. The WSN enables the users to control the robots and collect the data/status from the robots as well. Robot virtual reality software has been developed and presented in the paper. The network setup and the control/communication Application Programming Interface (API) has been shown in this paper.

Avoiding Mere Incantations: Evaluating Success On Nonfee Claims When Determining Prevailing-Party Status Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, Jessica L. Brumley

Duke Law Journal

The American rule dictates that regardless of the outcome, parties pay for their own attorneys' fees unless Congress has specifically enacted a fee-shifting statute authorizing courts to award fees to prevailing parties. One of the most recognized fee-shifting statutes is 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Courts and scholars have extensively discussed whether a plaintiff is a prevailing party under § 1988. Yet both have largely ignored one scenario in which a plaintiff files a suit containing both constitutional claims for which fees are authorized under § 1988 (fee claims) and state law claims for which fees are not authorized (nonfee claims). …

Counting Offenses, Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky

Duke Law Journal

Is a criminal defendant who discharges a weapon five times in rapid succession guilty of one crime or several crimes? This question of how to divide charges has vexed legal philosophers and Supreme Court Justices. It is a question of profound importance, but one that legal scholarship has seldom addressed. The answer has an impact on each stage of a criminal justice prosecution. The difference between one charge and multiple charges can affect the likelihood of a plea bargain, the strategy for trial, and, if the defendant is convicted, the length of a prison sentence. This Note, citing numerous examples …

Chevron’S Mistake, Lisa Schultz Bressman

Duke Law Journal

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. asks courts to determine whether Congress has delegated to administrative agencies the authority to resolve questions about the meaning of statutes that those agencies implement, but the decision does not give courts the tools for providing a proper answer. Chevron directs courts to construe statutory text by applying the traditional theories of statutory interpretation-whether intentionalism, purposivism, or textualism-and to infer a delegation of agency interpretive authority only if they fail to find a relatively specific meaning. But the traditional theories, despite their differences, all invite courts to construe statutory text as …

Verification Of Nyslab A Software For The Analysis Of Jointed Pavements, Maryam Limouee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A significant amount of research and development has been conducted for decades to provide a tool for the design and analysis of jointed slabs on different types of foundations. ILLI-SLAB, JSLAB, EverFE and ISLAB are the most used finite element modeling (FEM) codes that have gone through several iterations of improvement. JSLAB has been maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and is distributed free of charge and there is significant interest in further improving the capabilities of that software package.

Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso have been charged to implement several modifications in the latest …

Supporting Teacher Education Through A Combined Model Of Philosophical, Collaborative And Experiential Learning, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper provides insights into teaching and learning based on the analysis of an accredited professional development program, entitled the Postgraduate Certificate in Third Level Learning and Teaching, aimed at lecturing staff/faculty in Irish higher education. The program has its theoretical basis in the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1983), combined with principles of collaborative learning and a philosophical understanding of teaching in higher education. An action research study was conducted to investigate the lecturers’ perceptions of the program, with a particular focus on how support could be provided to them through a combined model of learning. As a core …

A Curriculum Concern: Professional Standards And Special Interest Groups, Martha May Tevis, John Mcbride

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Earth Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Paramagnetic Contrast Agents, Saideh Sadat Mortazavi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this research was to visualize the uptake of copper by plants to aid phyto-remediation research. The hypothesis was that regions of the plant with more copper will have an enhanced NMR signal using copper as a paramagnetic contrast agent.

As the name implies, Earth Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (EFMRI) spectrometry uses a magnetic field 300,000 times weaker than a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Just like in conventional human MRI, this portable instrument is capable of recording one, two and three dimensional images though the sample size is much smaller.

The enhancement of signal was …

Improving Throughput Of Simultaneous Multithreaded (Smt) Processors Using Shareable Resource Signatures And Hardware Thread Priorities, Mitesh Ramesh Meswani

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) allows multiple hardware threads to execute concurrently on a processor core, potentially increasing the utilization and throughput of the processor core by a factor of the degree of multithreading. However, such performance gains may not be achieved due to contention for resources shared by the threads. Hardware thread priorities can be used to control the ratio of decode cycles allocated to the hardware threads of a processor core and, therefore, the degree of resource contention among the threads. The IBM POWER5, which has two hardware threads associated with each of its two cores, supports hardware thread priorities. …

An Investigation On The Mixing Hydrodynamics Of A Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed, Mario Alberto Ruvalcaba

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In previous decades, the experimental and numerical studies of multiphase flows have remarkably increased especially gas-solid flows. Research of this type has abundant applications in energy, chemical processes, among others. Moreover, common applications include fluid catalytic cracking for petroleum refineries, fluidized bed reactors (type of chemical reactors), interface modification, such as applying a coating onto solid items, and an important technology breakthrough in coal gasification. The work presented on this thesis concentrates on the investigation of gas-solid flows utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. The gas-solid flows studies performed on this investigation assumed the solid phase as a continuum with …

Nutrient Dynamics In A Created Desert Wetland: Implications For The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, Ruth Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Rio Bosque Wetland Park is an arid wetland currently under restoration, which primarily receives water inputs from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) during the non-irrigation season. Understanding the ability of a desert wetland to remove nutrients from the water column through uptake by primary producers or sediment transformations is key to justifying the protection and creation of other similar wetland sites. Nitrate concentrations tended to be reduced, relative to the inflow, near the outflow of the wetland.To further understand these trends, sediment nutrient release experiments and algal nutrient limitation experiments were completed. Sediment phosphorus release experiments indicated that …

A Characterization Of Pseudo-Orders In The Ring Zn, Jorge Ivan Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Partially ordered sets are widely studied in algebra. The theory of lattice-ordered and partially-ordered rings is an important case. In this paper, we consider a more general relation: pseudo orders, which are relations that are reflexive and antisymmetric, but are not necessarily transitive. Analogously to partially-ordered rings, we study pseudo-ordered rings. We present a general characterization for pseudo-ordered rings, and then we focus on a specific structure: the ring Zn. Having the constraints of this ring, we are able to give the conditions under which Zn can be pseudo-ordered.

Methodology To Develop A Minimum Cost Acceptance Sampling Plan For Highway Construction, Gandhar Wazalwar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Quality Assurance has always been a part of manufacturing processes. Since World War II, Acceptance Sampling has been introduced and implemented for quality control and improvement. Since statistical methods are applied for quality assurance, especially in acceptance sampling, various methods are becoming popular among the highway agencies over the period of time. As a result, several specifications have been designed to date based upon different statistical theories, each with its own advantages and shortcomings. Acceptance is a form of quality assurance which is employed as an audit tool for decision making to accept or reject the product based on its …

Pressure Induced Phase Transformation Of Sno2: An Ab Initio Constant Pressure Study, Daniel Tesfai Yehdego

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The behavior of SnO2 under rapid hydrostatic pressures is studied using constant-pressure ab initio simulations. The rutile-type SnO2 gradually transforms into the CaCl2-type structure at 15 GPa. At a pressure of about 20 GPa, a phase transformation into a cubic fluorite-type structure is observed. The orthorhombic Pnma cotunnite-structured phase is observed above 150 GPa. The mechanisms of these phase transformations at the atomistic level are discussed.

Microwave Assisted Solid-Supported Organic Synthesis: A Novel Methodology To Obtain 2,3-Disubstituted-1,4-Naphthoquinones, Israel Garcia-Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on the combinatorial solid phase organic synthesis (SPOS) of different bioactive compounds utilizing transition metal mediated reactions via microwave assisted organic synthesis (MAOS).

A microwave-assisted solid-supported Dötz benzannulation of chromium Fischer carbene complexes with various alkynes has been reported. The oxidative cleavage of the resulting resin-bound 1,4-naphthols affords 2,3-disubstituted-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives in good to moderate yields with high purities. We demonstrated that solid phase organic synthesis of naphthoquinones via conventional heating is limited due to their long reaction times and high temperatures. The products decompose leading to low yields and purities.2 Microwave assisted synthesis of these naphthoquinones will …

Property-Owning Democracy And The Demands Of Justice, Thad Williamson, Martin O'Neill

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

John Rawls is arguably the most important political philosopher of the past century. His theory of justice has set the agenda for debate in mainstream political philosophy for the past forty years, and has had an important influence in economics, law, sociology, and other disciplines. However, despite the importance and popularity of Rawls's work, there is (rather surprisingly) no clear picture of what a society that met Rawls's principles of justice would actually look like.

Pets In Print Advertising - Are We Seeing More Of Rover And Fluffy? A Content Analysis Of Four Popular Magazines, Charles M. Mayo, Donna T. Mayo, Marilyn M. Helms

Faculty Articles

This content analysis of advertising in four popular magazines investigates whether the role of pets-specifically dogs and cats-has changed as they have grown in popularity and power in American culture. Analysis of print advertisements from 1994 and 2004 suggests that although the frequency with which household pets appear in print advertisements has declined slightly, portrayals of "Rover" and "Fluffy" have changed to reflect society's growing fascination with and devotion to our furry family members.

Using Emotion To Gain Rapport In A Spoken Dialog System, Jaime Cesar Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Although spoken dialog systems are becoming more widespread, their application is today limited largely to domains involving simple information exchange. To enable future applications, such as persuasion, new capabilities are needed. One barrier to the creation of such applications has been the lack of methods for building rapport between spoken dialog systems and human users, and more generally the inability to model the emotional and interpersonal aspects of dialog. This dissertation focuses on improving this.

A corpus of persuasive dialogs that in which a graduate coordinator informed undergraduate students about the graduate school option was analyzed. Although much of each …

Retention And Productivity In Industrial Search And Scan Tasks, Camilo Aguilera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An experiment was developed in order to study the interaction between individual factors (gender and mood) and the retention ability in search and scan activities. 54 subjects between 18 and 30 years old participated in a computer-based memory test from the North of Mexico area. A full factorial design was used to analyze the variables. Two factors, one with two levels (gender: male and female), and the second factor with three levels (mood: positive, neutral, and negative) were used in the analysis. The output was measured as the amount of characters memorized in a string of random alphanumeric characters. Data …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Organic-Inorganic Colorants, Kiran A V Adiraju

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

New colorant materials have been found with the interaction of organic dyes and metal alkoxides. Changes in the hue are observed as indigo dye or thioindigo dyes are combined with the ASB (aluminum tri-secbutoxide), when compared to the original indigo or thioindigo dye, due to the binding and geometry change between dye and metal alkoxide. These dyes are combined with the ASB in two different methods of hydrolysis, namely in the air and in water. Similarly, when TTIP (Titanium tetraisopropoxide) is hydrolyzed using the sol gel process, along with the incorporation of thioindigo dye, hue changes were observed. X-ray diffraction …

Development And Validation Of A High Throughput, Elisa Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Not Required

A Survey Of Physical Therapists: Long Term Therapy Needs For Persons With Severe Disabilities, Irmo Marini, Karen Luckett, Eva Miller, E. Lisette Blanco

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Sixty-three physical therapists participated in a survey designed to obtain their opinions regarding long-term and on-going future therapy recommendations for patients with spinal cord injuries, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, traumatic brain injuries, cerebral vascular accidents, cerebral palsy, and severe burns. Overall, therapists indicated these patients needed on-going therapy due to a loss or impairment of motor skills, ambulation skills, and loss or impairment of self-care skills. The primary reason reported for patients not returning to physical therapy for on-going treatment following their acute care was lack of insurance coverage or end of insurance benefits. This study outlines the implications for life …

Empirical Development Of An Instructional Product And Its Impact On Mastery Of Geometry Concepts, Donaldson Williams

Dissertations

Problem

Relatively poor levels of mathematical thinking among American school children have been identified as a major issue over the past half century. Many efforts have been made to increase the mathematics performance of children in schools. Additionally, out-of-school-time programs have attempted to address this issue as well. Holistic development is one of the distinguishing features of Seventh-day Adventist instructional programs. Yet, as of 2007, the Pathfinder program, an informal educational program operated by the world-wide Seventh-day Adventist church, had no instructional product designed to foster participants’ cognitive development in mathematics. This study focused on the empirical development of an …

Cal Poly Honors Undergraduate Research Journal 2009, Cal Poly University Honors Program

Honors Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.