Digital Commons Network^™

Game Assessment For Miltary Application, Patricia Mcneese

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of conducting this research was to establish game assessment guidelines and characteristics for integrating elected characteristics of games into ongoing instructional approaches. The cost of repurposing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games could offer a considerably lower cost alternative than the cost of creating a new instructional game developed for a specific instructional goal. The McNeese Game Assessment Tool (MGAT), created for the assessment of games in this usability study, is currently in a beta stage and was found to have potential for future game assessment. The overall assessment indicated that the tool was effective in analyzing game products for …

Gold Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Property Study And Applcications For Biomolecular Detection And Photothermal Therapy, Xiong Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a systematic study on gold nanoparticles: from their chemical synthesis, modification of surface functionalities, optical properties studies with emphasis on the absorption and scattering properties, to applications of gold nanoparticles in biomolecular detection, imaging and photothermal therapy. In chapter 2, we studied the kinetics of gold nanoparticle growth under Brust-Shiffrin reaction conditions. In chapter 3, we further examined the reaction mechanism and growth kinetics of gold nanoparticles using oleylamine as both a reducing reagent and particle growth passivation ligand. From these two projects, important understanding was revealed on gold nanoparticle formation and growth mechanism. Chapter 4 describes …

Fluctuations Of Scattered Waves: Going Beyond The Ensemble Average, J. Broky, K. M. Douglass, J. Ellis, A. Dogariu

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

The interaction between coherent waves and random media is a complicated, deterministic process that is usually examined upon ensemble averaging. The result of one realization of the interaction process depends on the specific disorder present in an experimentally controllable interaction volume. We show that this randomness can be quantified and structural information not apparent in the ensemble average can be obtained. We use the information entropy as a viable measure of randomness and we demonstrate that its rate of change provides means for discriminating between media with identical mean characteristics.

Multifractal Analysis Of Geomagnetic Storm And Solar Flare Indices And Their Class Dependence, Zu-Guo Yu, Vo Anh, Richard Eastes

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

The multifractal properties of two indices of geomagnetic activity, D(st) (representative of low latitudes) and a(p) (representative of the global geomagnetic activity), with the solar X-ray brightness, X(l), during the period from 1 March 1995 to 17 June 2003 are examined using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). The h(q) curves of D(st) and a(p) in the MF-DFA are similar to each other, but they are different from that of X(l), indicating that the scaling properties of X(l) are different from those of D(st) and a(p). Hence, one should not predict the magnitude of magnetic storms directly from solar X-ray observations. …

Buckling Instability Of Lipid Tubules With Multibilayer Walls Under Local Radial Indentation, Yue Zhao, Linan An, Jiyu Fang

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

The mechanical behavior of self-assembled lipid tubules is an important property which determines their suitability for technological applications. We study the instability of multibilayer lipid tubules (with wall thickness t and external radius R(ext)) beyond elastic response under local radial atomic force microscopy indentations. A discontinuity in force-distance curves associated with the buckling instability of lipid tubules is observed. The critical force at which lipid tubules undergo a buckling transition linearly scales as t/R(ext). In addition, a reduced critical buckling force is found to extend a distance of similar to 1 mu m from the end of lipid tubules.

Structure Relations For Orthogonal Polynomials, Mourad E. H. Ismail

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

We show how to derive structure relations for general orthogonal polynomials, that is, we find operators whose action on p(n) is a combination of p(n) and p(n+1) with variable coefficients. We also provide an analogue of the string equation for general orthogonal polynomials. We explore the connection with Toda lattice and polynomials orthogonal with respect to general exponential weights.

An Analytical Model For The Wettability Switching Characteristic Of A Nanostructured Thermoresponsive Surface, Ghanashyam Londe, Anindarupa Chunder, Lei Zhai, Hyoung J. Cho

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

The applications of thermoresponsive surfaces require the development of a rigorous mathematical treatment for these surfaces to understand and improve their behavior. We propose an analytical model to describe the transfer characteristics (variation in contact angle versus temperature) of a unique nanostructured thermosensitive surface, consisting of silica nanoparticles and a hydrophilic/hydrophobic thermoresponsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). Three different thermo-sensitive platforms were fabricated and the contact angle change of a water droplet on the surface with varying surface temperature was analytically modeled.

Optimality Conditions For Semilinear Elliptic Equations With Leading Term Containing Controls, Hongwei Lou, Jiongmin Yong

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

An optimal control problem for semilinear elliptic partial differential equations is considered. The equation is in divergence form with the leading term containing the control. Necessary conditions for optimal controls are established by the method of homogenized spike variation. The key to such a method is to modify the usual spike variational technique by taking into account the homogenization techniques for elliptic equations, together with an idea from the theory of relaxed controls. Problems with state constraints are also discussed by further adding some well-known penalty arguments involving the application of Ekeland's variational principle and finite codimensionality of certain sets.

A Multivariate Approach To A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Effectiveness Of The Dare Program, Wei Pan, Haiyan Bai

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is a widespread but controversial school-based drug prevention program in the United States as well as in many other countries. The present multivariate meta-analysis reviewed 20 studies that assessed the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program in the United States. The results showed that the effects of the D.A.R.E. program on drug use did not vary across the studies with a less than small overall effect while the effects on psychosocial behavior varied with still a less than small overall effect. In addition, the characteristics of the studies significantly explained the variation of the …

Functional Deconvolution In A Periodic Setting: Uniform Case, Marianna Pensky, Theofanis Sapatinas

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

We extend deconvolution in a periodic setting to deal with functional data. The resulting functional deconvolution model can be viewed as a generalization of a multitude of inverse problems in mathematical physics where one needs to recover initial or boundary conditions on the basis of observations from a noisy solution of a partial differential equation. In the case when it is observed at a finite number of distinct points, the proposed functional deconvolution model can also be viewed as a multichannel deconvolution model. We derive minimax lower bounds for the L-2-risk in the proposed functional deconvolution model when f(.) is …

A Hypercube-Based Encoding For Evolving Large-Scale Neural Networks, Kenneth O. Stanley, David B. D'Ambrosio, Jason Gauci

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

Research in neuroevolution-that is, evolving artificial neural networks (ANNs) through evolutionary algorithms-is inspired by the evolution of biological brains, which can contain trillions of connections. Yet while neuroevolution has produced successful results, the scale of natural brains remains far beyond reach. This article presents a method called hypercube-based NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (HyperNEAT) that aims to narrow this gap. HyperNEAT employs an indirect encoding called connective compositional pattern-producing networks (CPPNs) that can produce connectivity patterns with symmetries and repeating motifs by interpreting spatial patterns generated within a hypercube as connectivity patterns in a lower-dimensional space. This approach can exploit the …

Beat The Diffraction Limit In 3d Direct Laser Writing In Photosensitive Glass, Matthieu Bellec, Arnaud Royon, Bruno Bousquet, Kevin Bourhis, Mona Treguer, Thierry Cardinal, Martin Richardson, Lionel Canioni

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

Three-dimensional (3D) femtosecond laser direct structuring in transparent materials is widely used for photonic applications. However, the structure size is limited by the optical diffraction. Here we report on a direct laser writing technique that produces subwavelength nanostructures independently of the experimental limiting factors. We demonstrate 3D nanostructures of arbitrary patterns with feature sizes down to 80 nm, less than one tenth of the laser processing wavelength. Its ease of implementation for novel nanostructuring, with its accompanying high precision will open new opportunities for the fabrication of nanostructures for plasmonic and photonic devices and for applications in metamaterials.

Extreme Value Statistics In Silicon Photonics, D. Borlaug, S. Fathpour, B. Jalali

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

L-shape probability distributions are extremely non-Gaussian functions that have been surprisingly successful in describing the occurrence of extreme events ranging from stock market crashes, natural disasters, structure of biological systems, fractals, and optical rogue waves. We show that fluctuations in stimulated Raman scattering, as well as in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, in silicon can follow extreme value statistics and provide mathematical insight into the origin of this behavior.

Optimal Stopping Problem For Stochastic Differential Equations With Random Coefficients, Mou-Hsiung Chang, Tao Pang, Jiongmin Yong

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

An optimal stopping problem for stochastic differential equations with random coefficients is considered. The dynamic programming principle leads to a Hamiltion-Jacobi-Bellman equation, which, for the current case, is a backward stochastic partial differential variational inequality (BSPDVI, for short) for the value function. Well-posedness of such a BSPDVI is established, and a veri. cation theorem is proved.

Urban Land Use And Land Cover Classification Using The Neural-Fuzzy Inference Approach With Formosat-2 Data, Ho-Wen Chen, Ni-Bin Chang, Ruey-Fang Yu, Yi-Wen Huang

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

This paper presents a neural-fuzzy inference approach to identify the land use and land cover (LULC) patterns in a fast growing urban region with the 8-meter resolution of multi-spectral images collected by Formosat-2 satellite. Texture and feature analyses support the retrieval of fuzzy rules in the context of data mining to discern the embedded LULC patterns via a neural-fuzzy inference approach. The case study for Taichung City in central Taiwan shows the application potential based on five LULC classes. With the aid of integrated fuzzy rules and a neural network model, the optimal weights associated with these achievable rules can …

Analysis And Design Of Wide-Angle Foveated Optical Systems Based On Transmissive Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulators, George Curatu, James E. Harvey

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

Optical foveated imaging using liquid crystal (LC) spatial light modulators (SLMs) has received considerable attention in recent years as a potential approach to reducing size and complexity in fast wideangle lenses. We cover a theoretical study quantifying the diffraction efficiency and image quality of foveated optical systems (FOSs) based on transmissive LC SLMs. A practical design example of a fast wideangle FOS based on the current transmissive LC SLM technology is proposed.

Nonlinear Optical Dynamics In Nonideal Gases Of Interacting Colloidal Nanoparticles, R. El-Ganainy, D. N. Christodoulides, E. M. Wright, W. M. Lee, K. Dholakia

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

We show that many-body effects in stabilized nanocolloidal suspensions can have a profound effect on their optical nonlinearity. By considering the screened Coulomb repulsions between nanoparticles, we find that the nonlinear optical behavior of these colloids can range from polynomial to exponential depending on their composition and chemistry. The dynamics and stability properties of optical beams propagating in such nonideal gas environments of interacting colloidal particles are investigated. Our analysis provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the recently observed super-Kerr nonlinear optical response of such systems.

Modeling The Land Surface Heat Exchange Process With The Aid Of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Images, Zhiqiang Gao, Wenjiang Zhang, Wei Gao, Ni-Bin Chang

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

Most ecosystems and crops experience water stress in arid and semiarid areas of the Inner Mongolia grassland, Northern China. Yet the lack of long-term in situ monitoring data hinders the managerial capacity of changing water vapor environment, which is tied with sustaining the grassland in the Inner Mongolia. Environmental remote sensing monitoring and modeling may provide synergistic means of observing changes in thermodynamic balance during drought onset at the grassland surface, providing reliable projections accounting for variations and correlations of water vapor and heat fluxes. It is the aim of this paper to present a series of estimates of latent …

Binary And Ternary Recombination Of D-3(+) Ions With Electrons In He-D-2 Plasma, J. Glosík, I. Korolov, R. Plašil, T. Kotrík, P. Dohnal, O. Novotný, J. Varju, Š. Roucka, Chris H. Greene, V. Kokoouline

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

An experimental study is reported about the recombination of D-3(+) ions with electrons in a low-temperature plasma (200-300K) consisting of He with a small admixture of D-2. At several temperatures, the pressure dependence of the apparent binary recombination rate coefficient (alpha(eff)) was measured over a broad range of helium pressures (200-2000 Pa). The binary and ternary recombination rate coefficients were obtained from measured pressure dependences of alpha(eff). The binary recombination rate coefficient obtained alpha(bin)(300 K) = (2.7 +/- 0.9) x 10(-8) cm(3) s(-1) is in agreement with recent theory. The ternary recombination rate coefficient obtained is K-He(300 K) = (1.8 …

Temperature Dependence Of Binary And Ternary Recombination Of H-3+ Ions With Electrons, J. Glosík, R. Plašil, I. Korolov, T. Kotrík, O. Novotný, P. Hlavenka, P. Dohnal, J. Varju, V. Kokoouline, Chris H. Greene

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

We study binary and the recently discovered process of ternary He-assisted recombination of H-3+ ions with electrons in a low-temperature afterglow plasma. The experiments are carried out over a broad range of pressures and temperatures of an afterglow plasma in a helium buffer gas. Binary and He-assisted ternary recombination are observed and the corresponding recombination rate coefficients are extracted for temperatures from 77 to 330 K. We describe the observed ternary recombination as a two-step mechanism: first, a rotationally excited long-lived neutral molecule H-3* is formed in electron-H-3+ collisions. Second, the H-3* molecule collides with a helium atom that leads …

Efficient Backward-Propagation Using Wavelet-Based Filtering For Fiber Backward-Propagation, Gilad Goldfarb, Guifang Li

Faculty Bibliography 2000s

With the goal of reducing the number of operations required for digital backward-propagation used for fiber impairment compensation, wavelet-based filtering is presented. The wavelet-based design relies on signal decomposition using time-limited basis functions and hence is more compatible with the dispersion operator, which is also time-limited. This is in comparison with inverse-Fourier filter design which by definition is not time-limited due to the use of harmonic basis functions for signal decomposition. Artificial, after-the-fact windowing may be employed in this case; however only a limited amount of saving in the number of operations can be achieved, compared to the wavelets-base filter …

Imaging And Spectroscopy Of Conducting Polymer-Fullerene Composite Materials, Daeri Tenery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the development and optical study of conjugated (conducting) polymers it has become apparent that chain conformation and aggregation at the molecular scale result in complex heterogeneous nanostructured bulk materials for which a detailed insight into morphological, spectroscopic as well as optoelectronic properties and mechanisms is overwhelmingly difficult to obtain. Nanoparticles composed of the conjugated polymer poly (MEH-PPV) and nanocomposite nanoparticles consisting of MEH-PPV doped with 1-(3-methoxycarbonylpropyl)-1-phenyl-C61 (PCBM) were prepared as model systems to study these materials at the length scale of one to a few domains. The MEH-PPV and PCBM doped nanoparticles were analyzed by single imaging/particle spectroscopy (SPS) …

Synthesis Of Novel Fluorene-Based Two-Photon Absorbing Molecules And Their Applications In Optical Data Storage, Microfabricatio, Ciceron Yanez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two-photon absorption (2PA) has been used for a number of scientific and technological applications, exploiting the fact that the 2PA probability is directly proportional to the square of the incident light intensity (while one-photon absorption bears a linear relation to the incident light intensity). This intrinsic property of 2PA leads to 3D spatial localization, important in fields such as optical data storage, fluorescence microscopy, and 3D microfabrication. The spatial confinement that 2PA enables has been used to induce photochemical and photophysical events in increasingly smaller volumes and allowed nonlinear, 2PA-based, technologies to reach sub-diffraction limit resolutions. The primary focus of …

Examining The General Quality Of Early Childhood Education And Structural Variables In Support Of Early Childhood Inclusion In Beijing, China, Bi Ying Hu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to (a) explore the global quality of early childhood programs within the Chinese socio-cultural context, and (b) examine the effects of teachers' years of experience, degree, major, and class size on teachers' perceptions of developmentally appropriate practices, inclusion, and training needs in order to provide services for children with disabilities in regular classrooms. The researcher completed observations in 40 early childhood classrooms using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised (ECERS-R). Results from classroom observations revealed that the global quality of the early childhood learning environment was between minimum and good. Areas that …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Second-Order Change Leadership Behaviors Of Principals And School Grades Of Florida Title I Elementary Schools, Gonzalo La Cava

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between second-order change leadership behaviors and the grade assigned to schools in large urban districts by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). A total of 101 Title I elementary school principals from large urban school districts with 60+% students on Free and Reduced School Lunch participated in the study. Specifically, this study analyzed 7 of the 21 second-order change factor responsibilities. They include (a) knowledge of curriculum, instruction, assessment, (b) optimizer, (c) intellectual stimulation, (d) change agent, (e) monitoring/evaluating, (f) flexibility, and (g) ideals/beliefs. The findings of this study were …

A Comparison Study Of Florida Middle Schools With Advancement Via Individual Determination (Avid) And Non-Avid Middle Schools, Scott Lifvendahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools and school districts have come under increased pressure to demonstrate student proficiency and success at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Each state is required to use standardized test data as evidence of student proficiency. The data is collected by each state and reported to the federal government to demonstrate progress. In Florida, the exam used to record proficiency is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). At all three levels, the FCAT is administered annually and the results are used to create school grades ranging from A-F. Florida …

Self-Determination Among Community College Students Diagnosed With Asperger's Syndrome: A Qualitative Study, Jillian Szentmiklosi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study investigated the self-determination of community college students diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome (AS). Varying levels of self-determination were displayed within each of the five participants. However, despite the unique characteristics and experiences of the participants, five major and two minor themes related to the collegial experiences of these students were revealed. The major themes highlighted were that community college students with AS (a) enjoyed academic success, (b) found disability services and accommodations important, (c) chose majors based on personal interests, (d) relied on family members for support, and (e) had difficulty developing social connections on campus. The …

Educational Video Game Effects Upon Mathematics Achievement And Motivation Scores: An Experimental Study Examining Differences B, Wendi Kappers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An experimental research study using a mixed-method analysis to was conducted to examine educational video game effects on mathematics achievement and motivation between sexes. This study examined sex difference in a 7th grade mathematics (Mathematics 2/Mathematics 2 Advanced) classroom (n=60) learning algebra. Attributes and barriers relating to educational video game play, preference, and setting characteristics were explored. To examine achievement and motivation outcomes, a repeated-measure (SPSS v14) test was used. The analysis included ethnographic results from both student and teacher interview and observation sessions for data triangulation. Results revealed a statistically significant academic mathematics achievement score increase (F =21.8, df …

Arrow Pushing In Organic Chemistry: An Easy Approach To Understanding Reaction Mechanisms (Book Review), Jeffrey H. Glans

Chemistry & Physics Faculty Publications

A book review by Jeffrey Glans.

Levy, Daniel E. Arrow Pushing in Organic Chemistry: An Easy Approach to Understanding Reaction Mechanisms. New York: Wiley, 2008.

ISBN 9780470171103

Hungary And The United States: A Comparison Of Gifted Education, Julianna Connelly Stockton

Mathematics Faculty Publications

There is a lot that can be learned about a country based on the programs and provisions it has for mathematically talented students. While it is difficult to identify a single U.S. "program" or "approach" for gifted education, in general the trend is to put mathematically talented students through the standard mathematics sequence, just starting at an earlier age. In Hungary, on the other hand, the focus is on enrichment over acceleration. This paper explores how some very different historical, cultural, and political forces have shaped these two countries’ different approaches to educating mathematically talented students.