Digital Commons Network^™

A Thousand Crowns, Brent Schnee

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

No abstract provided.

On The High, Jarmea L. Boone

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

No abstract provided.

Technical Writing For Software Documentation Writers: A Textbook On Process And Product, Elizabeth Warnke

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

No abstract provided.

Doing It Write: Professionalizing The Write Room, Joellen Kubiak-Woodall

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of The Budgetary Process: The Case Study Of Georgia Perimeter College, Kimberley Robinson

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Given that numbers alone do not tell much of a story, this research project investigates Georgia Perimeter College’s budget process and the politics that is associated with it. This case study is an exploratory analysis. This type of methodology is ideal when a holistic, in‐depth investigation is needed. Also the method seeks to identify influences on performance. This exploratory analysis examines the comprehensive budgeting process of Georgia Perimeter College. It begins by compiling and organizing all data, and details where the budget process actually starts, who the players are in the budgeting process, and how funds are allocated. The analysis …

U.S.-Cambodia Defense Relations: Defining New Possibilities, Lewis M. Stern

Strategic Forums

Cambodia’s lax border controls, widespread corruption, extremely active arms trade, and surfeit of small arms remaining from the Third Indochina War have made Phnom Penh an attractive platform for transient interests, as well as a staging ground for numerous activities that challenge the safety and well-being of the region.

If Rumors Were Horses, Katina Strauch

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Forecasting Science And Technology For The Department Of Defense, John W. Lyons, Richard Chait, James J. Valdes

Defense and Technology Papers

This paper discusses recent trends in S&T, particularly how various disciplines have converged to produce new capabilities, and considers how a new series of studies might be conducted taking into account such convergences.

Cellular Biophysics During Freezing Of Rat And Mouse Sperm Predicts Post-Thaw Motility, Mie Hagiwara, Jeung Hwan Choi, Ramachandra V. Devireddy, Kenneth P. Roberts, Willem F. Wolkers, Antoine Makhlouf, John C. Bischof

Faculty Publications

Though cryopreservation of mouse sperm yields good survival and motility after thawing, cryopreservation of rat sperm remains a challenge. This study was designed to evaluate the biophysics (membrane permeability) of rat in comparison to mouse to better understand the cooling rate response that contributes to cryopreservation success or failure in these two sperm types. In order to extract subzero membrane hydraulic permeability in the presence of ice, a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method was used. By analyzing rat and mouse sperm frozen at 5°C/min and 20°C/min, heat release signatures characteristic of each sperm type were obtained and correlated to cellular …

Meso-Scale Heating Predictions For Weak Impact Of Granular Energetic Solids, Rohan Panchadhar, Keith A. Gonthier

Faculty Publications

An explicit, 2-D, Lagrangian finite and discrete element technique is used to characterize thermo-mechanical fluctuations in low pressure deformation waves propagating through particulate energetic solids. The technique combines conservation principles with a plane strain, thermoelastic-viscoplastic and friction constitutive theory to describe deformation and motion of individual particles; interaction between particles is described using an energy consistent, penalty based contact method. Emphasis is placed on characterizing the relative importance of volumetric and surface dissipation as meso-scale heating mechanisms. Predictions indicate that volumetric dissipation locally heats significant mass to modest temperatures, whereas surface dissipation locally heats a small fraction of mass to …

Novel Nanocomposite Materials For Advanced Li-Ion Rechargeable Batteries, Chuan Cai, Ying Wang

Faculty Publications

Nanostructured materials lie at the heart of fundamental advances in efficient energy storage and/or conversion, in which surface processes and transport kinetics play determining roles. Nanocomposite materials will have a further enhancement in properties compared to their constituent phases. This Review describes some recent developments of nanocomposite materials for high-performance Li-ion rechargeable batteries, including carbon-oxide nanocomposites, polymer-oxide nanocomposites, metal-oxide nanocomposites, and silicon-based nanocomposites, etc. The major goal of this Review is to highlight some new progress in using these nanocomposite materials as electrodes to develop Li-ion rechargeable batteries with high energy density, high rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. © …

Novel Reconfigurable Randomized Broadcast Algorithm For Channel-Aware Wireless Networks, Scott C.H. Huang, Shih Yu Chang, Hsiao Chun Wu, Peng Jun Wan

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we study the channel-aware minimum-latency broadcast scheduling problem using the probabilistic model. We establish an explicit relationship between the tolerated transmission-failure probability and the latency of the corresponding broadcast schedule. Such a tolerated transmission-failure probability is calculated in the strict sense that the failure to receive the message at any single node will lead to the entire broadcast failure and only if all nodes have successfully received the message, do we consider it a successful broadcast. We design a novel reconfigurable broadcast scheduling algorithm such that the latency is evaluated under such a strict definition of failure. …

Space-Efficient Framework For Top-K String Retrieval Problems, Wing Kai Hon, Rahul Shah, Jeffrey Scott Vitter

Faculty Publications

Given a set D = {d1,d2, ⋯, dD} of D strings of total length n, our task is to report the "most relevant" strings for a given query pattern P. This involves somewhat more advanced query functionality than the usual pattern matching, as some notion of "most relevant" is involved. In information retrieval literature, this task is best achieved by using inverted indexes. However, inverted indexes work only for some predefined set of patterns. In the pattern matching community, the most popular pattern-matching data structures are suffix trees and suffix arrays. However, a typical suffix tree search involves going through …

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Leonardo T. Souza, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Yong-Rak Kim, Leonardo T. Souza

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research targeted two primary purposes: to estimate current aggregate angularity test methods and to evaluate current aggregate angularity requirements in the Nebraska asphalt mixture/pavement specification. To meet the first research objective, various aggregate angularity tests were estimated with the same sets of aggregates and were compared by investigating their characteristics on testing repeatability, cost, testing time, workability, and sensitivity of test results. For the second objective, the effect of aggregate angularity on mixture performance was investigated by conducting laboratory performance tests (the uniaxial static creep test and the indirect tensile fracture energy test) of five mixes designed with different …

Star–Tides And Starfish Networks: Supporting Stressed Populations With Distributed Talent, Linton Wells Ii, Walker Hardy, Vinay Gupta, Daniel Noon

Defense Horizons

The Department of Defense increasingly is involved in postwar stabilization and reconstruction, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, capacity-building of partner nations at home and abroad, and other such complex operations. To provide sustainable support to stressed populations in these environments, an international, networked, knowledge-sharing research project called Sustainable Technologies, Accelerated Research–Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support (STAR–TIDES)¹ encourages innovative approaches to public-private collaboration, whole-of-government solutions, and transnational engagement. It leverages a distributed network of people and organizations to conduct research, support real world contingencies, and bridge gaps among disparate communities.

Pharmaceutical Direct-To-Consumer Advertising And Print Media, Vanessa Khim

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine which type of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising would be the best marketing strategy for pharmaceutical companies to use. The main argument was that one-to-one marketing in the forms of print media and the Internet was the best strategy over mass media marketing in the forms of television and radio.

The study researched various literary sources on the different marketing strategies which facilitated in examining the positive and negative aspects of each. One hundred surveys were distributed to medical personnel and pharmaceutical prescription consumers in both the Bay Area and San Luis Obispo …

Bridging The Operational Divide: An Information-Processing Model Of Internal Supply Chain Integration, Ana Rosado Feger

All Dissertations

Supply Chain Management, the coordination of upstream and downstream flows of product, services, finances, and information from a source to a customer, has risen in prominence over the past fifteen years. The delivery of a product to the consumer is a complex process requiring action from several independent entities. An individual firm consists of multiple functional departments, each responsible for one aspect of customer service. In the traditional corporate structure of functional silos, there is little communication between Purchasing, Manufacturing, and Logistics, and yet these departments comprise three core supply chain processes of a firm. Ironically, managers report that it …

Ziegler-Natta Catalyst With High Activity And Good Hydrogen Response, L Sinthusai, W Trakarnpruk, R Strauss

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Ziegler-Natta catalysts were prepared from chemical reaction route comprising of steps of 1) magnesium complex formation between butyloctyl magnesium and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 2) MgCl2 support preparation from the reaction between the magnesium complex and TiCl4 as chlorinating agent and 3) titanation with TiCl4. The catalysts were used for ethylene polymerization using triethylaluminum as a cocatalyst. Effects influencing properties of catalysts and polymerization performance were investigated: triethylaluminum/Mg molar ratio, Ti/Mg molar ratio, addition of electron donor and aging step. Results show that addition of ethylbenzoate as an electron donor resulted in decreased catalytic activity. However it was found that catalytic stability under …

Preparation Of Silica Gel From Rice Husk Ash Using Microwave Heating, S Rungrodnimitchai, W Phokhanusai, N Sungkhaho

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The purpose of this research is to separate silica gel from rice husk ash by microwave heating. The experiments were performed by heating rice husk ash in sodium hydroxide solution with various concentrations in microwave oven for 5 or 10 minutes. The obtained sodium silicate was neutralized to give silica gel. The best condition for silica gel production was the reaction with 2.0 M sodium hydroxide at microwave power of 800 W for 10 minutes. The ability of silica gel as desiccant was investigated by adsorption test. The results showed that silica gel prepared by low concentration of sodium hydroxide …

Two-Phase Boost Converter, Tadeus Gunawan

Master's Theses

A boost converter is one of the most efficient techniques to step up DC input voltage to a higher needed DC output voltage. The boost converter has many possible applications, such as in a photovoltaic system, hybrid car and battery charger. The proposed prototype in this report is a proof of concept that a Two-Phase Boost Converter is a possible improvement topology to offer higher efficiency without compromising any advantages readily offered by a basic boost. The prototype is designed to be able to handle up to 200 watts of output power with an input of 36 volts and an …

Extraction And Characterization Of Lipids From Microalgae Grown On Municipal Wastewater, Matthew W. Hutton

Master's Theses

Based on results of its Aquatic Species Program (1978-1996), which sought to develop algae-to-liquid fuel technology, the U.S. Department of Energy has suggested that algal wastewater treatment may be incorporated into biodiesel production schemes to reduce the operating costs of both processes. the purpose of the current research was to evaluate the triglycerides produced by wastewater-grown algae for their suitability as a fuel feedstock and to investigate the effectiveness of several solvent mixtures and extraction procedures at recovering lipids from fresh algae. The research involved two separate experiments. The first determined the quantity and quality of lipids produced over the …

Point-Of-Use Water Treatment Device For Disaster Relief, Patricia Marie Compas

Master's Theses

A point-of-use water treatment device and an optimal method for its use were developed. The specially-designed vessel is to be used with flocculation and disinfection agents, while also providing for clean water storage. Possible applications would be disaster relief, emergency preparedness, and outdoor recreation.

Detection And Tracking Of Stealthy Targets Using Particle Filters, Philip M. Losie

Master's Theses

In recent years, the particle filter has gained prominence in the area of target tracking because it is robust to non-linear target motion and non-Gaussian additive noise. Traditional track filters, such as the Kalman filter, have been well studied for linear tracking applications, but perform poorly for non-linear applications. The particle filter has been shown to perform well in non-linear applications. The particle filter method is computationally intensive and advances in processor speed and computational power have allowed this method to be implemented in real-time tracking applications. This thesis explores the use of particle filters to detect and track stealthy …

Single Cell Impedance Measurements Using Microfabricated Electrodes And Labview Graphical Programming, Stephanie Sophia Hernandez

Master's Theses

This Master’s Thesis project consists of the research, design, and fabrication of a system that could perform broadband impedance measurements (1kHz-20Mhz) of single cells using National Instruments Labview data acquisition and programming in coordination with a single cell capture device. Presented first is the background information on cells and their electrical properties, along with background in micro-total-analysis systems as well as impedance spectroscopy. Experimental Methods are then discussed for the electrode design, cellular modeling in COMSOL, fabrication methods, and Labview 8.0 Set-up and programming. Measurements were performed using the single-cell capture device on saline, yeast cells, and a polysterene bead. …

Labeling Of Credence Attributes In Livestock Production: Verifying Attributes Which Are More Than "Meet The Eye", Nicole J. Olynk, Christopher A. Wolf, Glynn T. Tonsor

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Americans are increasingly sensitive to the conditions under which the foods they purchase and consume are produced. It is becoming commonplace for consumers to incorporate perceived environmental impacts, animal welfare concerns, and other process attributes into food purchase decisions. Increased interest in production practices and technologies employed in food production has been seen in the U.S. specifically concerning irradiation, antibiotics, and hormone and pesticide use. Perhaps one of the most controversial technologies employed in food production today is the use of genetic engineering. Not surprisingly, consumers are particularly sensitive about practices employed or technologies used in foods produced specifically for …

Nanophotothermolysis Of Multiple Scattered Cancer Cells With Carbon Nanotubes Guided By Time-Resolved Infrared Thermal Imaging, Alexandru S. Biris, Dorin Boldor, Jason Palmer, William T. Monroe, Meena Mahmood, Enkeleda Dervishi, Yang Xu, Zhongrui Li, Ekaterina I. Galanzha, Vladimir P. Zharov

Faculty Publications

Nanophotothermolysis with long laser pulses for treatment of scattered cancer cells and their clusters is introduced with the main focus on real-time monitoring of temperature dynamics inside and around individual cancer cells labeled with carbon nanotubes. This technique utilizes advanced time- and spatially-resolved thermal radiometry imaging for the visualization of laser-induced temperature distribution in multiple-point absorbing targets. The capability of this approach was demonstrated for monitoring of thermal effects under long laser exposure (from millisecond to seconds, wavelength 1064nm, maximum power 1W) of cervical cancer HeLa cells labeled with carbon nanotubes in vitro. The applications are discussed with a focus …

Keynote Address At The Cbn Executive Seminar , December 2009, Lamido Sanusi Sanusi

Economic and Financial Review

This is the keynote address delivered by the Governor, Mallam Sanusi, Lamido Sanusi in December 2009 at the CBN Executive Seminar titled "Cross-border banking challenges and implications for monetary management."

Recommendations For National Action Plans On Victim Assistance, Hi

Global CWD Repository

Handicap International has drawn up these recommendations to support stakeholders involved in creating and updating National Action Plans on Victim Assistance throughout the period 2010-2014 in accordance with the Cartagena Action Plan and other international humanitarian and human rights standards. These stakeholders include countries affected by mines/explosive remnants of war (ERW), survivors, disabled persons’ organizations (DPO) and other civil society representatives, international organizations and countries committed to international cooperation.

Factors Influencing Collaboration Of Western Business Practitioners And Ngos Who Assist Small To Medium Sized Enterprises In Developing Countries: A Qualitative Analysis, William J. Oliver

Student Scholarship

We examined how Western Business Practitioners (WBPs) and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) interact to assist Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Interviews with North American WBPs, and NGOs in ten developing countries provided the data for the study. Findings suggest that partnership form (on a continuum from transactional to collaborative) has a direct and positive relationship with the extent of complementarity achieved by the actors. Complementarity, recommended as best ensured by management intervention, overcomes partners' geographical, cultural and socio/political differences, reduces power differentials, mitigates distrust and promotes communication. Three elements of complementarity--learning, communication and process--are discussed.