Digital Commons Network^™

Rhode Island's Greatest Natural Tragedy, Stephanie N. Blaine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The infamous hurricane of 1938 accelerated the ongoing transformation of Rhode Island’s way of life.

Cyber Influence, William Hutchinson

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

This paper explores influence in the cyber-world and the ability and effectiveness of influence campaigns in this medium. It examines the possibilities of influence in the online world as examines the potential of mobile technologies in this area. The contentious link between influence and behavioural change is investigated. Counterinfluence in the context of radicalisation is also looked at. Whilst it is inevitable that the digital medium is and will be used for influence campaigns and will be influential regardless if there are concerted ‘campaigns’ or not, it effects in terms of behavioural change are still open to question.

Appraising Critical Infrastructure Systems With Visualisation, Graeme Pye, Matthew Warren

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

This paper explores the use of system modelling as an approach for appraising critical infrastructure systems. It reports on focus group findings with relation to the system modelling aspects of a critical infrastructure security analysis and modelling framework. Specifically, this discussion focuses on the interpretations of a focus group in terms of the likely benefits or otherwise of system visualisation. With the group focusing on its perceived value as an educational tool in terms of providing an abstract visualisation representation of a critical infrastructure system incident.

Safeguarding Australia From Cyber-Terrorism:A Proposed Cyber-Terrorism Scada Risk Framework For Industry Adoption, Christopher Beggs, Matthew Warren

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

Terrorist groups are currently using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to orchestrate their conventional physical attacks. More recently, terrorists have been developing a new form of capability within the cyber-arena to coordinate cyber-based attacks. This paper identifies that cyber-terrorism capabilities are an integral, imperative, yet under-researched component in establishing, and enhancing cyber-terrorism risk assessment models for SCADA systems. This paper is an extension of work previously published by Beggs and Warren 2008, it presents a high level overview of a cyber-terrorism SCADA risk framework that has been adopted and validated by SCADA industry practitioners. The paper proposes a managerial framework …

Security Requirements Engineering-The Reluctant Oxymoron, Michael N. Johnstone

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Security is a focus in many systems that are developed today, yet this aspect of systems development is often relegated when the shipping date for a software product looms. This leads to problems post-implementation in terms of patches required to fix security defects or vulnerabilities. A simplistic answer is that if the code was correct in the first instance, then vulnerabilities would not exist. The reality of a complex software artefact is however, driven by other concerns. Rather than probing programs for coding errors that lead to vulnerabilities, it is perhaps more beneficial to look at the root causes of …

Development Of A Critical Factors Model For The Knowledge Economy In Saudi Arabia, Fahad A. Alothman, Peter Busch

Australian Information Security Management Conference

If knowledge-based economic systems are to be adopted, succeed and be disseminated, many significant barriers must be overcome regardless of how advanced a country is in terms of its infrastructure and domestic production. This paper describes an investigation of the critical factors associated with the adoption and dissemination of a knowledge economy initiative. The focus of the research is on knowledge management, national culture and other country-specific factors and how they are influencing Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop a knowledge economy.

Method For Securing Online Community Service: A Study Of Selected Western Australian Councils, Sunsern Limwiriyakul

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Since the Internet was publicly made available, it has become popular and widely used in a range of services such as Email, News, IRC, World Wide Web around the globe. Progressively other services such as telephony, video conferencing, video on demand, interactive TV, Geospatial Information System (GIS), have emerged and become available on the Internet. Nowadays, Internet broadband communication infrastructure, both wired and wireless, make the concept of a Digital Community possible. The Digital Community has been growing and expanding rapidly around the world. This changes the way we live, work and play. Creating a Digital Community can empower local …

Requiring A Jury Vote Of Censure To Convict, Richard E. Myers Ii

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workforce Education And Development Curriculum Responsiveness To Culturally And Internationally Diverse Graduate Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Debra Sharon Ferdinand

Dissertations

This descriptive study used a mixed methods design and sought to examine students' perceptions on workforce education and development (WED) curriculum responsiveness to culturally and internationally diverse graduate students, at a Midwestern university on four dimensions: teaching strategies (to include delivery), curriculum inclusiveness, international responsiveness, and curriculum improvements. The research study design consisted of the mixed methods Follow-up Explanations Model (QUAN emphasized) complemented by the With-in Stage Mixed Model. A pragmatic paradigm guided the collection and analysis of the study's census data (survey and focus groups). A newly developed WED Curriculum Responsiveness Survey (.850 Cronbach's alpha index) containing closed- and …

First-Principles Density Functional Theory Studies Of Reactivities Of Heterogeneous Catalysts Determined By Structure And Substrate, Lei Cheng

Dissertations

In this dissertation, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to investigate (1)NO₂ adsorption on BaO in NO_x Storage Reduction (NSR) catalyst affected by the morphology of BaO and the γ-Al₂O₃ support, (2) energy barrier of H₂ dissociative adsorption over Mg clusters affected by its electronic structure, and (3) comparison of the activities of CeO₂ clusters affected by two different supports--monoclinic ZrO₂ and non-spinel γ-Al₂O₃. Our results showed that the electronic effect caused by the non-stoichiometry of the bare BaO clusters and surfaces improves their reactivities toward NO …

Prosthetic Configurations: Rethinking Relationships Of Bodies, Technologies, And (Dis)Abilities, Amanda Booher

All Dissertations

This work rethinks configurations of and relationships between bodies and prosthetics, emerging from a gap between three particular theoretical perspectives. The first perspective builds from Gender and Disability Studies theories; the second operates within the frame of post–humanity and cyborgean theories, specifically though Bernard Stiegler, Katherine Hayles, and Donna Haraway; the third is a practical/medical perspective, demonstrated through the experiences of people with amputations and medical prosthetics, as well as through the influence of medical visualization technologies. While offering productive and compelling means of complicating and deconstructing boundaries of bodies and prosthetics, these perspectives often operate independently; an integrative perspective …

Probabilistic Remediation Evaluation Model For Chlorinated Solvents Considering Uncertainty, Hailian Liang

All Dissertations

The complex processes and expensive costs of source and plume remediation of dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) complicate the decision-making process for site remediation. Selection of remediation alternatives has been a big challenge due to the lack of tools that simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness of source and plume remediation and access the uncertainties in all major parameters. In this research, a new probabilistic remediation model, Probabilistic Remediation Evaluation Model for Chlorinated solvents sites (PREMChlor), has been developed. This is achieved through linking the analytical model REMChlor to a Monte Carlo modeling simulation package GoldSim via a FORTRAN Dynamic Link Library …

Nucleation And Growth Behavior Of Tellurite-Based Glasses Suitable For Mid-Infrared Applications, Jonathan Massera

All Dissertations

Optical fibers transmitting in the 2-5 μm mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region are highly desirable for a variety of military and civilian applications including super-continuum generation, infrared countermeasures (IRCM), and MIR laser sources. These new applications in the mid-infrared require novel optical materials that transmit in this window and can be fabricated into fiber. As tellurite glasses are known to have good transparency in the (NIR) region, tellurite-based glasses are the material of choice for this study due to their high linear and nonlinear refractive index, their low glass transition temperature and the ability to form them into optical fiber.
This …

A Scanpath Comparison Of The Salient Features Of Weather Among General Aviation Pilots Based On Training And Experience, Michael Sawyer

All Dissertations

Over the last 20 years the number of annual accidents in general aviation has seen a steady decline. The annual number of fatal accidents, however, has remained relatively stable. Adverse weather is consistently cited as a leading cause of fatal accidents in general aviation; weather accidents have a fatality rate nearly four times that of other general aviation accidents. Reviews of accident data reveal that often these accidents occur when inexperienced pilots who are certified only for visual flight rules flight continue into adverse weather. The Situation Assessment Hypothesis suggests these accidents occur when pilots fail to accurately recognize weather …

Visuohaptic Simulation Of A Borescope For Aircraft Engine Inspection, Deepak Vembar

All Dissertations

Consisting of a long, fiber optic probe containing a small CCD camera controlled by hand-held articulation interface, a video borescope is used for remote visual inspection of hard to reach components in an aircraft. The knowledge and psychomotor skills, specifically the hand-eye coordination, required for effective inspection are hard to acquire through limited exposure to the borescope in aviation maintenance schools. Inexperienced aircraft maintenance technicians gain proficiency through repeated hands-on learning in the workplace along a steep learning curve while transitioning from the classroom to the workforce.
Using an iterative process combined with focused user evaluations, this dissertation details the …

Measuring The Impact Of Varied Instructional Approaches In An Introductory Animal Science Course, Brian Bolt

All Dissertations

The objectives of this project were to: evaluate the impact of demographic descriptors (gender, class rank and final grade) on student's self perceived level of engagement in classroom activities; measure the impact of varying teaching styles on a student's likelihood of correctly answering a knowledge based question and: assessing the relationship of knowledge acquisition with their level of engagement. Data were collected on students in the AVS 150, introductory animal science class (n=155) at Clemson University during the fall of 2008. Ten to fifteen minutes of class time were classified as conforming exclusively to one of three types of material …

Covalent Immobilization Of L1 Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule To Acrylated Tetronicâ® Hydrogels For Neural Regeneration, Rebecca Cribb

All Dissertations

Spinal cord injuries cost the United States $20 billion per year, with an existing patient population of 256,000 growing by an estimated 12,000 each year. Current clinical therapies for spinal cord injury are limited to spinal immobilization and realignment via traction, surgery, administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) within eight hours post-injury, and rehabilitation exercises. While these therapies are important and may minimize damage and restore limited function, there is a dire clinical need for treatments to address the growing population of chronically-injured patients.
Varying degrees of axonal regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury have been achieved in …

Synthesis, Modification Of Mesoporous Carbons And Their Application In Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Bing Liu

All Dissertations

Mesoporous carbon materials of carbon xerogel (CX) and silica-templated carbon (MC) were synthesized and explored as catalyst supports alternative to the most-commonly-used carbon black (CB) support, for polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. Pt catalyst was loaded on these carbons and electrodes were fabricated from them. These Pt-loaded carbon supports were characterized with XRD, TEM, ex-situ and in-situ cyclic voltammetry, etc. The fabricated electrodes were evaluated in single-cell testing in comparison with commercial CB-supported Pt catalyst fabricated electrodes. The experimental results showed that CX-supported Pt catalyst had close or better performance than that of CB-supported Pt, possibly due to CX's 3-D …

Evaluation Of Fluid Diodes As Pulmonary Heart Valve Replacements, Tiffany Camp

All Dissertations

Children born with congenital heart disease often times suffer from severe chronic pulmonary insufficiency. Palliative treatments for this condition may come early on in the life of the patient; however, if it becomes severe enough, a pulmonary valve replacement may be required. There currently is not a permanent option for a replacements valve. Therefore, a need exists to develop a permanent solution. Knowing that the right heart circulation is more tolerant of moderate levels of regurgitation (0 - 35%) and pressure gradient (0 - 30 mmHg), this study investigates the hypothesis that a fluid diode, a motionless valve that offers …

Does Competition Matter? An Attempt Of Analytical ‘Unbundling’ Of Competition From Consumer Welfare: A Response To Miąsik, Oles Andriychuk

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This paper is an attempt to evaluate the conceptual relationship between two central elements of the theory of antitrust: competition and consumer welfare. These two notions are analysed in their mutual dependency. In terms of methodology, the paper proposes to structurally separate competition from consumer welfare. This technique is successfully applied in the domain of legal philosophy when the correlation between law and morality is debated. The main purpose of this paper is to show that both competition and consumer welfare are economic values of fundamental importance with no ex ante hierarchical dominance of consumer welfare over competition. In case …

Suboptimal Executive Privilege, Stephen C. N. Lilley

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Halting The Race To The Bottom: Urgent Interventions For The Improvement Of The Education Of English Language Learners In Massachusetts And Selected Districts, English Language Learners Sub-Committee, Massachusetts Board Of Elementary And Secondary Education

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts students of limited English proficiency do better academically than students of limited English proficiency in other states. But relative to other students in the state, students of limited English proficiency in Massachusetts face a disadvantage greater than that faced by their peers in most states. This suggests that while the overall higher levels of education in the state benefit LEPs in Massachusetts relative to LEPs who attend schools in states where the quality of education is lower, current policy and practice leads to significantly greater inequality in this state. As the state takes steps to improve performance for all …

December 2009 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Age Of The Ship Of The Line: The British & French Navies, 1650-1815, Robert Oxley

Humanities & Communication - Daytona Beach

This document is Dr. Oxley's review of The Age of the Ship of the Line: The British & French Navies, 1650-1815 by Jonathan R. Dull. University of Nebraska Press, 2009. 260 pp. Maps, diagrams, notes, index. ISBN 978-0-8032-1930-4 $19.90

Law's Expressive Value In Combating Cyber Gender Harassment, Danielle Keats Citron

Michigan Law Review

The online harassment of women exemplifies twenty-first century behavior that profoundly harms women yet too often remains overlooked and even trivialized. This harassment includes rape threats, doctored photographs portraying women being strangled, postings of women's home addresses alongside suggestions that they are interested in anonymous sex, and technological attacks that shut down blogs and websites. It impedes women's full participation in online life, often driving them offline, and undermines their autonomy, identity, dignity, and well-being. But the public and law enforcement routinely marginalize women's experiences, deeming the harassment harmless teasing that women should expect, and tolerate, given the internet's Wild …

When Two Fundamental Rights Collide At The Pharmacy: The Struggle To Balance The Consumer's Right To Access Contraception And The Pharmacist's Right Of Conscience, Suzanne Davis, Paul Lansing

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

No abstract provided.

Dr. Strange Drug, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Authorized Generics, John M. Rebman

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

No abstract provided.

An Ecological Approach On The Role Of Nondisclosure In Urban African American Youth Exposed To Community Violence: Using Mediation And Moderated Mediation Approaches, Sonya Jane Mathies Dinizulu

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

African American youth residing in high risk neighborhoods, characterized by violence, crime, and poverty have been shown to be at increased risk for exposure to violence and psychological symptoms, and there has been little investigation of mediating processes that might explain these association. Due to the poor current state of mental health of low income ethnic minority youth, it is important to investigate the role of nondisclosure as a risk factor affecting psychological outcomes in urban African American adolescents from high risk neighborhoods. Nondisclosure among urban African American adolescents from neighborhoods affected by violence is associated with adverse psychological outcomes …

Application Of Different Bioanalytical Workflows For Proteomics Of Prostate Cancer, Li Chen

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

In the current dissertation, we focused on the development and application of multiple mass spectrometry-based bioanalytical platforms for phosphoproteomic characterization in cell culture and clinical specimens of prostate cancer; and on the application of optimized methods to analysis of differential protein expression to reveal molecular mechanism of drug action in animal model of prostate cancer.

Characterization of the phosphoproteome in prostate cancer

Our study in phosphoprotein signatures on a large scale in prostate cancer focused on the LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line, and on human prostate cancer tissue.

For the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line, we applied a combination …

Chitosan/Ellagic Acid Composite Materials For Local Cancer Therapy, Sung Woo Kim

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Current advances in the drug delivery have improved the therapeutic efficacy of the drug and minimized risks of side effects associated with toxicity of the drug. Implantable polymeric delivery system has gained increasing attentions for controlled drug release and localized treatments. In comparison to conventional chemotherapy, polymeric delivery systems are implantable at a local targeted site and biodegradable after a sufficient therapeutic span. The objectives of this project were to fabricate and characterize an implantable polymeric vehicle for a local chemotherapy and investigate its biological properties against cancer cells including human WM115 melanoma, human U87 glioblastoma, and rat C6 glioma …