Digital Commons Network^™

Using A Quality Based Analytic Hierarchy Process To Do Decision-Making Analysis In Transportation, Dejing Kong

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The automated identification technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), provides the potential to reduce costs in the transportation operations. Local Department of Transportation (DOT) offices have to carefully consider technologies such as RFID when considering their use for operation such as Right of Way (ROW) property control. ROW operations require strategic planning in that inventory and access rights can be contestable in a myriad of situations. This research investigates the comprehensive impacts of using RFID systems for ROW inventory tracking. We utilize the House of Quality as a means to integrating strategic shareholders needs and their impact on the measurement of …

Spirit Of The Law: A Case Study In The Application Of Nagpra To Collections From Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, A Unit Of The National Park Service, Keely A. Rennie-Tucker

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis offers a case study in applying the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) to collections maintained at the National Park Service’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (HOCU) from the perspective of a museum curator. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, a complex of various burial mound and earthwork sites dating primarily to the Middle Woodland (2,200 BP - AD 400), is located near Chillicothe, Ohio. The collections here have many culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains and funerary objects eligible for repatriation under the provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The archaeological …

Systematics And Molecular Phylogeny Of Two African Stem Borer Genera, Sciomesa Tams & Bowden And Carelis Bowden (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), P. Moyal, B. Le Ru, D. Conlong, D. Cugala, B. Defabachew, T. Matama-Kauma, B. Pallangyo, J. Van Den Berg

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Currently, the systematics of the African noctuid stem borers of the subtribe Sesamiina, which include major pests of cereals, is confused. In addition, their ecology is poorly known, as are the factors influencing their evolution. In this paper, we address these shortcomings for two genera of the Sesamiina, Sciomesa Tams & Bowden and Carelis Bowden. Mixed Bayesian phylogenetic analysis, which included their host plants and two mitochondrial genes, showed the genus Sciomesa to be polyphyletic. Two new genera were created, Pirateolea and Feraxinia. The genus Carelis proved to be paraphyletic and was subdivided into two sub-genera. The genera Sciomesa, Carelis …

Characterization Of Anti-Proteolytic And Anti-Proliferative Activities Of Pentagalloylglucose; Its Potential Application As A Therapeutic Agent In Vascular Diseases, Chaitra Cheluvaraju

All Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality in the United States and will cost around $500 billion this year alone. Elevated proteolytic activity, increased proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells are hallmarks of atherosclerosis, stenosis and aortic aneurysms. These diseases often manifest the transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells into osteoblast-like cells followed by deposition of hydroxyapatite–like mineral in the arterial walls.
Currently, there are no standard treatments available for vascular calcification or aneurysms. Atherosclerosis treatment options are limited to statins while balloon angioplasty and stenting – surgical procedures for stenosis, often end in restenosis. Therefore, we …

The Genetics Of Metal Uptake In Caulobacter Crescentus: Characterization Of Regulators And Identification Of Receptors, Leah Howell

All Dissertations

Caulobacter crescentus is an oligotrophic, Gram negative bacterium with a dimorphic lifecycle. It is a model system for cell cycle regulation and cellular development. Since C. crescentus resides primarily in freshwater, this microorganism can also serve as a model system for nutrient uptake by oligotrophic freshwater species. This study focused on TonB-dependent receptors and metal-dependent regulators in C. crescentus.
To maintain appropriate levels of iron within the cell, bacteria have evolved mechanisms to control iron uptake, storage, and use. In microbes, there are two protein families possessing members that accomplish this: Fur and Rrf2. In the C. crescentus genome, there …

Breaking The Ice: Prospects For Canadian-American Institutional Change In The Governance Of The Northwest Passage, Jeffrey Parkey

All Dissertations

This study assesses four institutional approaches to governing the use of the Northwest Passage, including the current rules in use. The assessment is conducted through the use of expert interviews, a review of the theoretical literature, and an examination of comparative cases. Because of significant environmental changes underway in the Arctic region, institutional change for Northwest Passage management is receiving increased attention. Due to the potential environmental and security impacts of regularized ship transits through the Northwest Passage, a number of informed observers have discussed the need for considering alternative means of governing the waterway. The advantages and disadvantages of …

Comprehensive Thermal Modeling Of Power Split Hybrid Power-Train And Electronics, Abdel Mayyas

All Dissertations

Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) uses both internal combustion engine (ICE) with an electric system. The combination of the electric power train with the ICE is intended to achieve both better fuel economies than the conventional vehicles and better performance. Several types of HEV exist with different layouts. Recent HEVs' make use of regenerative braking, which converts the vehicles' kinetic energy into electric energy instead of wasting it as heat as conventional brakes do. A hybrid-electric is more fuel efficient than ICE and has less environmental impact.
The new HEV with its new Key Characteristics and Configurations (i.e. Mechanical complexity, Multiple …

Pulsed-Laser Direct Writing Of Biological Materials, Yafu Lin

All Dissertations

Laser direct writing, developed based on modified laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), has been emerging as one of the most promising biofabrication techniques. While some studies have been conducted to investigate laser direct writing of biological materials, there are some key challenges such as mechanisms of bubble formation, droplet formation and process-induced cell injury that have not been well elucidated. The objective of this dissertation is to study laser-induced droplet formation dynamics and process-induced cell injury in pulsed-laser direct writing of biological materials, and improve the existing laser direct-write techniques.
Phase explosion is identified as the dominant bubble formation mechanism in …

Evolutionary Strategies For Data Mining, Rose Lowe

All Dissertations

Learning classifier systems (LCS) have been successful in generating rules for solving classification problems in data mining. The rules are of the form IF condition THEN action. The condition encodes the features of the input space and the action encodes the class label. What is lacking in those systems is the ability to express each feature using a function that is appropriate for that feature. The genetic algorithm is capable of doing this but cannot because only one type of membership function
is provided. Thus, the genetic algorithm learns only the shape and placement of the membership function, and in …

Where Independence Meets Its Match: The Intersection Of Musical Identity, Record Promotion And College Radio Programming, Aaron J. Hawley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

College Radio has long been championed for being one of the last independent voices on a radio dial dominated by corporate for-profit stations. While corporate stations program their playlists towards whatever is on the charts, independent programming has long been part of the appeal of college radio. However, college radio music directors are in constant contact with record promoters whose sole goal is to get their clients' records played on-air. While a notion of independence is central to college radio's musical identity, these record promoters hold a great deal of power in the decision making process. Upon investigation at WVU …

Chronic Early Absenteeism: Analysis Of Kent Isd Public School Attendance Policies, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Research, Reports, and Publications

No abstract provided.

Development Of Near Real-Time Assessment System For Cancer Cells., Nahrizul Adib Kadri

Student Works (2010-2019)

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electrical phenomenon that occurs when a polarisable particle is placed in non-uniform electrical fields, generating DEP force (FDEP) that is dependent upon the electrophysiological make-up of the particle in use. In cell cytometry studies, DEP offers the advantage of conducting various cell manipulations in vitro without the need of specific surface markers. Its drawbacks, namely the time-consuming processes involved and the inability to conduct large batch cell assays, had limited its usage. This thesis presents the work that offered solution to the said obstacles, by developing a system capable of conducting DEP experiments within a very …

Consequence Of Premature And Chronic Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Activation On Testicular Spermatogenic Cell Development, Jesse F. Roewer

Theses

Luteinizing hormone (LH), one of the two gonadotropin hormones released from the anterior pituitary gland, binds to its receptor (LHR) in the gonads to stimulate steroid hormone production, in addition to ovulation and gametogenesis. Mutations of the receptors amino acid sequence have the ability to either constitutively activate or inactivate it. All activating mutations result in male-limited precocious puberty. Males with this condition undergo puberty around 4 years of age, and have a premature elevation in testosterone levels and premature skeletal development. In order to understand how chronic ligand-mediated activation of the LHR affects gonadal development and function, a mouse …

Roadmap For The Survival Of Nascent Social Entrepreneurial Ventures, Aparna Katre

Student Scholarship

Facing issues of survivability, social-purpose entrepreneurs are reinventing to better balance market and mission goals. Addressing the deficit of empirical data about how they do it and, in particular, a gap in knowledge about the crucial start up phase of the social entrepreneurial process we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 31 North American founder/CEO's at various points in early stage social venture creation. The data revealed a four-stage early venture developmental continuum featuring progressive critical success factors on which we mapped successful, struggling and failed ventures in our sample. While effective execution of each factor helps secure incremental legitimacy with …

The Co-Production Of Social Contagion: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Social Networking Sites, Michael Fisher

Student Scholarship

Theories of technology product adoption and diffusion fail to adequately explain social contagion or viral growth. Additionally\, the role of product design in users propensity to use and recommend products is both understudied and poorly understood. To address a vexing gap in knowledge about what explains viral growth\, we conducted ethnographic interviews with technology executives and users of two social networking sites that have experienced dramatically different growth patterns. Our findings reveal that product co-production and user self identity- not product attributes fuel viral growth. Social networking products co-produced by users and providers\, with meaning socially constructed by customers\, permit …

The Socio-Cognitive Dynamics Of Entrepreneurial Ideation, Robert M. Gemmell

Student Scholarship

Entrepreneurs need creative ideas to develop innovative new products. We interviewed 32 technology entrepreneurs to generate a grounded theory about how technology entrepreneurs use social behaviors, techniques and cognitive processes to attain, develop, refine, validate and filter (for usefulness) creative ideas for successful new products, processes or services. The results reveal a complex, cyclical and recursive multi-level social process with emphasis on active and social experimentation. Greatest ideational productivity occurs when strong social ties interactively solve problems in an environment of trust -- in particular, when 'Trusted Partners' exchange and refine ideas through a form of shared cognition. Findings will …

Toward An Understanding Of Entrepreneurship Environment: The Case Of Puerto Rico, Moraima De Hoyos-Ruperto

Student Scholarship

This study aims to address the unexplained stagnant entrepreneurial environment in Puerto Rico despite average or above average entrepreneurial potential, capabilities, and intentions compared to other high-income countries. Analysis of interviews with public, private and civic sector leaders and both successful and less successful entrepreneurs suggest a pervasive lack of support for entrepreneurs from formal organizations charged with entrepreneurship development and a failure of entrepreneurs themselves to develop networks to support venture startup and sustainment.

Photonic Crystal Design And Fabrication Assisted By Tunable Femtosecond Oscillator Laser, Kristofer B. Ohlinger

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Photonic Crystals have the potential for engineered light interaction as directed by the photonic bandgap, a property that details the prohibited propagation region and ultimately the ability to guide light. A so called, photonics-on-chip, would incorporate arbitrary light guiding with functional elements in one package. The realization of such a device is subject to the fabrication paradigms implemented and this thesis is concerned with holographic lithography as a means for creating polymer photonics crystal templates and two-photon polymerization for incorporating light guiding pathways.

In this thesis, the design of the to-be-fabricated structures has been co-opted by computational exploration of the …

A Community In Bloom: An Affordable Housing Needs Assessment Of West Bloomington, Margaret L. Anderson, Lloyd Banwart, David F. Becker, Dana Bulba, Jared Dellinger, Mimi Duong, Julie Ornee, Katie Mitchell, Andrew Piotrowski, Hillary Smith, Dustin Stoltz, Mandy Swartzendruber, Niko Valaris, Katie Weber

Community Project Design and Management Reports - Sociology

Purpose of Report

This report was written in response to a request from Habitat for Humanity of McLean County. The report expands upon and updates an affordable homeownership needs assessment for the Bloomington-Normal community – with an emphasis on West Bloomington – that was created in 2004. Because the housing market and economic conditions of the area have changed drastically in the last 6 years, an updated report is necessary.

Data Sources and Methodology

This report uses a combination of primary and, mainly, secondary data sources. Interviews were conducted with representatives of, among others, Bloomington Housing Authority, the Economic Development …

December 1, 2010, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

2010 December, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2010.

Ftp-Like Streams For The 9p File Protocol, John Floren

Theses

The Plan 9 operating system from Bell Labs has broken a great deal of new ground in the realm of operating systems, providing a lightweight, network-centric OS with private namespaces and other important concepts. In Plan 9, all file operations, whether local or over the network, take place through the 9P file protocol. Although 9P is both simple and powerful, developments in computer and network hardware have over time outstripped the performance of 9P. Today, file operations, especially copying files over a network, are much slower with 9P than with protocols such as HTTP or FTP. 9P operates in terms …

Global Shifts, Theoretical Shifts: Changing Geographies Of Religion, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The paper evaluates the burst in geographical research on religion in the last decade. It examines: (1) the relative emphases and silences in analyses of different sites of religious practice, sensuous geographies, population constituents, religions, geographies and scales of analyses; (2) the rise in the discourse of postsecularization; and (3) four contemporary global shifts (growing urbanization and social inequality, deteriorating environments, ageing populations, and increasing human mobilities), the ways in which religion shapes human response to them, and the implications for new research agendas. © 2010 The Author(s).

Toward Effective Concept Representation In Decision Support To Improve Patient Safety, Tze-Yun Leong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Patient safety is an emerging, major health care discipline with significance accentuated in the influential Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports in the United States “To Err is Human” and “Crossing the Quality Chasm”. These reports highlighted the danger and prevalence of medical errors and preventable adverse events, explained the three main sources of system-related, human factors-related and cognitive-related errors, and recommended the use of information and decision support technologies to help alleviate the problem. A number of studies and reports from all over the world with similar findings have since followed, culminating in the 55th World Health Assembly Resolution on …

Exploring The Effects Of An Art Based Trauma Protocol With An Active Duty Police Officer Experiencing Symptoms Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Khaki Wieters

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Because of repeated exposure to traumatic events as part of their job requirements, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a common problem found among police officers. Although treatments in some agencies are limited, they can include, Critical Incident Stress Management, mandatory referrals to mental health professionals, and trained peer support. Art therapy is an efficient treatment for trauma because it bypasses defenses and aids in processing and integrating traumatic imagery by naturally connecting the brain’s right and left hemispheres. Police diagnosed with PTSD may benefit from art therapy since it can penetrate resistance and has proven effective for processing traumatic imagery.

This …

Operation Opera: An Ambiguous Success, Joshua Kirschenbaum

Journal of Strategic Security

To assess the efficacy of Israel's strike on Osirak, one must determine Israel's strategic objectives and their material effects on Iraqi capabilities. The capacity of the facilities to produce fissionable material without detection remains in dispute. So, too, does the timeline—and therefore the imminence—of Iraqi acquisition of a nuclear option. The political cost-benefit equation in this case requires a fair dose of subjective judgment. How much did the Israelis delay the program? How much did Iraqi motivation increase post facto? Is military counter-proliferation a viable strategy? Was the potential Iraqi bomb worth risking a bold, unprovoked attack that inevitably drew …

Devolving Jihadism, Aaron Rosler

Journal of Strategic Security

The danger and effectiveness of religiously motivated terrorist organizations is undeniable. However, a different type of threat is on the rise on the global playing field as a result of the ongoing operations against these organizations. "Devolved" jihadism, Islamist terrorism conducted by native, amateur, untrained and unfunded individuals, or small ad hoc groups, has recently garnered headlines and the attention of terrorists and counterterrorists alike. These devolved jihadist operations are planned and carried out by native members of a country's populace, radicalized in their home country, resulting in the interchangeable monikers of "homegrown" or "grassroots" jihadism.

A Comprehensive Uncertainty Analysis And Method Of Geometric Calibration For A Circular Scanning Airborne Lidar, Michael Oliver Gonsalves

Dissertations

This dissertation describes an automated technique for ascertaining the values of the geometric calibration parameters of an airborne lidar. A least squares approach is employed that adjusts the point cloud to a single planar surface which could be either a narrow airport runway or a dynamic sea surface. Going beyond the customary three boresight angles, the proposed adjustment can determine up to eleven calibration parameters to a precision that renders a negligible contribution to the point cloud’s positional uncertainty.

Presently under development is the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar (CZMIL), which, unlike most contemporary systems that use oscillating mirrors …

Recasting Genre In Tennessee Williams's Apprentice Plays, Christina Ilona Hunter

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Tennessee Williams’s earliest full-length plays, also known as the apprentice plays—Candles to the Sun, Fugitive Kind, Not About Nightingales, Spring Storm, and Stairs to the Roof—by comparing, contrasting and contextualizing them in relation to Daniel Chandler’s generic criteria of drama; namely, narrative, characterization, setting, topics, iconography, and staging techniques. The present study also draws upon an extensive body of scholarship pertaining to genre theory, Williams’s cultural contemporaries, and the historical and psychological backdrop of Depression-era America. In these early plays, Williams diverged sharply from the dramatic generic conventions of his day, manipulating them in new …

Examining The Effect Of A Year Of Service In Americorps On Members' Attitudes Toward Attending College, Jessica Lucky Roberts

Dissertations

This study had two purposes. First, this study sought to determine how a year of service in the America Reads-Mississippi (ARM) AmeriCorps program impacted members’ perceptions and attitudes toward the non-monetary value of earning a college degree, the importance of earning a college degree in obtaining employment, and the influence of service in the ARM AmeriCorps program on members’ motivation to attend college. Second, this study sought to determine if a year of service in the ARM AmeriCorps program impacted members’ decisions to use the Segal Education Award they earn upon the successful completion of their year of service. Through …