Digital Commons Network^™

Slope Failure Remediation Design, Adam Ries

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

This senior engineering design project analyzes and remediates a slope failure that occurred in Bismarck, North Dakota. The failure emerged along River Road on the Eastern bank of the Missouri River less than a half mile north of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge. The failure took place the week of June 28, 2009 and forced closing of River Road until late fall. A local business was forced to close and traffic was affected throughout the summer.

Elevation and geological data was used to reconstruct the pre-failure slope. The slope was analyzed using a slope stability program, Slope 5.0, …

Levee Analysis And Design For Proposed Missouri Refining Co. Petroleum Refinery Site., Matthew Carns

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

This report is intended to cover the design and construction of a levee around the proposed Missouri Refining Co. petroleum refinery, see Figure 1 for location. The location is near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in Williams County, North Dakota. The recent success in extracting unconventional petroleum reserves in the Williston Basin has led Missouri Refining to consider building the refinery in the area.

Floods, Famines, Or Feasts: Too Much, Too Little, Or Just Right, Sandra B. Zellmer

Faculty Law Review Articles

The United States has a passionate love-hate relationship with water. Americans love to live beside rivers and lakes and use them for drinking water, washing, fishing, generating power, navigating, and recreation. They also love to be able to use water from rivers, lakes, and the ground beneath their property to irrigate their crops. When it's too dry, they pray for rain. But when it's too wet, they beg for sunshine, because as much as they love living as close to the water as they can get, people hate having their homes, workplaces, and crops inundated by floodwater even more. Besides …

Aicpa Technical Practice Aids As Of June 1, 2010, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (Aicpa)

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Security By Contractor: Outsourcing In Peace And Stability Operations, Volker Franke

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Retention Fastener Preference For Fisher-Price Toy Packaging, Lakeshia Haynes

Theses

"Wrap Rage" continues to be a growing phenomenon as consumers become increasingly frustrated with toy packaging. Consumers have become dissatisfied with the amount of time and effort it takes to remove product from its packaging. To better meet the needs of consumers, toy company Fisher-Price has implemented several improved consumer-friendly package fastener alternatives. The purpose of this study was to test the three most favorable alternative package fastener concepts executed by Fisher-Price. Interviews were conducted to evaluate the amount of time and effort associated with each fastener and to determine which concept was most preferred. The findings of this study …

Automatic Multi-Resolution Spatio-Frequency Mottle Metric (Sfmm) For Evaluation Of Macrouniformity, Siddharth Khullar

Theses

Evaluation of mottle is an area of on-going research in print quality assessment. We propose an unsupervised evaluation technique and a metric that measures mottle in a hard-copy laser print. The proposed algorithm uses a scanned image to quantify the low frequency variation or mottle in what is supposed to be a uniform field. `Banding' and `Streaking' effects are explicitly ignored and the proposed algorithm scales the test targets from "Flat print" (Good) to "Noisy print" (Bad) based on mottle only. The evaluation procedure is modeled as feature computation in different combinations of spatial, frequency and wavelet domains. The model …

Facilitators And Obstacles Of Intercultural Business Communication For American Companies In China: Lessons Learned From The Ups Case, Hongmei Gao, Penelope Prime

Faculty Articles

This article analyzes how the execution of business strategy for global enterprises is shaped by the dual challenges of communicating in a different national culture and working in a changing economic environment. The article develops a framework from the UPS case in China to illustrate the key components of strategy for US companies operating businesses in China. The article proposes that Chinese-American communication effectiveness can be achieved through overcoming five obstacles: cultural multiplicity, relationship/ task orientation, time concept, business style difference, and language use, while utilizing five facilitators:pragmatism, gender equality, English, American pop culture, and a "big country mentality."

An Attempt To Find Neighbors, Yong Shi, Ryan Rosenblum

Faculty Articles

In this paper, we present our continuous research on similarity search problems. Previously we proposed PanKNN[18]which is a novel technique that explores the meaning of K nearest neighbors from a new perspective, redefines the distances between data points and a given query point Q, and efficiently and effectively selects data points which are closest to Q. It can be applied in various data mining fields. In this paper, we present our approach to solving the similarity search problem in the presence of obstacles. We apply the concept of obstacle points and process the similarity search problems in a different way. …

Macular Pigment And Its Contribution To Visual Performance And Experience [El Pigmento Macular Y Su Contribución Al Rendimiento Y Experiencia Visuals], James Loughman, Peter Davison, John M. Nolan, Mukunda C. Akkali, Stephen Beatty

Articles

There is now a consensus, based on histological, biochemical and spectral absorption data, that the yellow colour observed at the macula lutea is a consequence of the selective accumulation of dietary xanthophylls in the central retina of the living eye. Scientific research continues to explore the function(s) of MP in the human retina, with two main hypotheses premised on its putative capacity to (1) protect the retina from (photo)-oxidative damage by means of its optical filtration and/or antioxidant properties, the so-called protective hypothesis and (2) influence the quality of visual performance by means of selective short wavelength light absorption prior …

Creating A University: University Of North Florida Faculty And Staff Remember 35 Years, James B. Crooks

Creating a University: UNF Oral History Project

Reflecting upon the past thirty-five to forty years at the University of North Florida, one is struck by several themes which have emerged over time. One theme reflects an initial opposition to the new university which gradually changed over time. In the beginning, the Jacksonville community did not welcome UNF. At the time, the city was the largest in the nation without a state university. There were no alumni to support it and few wealthy benefactors. Trustees at Jacksonville University opposed its establishment. In the early 1980s, the legislative delegation voted to make UNF a branch of the University of …

Ecology & Ideology: An Introduction, Gerry Canavan, Lisa Klarr, Ryan Vu

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Person Of The Year: Barack Obama, The Joker, Capitalism, And Schizophrenia, Gerry Canavan

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Twentieth And Twenty-First Centuries, Krista Ratcliffe

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Planning An Information Commons, Michael J. Whitchurch

Faculty Publications

Of the steps in implementing an information commons, one of the most important is the planning phase. In order for the planning and implementation to be a success, buy-in and support from library users and administrators is essential. The result of the planning process is a detailed planning document which will influence the success of the commons. The document should include plans for policy changes, space for the commons, staffing issues, and assessments, both before and after implementation. Even with all the planning completed, an evaluation of the viability of and desirability for a commons should determine whether a commons …

Internet Marketing For Profit Organizations: A Framework For The Implementation Of Strategic Internet Marketing, Felix Rimbach

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The development of the Internet has significantly changed the face of established markets and operation approaches across a tremendous spectrum of different industries. Within the competitive environment of those industries, the opportunities and risks derived from the new platform are so ubiquitous that unused opportunities quickly translate into potential risks. Those opportunities and risks demand for a structured approach how to implement a sustainable Internet marketing strategy that targets clear business objectives. Marketing and strategic management theory describes very clear structural principles towards their operational implementation. Based on those principles an extensive literature review has been conducted which confirms the …

Supremacy Clause Textualism, Henry Paul Monaghan

Faculty Scholarship

Whatever its status in the statutory interpretation "wars," originalism-driven textualism has assumed an increasingly prominent role in constitutional interpretation, at least within the academy. The focus of this Article is on one such form, namely, "Supremacy Clause textualism", that is, recent textualist claims about the implications of the Supremacy Clause of Article VI. This Article addresses two such claims.

First, in important articles, Professor Bradford Clark argues that the clause is "at the epicenter of [our] constitutional structure" and it "recognizes only the 'Constitution,' 'Laws,' and 'Treaties' of the United States as 'the supreme Law of the Land."' Displacement of …

Judicial Elections As Popular Constitutionalism, David E. Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most important recent developments in American legal theory is the burgeoning interest in "popular constitutionalism." One of the most important features of the American legal system is the selection of state judges – judges who resolve thousands of state and federal constitutional questions each year – by popular election. Although a large literature addresses each of these subjects, scholarship has rarely bridged the two. Hardly anyone has evaluated judicial elections in light of popular constitutionalism, or vice versa.

This Article undertakes that thought experiment. Conceptualizing judicial elections as instruments of popular constitutionalism, the Article aims to show, …

Braiding: The Interaction Of Formal And Informal Contracting In Theory, Practice, And Doctrine, Ronald J. Gilson, Charles F. Sabel, Robert E. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

This Article studies the relationship between formal and informal contract enforcement. The theoretical literature treats the two strategies as separate phenomena. By contrast, a rich experimental literature considers whether the introduction of formal contracting and state enforcement "crowds out" the operation of informal contracting. Both literatures focus too narrowly on how formal contracts create incentives for parties to perfom substantive actions, while assuming that informal enforcement depends on preexisting levels of trust. As a result, current scholarship misses the relationship between formal and informal contract mechanisms that characterizes contemporary contracting in practice. Parties respond to rising uncertainty by writing contracts …

Legislation That Isn't – Attending To Rulemaking's "Democracy Deficit", Peter L. Strauss

Faculty Scholarship

Philip Frickey's commitment to practical legal studies won my admiration early on in his career. In this welcome celebration of his extraordinary career, it seems fitting to essay something "practical" – to attempt a constructive approach to an enduring problem – that has some bearing on his lifelong attention to the problem of "interpretation." If it will not make the problem go away, perhaps it will provide a basis for understanding its inevitable tensions, and in that way will help us step past theoretical exegeses suggesting the possibility of simple answers.

Saving Up For Bankruptcy, Ronald J. Mann, Katherine Porter

Faculty Scholarship

Bankruptcy is a numbers game. Policymaking, public perception, and the scholarly literature are captivated with the number of annual bankruptcy filings, which hit one million in 2008. The number of annual bankruptcy filings has become a barometer of economic health, reflecting an implicit assumption that bankruptcy is a useful proxy for financial distress.

But at the level of the individual family, the causative relation between financial distress and bankruptcy filings is unclear. On the one hand, only a fraction of those in serious financial distress will ever file for bankruptcy. For example, a study by Michelle White examined a group …

Indiana Pavement Preservation Program, Ghim Ping (Raymond) Ong, Tommy E. Nantung, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

State highway agencies are facing immense pressure to maintain roads at acceptable levels amidst the challenging financial and economic situations. In recent years, pavement preservation has been sought as a potential alternative for managing the pavement assets, believing that it would provide a cost-effective solution in maintaining infrastructural conditions and meeting user expectations. This study explores the potential of pavement preservation concepts in managing the agency‘s pavement assets by attempting to integrate pavement preservation considerations within the network-level pavement management system. Several elements are studied in the report: (i) determining triggers for pavement preservation treatments for use in a PMS, …

Treatment Guidelines For Pavement Preservation, Jusang Lee, Todd Shields

JTRP Technical Reports

This project presents pavement treatment practice guidelines and a distress identification manual for the purpose of improving the INDOT pavement preservation practices. The treatment guidelines consist of 10 treatment types for asphalt pavements and composite pavements and 8 treatment types for Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP). The treatment guidelines include treatment descriptions, benefits, applicable pavement conditions, treatment materials, and treatment procedures. The guidelines are based on information obtained mainly from the INDOT Standard Specification, the INDOT Design Manual, and the INDOT Field Operations Handbook for Crew Leaders. The treatments are covered in the guidelines. The distress identification manual presents the …

An Assessment Of Delivery Risks In Transportation Projects, Velvet Fitzpatrick, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

A large number of uncertainties exist in the delivery of highway projects, and it is important to describe the extent so that budgeting and programming can be carried out in a manner that duly accounts for such uncertainties. The study investigates the sources of delivery variability (risk factors) that occur in the period between project proposed date and the letting date. Data on 366 highway projects were collected from the Indiana Department of Transportation Management Information Portal. Using statistical and econometric techniques, the data was analyzed to identify the potential risk factors and to determine the magnitude and direction of …

Automated Pavement Condition Data Collection Quality Control, Quality Assurance, And Reliability, Ghim Ping (Raymond) Ong, Samy Noureldin, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

In recent years, state highway agencies have come to understand the need for high quality pavement condition data at both the project and network levels. At the same time, agencies also realize that they have become too dependent on contractors to ensure the quality of the delivered data without any means to independently assure the quality of these delivered data. This research study therefore aims to investigate the inherent variability of the automated data collection processes and proposes guidelines for an automated data collection quality management program in Indiana. In particular, pavement roughness data (in terms of IRI) and pavement …

My Family, My Open, Deborah A. Herzog

Theses

This collection of poems and non-fiction work focuses on self-reflection and family with all its perfections and imperfections. I believe this collection mirrors the essence of the writer and gives insight to the loved ones who shaped that life. It is a tapestry of emotional revelation derived from introspection and observation of the world.

The author has experienced the joy of reading for over forty years and spent many hours journaling throughout her life. The empty nest syndrome was the catalyst to pursue studies in creative writing. It became a cathartic exploration of life that blossomed into a work that …

Eternal Note Of Sadness, Pyra Intihar

Theses

This collection of poems and short stories is an attempt to answer what Matthew Arnold calls "the eternal note of sadness." The thesis contains poems, two short stories, and one personal narrative. While each of these can be read with different interpretive slants, I choose here to show how each work in this collection is a response to the eternal note of sadness. The poems and personal narrative in the first part of this collection are concerned with the writer's quest, and l will go into depth discussing each of these poems and the narrative because I think they directly …

Measurement Of Charm And Beauty Production In Deep Inelastic Ep Scattering From Decays Into Muons At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, S. Magill, B. Musgrave, D. Nicholass, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, F. Cindolo, M. Corradi, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, R. Nania, A. Polini, S. Antonelli, M. Basile, M. Bindi, L. Cifarelli, A. Contin, S. De Pasquale, G. Sartorelli, A. Zichichi, D. Bartsch, I. Brock, H. Hartmann

Faculty Publications

The production of charm and beauty quarks in ep interactions has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA for squared four-momentum exchange Q2>20 GeV2, using an integrated luminosity of 126 pb-1. Charm and beauty quarks were identified through their decays into muons. Differential cross sections were measured for muon transverse momenta pTμ> 1.5 GeV and pseudorapidities -1. 62. 3, as a function of pTμ>, ημ, Q2and Bjorken x. The charm and beauty contributions to the proton structure function F2were also extracted. The results agree with previous measurements based on independent techniques and are well described by QCD …

Parental Absence, Benjamin Brainsby

Theses

The two short stories presented herein feature wildly different narratives operating under a common thematic umbrella; absent fathers.

While not always the central focus of the narrative, or the principle motivation of the protagonists, the fathers' absence in both stories casts a long shadow that defines their sense of happiness. Characters in both_ stories suffer from a feeling of incompleteness that is rooted in the longing for the absent father.

1n both cases the father's absence is beyond the protagonist's control and as such they must react to the affect it has on their lives and the situations that it, …

Development Of A Three-Axis Mems Accelerometer, Jacob Leveto

Theses

While originally developed to deploy air bags for the automotive industry, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) based accelerometers have found their way into everything from video game controllers to cells phones. As prices drop and capabilities improve, it is expected that the use of accelerometers will further expand in the coming years. Accelerometers currently have the second highest MEMS sales volume, trailing only pressure sensors [1]. In this work several single and three-axis accelerometers are designed, fabricated, and tested under a variety of conditions. The designed accelerometers are all based off of the piezoresistive effect, where the value of a resistor changes …