Digital Commons Network^™

Object Recognition Based On Shape And Function, Akihiro Eguchi

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores a new approach to computational object recognition by borrowing an idea from child language acquisition studies in developmental psychology. Whereas previous image recognition research used shape to recognize and label a target object, the model proposed in this thesis also uses the function of the object resulting in a more accurate recognition. This thesis makes use of new gaming technology, Microsoft’s Kinect, in implementing the proposed new object recognition model. A demonstration of the model developed in this project properly infers different names for similarly shaped objects and the same name for differently shaped objects.

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods And Targets, Jean Garner Larned

Dissertations

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods and Targets is the ultimate goal in order to help those who train, manage and prevent hostage taking events which include police officers, negotiators, recovery personnel, academics and psychologists. The overall lack of literature relating to the topic of captive-taker motivations is another impetus for this dissertation. There is a dearth of scholarly material in any of the main areas of understanding kidnapping/captive-taking/hostage-taking from the perspective of the perpetrator within law enforcement, psychology, private sector or academia. It is anticipated that this research study and the data garnered from it will assist academics, psychologists, private corporations, …

A Comparitive Sic] Study On Community-Based After-School Programs To Faith-Based After-School Programs, Angiemil Perez

HIM 1990-2015

After-school programs play an increasing role in providing developmental and social skills through extra-curricular activities. Adolescents are most likely to engage in delinquent behavior during unsupervised after-school hours. Different after-school programs are available, both community-based and faith-based programs have risen in number in response to the need of children to have a safe environment with adult supervision. This study is interested in comparing after-school programs that are faith-based to community-based and see if any similarities or differences exist within each other. The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to the existing literature on after-school programs in two ways. First, …

Ole Miss Engineer 2011-2012

Ole Miss Engineer

No abstract provided.

Dayton Lawyer, Winter 2011-12, University Of Dayton

Dayton Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Landmark Report (Vol. 29, No. 3), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Landmark Report

Newsletter published by the Landmark Association; this local group advocates the preservation, protection and maintenance of architectural, cultural and archaeological resources in Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentu

Signpost Newsletter, December, Winter Edition, 2011

Signpost Newsletter

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Great Britain

Signpost Newsletter Finding Aid

Effects Of Professional Development On Using Differentiated Instruction With Gifted And Talented Students In The Library Media Center, Kristi Lynn Hayes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Library media specialists (LMSs) have a unique position within a school, which is the opportunity to reach out to every student, especially to gifted and talented students who can benefit from having more advocates within their learning communities. Collaborating with other education professionals is beneficial to all students and many library media specialists already make this a normal part of their job responsibilities. The LMSs who are participants of Project CATALYST (Collaboration among Teachers and Librarians Yields Successful Teaching) are required to collaborate with classroom teachers in order to provide more enriching opportunities for students when they come to the …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of An Internship Program, Daniel Jackel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The traditional way to learn about social sciences in a university setting includes taking courses that teach theoretical frameworks and scientific methodologies that are required for one’s major area of study. The courses that are taught to students are determined by what major they sign up for. After a student has taken all required courses,what skills does the student have to take with him after graduation?

Whether participation is pursued solely for academic credit, for career development, or for civic engagement, an experiential experience typically enhances a student’s connection between academic content and “real world” applications. Bridging the gap between …

A Comparison Of Current Anuran Monitoring Methods With Emphasis On The Accuracy Of Automatic Vocalization Detection Software, Jacob Douglas Eldridge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Currently, a variety of methods are available to monitor anurans, and little standardization of methods exists. New methods to monitor anurans have become available over the past twenty years, including PVC pipe arrays used for tree frog capture and Automated Digital Recording Systems (ADRS) used to remotely monitor calling activity. In addition to ADRS, machine-learning computer software, automated vocalization recognition software (AVRS), has been developed to automatically detect vocalizations within digital sound recordings. The use of a combination of ADRS and AVRS shows the promise to reduce the number of people, time, and resources needed for an effective call survey …

Facial Expression Discrimination In Adults Experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Brian N. Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on adults’ ability to discriminate between various facial expressions of emotions. Additionally, the study examined whether individuals reporting PTSS exhibited an attentional bias toward threat-related facial expressions of emotions. The research design was a 2 (expression intensity) x 3 (emotional pairing) x 2 (PTSS group) mixed-model factorial design. Participants for the study were 89 undergraduates recruited from psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Traumatic Stress Schedule to assess for prior exposure to traumatic events. A median split was used to divide the sample into two groups …

Measuring Accessibility To Primary Care Physicians In The Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, Sami M. Almudaris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growing concern for the shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) prompted a government legislation to designate areas where shortage in the delivery of primary care services occurs. The implemented systems (e.g., HPSA, MUA, and MUP) analyze utilization of health services within confined administrative units and fail to account for spatial interactions that occur across administrative borders. This research examines the spatial accessibility to PCPs and the underlying demographic and socioeconomic settings. With the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as a study area, this study utilized data from the U.S. Census 2000 and 2010, as well as the known locations …

Protestant Nuns As Depictions Of Piety In Lutheran Funeral Sermons, Kathryn Dillinger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Protestant nuns, Stiftsdamen, fulfilled a unique role in early modern Lutheran society. This papers focuses on the implied social roles and expected virtues of Protestant nuns [Stiftsdamen] in the works of male Lutheran pastors who supported Protestant theological positions that promoted marriage as the proper place for women, and yet who also praised unmarried female monastics in funeral sermons [Leichenpredigten]. Lutheran pastors wrote funeral sermons for both Stiftsdamen and married women, funeral sermons display similarities or differences between what virtues, characteristics, and displays of piety for women. A comparison will also be made between funeral …

Job Skills, Tolerance, And Positive Interactions: The Gendered Experiences Of Appalachian Migrants, Kelli Brooke Alford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The following study examines gendered learning experiences of a population of Appalachian migrants surveyed from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. The respondents who participated in the survey used for this study began their lives in Appalachia. These respondents then left Appalachia for various other areas in the country and even around the world only to ultimately return to the mountainous region later in their lives. To begin, theory will be introduced concerning the stratification of gender in the Appalachian economic landscape, as well as a theoretical framework placing Appalachian women in an interlocking web of oppression with other …

Nothing Left To Say, Joel Fisher

Art Honors Theses

Sculpture BFA Exhibition held December 5-9, 2011 in the Devries Student Gallery, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, Western Michigan University.

2011 Winter Public Record, Loyola Law School - Los Angeles

Public Record

No abstract provided.

Scholarworks Statistics - December 2011, Scholarworks

ScholarWorks Reports

For the month of December 2011, ScholarWorks recorded a total of 13,606 full-text downloads and 18,802 page views.

December 2011 Minutes, Usm Council Of Chairs

Council of Chairs

Minutes of the December 2011 meeting of the USM Council of Chairs.

Somos Y Estamos, Otoño/Fall 2011, Department Of Spanish

Somos y Estamos

For Friends of the Department of Spanish at Western Michigan University. In both Spanish and English.

Voices Raised, Issue 34, University Of Dayton. Women's Center

Women’s Center Newsletter

Included in this issue: Sweats to Suits 2012; 100 years of Engineering Excellence: Women’s strides in a challenging field; WGS goes to London; The women of 39 Evanston; Memories and Musings from Mrs. Claus; Dining hall health foods?; Navigating the holidays after the death of a loved one; Sweats to Suits 2011; All ages, learning from each other.

Program Planning

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

49th Conference On Senior Engineering Design, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 49th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on December 6, 2011 at the College of Engineering and applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The college sponsors the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

Perceived Ideological Bias In The College Classroom And The Role Of Student Reflective Thinking: A Proposed Model, Darren L. Linville, Joseph P. Mazer

Publications

The role ideology plays in the university classroom is a continual issue of debate. A common public perception has been that academics are a liberal elite, and that they, in the words of conservative activist David Horowitz, “behave as political advocates in the classroom, express opinions in a partisan manner on controversial issues irrelevant to the academic subject, and even grade students in a manner designed to enforce their conformity to professorial prejudices” (2007, p. 188). The Chronicle of Higher Education demonstrated how pervasive this view has become with a 2004 public opinion poll that found 51% of 1,000 individuals …

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2011, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions Of An International Practicum Experience In Italian Schools: Benefits Of A Short-Term Placement With Faculty Support, Maria Cantalini-Williams, Mary Lynn Tessaro

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This study examines the perceptions of teacher candidates (student teachers) participating in a faculty-supervised, international teaching placement in Italian schools. Survey responses and journal reflections, supported by faculty field notes indicate that the benefits could be categorized in four main areas such as: the development of resourcefulness and resilience; increased familiarity with the conditions of international teaching employment; a greater awareness of cultural literacy and comparative education; and an enhancement of language sensitivities and strategies for communicating and teaching. Recommendations suggest that professional growth of the teacher candidates is dependent on sufficient preparation, faculty support and immersion in the experience. …

Microblogging For Strengthening A Virtual Learning Community In An Online Course, Yu-Chang Hsu, Yu-Hui Ching

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines how a microblogging tool (i.e., Twitter) can be effectively used to strengthen a virtual learning community (VLC) in the two sections of a fully online graduate course. Students in this course were consisted of K-12 teachers, school technology specialists, corporate trainers, and military personnel. The microblogging activities were designed to allow quick peer interaction to build the momentum of social learning in the VLC. In this study, we collected quantitative data on sense of community through a Likert scale survey, and rich qualitative data on students' perception about microblogging activities. It was found that students’ sense of …

The R Journal (December 2011) 3(2): Complete Issue, The R Foundation

The R Journal

Contributed Research Articles

Creating and Deploying an Application with (R)Excel and R, Thomas Baier, Erich Neuwirth, and Michele De Meo

glm2: Fitting Generalized Linear Models with Convergence Problems, Ian C. Marschner

Implementing the Compendium Concept with Sweave and DOCSTRIP, Michael Lundholm

Watch Your Spelling! Kurt Hornik and Duncan Murdoch

Ckmeans.1d.dp: Optimal k-means Clustering in One Dimension by Dynamic Programming, Haizhou Wang and Mingzhou Song

Nonparametric Goodness-of-Fit Tests for Discrete Null Distributions, Taylor B. Arnold and John W. Emerson

Using the Google Visualisation API with R, Markus Gesmann and Diego de Castillo

GrapheR: a Multiplatform GUI for Drawing Customizable Graphs in …

Deaf Apostolate Newsletter, Christmas 2011

Deaf Apostolate Newsletter

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Boston, MA

Deaf Apostolate Newsletter Finding Aid

Light Coupling Between A Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode (Sms) Fiber Structure And A Long Period Fiber Gating, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova, Youqiao Ma, Pengfei Wang, Tuan Gao, Long Jin, Gerald Farrell

Articles

We propose a novel optical coupling technique based on evanescent field coupling between a singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structure and a long period fiber grating (LPFG). By parallel placement of the two fiber sections in close proximity to each other, the excited multi-cladding modes from the SMS fiber section can be selectively coupled to the guided mode in the LPFG, and vice versa. A theoretical analysis based for such a structure is undertaken and the simulated results are verified by experiments demonstrating a maximum coupling efficiency of up to 1.66% (which could be improved to 27.5% in theory) over a broadband …

Maine's Community Living Program: Implementation And Outcomes, Julie T. Fralich Mba, Mark Richards Bs, Louise Olsen

Disability & Aging

In 2009, the Office of Elder Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), was awarded a grant from the Administration on Aging (AoA) under its Community Living Program (CLP). The overall goal of the CLP announcement was to strengthen the capacity of the Aging Network to target and serve individuals at highest risk of residential facility placement by offering flexible services including consumer directed options. Over the last five years, options counseling has evolved from a general set of activities and functions within AAAs/ADRCs to a more standardized and generally accepted role within the Aging Network. With the …