Digital Commons Network^™

Prestructuring Multilayer Perceptrons Based On Information-Theoretic Modeling Of A Partido-Alto-Based Grammar For Afro-Brazilian Music: Enhanced Generalization And Principles Of Parsimony, Including An Investigation Of Statistical Paradigms, Mehmet Vurkaç

Dissertations and Theses

The present study shows that prestructuring based on domain knowledge leads to statistically significant generalization-performance improvement in artificial neural networks (NNs) of the multilayer perceptron (MLP) type, specifically in the case of a noisy real-world problem with numerous interacting variables.

The prestructuring of MLPs based on knowledge of the structure of a problem domain has previously been shown to improve generalization performance. However, the problem domains for those demonstrations suffered from significant shortcomings: 1) They were purely logical problems, and 2) they contained small numbers of variables in comparison to most data-mining applications today. Two implications of the former were …

Molecular Genetic Analysis Of Creld1 In Patients With Heterotaxy Disorder, Samaneh Zhian

Dissertations and Theses

Heterotaxy refers to the abnormal arrangement of internal organs in relation to each other. Model organism studies have shown that functions of more than eighty genes are required for normal asymmetric left-right organ development. CRELD1 has been shown to be necessary for proper heart development and mutations in CRELD1 are known to increase risk of cardiac atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD). AVSD is the most common form of heart defect associated with heterotaxy, and we have previously shown that some individuals heterotaxy-related AVSD have mutations in CRELD1.

Therefore, we propose to examine the CRELD1 gene in a large sample of …

Physical And Electrical Characterization Of Triethanolamine Based Sensors For No₂ Detection And The Influence Of Humidity On Sensing Response, Zachariah Marcus Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

Triethanolamine (TEA) is a semiconducting polymer which exhibits a resistance change when exposed to various gases. The polymer also exhibits a number of reactions with nitrogen dioxide, with the reaction products being heavily dependent on the presence or absence of water vapor. Previous studies have attempted the incorporation of a TEA-carbon nanoparticle composite as the active sensing layer in a chemresistive sensor for detection of NO₂. The incorporation of carbon nanoparticles in the polymer nanocomposite was thought to amplify the sensor's response. There are a number of chemical reactions that can occur between TEA and NO₂, with the reaction products …

Who Gender-Bends And Why? A Qualitative Study Of World Of Warcraft, Clairellyn Rose Gregory

Dissertations and Theses

According to a 2009 study, 68% of American households played video games (Entertainment Software Association). With this number continually on the rise, video games and their cultures are in need of further scholarly exploration. A video game of particular interest is a massive online game known as World of Warcraft, drawing over twelve million players worldwide (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010). With a cyberspace-based culture, World of Warcraft exposes its players to phenomenon that are unique to it, and thereby not easily understood through the same measures and evaluations offered by society at large. One such phenomena is that of gender, or …

Calcium And Redox Control Of The Calcium Release Mechanism Of Skeletal And Cardiac Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, Laura Jean Owen

Dissertations and Theses

The sarcoplasmic reticulum is an internal membrane system that controls the Ca²⁺ concentration inside muscle cells, and hence the contractile state of both skeletal and cardiac muscle. A key protein that that regulates the Ca²⁺ concentration in this membrane is known as the calcium release channel (CRC). The effects on Ca²⁺ dependent activation is of major importance in the study of CRC since other channel modifiers cannot effect the channel in the absence of Ca²⁺, or they require Ca²⁺ for maximum results. In this study of the high-affinity Ca²⁺ binding site, expected increases in total binding and shifts in the …

Proposal And Analysis Of Demagnetization Methods Of High Voltage Power System Transformers And Design Of An Instrument To Automate The Demagnetization Process, Nathanael Jared Makowski

Dissertations and Theses

Present demagnetization methods for large power system transformers are time consuming and can be dangerous to persons performing demagnetization. The work of this thesis was to develop improved demagnetization methods and to construct an automated instrument that would implement the methods developed. One previously developed method was analyzed for effectiveness. Then, two new methods for demagnetization were developed and also analyzed for effectiveness. An automated test instrument prototype was redesigned to be able to accommodate these methods and to improve the safety of the user. The previously developed method attempts demagnetization based on current flow behavior characteristics. The first new …

Using Archaeological Fish Remains To Determine The Native Status Of Anadromous Salmonids In The Upper Klamath Basin (Oregon, Usa) Through Mtdna And Geochemical Analysis, Alexander E. Stevenson

Dissertations and Theses

Within the Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon, the native status of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) has been a long standing question. Ongoing efforts to establish if these fish were native to the region prior to the construction of the Copco I Dam on the Klamath River (c.1917) have relied on sparse, contradictory and sometimes unreliable historic documentation and informant testimony. Current restoration projects with very high financial and social costs necessitate accurate and reliable data on salmonid species which once called the region home. Often, archaeolofaunal remains present a novel way to determine species present in an area prior to …

Breaking The Silence: A Challenge To Executive Use Of The State Secrets Privilege To Dismiss Claims Of Cia Torture In Mohamed V. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., Erin E. Bohannon

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Potential For Speciation In Mammals Following Vast, Late Miocene Volcanic Interruptions In The Pacific Northwest, Ryan Thomas Mckenna

Dissertations and Theses

The impact of large-scale volcanic eruptions on landscapes can affect many processes ranging from interrupting or redirecting regional soil forming processes and hydrological systems to generating temporary changes in global climate. Though more studies exist every year, less is known of the direct impact of large-scale volcanic eruptions on ecosystems and extinction, while even less is known of their impact on speciation. In deposits throughout the Pacific Northwest a special combination and association of volcanic magnitude with palaeoecological yield frequently presents unique prospects for inquiry. In this study, particular attention is given to large, late Miocene ash-flow tuffs of central …

Effects Of Daily Social Support On Tension-Reduction Drinking, Deborah L. Brannan

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have argued that in times of need having supportive, caring people available can make all the difference between achieving optimum health and well-being or suffering from mental or physical illness (Cobb, 1976; Sarason & Sarason, 1985; Thoits, 1986). The direct-effect model of support postulates that having the knowledge of available relationship resources (i.e., perceived support) and receiving benefits from those relationships (i.e., received support) both have beneficial effects on health behaviors and well-being (Cohen & Wills, 1985). According to the stress-buffering model, when stressors are encountered, the certainty of having available resources, as well as having tangible support resources, …

Deforestation, Drought And Humans: New Discoveries Of The Late Quaternary Paleoenvironment Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Candace Lynn Gossen

Dissertations and Theses

The mystery of the trees of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a complex problem within a dynamic ecosystem. With new physical cores from the volcanic crater lake Rano Kao, this dissertation uncovers a detailed 15,000 year ecological history of Easter Island and its climatic variability. New radiocarbon dating methods establish a more precise chronology which shows that the island before human habitation was very different than what we know today. It had a simple but prolific ecology that transitioned into a barren grassland. What factors caused the transition are unclear but are likely to be human related. As the forests …

Rules For Growth: Promoting Innovation And Growth Through Legal Reform, Nicole Stelle Garnett, Robert E. Litan, Yochai Benkler, Henry N. Butler, John Henry Clippinger, Robert Cook-Deegan, Robert D. Cooter, Aaron S. Edlin, Ronald J. Gilson, Oliver R. Goodenough, Gillian K. Hadfield, Mark A. Lemley, Frank Partnoy, George L. Priest, Larry E. Ribstein, Charles F. Sabel, Peter H. Schuck, Hal S. Scott, Robert E. Scott, Alex Stein, Victoria Stodden, John E. Tyler Iii, Alan D. Viard, Benjamin Wittes

Journal Articles

The United States economy is struggling to recover from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. After several huge doses of conventional macroeconomic stimulus - deficit-spending and monetary stimulus - policymakers are understandably eager to find innovative no-cost ways of sustaining growth both in the short and long runs. In response to this challenge, the Kauffman Foundation convened a number of America’s leading legal scholars and social scientists during the summer of 2010 to present and discuss their ideas for changing legal rules and policies to promote innovation and accelerate U.S. economic growth. This meeting led to the publication …

Designing Surveillance Law, Patricia L. Bellia

Journal Articles

As communications surveillance techniques become increasingly important in government efforts to detect and thwart criminal and terrorist activities, questions of how to reconcile privacy and law enforcement interests take on paramount importance. These questions have institutional as well as substantive dimensions. That is, the issue is not simply what the limits on communications surveillance should be, but who should set them — courts through application of the Fourth Amendment or legislatures through statutes and the oversight process? The scholarly literature offers divergent positive and normative perspectives on these questions.
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Internet Law Reader, Eric Goldman

Historical and Topical Legal Documents

No abstract provided.

Restoring Lost Connections: Land Use, Policing, And Urban Vitality, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Journal Articles

Justice William Brennan rightfully reminded all of us that state constitutional law is too often neglected in our courtrooms and our classrooms. State constitutions, to borrow from the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, ought not to be "relegated to the status of a poor relation" in our constitutional legal structure. They differ in important ways from the federal law Constitution-and those differences provide the space within which our democratic experiment flourishes. And I am sure if Justice Brennan were here with us today, he would agree that we also should not neglect the study of the state and local policies …

Belonging And Trust: Divorce And Social Capital, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

To whom do spouses belong? Do they belong to their communities as well as each other and their immediate families? These questions are explored in an empirical paper demonstrating ways in which social capital in communities may affect even the marriages of people living in them.

Do Joint Parenting Laws Make Any Difference?, Margaret F. Brinig, Douglas W. Allen

Journal Articles

Using a unique data set on divorcing couples, we analyze the effects of a change in legal entitlement on the outcomes for divorcing couples. In particular, we analyze the 1997 change to custody provisions in the State of Oregon. Prior to 1997, Oregon assigned custody, based on the discretion of the court, in the best interests of the child. This was changed to a presumption- of joint parenting, which manifests in the courts encouraging and imposing joint (or shared) custody in cases that otherwise would have had sole custody arrangements. We find that the law had several implications for divorce …

Characteristics Of Road-Kill Locations Of San Clemente Island Foxes, Nathan P. Snow, William F. Andelt, Nicholas P. Gould

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mortalities from collisions with vehicles have created concern for the welfare of the San Clemente Island fox (Urocyon littoralis clementae); 1 of only 6 genetically distinct subspecies of island fox. To find possible solutions for minimizing these mortalities, we compared 9 characteristics of roads and roadsides at kill-sites and control-sites to ascertain whether certain features were associated with risk of collisions. We found that kill-sites were positively associated with the volume of traffic, and negatively associated with the distance of motorists’ visibility, which had not been previously identified for island foxes. Additionally, visual obstructions along roadsides (i.e., steep …

Undetected Common Variable Immune Deficiency In A Young Adult Of Pakistani Descent., M Owais Khan, Adil Iqba Memon, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi, Asifali Imam

Department of Medicine

Common variable immune deficiency (CVID) is a syndrome which is due to deficiency of humoral immune response resulting in increased susceptibility to infections We report a case of CVID in a 24-year-old male whopresented with a history of recurrent pneumonias.

An Exceptionally Useful Exploration, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A book review for Computing in Science and Engineering by D. Easley and J. Kleinberg, Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly-Connected World, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-521-1953-1, 736 pp.

The Impact Of Conformity Salience On Technical Questionnaire Completion In Male And Female College Students, Jessica R. Flansburg, Terry F. Pettijohn Ii

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This study explored the effect of conformity salience on the technical completion of a questionnaire. Previous research has documented the motivational effects of priming on behavior, but not specifically conformity salience and questionnaire completion. Participants (

N

= 71) were randomly assigned to read a statement to prime conformity or to not prime conformity before completing a questionnaire with specific instructions of how to complete responses by filling in circles with a pencil. Participants in the conformity salient condition were hypothesized to be more likely to follow the directions of the questionnaire than participants in the conformity nonsalient condition, and …

Predictors Of Snack Food Consumption Among Upper Elementary Children Using Social Cognitive Theory, Paul Branscum, Manoj Sharma

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This study examined the extent to which the constructs of social cognitive theory (SCT) can predict snack food consumption among elementary school-age children. A valid and reliable 22-item instrument was administered to 212 children. Snack food consumption was evaluated by asking children to recall and report all foods consumed outside of meals in the previous 24 hours. On average, the children consumed 513 calories from snack foods per day. Most came from sugar-sweetened beverages and calorically dense snacks. Fruit and vegetable snacks were positively predicted by self-control ( R2

= 0.017), and sugar-sweetened beverage snacks were negatively predicted by …

The Impact Of Infectious Disease On Chronic Disease: A Review Of Contemporary Findings, Wendy Berke

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Infectious diseases are among the top causes of death in adults and children. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are among the top causes of death in adults. Associations between bacterial and viral infectious agents and subsequent development of chronic disease have been made in the past but are currently being reexamined with more rigor and specificity. This review examines infectious disease agent causes and associations with cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and neurodegenerative disease. These associations will impact future research, surveillance, treatment, and prevention of both infectious and chronic diseases.

Stimulating School Reform: The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act And The Shifting Federal Role In Education, Benjamin Michael Superfine

Missouri Law Review

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), aimed at stimulating and stabilizing the American economy during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, reflects significant new dimensions of federal action in the area of educational reform. In addition to saving jobs in the educator workforce, the ARRA was designed to spark the implementation of specific reform strategies in states and schools and lay a foundation for the Obama administration's subsequent educational reform efforts, including the impending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While the goals of the educational reform provisions of the ARRA are laudable, …

Eeoc Reinforces Broad Interpretation Of Adaaa Disability Qualification: But What Does Substantially Limits Mean, Carol J. Miller

Missouri Law Review

Part I of this Article recognizes the difficulty in calculating how many workers are disabled. Such difficulties have been used by the courts to justify differing interpretations of what constitutes a disability. This Part also discusses the origin of the ADA and provides a brief overview of the 2008 ADAAA. Part I of the Article examines the United States Supreme Court's interpretations that narrowed the construction of what is a "substantial limitation" and what is an ADA disability. This Part highlights the lack of consensus between the courts, Congress, and the EEOC, as well as the courts' apparent disregard of …

Swimming Against The Tide: The Eighth Circuit Holds That Fleeing A Police Officer In A Motor Vehicle Is Not A Crime Of Violence, Nichole Walsch

Missouri Law Review

In 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the Minnesota offense of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle is not a "crime of violence" for the purposes of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (Sentencing Guidelines), a crime of violence is defined as any state or federal offense "punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" that involves the use of physical force against another person or that "is burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential …

"Consider With Whom You Are Working": Discourse Models Of School Librarianship In Collaboration, Sue C. Kimmel

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The question of why school librarians still struggle to fully enact the roles defined in "Information Power" and "Empowering Learners" may be viewed as a struggle to gain recognition from others that this is what a "real school librarian" does. Discourse Analysis offers school library research a new theoretical and analytical tool to explore how these roles or identities are created or contested in interactions with others by examining the moment-to-moment talk for the presence of larger meanings, or "discourses." Applying a discourse analysis to an exchange that occurred near the end of an ethnographic study of collaborative discourse between …

Choosing My Best Thing: Black Motherhood And Academia, Kaavonia Hinton-Johnson

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Scholars argue that White feminist theoretical undertakings concerning mothering are not appropriate for studying Black mothers because they rarely take race and culture into consideration (Collins, 1991; Joseph, 1991). Collins (1994) argues that the experiences of Black mothers are paramount to any inclusive discussion about mother/child relationships. Scholars who have turned their attention to the Black mother often do so via literary works and/or criticism (see, for example, Crews, 1996; Morrison, 1987; Wade-Gayles, 1984; Washington, 1990; Williams, 1986) or in reality (Collins, 1991, 1994; Roberts, 1997a). However, a computerized search for studies on the Black mother produces literature …

Interception In Open-Grown Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) Urban Canopy, Mitchell Bixby

Dissertations and Theses

I hypothesized that Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) standing apart from other trees ('open-grown') will intercept more rainfall than Douglas-fir trees standing near other trees ('closed-canopy'). Open-grown trees differ structurally and are more common in urban settings, yet have been infrequently studied. Existing literature, based primarily on closed-canopy trees, suggests Douglas-fir trees in Pacific Northwest forests intercept approximately 25% of rainfall annually. Because open-grown trees have more vertical leaf area than individual trees in closed-canopy forests, I expected to find higher interception by open-grown trees.

I collected throughfall under four open-grown Douglas-firs using six static collectors ('buckets') per tree, …

Pedagogical Catalysts Of Civic Competence: The Development Of A Critical Epistemological Model For Community-Based Learning, Stephanie Taylor Stokamer

Dissertations and Theses

Civic competence is critical to the successful functioning of pluralistic democracies. Developing the knowledge, skills, and motivations for effective democratic participation is a national and global imperative that many higher education institutions have embraced through the teaching strategies of community-based learning and service-learning. Yet, scant research literature has focused on the relationship between pedagogical approaches and civic competence outcomes. This five-year longitudinal study of 11,000 students in 700 senior-level capstone courses at an urban research university empirically tested a new theoretically constructed model of civic competence development in order to identify epistemological and pedagogical elements that enhance civic competence. Eight …