Digital Commons Network^™

Paired Positive Carbonate Carbon Isotope, Organic Carbon Isotope, And Oxygen Isotope Composition Study Across The Lower Mississippian Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion, Southeastern Nevada, Usa, Robert Alan Henry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A prominent positive carbonate carbon isotope (delta13Ccarb) excursion of Early Mississippian age (ca 351 Ma) has been documented by previous studies from numerous sites globally. This delta13Ccarb excursion has been interpreted as resulting from enhanced organic carbon burial that removed 13C-depleted carbon from the ocean and atmosphere. Anticipated outcomes from enhanced organic carbon burial would include a similar positive excursion in organic carbon isotopes (delta13Corg) and a global cooling event resulting from reduced CO2 in the atmosphere and ocean. These predictions, however, were not tested sufficiently in previous studies. This research has tested these predictions through an integrated study of …

On The Back Of The Army: A Comparative Study Of Romanization In Britain And Egypt, Renee Wiseman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romanization is the process of understanding how Rome culturally expanded beyond military actions. This study seeks to compare how Romanization proceeded in the provinces of Britain and Egypt.

The Pedagogy Of Pornography: What Popular Pornography On The Internet Teaches Us About Aggression And Consent, Anthony Springrt Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Pornography remains a highly discussed and hotly debated topic within the academy and popular culture. Despite declining revenues for pornographic content, the proliferation of the Internet makes pornography easier to access than ever before. This study examines aggression and consent in popular pornography on the Internet. One hundred scenes across five highly trafficked Web sites’ “most viewed” sections were selected for analysis. Consistent with existing research literature, women were overwhelmingly the targets of aggressive acts and typically expressed consensual reactions to acts of aggression. The results are examined within the context of social learning theory to posit what ideas and …

Microstructural Characterization Of Kinked Germanate Olivine Grains, Alex Gregory Drue

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Olivine is the most common and the weakest mineral in the upper mantle. Thus the strength of olivine controls the rheology of the earth's upper mantle. The rheology of olivine in the upper mantle has important implications for mantle flow, mountain building, and rates of isostatic adjustment. Recent experimental measurements of the flow strength of deformed olivine polycrystals have assumed a homogeneous state of stress. X-ray synchrotron diffraction experiments have implied that this assumption is not always valid. Elastic Plastic Self Consistent (EPSC) modeling offers an approach to estimating the flow strength of olivine that does not assume a homogeneous …

Consolidated Study On Query Expansion, Abhishek Biruduraju

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A typical day of million web users all over the world starts with a simple query. The quest for information on a particular topic drives them to search for it, and in the pursuit of their info the terms they supply for queries varies from person to person depending on the knowledge they have. With a vast collection of documents available on the web universe it is the onus of the retrieval system to return only those documents that are relevant and satisfy the user’s search requirements. The document mismatch problem is resolved by appending extra query terms to the …

Challenges In Researching The Relationship Between Delinquency And Family Dynamics In Juvenile Sex Offenders, Dio Kevin Turner Ii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recently developed treatment approaches on juvenile sex offenders include the offenders and their families. These approaches have some empirical support; however, little research attempts to link family dynamics and child abuse with juvenile re-offending. This study attempted to examine the family dynamics from the juveniles’ perspective. The Family Assessment Measure (FAM-III), Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Self Reported Delinquency measure (SRD), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF) were used to assess family dynamics, parenting style, delinquency and childhood maltreatment, respectively. Problems with recruitment resulted in too few participants (N=6) to conduct meaningful statistical analyses. Participant responses suggested elevated impression …

Sensing And Transmission Strategies In Wireless Cognitive Radio Systems, Babak Abbasi Bastami

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The main challenge in any cognitive radio system is to maximize secondary users throughput while limiting interference imposed on licensed users. In this regard, finding the optimal sensing and transmission timing strategies and accurate sensing techniques are of great importance in a cognitive radio network.

In this thesis, we study a sensing-transmission scheme for secondary user in a cognitive radio system where the secondary user senses every primary channel independently and transmits a signal for a fixed duration if it finds the channel empty and stays idle for another fixed duration if it senses the channel busy. We obtain optimal …

State Space Model With Hidden Variables For Reconstruction Of Gene Regulatory Networks, Xi Wu, Peng Li, Nan Wang, Ping Gong, Edward J. Perkins, Youping Deng, Chaoyang Zhang

Faculty Publications

Background: State Space Model (SSM) is a relatively new approach to inferring gene regulatory networks. It requires less computational time than Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN). There are two types of variables in the linear SSM, observed variables and hidden variables. SSM uses an iterative method, namely Expectation-Maximization, to infer regulatory relationships from microarray datasets. The hidden variables cannot be directly observed from experiments. How to determine the number of hidden variables has a significant impact on the accuracy of network inference. In this study, we used SSM to infer Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from synthetic time series datasets, investigated …

Place, Purpose, And Practice: A Case Study Examining Rural Teachers’ Sense Of Community And Its Impact In The Classroom, Faith Beyer Hansen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In an era in which education policy directs schools towards economic outcomes and away from local and/or community goals, this research is rooted in the notion that place matters (Howley & Howley, 1995). More specifically, this study examines what impact a rural teacher’s sense of community has on her experiencing both the broader community, the community of her individual classroom, and on her practice.

This collective case study followed six teachers in one rural middle school in the mountain west. Participants were nominated using a Sense of Community Index (SCI-2) and fell into the following categories: teachers with a low, …

Sewing Technique: Hand-Worked Keyhole Buttonhole, Jen Giddens, Sarah Geer, Lindsey Shirley, Chanae Weller

All Current Publications

This is a how-to publication providing information on how to make hand-worked keyhole buttonholes.

Effects Of Grain Boundary Character On Dynamic Recrystallization Using A Modified Monte Carlo Method, Michael B. Morse

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is the recrystallization that occurs during high temperature deformation of metals and alloys. While DRX has been observed experimentally, the parameters that affect the microstructure are still being explored. For example, the effects of temperature, strain rate, and initial grain size have already been studied, yet the effect of initial special boundary fraction is still unknown. Special boundaries are high-angle, low-energy grain boundaries. It is believed that higher initial fractions of special boundaries will lead to a delay in the onset of recrystallization and a higher peak stress.

Experimentation has shown that triple junctions are preferred nucleation …

Matlab/Simulink Implementation And Analysis Of Three Pulse-Width-Modulation (Pwm) Techniques, Phuong Hue Tran

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

With advances in solid-state power electronic devices and microprocessors, various pulse-width-modulation (PWM) techniques have been developed for industrial applications. For example, PWM-based three-phase voltage source inverters (VSI) convert DC power to AC power with variable voltage magnitude and variable frequency.

This thesis discusses the advantages and drawbacks of three different PWM techniques: the sinusoidalPWM(SPWM) technique, the third-harmonic-injection PWM(THIPWM) technique, and the space-vector PWM (SVPWM) technique. These three methods are compared by discussing their ease of implementation and by analyzing the output harmonic spectra of various output voltages (poles voltages, line-to-neutral voltages, and line-to-line voltages) and their total harmonic distortion (THD). …

Environmental Regulation Of Dormancy Loss In Seeds Of Lomatium Dissectum, Melissa Dawn Scholten

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Lomatium dissectum (Nutt.) Mathias & Constance is a perennial plant found across much of western North America. For disturbed lands within this range, there is interest in using L. dissectum in restoration. A problem in the propagation of L. dissectum is that at the time of dispersal the seeds are dormant. Thus, prior to usage in restoration projects the type of dormancy and the procedures necessary to release dormancy in these seeds must be determined. Determining the type of dormancy and the treatments necessary to break dormancy in L. dissectum seeds was the primary focus of this study. To approach …

Perceptions Of The Online Learning Experience, Michelle Burow

Honors Program Theses

Online education is a relatively new phenomenon that has been developing over the past decade. While the implementation and popularity of online classes have expanded immensely, there is still some debate on whether it is a superior or inferior teaching method when compared to the traditional classroom. Due to society's mixed views on this topic, I had the desire to explore students' perceptions of the online learning experience and find ways to measure its ability to be effective.

The purpose of my thesis was to conduct research that examined the effectiveness of online courses offered at the college level. Furthermore, …

Heinrich Baermann: The Clarinetist And Inspiration, Alisa Nagel

Honors Program Theses

When composing music, inspiration can be drawn from many sources. Some composers find inspiration in the works of other composers, some draw on innovations of the technical aspects of instruments, and some find a muse. Heinrich Baermann became the muse for composers Carl Maria von Weber and Felix Mendelssohn. Each composer wrote several pieces for Baermann, and worked with him personally. It is clear that Heinrich Baermann was a virtuoso clarinetist who helped define an era of clarinet playing, but his direct influence on the aforementioned composers has rarely been analyzed. Developing a greater understanding of this influence is important …

Trajectories Of Psychological Distress Among Low-Income, Female Survivors Of Hurricane Katrina, Sarah Ryan Lowe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate trajectories of psychological distress among low-income women, primarily unmarried and African American, who survived Hurricane Katrina (N = 386). Data were collected in the year prior to the hurricane, as well as approximately one and three years thereafter. Using Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA), we detected six distinct trajectory groups. Over half of participants fit into a trajectory consistent with resilience; that is, they maintained low levels of psychological distress over the course of the study, but experienced an elevation in symptoms at the first pre-disaster time point, followed by a return …

It's Not So Simple: Understanding Participant Involvement In The Design, Implementation, And Improvement Of Cash & Counseling Programs, Erin E. Mcgaffigan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

For more than three decades, the United States federal government and the states have worked to restructure the long-term care system to be more community based and responsive to personal preferences. Some argue that those who seek such services should be actively engaged in their design (Morris, 2008; Priester, Hewitt, & Kane, 2006). While many who design and implement home and community-based services may believe that participant engagement could be beneficial, most plans move forward with little to no provision for such engagement. The existing literature provides very little insight into the implications of such decisions.

The Cash & Counseling …

Neither Rules Nor Standards, Steven A. Dean

Faculty Scholarship

Specifying the content of a requirement or a prohibition up front-e.g. replacing a "reasonable speed" requirement with a fifty-five miles per hour speed limit-can make life easier for enforcers and citizens alike. Recent efforts to substitute international tax rules for decades-old standards may do just the opposite, jeopardizing the "miracle" that is today's international tax regime. Enhanced information exchange and formulary apportionment will undermine the legitimacy that is essential to the success of any international legal regime. A better solution would overhaul the century-old benefits principle to weave enforcement deep into the fabric of the international tax regime. Only then …

Number 15, 2011, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

Complete Issue

Historic Calculator Project, Will Harris, Dan Marioni, Kevin Webb, Chad Williams

Mechanical Engineering

The Deutsches Museum of Munich, Germany requested add-on components to their mechanical calculator exhibit. The end-goal is to produce an interactive 3D model in software to demonstrate the functions of the Braun-Vayringe Machine (BVM). There will be four students working on this project at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo: two mechanical engineers (Dan Marioni and Will Harris) and two computer engineers (Chad Williams and Kevin Webb).This project involves the coordination of three facilities; the Deutsches Museum, and the Mechanical and Computer Science Departments of Cal Poly. The name of the project is known as the Historic Calculator Project …

Current Status And Long-Term Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Tributaries And Chesapeake Bay Mainstem From 1985 Through 2010, Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman, Raghavendra Kurada

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The period prior to the implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program was characterized by a marked decline in the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. The disappearance of submerged aquatic vegetation in certain regions of the Bay, declines in the abundance of some commercially and recreationally important species, increases in the incidence of low dissolved oxygen events, changes in the Bay's food web, and other ecological problems have been related to the deteriorating water quality (e.g. USEPA, 1982,1983;Officer et al.,1984; Orth and Moore, 1984). The results of concentrated research efforts in the late 1970s and early 1980s stimulated the …

Preliminary Evaluations Of Secondary Productivity Estimates As Indicators Of The Ecological Value Of The Benthos To Higher Trophic Levels In Chesapeake Bay, Daniel M. Dauer, Michael F. Lane, Roberto J. Llansó, Robert Diaz

Benthic Applications

The primary objective of this project was to develop an analytical tool that management could use to assess the ecological value of the benthos for higher trophic levels. Ideally any tool developed should be simple to implement, adaptable to both fixed and probability monitoring programs and applicable across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Direct evaluations of secondary productivity involve time-consuming cohort or size-based methods that require multiple measurements of the populations in question over time (Dolbeth et al., 2005; Cusson and Bourget, 2005). However, empirical regression models have been developed that provide reasonable alternatives to these techniques when direct measurements …

Integrating Physical Activity Data Technologies Into Elementary School Classrooms, Victor R. Lee, Jonathan M. Thomas

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes an iteration of a design-based research project that involved integrating commercial physical activity data (PAD) sensors, such as heart rate monitors and pedometers, as technologies that could be used in two fifth-grade classrooms. Design-based research involves the development, implementation and study of new learning interventions in real-world contexts with the goal of elaborating principles or guidelines relevant to the design of new technologies and learning experiences. The current project involved the implementation of PAD technology-supported learning activities in two fifth-grade classrooms where students pursued investigations related to the distances that they walk, the relationship between heights and …

Vol. 3 No. 1, Fall 2011; “If You Could Say It In Words, There’D Be No Reason To Paint”: Recovering Beloved Works Of Art Through Civil Forfeiture, Patricia Ruiz

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

This Comment analyzes the benefits of the use of civil forfeiture on pieces of art and cultural property looted by the Nazi party during World War II. This Comment begins by discussing the barriers to repossession that claimants face in seeking traditional civil and criminal remedies. Then, this Comment explains the civil forfeiture process and how it applies to situations of Nazi-looted art. Finally, this Comment argues that civil forfeiture offers the best protection of original owners' rights by discussing the benefits of civil forfeiture proceedings, the due process objections against the use of civil forfeiture on Nazi-looted art, and …

Vol. 3 No. 1, Fall 2011; The Fcc's Net Neutrality Rules And Mobile Networks: Who Really Rules The Air?, Joseph Pumilia

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

The Internet has become an essential part of almost every American's life. The livelihood of many people and business are tied directly to the availability of the Internet. The Internet gives small businesses access to a market that allows them to reach customers all around the world. Many of these businesses have survived only because they are able to reach markets outside of their geographical area. More importantly, the Internet has become the primary platform for the expression and dissemination of ideas. Using the Internet, literally anyone can express themselves while reaching an audience that is unparalleled by any other …

Workplace Harassment: The Social Costs Of Bullying, Andra Gumbus, Bridget M. Lyons

WCBT Faculty Publications

Most research on workplace bullying uses survey results to understand working conditions, target and bully characteristics, and results of bullying situations. This study uses content analysis to determine themes emerging from a writing assignment that asks students to respond to questions about workplace bullying. The intent of the research is to enable bullying targets to better understand the situation, to help managers to learn how to mitigate possible bullying situations, and to assist witnesses to better react to workplace incidents.

No Vacancy: Why Congress Can Regulate Senate Vacancy-Filling Elections Without Amending (Or Offending) The Constitution, Zachary M. Ista

American University Law Review

There currently exists no uniform method for filling vacancies in the United States Senate, leaving the states to create and implement their own vacancy-filling procedures. As a result of recent problems under this system, such as ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich’s notorious scandal in Illinois, some in Congress have suggested a standardized method for filling Senate vacancies. However, an apparent constitutional conflict between the Elections Clause and the Seventeenth Amendment’s vacancy-filling clause presents the question of whether such standardization could be accomplished with federal legislation, or whether it would require amending the Constitution. Applying the textual, structural, and historical approaches of constitutional …

Human Health And The Environment Can't Wait For Reform: Current Opportunities For The Federal Government And States To Address Chemical Risks Under The Toxic Substances Control Act, Lauren Trevisan

American University Law Review

Expressing its concern about growing rates of cancer and other diseases, coupled with the lack of data about the effect of the thousands of chemicals used in U.S. society, in 1976 Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Congress intended for TSCA to shed new light on chemical risks and provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a set of tools to address those risks and protect human health and the environment. In the years since TSCA’s passage, the procedural hurdles and the difficult-to-meet legal standards built into the statute, along with a court decision rejecting EPA’s use …

Huck Finn, Robot Jim And John Denver: Language, Young Man!, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I'll be teaching a section of Civil War Era Studies 205, Intro to the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College this spring. I had been puzzling over my book list for the past month or two, trying to decide which tomes to assign to students who need an overview of the era and a firm grounding in the four Civil War historical schools: social, military, political and memory. While Drew Gilpin Faust and Charles Dew have drifted onto and off of and back onto my list as I've been planning, one firm holdout has always been Adventures of Huckleberry Finn …

Instructional Accommodations For Students With Asperger Syndrome In The General High School Classroom, Myrna Baylis

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

General education teachers in the secondary sector are held responsible for adapting their lessons and classroom environment for students with Asperger Syndrome. With the growing number of students within the autism spectrum disorder being placed in general education classrooms, teachers are faced with yet another challenge in making their curriculum inclusive. It has been my observation that teachers who have no prior training or knowledge of Asperger Syndrome struggle with making instructional accommodations to ensure these students reach their greatest potential. This study is intended to describe what secondary high school teachers are doing to differentiate instruction for their students …