Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Advanced Communication Primitives Using Greedy Routing In Sensor Networks And Other Complex Networks, Xiaomeng Ban

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Scalable point-to-point routing on a wireless sensor network has been an active research topic for the past ten years. The major challenge comes from the fundamental resource limitation of sensor nodes, in terms of storage size and communication bandwidth. The solution that requires a node to acquire the entire network topology does not scale well. In the past few years there have been a number of innovative proposals on scalable routing schemes where each node only keeps local information and a routing path can be discovered by iteratively applying greedy routing decisions. Such work has mainly focused on issues such …

An Interview With University Archivist Orson Kingsley, Ellen Scheible

Bridgewater Review

It has been about one year since Bridgewater State hired Orson Kingsley to become the head of the university’s archives, a large and growing treasure trove of information about our institutional history and the people who have passed through our doors. In September 2012, Bridgewater Review Associate Editor Ellen Scheible visited Mr. Kingsley in his Maxwell Library office and asked him to reflect on the role of the university archivist and his experiences at Bridgewater State.

Alternative Energy Sources - Integration Of Power Generation Systems Into A Microgrid At Clemson University And An Atmospheric Thermodynamic Driven Mechanical Clock, Shreyas Patel

All Theses

Non-renewable energy sources such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas are being consumed at a brisk pace which is promoting a worldwide energy crisis. The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides as well as soot which contribute to atmospheric pollution. Although fossil fuels will continue to be available for many decades, the amount of petroleum remaining in the earth and its associated cost remains an open issue. The utilization of green energy such as solar and wind offer renewable and pollution free sources. A worldwide shift is slowly underway towards the …

Chemical Contaminants As Stratigraphic Markers For The Anthropocene, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Thousands and even millions of years from now, widespread anthropogenic contaminants in sediments would likely persist, incorporated into the geological record. They would inadvertently preserve evidence of our present era (informally designated as the Anthropocene Epoch) characterized by large human populations engaged in intensive industrial and agricultural activities.

Hypothetical geologists in the distant future would likely find unusually high concentrations of a wide variety of contaminants at stratigraphic levels corresponding to our present time, analogous to the iridium anomaly marking the bolide impact event at the close of the Cretaceous Period. These would include both organic and inorganic substances, such …

Can Public Child Welfare Help To Prevent Child Maltreatment? Promising Findings From Los Angeles, Jacquelyn Mccroskey, Peter Pecora, Todd Franke, Christina Christie, Jaymie Lorthridge

Journal of Family Strengths

This article describes promising findings from the Los Angeles County Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project, a systems change approach to developing relationships between public child welfare, allied public agencies, and community-based networks that offer family-centered services, economic assistance and capacity building to support all kinds of families. It describes the conceptual underpinnings and unique structure of the initiative, the evaluation methods used to assess results, and a pattern of promising results.

It's Not What You Draw, It's What You Don't Draw, Paul Murrell

The R Journal

The R graphics engine has new support for drawing complex paths via the functions polypath() and grid.path(). This article explains what is meant by a complex path and demonstrates the usefulness of complex paths in drawing non-trivial shapes, logos, customised data symbols, and maps.

The American Shotgun House: A Study Of Its Evolution And The Enduring Presence Of The Vernacular In American Architecture, Lillian Mcrae

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the evolution of the American shotgun house through plans, elevations and photographs to define the formal, architectural differences and similarities between contemporary shotgun houses of the 21st century and the traditional, historic shotgun houses of the late 19th and 20th centuries. More specifically, this study will explore whether or not the once distinct, vernacular shotgun house still exists as a vernacular housing type in its contemporary construction. Part one of the research process reviews the historic past of the shotgun house and determines the characteristics that compose the traditional, vernacular shotgun houses built in the United States …

Smart Ladies Sit Still: Women, Modernism And Photography, Lauren M. Rosenblum

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation examines the relationship between modern women writers and photography. Modernism was long understood as being opposed to mass culture and mediums of mass production, but this project argues that the movement was in fact dependent upon women's engagement with mass cultural forms, like photographs and the magazines that presented the images. I argue that modern women writers thematically and stylistically integrated photography to critique a complicated and evolving visual culture, one in which a woman's mechanically copied appearance became an increasingly vital means for her to express her subjectivity. Jean Rhys, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein and Susan Sontag …

Planning Public Transport Networks—The Neglected Influence Of Topography, Rhonda Daniels, Corinne Mulley

Journal of Public Transportation

The principles of public transport network planning include coverage, frequency, legibility and directness. But trade-offs are made in implementing these principles, reflecting the economic, institutional, temporal, and natural environments in which public transport is planned, funded, and operated. Analysis of the case study of Sydney, Australia, shows how implementing network planning principles is influenced by the natural environment. The neglected influence of topography on public transport network planning can be improved through understanding of the impact of topography on planning, expansion, operations, and public transport use; measuring the nature of the walk access in providing coverage; ensuring planning guidelines recognize …

The Effect Of Proximity To Urban Rail On Housing Prices In Ottawa, Christopher M. Hewitt, W. E. (Ted) Hewitt

Journal of Public Transportation

Increasingly, urban rail transit (URT) is seen as a desirable solution for transportation challenges faced by both urban planners and residents of suburban areas alike. The availability and ease of access to URT, in turn, may result in distortions in local real estate markets. The conventional wisdom, in fact, suggests that construction of urban rail lines serves as a magnet for new housing development and, in turn, can lead to increases in property values in proximity to URT stations. Existing studies have, in good measure, confirmed this belief, but largely on the basis of global area studies that can often …

Full Issue 15(4)

Journal of Public Transportation

No abstract provided.

Subsidized Housing, Public Housing, And Adolescent Violence And Substance Use, Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the separate relationships of public housing residents and subsidized housing residence to adolescent health risk behavior. Data included 2,530 adolescents aged 14 to 19 who were children of the National the Longitudinal Study of Youth. The author uses stratified propensity methods to compare the behaviors of each group—subsidized housing residents and public housing residents—to a matched control group of teens receiving no housing assistance. The results reveal no significant relationship between public housing residence and violence, heavy alcohol/marijuana use, or other drug use. However, subsidized housing residents have significantly lower rates of violence and hard drug use, …

Constitutional Listening, Michael W. Dowdle

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This article explores a particular methodology of comparative constitutional analysis that it calls "constitutional listening." Derived from the interpretive "principle of charity," constitutional listening involves interpreting constitutional discourse of other polities in their best light. This includes not simply polities whose constitutional structures and values resemble our own, but perhaps even more importantly, polities and constitutional systems whose values and structures seem alien to us. The value of this methodology, it is argued, lies in its ability to expand our understanding of the diversity of experiences that have gone into the human project of constitutionalism, and in the diversity of …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) surveyed 8 long-term monitoring plots in Scotts Bluff National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, estimated tree and shrub density, looked for the presence of exotic species that are of concern to park management, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance at all plots. This effort was the second year in a multiple-year venture to document the current …

3d Reconstruction For Post-Disaster Analysis Of Civil Infrastructure, Joshua Caron

All Theses

Following a natural disaster, there is a need to rapidly assess the safety of civil infrastructure. This job is typically undertaken by local governments with the help of volunteer civil engineers with structural expertise, as well as organizations such as Cal EMA and ASCE. However, the inspection process is labor-intensive and a bit tedious, and results are prone to error as they tend to rely on the individual expertise of the inspectors. 3D reconstruction stands to become a useful tool in the safety evaluation process, as well as providing valuable opportunities for forensic engineering. This research explores the application of …

Lesson 7: Wet Feet, Dry Feet, Kelly Stalnaker

Hispanic Heritage of Florida Conference 2012

This lesson covers US immigration policies toward Cuba. It covers the “Wet Feet, Dry Feet” policy and the controversy surrounding the policy. Lesson Essential Question: What obligations does the US Government have, if any, to immigrants seeking asylum in the United States?

Rapid Evolution Of Northeastern Coyotes, Javier Monzon

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The potential for rapid adaptive evolution is a subject of great interest in evolutionary biology. I took a population genomics approach to study the contemporary evolution of northeastern coyotes (Canis latrans) via hybridization and ecological specialization. I genotyped 96 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a broad geographic sample of 427 northeastern coyotes. First, I examined the prevalence, spatial distribution, and ecology of admixture. I found that northeastern coyotes form an extensive hybrid swarm with individuals being highly admixed with wolves (C. lupus) and dogs (C. familiaris). Coyotes in areas of high deer density are genetically more wolf-like, suggesting that natural …

The Paradise Within Thee: The Undying Promise Of Transcendence In Paradise Lost, Thomas Christopher Mistler

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

John Milton's Paradise Lost in its simplest sense is a poem about disobedience, loss, and sin. Borrowing much of its inspiration and material from the Book of Genesis, the great English epic tells of the Fall of Man, or the choice of Adam and Eve to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. The consequences of this action are, according to Milton and Christian tradition, tremendous. The very first lines of Paradise Lost emphasize this point, telling how "Man's first disobedience" brought "death into the world and all our [humanity's] woe" (I.1, 3). In my …

Anonymity And Ambiguity In Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology: Discerning The Fundamental Structure Of Incompleteness In Perceptual And Intersubjective Life, Whitney Howell

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This work explicates what I identify as the fundamental structure of incompleteness that characterizes the human experience of meaning and that, I argue, informs an ethical imperative in our relations with others. Drawing on the work of Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, I begin by showing how we overlook this incompleteness in perception. I argue that our experience of perceptual meaning almost always excludes its essential indeterminacy: that is, we experience meaning as coherent and complete, even though it is necessarily limited by our spatial and temporal situation. I show how what Merleau-Ponty refers to as the "anonymous" body--that which …

On The Social Construction Of Hellenism Cold War Narratives Of Modernity, Development And Democracy For Greece, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

Hellenism is one of those overarching, ever-changing narratives always subject to historical circumstances, intellectual fashions and political needs. Conversely, it is fraught with meaning and conditioning powers, enabling and constraining imagination and practical life. In this essay I tease out the hold that the idea of Hellas has had on post-war Greece and I explore the ways in which the American anti-communist rhetoric and discussions about political and economic stabilization appropriated and rearticulated Hellenism. Central to this history of transformations are the archaeologists; the archaeologists as intellectuals, as producers of culture who, while stepping in and out of their disciplinary …

Genetic Diversity, Local Differentiation, And Adaptive Evolution In Introduced Populations Of The Invasive Plant Isatis Tinctoria L. (Brassicaceae), Heather L. Simpson

Biology ETDs

Populations of invasive species are often characterized as genetically depauperate, an inherent consequence of the colonization process. It has also been suggested that species that are able to avoid these reductions in genetic diversity may be better able to adapt to their introduced range. Evolutionary change can play an important role in the invasion process if novel selective pressures drive adaptive evolution. Species that are able to avoid reductions in genetic diversity associated with colonization may be better able to adapt to their introduced range. To better understand the genetic processes following invasion, introduced populations of the invasive mustard, Isatis …

Jetde Preface, Timothy Newby

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

One of the real pleasures of working and studying in the field of Educational Technology and Instructional Design is being able to see the wide variety of content that is covered but yet the consistent, common underlying focus that always leads one back to the topic of learning. This set of articles in JETDE, volume 5 number 2 will not disappoint in that regard. While the participants, methodologies, and the content of the interventions may differ, each of the authors looks to find ways to impact the learning of their audiences.....

Design And Implementation Of A Genre Hybrid Video Game That Integrates The Curriculum Of An Introductory Programming Course, Cory Buckley

All Theses

Video games have a history of being exploited for education. However, all too fre- quently, the resulting educational video game is either transparent in its hijacking of video game media, or the educational content is not intelligently placed within the context of the game. In this paper we analyze existing educational video games and observe popular commercial video game mechanics to form a more player oriented development mindset. Our approach involves mingling game mechanics that are not commonly used together to create a genre hybrid educational video game with a seamlessly integrated introductory programming curriculum. We use a machine architecture …

Immigration Policy From Scratch: The Universal And The Unique, Stephen H. Legomsky

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Impacts Of Dams On Nutrient And Sediment Loading In The Kalamazoo River Using The Soil And Water Assessment Tool (Swat), Daniel Henry Serfas

Masters Theses

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the Kalamazoo River Watershed in order to evaluate the impacts that several dams within a superfund site "Area of Concern" have on the sediment, nutrients, and streamflow of the system. It was hypothesized that the SWAT model could be used to recreate the watershed in hopes of estimating the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that would result from the removal of the dams. The model would then be used to evaluate dam removal scenarios to come up with a best management practice (BMP).

The model was calibrated, however, during …

The National Elder Economic Security Standard Index, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) is a new tool for use by policy makers, older adults, family caregivers, service providers, aging advocates, and the public at large. Developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), the Elder Index is a measure of income that older adults require to maintain their independence in the community and meet their daily costs of living, including affordable and appropriate housing and health care. The development and use of the Elder Index promotes a measure of income that respects the autonomy goals of …

2012 University Experience Survey National Report, Ali Radloff, Hamish Coates, Rebecca Taylor, Richard James, Kerri-Lee Krause

Higher education research

How students experience university plays a major role in their academic, personal and professional success. Over the last decade Australian universities and governments have placed considerable emphasis on key facets of the student experience ecology such as skills development, student engagement, quality teaching, student support, and learning resources. This report discusses a 2012 project that furnished a new national architecture for collecting feedback on understanding the improving the student experience. The University Experience Survey (UES) has been developed by the Australian Government to provide a new national platform for measuring the quality of teaching and learning in Australian higher education. …

Message From The State: Uncovering Effects Of Public Policy On Women's Movements In Chile And The Czech Republic, Petra Hejnova

Political Science - Dissertations

This study relies on the cases of the Czech Republic and Chile to examine the ways in which state policies affect women's movements' emergence under both authoritarian and democratic political regimes. As such, this dissertation provides some important clues into how citizens' experience with certain policies enhances or delimits their future political action, and how it affects their beliefs and attitudes. Gaining a better understanding about the relationship between policies and civic participation is particularly important in the case of young democracies, which are trying to overcome their authoritarian past, and whose new democratic political regimes are in some instances …

Nationalism On The Net: Exploring The Ideology Of India's Bharatiya Janata Party, Adrienne Lee Atterberry

Media Studies - Theses

India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) created the first political website in India during the year 1998 and continues to maintain an active online presence. The two most popular places for computer and Internet usage are college campuses and offices--places frequented by members of India’s growing middle class. As the BJP’s supporters have traditionally come from middle-class, upper-caste social backgrounds, this group has particular importance to the BJP’s political success, thus the BJP’s online publications may establish hegemony of the middle class and its ideals. For these reasons, studying the BJP’s online group-identity and political message has salience.

May 2004 to …

Managing The Intellectual Property Sprawl, Shubha Ghosh

San Diego Law Review

Professor Merges, despite the centrality of creative persons to his argument, organizes a set of ideas that are conducive to refocusing intellectual property law on users. I present this user-focused argument in this Article through the following five Parts. Part II explains my suggested approach to questions about the design of intellectual property law—an approach based on the new institutional economics and the work of Ronald Coase. Part II also addresses objections to this approach. Part III identifies the user in Professor Merges’s high-level principles grounded in Locke, Kant, and Rawls. Part IV follows this argument with a closer examination …