Digital Commons Network^™

A Synthetic Document Image Dataset For Developing And Evaluating Historical Document Processing Methods, Daniel Walker, William Lund, Eric Ringger

Faculty Publications

Document images accompanied by OCR output text and ground truth transcriptions are useful for developing and evaluating document recognition and processing methods, especially for historical document images. Additionally, research into improving the performance of such methods often requires further annotation of training and test data (e.g., topical document labels). However, transcribing and labeling historical documents is expensive. As a result, existing real-world document image datasets with such accompanying resources are rare and often relatively small. We introduce synthetic document image datasets of varying levels of noise that have been created from standard (English) text corpora using an existing document degradation …

Metaphors, Models, And Meaning In Contract Law, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

Why does there seem to be such a wide gap between the subject matter of the usual first-year contracts course and what practitioners (particularly transactional lawyers) actually experience? This article is an attempt to bridge the gap, combining insights from academic theory and real-world law practice. My claim is that the law as discipline has developed its own powerful but self-contained conceptual framework — in the coinage of one noted scholar, “an epistemic trap.” The subject matter of contract law, something that is largely the creation of private parties and not the state, requires dealing with legal truth not just …

Exceptional-Point Dynamics In Photonic Honeycomb Lattices With Pt Symmetry, Hamidreza Ramezani, Tsampikos Kottos, Vassilios Kovanis, Demetrios N. Christodoulides

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We theoretically investigate the flow of electromagnetic waves in complex honeycomb photonic lattices with local PT symmetries. Such PT structure is introduced via a judicious arrangement of gain and loss across the honeycomb lattice, characterized by a gain and loss parameter γ. We found a class of conical diffraction phenomena where the formed cone is brighter and travels along the lattice with a transverse speed proportional to √γ.

On The Synthesis And Physical Properties Of Iron Doped Sno2 Nanoparticles, X. Wei, R. Georgescu, N. Ali, I. Morjan, T. A. George, F. Dumitrache, R. Birjega, Mircea Chipara

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The synthesis of iron doped tin oxide by pulsed laser pyrolysis is reported. The as obtained nanoparticles have a dominant SnO2 phase (as revealed by Wide Angle X-ray Scattering), with particles of the order of 10 nm. The doping with iron or iron oxide triggers magnetic properties as confirmed by SQUID experiments. EDX measurements supported the presence of Fe while Wide Angle X-ray Scattering failed to sense any iron or iron-oxide phase. It is concluded that Fe is well dispersed within the tin-oxide nanoparticles. The coercitive field has a complex dependence on the Fe/Sn content suggesting that the magnetization is …

Thermal Effects In The Input Optics Of The Enhanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Interferometers, K. L. Dooley, M. A. Arain, D. Fieldbaum, Volker Quetschke

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the design and performance of the LIGO Input Optics subsystem as implemented for the sixth science run of the LIGO interferometers. The Initial LIGO Input Optics experienced thermal side effects when operating with 7 W input power. We designed, built, and implemented improved versions of the Input Optics for Enhanced LIGO, an incremental upgrade to the Initial LIGO interferometers, designed to run with 30 W input power. At four times the power of Initial LIGO, the Enhanced LIGO Input Optics demonstrated improved performance including better optical isolation, less thermal drift, minimal thermal lensing, and higher optical efficiency. The …

2.1Μm Emission Spectral Properties Of Tm And Ho Doped Transparent Yag Ceramic, G. A. Kumar, Madhab Pokhrel

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Highly transparent Tm:Ho:YAG transparent ceramics were prepared using advanced ceramic technology and their spectroscopic properties were studied for infrared laser applications. Following the Judd-Ofelt procedure several spectroscopic properties such as the radiative transition probability (Arad), radiative decay time (τrad) and fluorescence branching ratio (β) are quantitatively obtained from the absorption spectrum. The absorption and emission cross sections corresponding to the 5I7 → 5I8 transition of Ho3+ at 2.1 μm have been evaluated following Mc Cumber theory and found that the obtained emission spectrum very well correlates to the simulated emission spectral data. The optical gain spectrum spread …

Screen-Printing Of Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles Produced By Carbon Combustion Synthesis Of Oxides, Karen S. Martirosyan, Gamage Dannangoda, Eduard Galstyan, Dmitri Litvinov

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The feasibility of screen-printing process of hard ferrite magnetic nanoparticles produced by carbon combustion synthesis of oxides (CCSO) is investigated. In CCSO, the exothermic oxidation of carbon generates a smolder thermal reaction wave that propagates through the solid reactant mixture converting it to the desired oxides. The complete conversion of hexaferrites occurs using reactant mixtures containing 11 wt. % of carbon. The BaFe12O19 and SrFe12O19 hexaferrites had hard magnetic properties with coercivity of 3 and 4.5 kOe, respectively. It was shown that the synthesized nanoparticles could be used to fabricate permanent magnet structures by consolidating them using screen-printing techniques.

Tackling Gravity Wave Confusion Noise With Template Optimizers, A. S. Stroeer, Matthew Benacquista

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Mock LISA Data Challenge 4.0 simulated the joint two-year recording of gravitational wave signals from mergers of spinning black holes, extreme mass ratio inspirals, Galactic white dwarf binaries, bursts from cosmic strings, and a stochastic background—all over LISA instrument noise. We analysed this data using a global multi-start box and bound optimization scheme, incorporating multi-dimensional Nelder Mead simplex 2 optimization. Our scheme identified 2658 binaries. Of these, 2246 were found to systematically decompose the power in a strong spinning black hole merger into a "white dwarf binary transform". The remaining 416 binaries were identified with a false alarm rate …

An Underwater Approach, Travis Steffen

Landscape Architecture Theses

“An Underwater Approach” is a series of theoretical premises that will develop into a master plan design. City planning and community involvement projects will be targeted at improving viability and awareness in an economically challenged town. I will explore solutions for the city of Crisfield, MD, helping to solve its current social, economical and ecological problems. The project will focus on solutions that are both ecologically and fiscally sustainable well into the future for the town of Crisfield. The town’s proximity to the waters edge as well as its rich fishing and crabbing culture will work as a platform and …

Proton-Fountain Electric-Field-Assisted Nanolithography (Pen): Fabrication Of Polymer Nanostructures That Respond To Chemical And Electrical Stimuli. An Overview In The Context Of The Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches To Nanotechnology, Andres H. La Rosa, Mingdi Yan, Rodolfo Fernandez, Elia Zegarra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The development of chemically functionalized materials, such that their physical properties can vary in response to external mechanical, chemical, or optical stimuli, offers potential applications in a wide range of fields, namely microfluidics, electronic memory devices, sensors and actuators. In particular, patterned structures built with stimuli-responsive polymer materials are attractive due to their inherent lower cost production and for building soft scaffolds that mimic closer natural bio-environments. In addition, harnessing the construction of patterns with nanoscale dimensions would not only a) allow building lab-on-a-chip devices that require minimal chemical reactants volumes, but also b) find applications in the area of …

Stability Of Rock Slopes Along Raidah Escarpment Road, Asir Area, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed M. Youssef, Norbert H. Maerz, Abdulla A. Al-Otaibi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Raidah Escarpment road is located north west of Abha city, Asir region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This escarpment road represents an important corridor in the area which connects different villages and tourist resorts with each other. The total length of this road section is about 9 km which passes through a highly mountainous area. The road also passes through areas of different geological hazards (rock, debris flow, soil, and weathered zones). The different environmental factors (e.g. intensive rainy summer), variable geological and structural elements (weak rocks, slide debris weak soils, shear zones, and faults) difficult road characteristics (narrow roads …

Incremental Predictive Validity Of The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children, Fourth Edition: Predicting Academic Achievement With Wisc-Iv Fsiq And Index Scores, Shannon Hollinger

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to replicate the incremental predictive validity study of observed Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children- Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) factor index scores in predicting reading and mathematics achievement in a sample of referred children from a Midwestern community. Taken from an archival data set, the sample was composed of 298 students who were evaluated as part of special education referrals ranging from kindergarten through 9th grade. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess proportions of reading and mathematics achievement obtained from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Second Edition (WIAT-II) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Third …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Strategies That Provide Social Support To Students, Heather Moore

Masters Theses

The present study built on the results of Suldo, Friedrich, White, Farmer, Minch, & Michalowski (2009), which identified several teacher behaviors perceived by middle school students as showing high or low social support. The present study collected data from 123 regular and special education middle school teachers using the Teachers' Perceptions About Social Support for Students (TPASSS) survey to investigate middle school teachers' perceptions of the high and low social support behaviors suggested by Sul do et al. (2009). The purpose of the present study was to investigate which behaviors the teachers in the present study and the students in …

What Parents Want From Parent-Teacher Conferences, Meghan A. Saxine

Masters Theses

Although parent-teacher conferences are common in most schools, there have been very few research studies investigating them. The purpose of this study was to identify what parents want from parent-teacher conferences. The specific goal of the present study was to identify, through the use of a questionnaire, the components of conferences that are most valued by parents. One hundred and seventy seven parents completed a questionnaire and provided feedback about aspects most valued during conferences. More than half of parents indicated that their child was present during the conference and all of the conferences followed a teacher-led format. Although parents, …

Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complexes That Utilize Azo-Dyes To Enhance Absorption Of Visible Photons, Akram Hazeen

Masters Theses

Research in the field of dye sensitized solar cells has been growing rapidly. The challenge in this field is to prepare molecules that absorb in the visible region. An azo dye ligand based on l,0-phenanthroline, "phen-azo-phenol", was prepared and found to absorb at 380 nm in MeOH. UV-Vis spectra of this ligand were recorded in different solvents and in the presence of added acid or base and it appeared that the spectra were shifted to longer wavelength (around 500 nm) in the presence of base and/or basic solvents. This was attributed to deprotonation of the phenol portion of the ligand. …

Utilization Of Phosphorus Ylides Towards The Synthesis Of Extended Cinnamaldehydes And Stellettins, John M. Saathoff

Masters Theses

Phosphorus ylides have been utilized in three synthetic approaches; two involving the synthesis of photochromic cinnamaldehyde semicarbazones and a final scheme towards the synthesis of the isomalabaricane natural products. The targeted cinnamaldehyde semicarbazones varied both in the length of the conjugated system as well as the position and type of phenyl ring substituents, because these variations could impact their degree of photochromicity. The three step synthesis of the extended cinnamaldehyde semicarbazones involved a Wittig condensation, hydrolysis of acetal protecting group, and formation of imine and was completed in respectable cumulative yields; 42.4% yield for semicarbazones with n = 1 double …

Sleeping The Way To Success: Examining The Relationship Between Sleep And Academic Success Among College Students, Jennifer M. Hedges

Masters Theses

The negative effects of poor sleep habits have been widely studied, although there is little research focusing on the academic impact that poor sleep has among the college student population, where poor sleep seems to be prevalent. Research studies have consistently documented that sleep difficulties and daytime tiredness affect more than half of college students. Daytime naps, pulling "all-nighter" cram sessions, and late bedtimes and rise times are just a few of the common scenarios that deeply disturb the sleep quality and quantity of college students. The American Sleep Association (2007) has shown that sleep is necessary for survival in …

Electrochemical Characterization Of Thin-Film Perovskite-Type La1-Xsrxmno3 Electrodes Obtained By Pulsed Laser Deposition (Pld), Keerthi Chandra

Masters Theses

The implementation of fuel cells into commercial usage is prenominally dependent on the activity of cathode at which oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) takes place. Fuel cells currently use noble metals like platinum, palladium etc as cathode for the reduction reaction. These metals showed poor performance during changes in red ox environment. Perovskite oxides which were proven to be efficient as cathodes in solid oxide fuel cells operating at high temperature was studied to understand its ability to carry out ORR in alkaline fuel cells operating at room temperature.

La_1-XSr_xMnO₃ (LSMO), thin film perovskite oxide, a …

Simultaneous Electrochemical Determination Of Tryptamine And Barbituric Acid, Luxshani Thangarajah

Masters Theses

The ability to analyze mixtures of two or more red-ox active components "on-the-spot" without the need to carry the sample into a laboratory is typically limited by the fact that various components need to be separated before they can be quantified. Reducing the two-step protocol (separation and detection) to a single one (detection) would markedly shorten the analysis time and simplify the analysis.

Performance And Use Evaluation Of An Electronic Book For Introductory Python Programming, Christine Alvarado, Briana B. Morrison, Barbara Ericson, Mark Guzdial, Brad Miller, David L. Ranum

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Electronic books (ebooks) provide the opportunity to go beyond the limitations of a physical page. These opportunities are particularly important for computing education, where dynamic information is a key characteristic of our domain. An electronic book can provide opportunities to program or conduct analyses that are impossible on the physical page, integrating instructional information with creative exploration. However, just because ebooks provide these opportunities does not mean that we know how students will actually use ebooks in the context of a class. Miller and Ranum have produced an electronic book for teaching introductory computing in Python. We explored how students …

Necessary Competencies For Computer-Based Construction Estimating Curriculum: Delphi Study Of An Expert Panel, Ryan Schulz

Masters Theses

Universities are continuously updating curriculum to meet the needs of students entering the work force in an ever competitive environment. The construction industry is not immune to this competition and in need of competent estimators proficient in producing highly detailed estimates with the aid of computer based estimating programs.

This study set out to find necessary competencies for college students learning how to use computer based estimating programs that can be transferred to real world situations upon graduation. Using a modified Delphi technique, a panel of experts was established from the construction industry and academia too accurately obtain a set …

Exploring Phenyl Embrace Interactions In Trityloxy And Tritylamino Aromatic Compounds, Premnath Basa

Masters Theses

The area of supramolecular chemistry seeks to understand the organization of molecular structures and the interactions that hold such assemblies together by non-covalent interactions such as electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking interactions, and hydrophobic or solvatophobic effects. One such example that comes under supramolecular chemistry is the phenyl embrace interaction. These interactions occur due to the cooperative participation of at least three or more neighboring phenyl groups arranged as an interlocking propeller configuration to give complementary edge-to-face or offset face-to-face interactions. In order to understand the effect of functional groups on the tendencies of organic compounds to form phenyl embrace …

K-12 Online Teacher Beliefs: Relationships Among Intelligence, Confidence, Teacher-Student Interactions, And Student Outcomes, Ploeg Guadalupe Vander

Theses and Dissertations

The vigorous expansion of online learning in K-12 education is a recent change to the conceptualization of schooling that has been occurring for more than 10 years. However, methods used for recruiting, hiring, and preparing online teachers have not been altered beyond the current federal standard defined by No Child Left Behind of Highly Qualified Teachers in order to provide students with teachers demonstrating an orientation toward learning. Historically, educational theory and research suggest that teachers who are learners make a difference for student learning. Recently, social cognitive psychology and neuroscience research has demonstrated a key finding that beliefs about …

Predicting Success For Nontraditional Students In An Afternoon And Evening/Weekend Associate Degree In Nursing Program, Hernani Luison Ledesma

Theses and Dissertations

Mount St. Mary's College has offered a nontraditional Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program since 1992. The program has an afternoon and evening/weekend format. There has been one previous research study published in 2005 that described the student population that Mount St. Mary's College serves. This present study will examine the student population since 2005 because of changes in admission requirements, the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) - Registered Nurse (RN) passing standard, and the persistent nursing shortage. The purpose of this research study is to predict success for nontraditional adult learners in an Afternoon and Evening/Weekend Associate Degree of …

Directed Blogging With Community College Esl Students: Its Effects On Awareness Of Language Acquisition Processes, Cathy Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

English as a Second Language (ESL) students often have problems progressing in their acquisition of the language and frequently do not know how to solve this dilemma. Many of them think of their second language studies as just another school subject that they must pass in order to move on to the next level, so few of them realize the metacognitive processes that are involved in learning another language. This dissertation focused on the use of blogs with intermediate community college ESL students to see if this could help them become more aware of these language learning processes by doing …

A Needs-Assessment For The Development Of Out-Of-School Time Program For A Middle School, Samir Elmoghrabi

Theses and Dissertations

Communities that fall in the category of middle to low class economics are in critical need for Out-of-School Time (OST) programs to supervise students while parents are working; however, these numerous communities do not qualify for OST government funding. The purpose of this study is a needs-assessment for a middle school that does not qualify for government funding. Of 974 parents, 325 participated in a comprehensive survey. Eleven school personnel--including top administrators, teachers, and staff--and 6 community members including the city mayor, director of an OST program, president of school board of education, a business leader, and 2 library administrators …

Multi-Payload Measurement Of Transverse Velocity Shears In The Topside Ionosphere, E. T. Lundberg, P. M. Kintner, Kristina A. Lynch, M. R. Mella

Dartmouth Scholarship

Using a multi-payload sounding rocket mission, we present the first direct measurement of velocity shear in the topside auroral ionosphere. In regions of large, ∼200 mV/m, transient electric fields we directly measure differences in the plasma drift velocity. From these differences, shear frequencies reaching ±6Hz are measured. These directly measured shears are compared with the shear inferred from single payload measurements. It is shown this traditional measurement of shear overestimates the shear frequency by a factor of two for this event, highlighting the importance of the temporal component of near-DC electric field structures. Coincident with these strong fields and shears …

School Psychologist Perceptions Regarding Implementation Of Response To Intervention With English Language Learners, Olivia E. Puyana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was an investigation of three domains identified through a thorough review of the literature as fundamental to the equitable implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) with English language learners (ELLs): (1) degree of intercultural sensitivity of educators involved in the RtI process, (2) training of educators in implementation of RtI with ELLs, and (3) educator familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use with ELLs. The validity of using RtI with ELLs has been questioned by both supporters and detractors of the model (Linan-Thompson & Ortiz, 2009). The most fundamental tenets of RtI are predicated upon the use of empirically …

Spin Pumping In Lateral Double Quantum Dot Systems, Sabine S. Pelton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electron transport in single lateral quantum dot (QD) and parallel lateral double quantum dot (DQD) systems is modeled using semiclassical rate equations. The Zeeman effect, in conjunction with resonant tunneling, is used to select the spin of electrons involved in transport. We show adiabatic spin pumping by periodic variation of the systems' confining parameters, namely the quantum point contacts (QPCs) dictating the boundaries of the dots, and the gate voltage applied to each dot. The limitations of adiabatic spin pumping are subsequently examined by counting the average spin pumped per cycle when frequency and interdot capacitance are adjusted.

The Effects Of Synchronous Online Cognitive Strategy Instruction In Writing For Students With Learning Disabilities, Carrie Straub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the effects of self-regulated strategy development (Harris, Graham, & Mason, 2009) for cognitive strategy instruction in persuasive writing (POW+TREE) using a synchronous online learning environment for special education students. Participants are four adolescent students with learning disabilities (LD) with low achievement in writing. One undergraduate research assistant delivered instruction using a synchronous online platform (e.g., Adobe Connect) in conjunction with collaborative writing software (e.g., Google Docs word processing). A multiple probe across participants design was used to demonstrate a functional relationship between instruction and number of essay elements (EE). Number of correct minus incorrect word sequences (CIWS) …