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Worthy Work And Bowie's Kantian Theory Of Meaningful Work, Joanne B. Ciulla

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Over the years, Norman E. Bowie has applied Kant’s ethics to several aspects of business ethics, but the one that I find the most compelling is his Kantian theory of meaningful work. He writes about it in his book Business Ethics: A Kantian Perspective (1999) and in an article ‘A Kantian theory of meaningful work’ (1998a). Bowie’s writing in this area demonstrates how Kant, perhaps more than any other philosopher, offers the most stringent and lucid account of what a moral employer/employee relationship should look like. Kantian ethics also provide Bowie with a foundation for explaining his idea of meaningful …

Gender Bias In Employment Contexts: A Closer Examination Of The Role Incongruity Principle, Crystal L. Hoyt

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This research extends the role incongruity analysis of employment-related gender bias by investigating the role of dispositional and situational antecedents, specifically political ideology and the salience of cues to the traditional female gender role. The prediction that conservatives would show an anti-female candidate bias and liberals would show a pro-female bias when the traditional female gender role is salient was tested across three experimental studies. In Study 1, 126 participants evaluated a male or a female job applicant with thoughts of the traditional female gender role activated or not. Results showed that when the gender role is salient, political ideology …

Mapping And Legal Implications Of Future Flooding In The Lamprey River Watershed Of New Hampshire Due To Changes In Land Use And Climate, Cameron P. Wake, Fay Rubin, Steve Miller, Robert M. Roseen, Ann Scholz, Thomas P. Ballestero, Michael Simpson, Julia Peterson, Lisa Townson, John Echeverria, Katherine Garvey, Peg Elmer

UNH Stormwater Center

No abstract provided.

Redistricting Using Constrained Polygonal Clustering, Deepti Joshi, Leen-Kiat Soh, Ashok Samal

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Redistricting is the process of dividing a geographic area consisting of spatial units—often represented as spatial polygons—into smaller districts that satisfy some properties. It can therefore be formulated as a set partitioning problem where the objective is to cluster the set of spatial polygons into groups such that a value function is maximized [1]. Widely used algorithms developed for point-based data sets are not readily applicable because polygons introduce the concepts of spatial contiguity and other topological properties that cannot be captured by representing polygons as points. Furthermore, when clustering polygons, constraints such as spatial contiguity and unit distributedness should …

Measuring Classroom Engagement By Comparing Instructor Expectations With Students’ Perceptions, Paul Savory, Amy Goodburn, Jody Koenig Kellas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Even instructors who can demonstrate student success in their courses can be challenged to document which practices are most effective in engaging student learning. National surveys designed to assess student engagement do not provide individual faculty with information that can help them assess their individual teaching efforts. This paper highlights a survey designed to help individual faculty members learn about their students and provides a comparison of instructors’ expectations with students’ perceptions. This paper illustrates the value of such a survey through an extended example of the insights that an instructor gained by using it in her course.

Applications Of Cognitive Radio Networks, Jordi Perez-Romero, Linda Doyle, Mehmet C. Vuran

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The term cognitive radio (CR), originally coined in the late 1990s, envisaged a radio that is aware of its operational environment so that it can dynamically and autonomously adjust its radio-operating parameters to accordingly adapt to the different situations. Cognition is achieved through the so-called cognitive cycle, consisting of the observation of the environment, the orientation and planning that leads to making appropriate decisions in accordance with specific operation goals, and finally, the execution of these decisions (e.g., access to the appropriate channel). Decisions can be reinforced by learning procedures based on the past observations and the corresponding results of …

Roles In A Networked Software Development Ecosystem: A Case Study In Github, Patrick Wagstrom, Corey Jergensen, Anita Sarma

School of Computing: Technical Reports

Open source software development has evolved beyond single projects into complex networked ecosystems of projects that share portions of their code, social norms, and developer communities. This networked nature allows developers moving into a new project to easily leverage knowledge about process and social norms along with reputation gained in related projects. In this paper we examine a subset of the communities found in GitHub, a large software development community that focuses on “social coding”. We identify a variety of roles in the ecosystem that go beyond the previous user/developer dichotomy and find that these roles often persist across sub-communities …

On The Benefits Of Providing Versioning Support For End-Users: An Empirical Study, Sandeep Kaur Kuttal, Anita Sarma, Gregg Rothermel

School of Computing: Technical Reports

End users with little formal programming background are creating software in many different forms, including spreadsheets, web macros, and web mashups. Web mashups are particularly popular because they are relatively easy to create, and because many programming environments that support their creation are available. These programming environments, however, provide no support for tracking versions or provenance of mashups. We believe that versioning support can help end users create, understand, and debug mashups. To investigate this belief, we have added versioning support to a popular wire-oriented mashup environment, Yahoo! Pipes. Our enhanced environment, which we call “Pipes Plumber”, automatically retains versions …

Automated Generation Of Context-Aware Tests, Zhimin Wang, Sebastian Elbaum, David Rosenblum

School of Computing: Technical Reports

The incorporation of context-awareness capabilities into pervasive applications allows them to leverage contextual information to provide additional services while maintaining an acceptable quality of service. These added capabilities, however, introduce a distinct input space that can affect the behavior of these applications at any point during their execution, making their validation quite challenging. In this paper, we introduce an approach to improve the test suite of a context-aware application by identifying context-aware program points where context changes may affect the application’s behavior, and by systematically manipulating the context data fed into the application to increase its exposure to potentially valuable …

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2011, Jesse T. Korus Dr., Mark E. Burbach, Leslie M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Genesis In Hyperreality: Legitimizing Disingenuous Controversy At The Creation Museum, Casey Ryan Kelly, Kristen E. Hoerl

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This essay analyzes the argumentative structure of the “Answers in Genesis” ministry’s Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Founded by a $27 million grant, the 70,000-square-foot museum appropriates the stylistic and authoritative signifiers of natural history museums, complete with technically proficient hyperreal displays and modern curatorial techniques. In this essay, we argue that the museum provides a culturally authoritative space in which Young Earth Creationists can visually craft the appearance that there is an ongoing scientific controversy over matters long settled in the scientific community (evolution), or what scholars call a disingenuous or manufactured controversy. We analyze the displays and layout …

A Performance Comparison Of Mobile Wimax Spectrums: 2.5 Ghz Vs. 3.65 Ghz, Pradhumna Shrestha, Michael Hempel, Puttipong Mahasukhon, Tao Ma, Hamid Sharif

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Mobile WiMAX is a popular broadband solution with diverse applications. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently issues licenses for Mobile WiMAX in several frequency bands, of which 2.5 GHz and 3.65 GHz are the most prevalent. A significant amount of research has been conducted in the domain of 2.5 GHz due to its widespread commercial use. However, no such work – academic or industrial – has been reported for 3.65 GHz, in spite of it being a more favorable option for many applications, particularly because of its licensing requirements. In this paper, we present a comprehensive …

Finding Suitable Programs: Semantic Search With Incomplete And Lightweight Specifications, Kathryn T. Stolee

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Finding suitable code for reuse is a common task for programmers. Two general approaches dominate the code search literature: syntactic and semantic. While queries for syntactic search are easy to compose, the results are often vague or irrelevant. On the other hand, a semantic search may return relevant results, but current techniques require developers to write specifications by hand, are costly as potentially matching code need to be executed to verify congruence with the specifications, or only return exact matches. In this work, we propose an approach for semantic search in which programmers specify lightweight, incomplete specifications and an SMT …

Amplifying Tests To Validate Exception Handling Code, Pingyu Zhang, Sebastian Elbaum

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Validating code handling exceptional behavior is difficult, particularly when dealing with external resources that may be noisy and unreliable, as it requires: 1) the systematic exploration of the space of exceptions that may be thrown by the external resources, and 2) the setup of the context to trigger specific patterns of exceptions. In this work we present an approach that addresses those difficulties by performing an exhaustive amplification of the space of exceptional behavior associated with an external resource that is exercised by a test suite. Each amplification attempts to expose a program exception handling construct to new behavior by …

(Im)Mobile Metaphors: Toward An Intersectional Rhetorical History, Carly S. Woods

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Metaphors not only "structure our experience" but "by organizing reality in particular ways, our selected metaphors also prescribe how we are to act." As the opening chapter of this volume notes, feminist scholars have long grappled with the figurative language of intersectionality in order to find the conceptual framing that best accounts for varied relationships between power, oppression, and privilege. Similarly, rhetorical historians have an obligation to think critically about the metaphors we use. One cluster of metaphors, in particular, characterizes both intersectional and rhetorical-historical research: the spatial and geographic. Moreover, critiques of both research approaches essentially point to the …

Three Geologic Cross Sections Across Portions Of Eastern Nebraska Showing Quaternary Lithologic Units And Stratigraphy Of Uppermost Bedrock, Jesse T. Korus, Dana Divine, P. R. Hanson, J. S. Dillon

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2012, A. R. Young, M. E. Burbach, J. T. Korus, L. M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income With Respect To Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review, Emmanuel Saez, Joel B. Slemrod, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper critically surveys the large and growing literature estimating the elasticity of taxable income with respect to marginal tax rates using tax return data. First, we provide a theoretical framework showing under what assumptions this elasticity can be used as a sufficient statistic for efficiency and optimal tax analysis. We discuss what other parameters should be estimated when the elasticity is not a sufficient statistic. Second, we discuss conceptually the key issues that arise in the empirical estimation of the elasticity of taxable income using the example of the 1993 top individual income tax rate increase in the United …

Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, And Academic Outcomes Among Latino Middle School Students Participating In An After-School Program, Kate Niehaus, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Jill L. Adelson

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined how academic self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and participation in an after-school program contributed to the academic achievement of Latino middle school students over the course of one school year. Participants were 47 Latino students in sixth through eighth grades who attended two public middle schools in which an after-school program was held that was specifically for Latino students. Results from ordinary least squares regression revealed that intrinsic motivation was positively associated with students GPAs, self-efficacy was a positive predictor of students’ school attendance and standardized math achievement scores, and attendance at the after-school program also contributed positively …

Drop Weight Testing On Sandwich Panels With A Novel Thermoplastic Core Material, Christopher Y. Tuan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

A series of drop weight tests were conducted to evaluate the dynamic flatwise compression strength and flexural strength of sandwich panels with a novel core structure. This sandwich core material, known as Norcore, consists of interconnected cells in a unique configuration of truncated pyramid with sloping cell walls. Core materials made of thermoplastic including virgin Lexan, polycarbonate, polycarbonate regrind, high-impact polystyrene, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene were tested. The test results showed that these sandwich panels have good strength as well as energy absorption capacities.

Evaluation Of Ice-Melting Capacities Of Deicing Chemicals, B. M. Gerbino-Bevins, Christopher Y. Tuan, M. Mattison

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Common deicing chemicals include sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, calcium magnesium acetate, potassium acetate, potassium formate, and corn or beet-based deicer solution. Liquid deicers are commonly used for pre-wetting road salt, sand or other solid deicers, or mixed with salt brine as liquid deicer. Although manufacturers provide performance data under specific conditions, a standardized test is very much needed. Samples of sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium acetate, and beet juice-based chemical deicers were selected for performance evaluation. The SHRP Ice-Melting Capacity Test has been used in many research projects, but the results do not always correlate well …

On Space-Time Resolution Of Inflow Representations For Wind Turbine Loads Analysis, Chungwook Sim, Sukanta Basu, Lance Manuel

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Efficient spatial and temporal resolution of simulated inflow wind fields is important in order to represent wind turbine dynamics and derive load statistics for design. Using Fourier-based stochastic simulation of inflow turbulence, we first investigate loads for a utility-scale turbine in the neutral atmospheric boundary layer. Load statistics, spectra, and wavelet analysis representations for different space and time resolutions are compared. Next, large-eddy simulation (LES) is employed with space-time resolutions, justified on the basis of the earlier stochastic simulations, to again derive turbine loads. Extreme and fatigue loads from the two approaches used in inflow field generation are compared. On …

Transition Of Temporary Concrete Barrier, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The objective of this research was to design a transition from temporary concrete barriers to a permanent concrete barrier for median applications. The researchers at Midwest Roadside Safety Facility utilized a combination of free-standing and tied-down Kansas temporary concrete barriers and a dual-nested thrie beam for the transition to the single-slope permanent barrier as well as a transition cap. Two full-scale vehicle crash tests were performed on the system. Evaluation of the approach transition required testing at two Critical Impact Point (CIP) locations. The first tests was performed using a half-ton pickup truck that impacted the temporary barriers 1,432 mm …

Occurrence, Transmission, And Zoonotic Potential Of Chronic Wasting Disease, Samuel E. Saunders, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Jason C. Bartz

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, transmissible prion disease that affects captive and free-ranging deer, elk, and moose. Although the zoonotic potential of CWD is considered low, identification of multiple CWD strains and the potential for agent evolution upon serial passage hinders a defi nitive conclusion. Surveillance for CWD in free-ranging populations has documented a continual geographic spread of the disease throughout North America. CWD prions are shed from clinically and preclinically affected hosts, and CWD transmission is mediated at least in part by the environment, perhaps by soil. Much remains unknown, including the sites and mechanisms of prion …

Subsurface Facies Analysis Of The Late Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone In Western Ohio (Midcontinent North America), Aram Saeed, James E. Evans

School of Earth, Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone (MSS) is a possible unconventional gas reservoir in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian Basins, but comparatively little is known about the unit. This study used core and well logs from two deep exploratory wells to interpret the depositional environment of the MSS under western Ohio, where the MSS is about 120 m thick and found 1060 m below ground surface. In western Ohio, the MSS unconformably overlies the Precambrian Middle Run Formation, is conformably overlain by the Cambrian Eau Claire Formation, and has a distinctive gamma-ray log-signature. In well DGS-2627, the MSS consists of tan, …

Teacher Retention: What Motivates Highly Qualified Urban Teachers To Stay?, Orlando B. Milligan

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide insight into what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools. Research has shown that the single most important factor in a child’s education is the teacher. Consequently, the issues related to teacher recruitment and retention rank as serious problems facing urban schools and the achievement of their children.

The purpose of this study was to examine what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools and to identify factors that may contribute to the retention and recruitment of an urban teaching corps. This study also sought to determine if there …

Heterogeneous Beliefs And Risk Neutral Skewness, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Yi Zhang, Thomas Zorn

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This study tests whether investor belief differences affect the cross-sectional variation of risk-neutral skewness, using data on firm-level stock options traded on the CBOE from 2003 to 2006. Using well known proxies for heterogeneous beliefs, we find that stocks with greater belief differences have more negative skews, even after controlling for systematic risk and other firm-level variables known to affect skewness. This result also goes beyond the net price pressure hypothesis suggested by Bollen and Whaley (2004). Factor analysis identifies latent variables linked to systematic risk and belief differences. The belief factor explains more variation in the risk-neutral density than …

Cold War Legacies In Digital Editing, Amanda A. Gailey

Department of English: Faculty Publications

The editorial methods developed during the Cold War professionalized scholarly editing and appealed to new ideas about the relationship between American academics and the government by aligning with the supposedly value-neutral goals and methods of the behavioral sciences, much to the discomfort of many humanists. Some of the implicit assumptions underlying midcentury editorial methods persist in digital editing, and may risk positioning digital editions as marginalized scholarship within the digital era, just as print scholarly editions became widely considered second-rate scholarship in the twentieth century.

Hydraulic Conductivity Of The High Plains Aquifer Re-Evaluated Using Surface Drainage Patterns, Wei Luo, Darryll T. Pederson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA), underlying parts of 8 states from South Dakota to Texas, is one of the largest fresh water aquifers in the world and accounts for 30% of the groundwater used for irrigation in the US. Determining the distribution of HPA’s hydraulic conductivity (K) is critical for water management and addressing water quality issues. K is traditionally estimated from well pumping data coupled with computer modeling and is known to be highly variable, spanning several orders of magnitude for the same type of rock. Here we show that applying our innovative method of determining effective …

Novice Principals’ Perceptions Of Effective Leadership Practices And Their Principal Preparation Programs, Melissa Y. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine novice principals’ perceptions of effective leadership practices and the elements of their principal preparation program that prepared them for the role of school leader. A mixed-methods study was utilized by the researcher to gather quantitative data through the use of an online survey and to gather qualitative data through subsequent focus-group interviews to address the proposal’s three research questions: (a) What are the differences (if any) between the perceptions of novice elementary, middle, and high school principals regarding the five instructional leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner (2003; i.e., challenging the …