Digital Commons Network^™

Learning From The Master: Things Betty Thompson Taught Me, David Spratt

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

A Study On The Impact Of Patient Centered Medical Home (Pcmh) Implementation On Nursing Work Practice, Nikhil Vijay Shinde

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Primary care and nursing are important components of the U.S. healthcare system and are facing challenges of quality, access, cost, time spent and inefficiencies of clinical activities. Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a newly developed care model which has the potential to overcome these challenges. The present study uses a questionnaire approach to find the impact PCMH implementation may have on nursing practice and subsequently primary care. Analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire revealed some surprising results about the nursing practice. For example nurses spend less time on direct care and more time on indirect care and …

Study And Analysis Of Automated Order Picking Systems, Akhilesh Chandra Ambati

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Order picking is an essential part of order processing in warehousing and distribution operations and can be performed using manual, automated, or semi-automated systems. This thesis analyzes two automated systems, which include carousel and AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system). The main goal of this research is to develop mathematical models to compare the performance of both systems under random and class-based storage assignments. Simulation models are used to validate the reliability of mathematical models. The outputs of mathematical and simulation models are consistent indicating carousel system with class-based assignment has the highest throughput. Economic analysis is used to estimate …

Word Diffusion And Climate Science, R. A. Bentley, P. Garnett, Michael J. O'Brien, W. A. Brock

History Faculty Publications (Archived)

As public and political debates often demonstrate, a substantial disjoint can exist between the findings of science and the impact it has on the public. Using climate-change science as a case example, we reconsider the role of scientists in the information-dissemination process, our hypothesis being that important keywords used in climate science follow "boom and bust" fashion cycles in public usage. Representing this public usage through extraordinary new data on word frequencies in books published up to the year 2008, we show that a classic two-parameter social-diffusion model closely fits the comings and goings of many keywords over generational or …

Cultural Evolutionary Tipping Points In The Storage And Transmission Of Information, R. A. Bentley, Michael J. O'Brien

History Faculty Publications (Archived)

Human culture has evolved through a series of major tipping points in information storage and communication. The first was the appearance of language, which enabled communication between brains and allowed humans to specialize in what they do and to participate in complex mating games. The second was information storage outside the brain, most obviously expressed in the "Upper Paleolithic Revolution" - the sudden proliferation of cave art, personal adornment, and ritual in Europe some 35,000-45,000 years ago. More recently, this storage has taken the form of writing, mass media, and now the Internet, which is arguably overwhelming humans' ability to …

Genes, Culture, And Agriculture: An Example Of Human Niche Construction, Michael J. O'Brien, K. N. Laland

History Faculty Publications (Archived)

Theory and empirical data from a variety of disciplines strongly imply that recent human history involves extensive gene-culture coevolution, much of it as a direct result of human agricultural practices. Here we draw on niche construction theory (NCT) and gene-culture coevolutionary theory (GCT) to propose a broad theoretical framework (NCT-GCT) with which archaeologists and anthropologists can explore coevolutionary dynamics. Humans are enormously potent niche constructors, and understanding how niche construction regulates ecosystem dynamics is central to understanding the impact of human populations on their ecological and developmental environments. We use as primary examples the evolution of dairying by Neolithic groups …

Stories From The Dark Side: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Stories Legally Blind And Totally Blind People Tell About Unplanned Encounters With The Sighted Community, Anneliese Devyldere

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Measuring Defect Datasets Sensitivity To Attributes Variation, Izzat M. Alsmadi

Computer Science Faculty Publications (Archived)

The study of the correlation between software project and product attributes and its modules quality status (faulty or not) is the subject of several research papers in the software testing and maintenance fields. In this paper, a tool is built to change the values of software data sets' attributes and study the impact of this change on the modules' defect status. The goal is to find those specific attributes that highly correlate with the module defect attribute. An algorithm is developed to automatically predict the module defect status based on the values of the module attributes and based on their …

Segmented Robotic Platform For Exploration, Sensor Transport And Sampling (Serpents), Mallory Brown

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Hot Electron Effect In Ultrathin Photovoltaic Junctions, Deyan Ivov Mihaylov

Physics

The focus of the research work described in the following thesis is increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic devices by reducing hot carrier thermalization losses. In principle this can be achieved by reducing the size of the absorber down to lengths comparable to the thermalization length for hot carriers. With the use of ultrathin absorbers hot carrier can be collected before they have reached thermal equilibrium with the lattice. The theoretical work on the subject is comprised of improving the empirical relationship developed in the most recent publication on the topic by. By making the assumption that the energy loss rate …

Identifying Technical Management Areas The Affect Performance To Increase Project Efficiency, Salome Saliashvili

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Cycles Of Electronic Health Records Adaptation By Physicians: How Do The Positive And Negative Experiences With The Ehr System Affect Physicians’ Ehr Adaptation Process?, Cherie Noteboom, Dhundy Bastola, Sajda Qureshi

CAHIT

The integration of EHR in IT infrastructures supporting organizations enable improved access and recording of patient data, enhanced ability to make improved decisions, improved quality and reduced errors in patient care. Despite these benefits, there are mixed results as to the use of EHR. The literature suggests that the reasons for the limited use relate to policy, financial and usability considerations, but it does not provide an understanding of reasons for physicians’ limited interaction and adaptation of EHR. Following an analysis of qualitative data, collected in a case study at a hospital using interviews, this research explains how physicians interact …

Aerosol-Based Ultrafine Material Deposition For Microelectronics, Justin Michael Hoey

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Aerosol-based direct-write refers to the additive process of printing CAD/CAM features from an apparatus which creates a liquid or solid aerosol beam. Direct-write technologies are poised to become useful tools in the microelectronics industry for rapid prototyping of components such as interconnects, sensors and thin film transistors (TFTs), with new applications for aerosol direct-write being rapidly conceived. This research aims to review direct-write technologies, with an emphasis on aerosol based systems. The different currently available state-of-the-art systems such as Aerosol Jet™ CAB-DW™, MCS and aerodynamic lenses are described. A review and analysis of the physics behind the fluid-particle interactions including …

Fluid Dynamics Of Material Micro-Deposition: Capillary-Based Droplet Deposition And Aerosol-Based Direct-Write, Artur Lutfurakhmanov

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

With rapid development of the direct-write technology, in addition to requirement of non-destructive printing, there is a need for non-expensive, robust, and simplified techniques of micro/nano fabrication. This dissertation proposes a new technique of non-invasive lithography called Capillary-Based Droplet Deposition and suggests improvements to existing Aerosol-Jet Direct-Write method that leads to deposition of thinner lines. A hollow capillary filled with liquid is a dispensing tool employed for the Capillary-Based Droplet Deposition method. Due to pressure applied from one side of the capillary, a liquid meniscus is formed at the opposite side of the capillary. After the meniscus touches the substrate, …

Thermo-Mechanical Analysis Of Polyamide Biocomposites, Jessica Lattimer

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Biobased fillers in thermoplastics have seen increased usage over the last several years. The increased usage of biobased fillers follows the ever-increasing thrust to reduce petroleum and synthetic petrochemical product consumption. Biocomposites made from polyolefin matrices have shown improved elastic moduli with moderate impact on strength. For engineering thermoplastics, the increased processing temperatures lead to degradation of the biomass, often detrimental for the mechanical performance. The goal of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural byproducts as fillers in polyamides, while minimizing the effects of increased processing temperatures. Torrefaction has been identified as an effective means of preparing …

Shock Tube Design And The Kinematics Of The Hybrid Iii Dummy Head Under Shock Waves Of Blast, Ka-Ho Derek Leung

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common injuries to soldiers in warfare today. A TBI occurs when the human brain is damaged by a sudden force coming from the environment. In the combat field of combat, high pressure blasts generated by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are a constant threat and because of the sudden force of the blast wave are a major cause of the TBIs. Blasts created by IEDs can also cause damage to other human body parts including lungs, bowels, and any other air-containing organs. In this study, a blast shock tube was constructed for …

Fluid Mechanics Of Micro Cold Spray Direct Write Process, Sourin Bhattacharya

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Cold spray, also known as the gas dynamic spray process, was first discovered in the 1980s while doing high speed two phase wind tunnel experiments. The principle underlying this process is that if a metal particle is accelerated to a velocity above a certain critical velocity, upon impact on a substrate the particle and substrate will undergo rapid plastic deformation and form a “splat”. This process is currently being used for coatings applications. In this process, metal particles of diameter 5 μm to 50 μm are accelerated to a very high velocity (>500 m/s) and are deposited on substrates. …

An Ontology-Based Model Management Architecture For Service Innovation, Omar F. El-Gayar, Amit Deokar

Research & Publications

Organizations have indicated renewed interest in service innovation, design and management, given the growth of service sector. Decision support systems (DSS) play an important role in supporting this endeavor, through management of organizational resources such as data and models. Given the global nature of service value chains, there have been ever increasing demands on managing, sharing, and reusing these heterogeneous and distributed resources, both within and across organizational boundaries, through DSS consisting of database management systems (DBMS) and model management systems (MMS). Analogous to DBMS, model management systems focus on the management of decision models, dealing with representation, storage, and …

Security Policy Compliance: User Acceptance Perspective, Ahmad Al-Omari, Omar F. El-Gayar, Amit Deokar

Research & Publications

Information security policy compliance is one of the key concerns that face organizations today. Although, technical and procedural security measures help improve information security, there is an increased need to accommodate human, social and organizational factors. While employees are considered the weakest link in information security domain, they also are assets that organizations need to leverage effectively. Employees' compliance with Information Security Policies (ISPs) is critical to the success of an information security program. The purpose of this research is to develop a measurement tool that provides better measures for predicting and explaining employees' compliance with ISPs by examining the …

Characterizing Soil Microbial Communities Of Reclaimed Roads In North Dakota, Eric Viall

Soil Science

Reclaimed roads on the Little Missouri National Grasslands of southwestern North Dakota have not returned to pre-disturbance conditions. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis was performed on soil samples collected from reclaimed roads and adjacent prairie to assess reclamation effects on the microbial community. Additionally, nutrient cycling capacity was measured by four enzyme assays. Ordination analysis of PLFA data identified a distance gradient indicating microbial communities of reclaimed roads were different from the prairie. Specifically, Gram-negative bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are associated with roads; soil organic matter was associated with prairie sites. Soil enzyme activities associated with prairie sites indicate greater …

Standards, Patents, And The National Smart Grid, Jorge Contreras

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is charged with overseeing the identification and selection of hundreds of standards that will be required to implement the national Smart Grid project. However, the benefits that could be realized from Smart Grid standardization could be threatened by a growing number of patents that cover Smart Grid architecture and technologies. If such patents are not revealed until technology is broadly distributed throughout the network (“locked-in”), significant disruption could occur when patent holders seek to collect unanticipated rents from large segments of the market. Moreover, even if patents are revealed early in the …

Tendering Procedures In Ppp: A Literature Review, Nunzia Carbonara, Louis Gunnigan, Roberta Pellegrino, Fabio Sciancalepore

Articles

Purpose – This paper aims at providing an overview about literature on tendering process in PPP, with particular regard to transportation PPP case.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on the analysis of the pertinent publications on the theme.

Findings – Three main interest areas can be found in the literature: tendering procedures, evaluation methods and evaluation criteria. Social implications – Contract authorities have several tools in order to pre-qualify and select bidders and negotiate with them: they can choose the instruments which best fit to their market

Originality/value – The paper provides a complete overview on PPP tendering procedures …

A Checklist Of Turkish Rotifers, Mustafa Ruşen Ustaoğlu, Ahmet Altindağ, Murat Kaya, Nuray Akbulut, Ahmet Bozkurt, Di̇dem Özdemi̇r Mi̇s, Si̇bel Atasağun, Sevi̇l Erdoğan, Aysel Bekleyen, Serap Saler, Hacer Canan Okgerman

Turkish Journal of Zoology

In a book chapter containing the first checklist and distribution of Turkish rotifers, published in 1999, were listed 167 taxa. The second checklist, published in 2004, reported 229 rotifer taxa in Turkey. During the 7 years since this checklist process, many studies have been carried out and we have prepared a new checklist of Turkish rotifers in the present study. In all, 341 rotifer taxa have been recorded to date.

Scale Insect (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) Species On Pine Trees Of Turkey, Selma Ülgentürk, Nevzat Evren, Bi̇kem Ayhan, Özlem Dostbi̇l, Oktay Dursun, Hasan Sungur Ci̇velek

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Coccoidea species on pine trees (Pinus brutia, P. halepensis, and P. pinea) were collected from natural pine forests, mainly in the Aegean, Mediterranean, and some neighboring (Central Anatolian, Marmara) regions of Turkey in 2008-2011. A total of 14 species were determined from Coccidae (2 species), Diaspididae (8 species) Marchalinidae (1 species), Matsucoccidae (1 species), Monophlebidae (1 species), and Pseudococcidae (1 species), and 2 of them (Gomezmenoraspis pinicola Leonardi and Poaspis intermedia Goux) are new records for Turkish fauna. While the most common pests were respectively Leucaspis pusilla Löw, Marchalina hellenica Gennadius, Matsucoccus josephi (Bodenheimer and Harpaz), G. pinicola, and Palaeococcus …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Zoology

No abstract provided.

Hostos Community College Academic Bulletin 2012-2014, Hostos Community College

College Bulletins

This is the official college catalog for 2012-2014. It contains course descriptions as well as information on degree programs, college resources and services, financial aid, admissions, and the academic calendar.

Structural Topology Optimization: Moving Beyond Linear Elastic Design Objectives, James K. Guest, Reza Lotfi, Andrew T. Gaynor, Mehdi Jalalpour

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Topology optimization is a systematic, free-form approach to the design of structures. It simultaneously optimizes material quantities and system connectivity, enabling the discovery of new, high-performance structural concepts. While powerful, this design freedom has a tendency to produce solutions that are unrealizable or impractical from a structural engineering perspective. Examples include overly complex topologies that are expensive to construct and ultra-slender subsystems that may be overly susceptible to imperfections. This paper summarizes recent tools developed by the authors capable of mitigating these shortcomings through consideration of (1) constructability, (2) nonlinear mechanics, and (3) uncertainties.

Interfacing Building Response With Human Behavior Under Seismic Events, Z. Liu, Mehdi Jalalpour, C. Jacques, S. Szyniszewski, J. Mitrani-Reiser, James K. Guest, T. Igusa, B. W. Schafer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to model the interaction of humans with their built environment during and immediately following a natural disaster. The study uses finite element simulations to evaluate the response of buildings under input ground motions and agent-based dynamic modeling to model the subsequent evacuation of building occupants in the study area immediately following the seismic event. The structural model directly captures building damage and collapse, as well as floor accelerations and displacements to determine nonstructural damage, injuries and fatalities. The goal of this research is to make connections between building damage and occupant injuries, with geographic …

Growth Analysis Of (Ag,Cu)Inse2 Thin Films Via Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, S. A. Little, V. Ranjan, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In situ and ex situ characterization methods have been applied to investigate the properties of (Ag,Cu)InSe₂ (ACIS) thin films. Data acquired from real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) experiments were analyzed to extract the evolution of the nucleating, bulk, and surface roughness layer thicknesses. The evolution of these layer thicknesses suggests a transition from Volmer-Weber to Stranski-Krastanov type behavior when Cu is replaced by Ag. The complex dielectric functions of ACIS at both deposition and room temperature as a function of film composition were also extracted from the RTSE data, enabling parameterization of the alloy optical properties.

A Radar-Enabled Collaborative Sensor Networking Integrating Cots Technology For Surveillance And Tracking, Robert Kozma, Lan Wang, Khan Iftekharuddin, Ernest Mccracken, Muhammad Khan, Khandakar Islam, Sushil R. Bhurtel, R. Murat Demirer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The feasibility of using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensor nodes is studied in a distributed network, aiming at dynamic surveillance and tracking of ground targets. Data acquisition by low-cost (<$50 US) miniature low-power radar through a wireless mote is described. We demonstrate the detection, ranging and velocity estimation, classification and tracking capabilities of the mini-radar, and compare results to simulations and manual measurements. Furthermore, we supplement the radar output with other sensor modalities, such as acoustic and vibration sensors. This method provides innovative solutions for detecting, identifying, and tracking vehicles and dismounts over a wide area in noisy conditions. This study presents a step towards distributed intelligent decision support and demonstrates effectiveness of small cheap sensors, which can complement advanced technologies in certain real-life scenarios.