Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2012

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 46381 - 46410 of 47437

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Best If Used By: Duluth Recycling And Production Factory, Ty Pritchard Jan 2012

Best If Used By: Duluth Recycling And Production Factory, Ty Pritchard

Architecture Theses

This thesis work looks to explore and determine the lifetime/expiration of a structure. The longevity of a building’s life is its ability to adapt to current needs. The project will use the shells of old structures in Duluth, Minnesota, which both creates and recycles components to ensure its survival through programmatic changes until its expiration. This work will display the importance of re-purposing and recycling, while creating new jobs and markets for the region. Best if Used By: Duluth Recycling and Production Factory will consist of both public interaction and factory for production spanning 70,000sqf of an old pier in …

Go to article

Badlands Agriculture And Environmental Research Center, Seann Ringwall Jan 2012

Badlands Agriculture And Environmental Research Center, Seann Ringwall

Architecture Theses

This project, titled Badlands Agriculture and Environmental Research Center, is an examination of local agriculture and how it can be reconnected to a larger community. This project fits into a research/living/learning center typology that is more agriculture urban, rather than urban agriculture. The idea behind this investigation is that we have lost a connection with food production. There is more concern in recent times about food sourcing and contamination. This investigation seeks to bridge that gap on how communities can reconnect with farmers in the area and source and learn about initiatives, such as farm to table and value added …

Go to article

Outbreak File: Sibley County, Alex Vos Jan 2012

Outbreak File: Sibley County, Alex Vos

Architecture Theses

This thesis, Outbreak File: Sibley County, researches and examines the ecological footprint in order to describe an efficient way to design and protect communities from the threat of a zombie apocalypse. Discovering how to reduce the size of a footprint in a community is the realistic goal to reach a high level of sustainability. Zombie-proof design is essentially a new way to enforce the ability to sustain in architectural design. Through research in this thesis, the possible outcomes of an a potential zombie apocalypse, we can take the basic requirements a community needs in order to survive the threat for …

Go to article

Hopeful Youth, Jacob Zikmund Jan 2012

Hopeful Youth, Jacob Zikmund

Architecture Theses

This thesis examines the question, how can architecture encourage positive relationships and inspire hope in young cancer patients? The project will study the affects of the natural and built environment and what role it plays on children with cancer. The ultimate goal is to create a space where children with cancer can have fun, relate to one another, and better gain a sense of hope and increase in morale. It is a 25,000 square foot children’s cancer recreational center located in Madeline Island, Wisconsin. This thesis presents a model for a new typology and addresses the issue of children being …

Go to article

Evaluation Of A Novel Means To Euthanize Piglets, Richelle Lorraine Miller Jan 2012

Evaluation Of A Novel Means To Euthanize Piglets, Richelle Lorraine Miller

Animal Sciences

Research was conducted to evaluate a novel means to euthanize piglets utilizing electromagnetic energy. Experiment 1 assessed if electromagnetic energy could result in a euthanized piglet and Experiment 2 evaluated states of consciousness of piglets. During Experiment 1, six piglets were exposed to 40 seconds of electromagnetic energy (EME). Respiration rate was reduced to zero in each piglet immediately following EME and unassisted death occurred after heart rate ceased within 4.8 minutes after EME in five of the six piglets. Treatments during Experiment 2 included EME for 3, 6, or 9 seconds. State of consciousness and treatment interaction affected (P < 0.01) electroencephalogram amplitude and power. State of consciousness affected (P < 0.01) electroencephalogram frequency and heart rate. Treatment and EME interaction also affected internal body and head surface temperatures (P < 0.01). Piglets exposed to 9 seconds EME had higher (P < 0.01) body temperature compared with other treatments.

Go to article

Using Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) Technology To Assess Bird-Habitat Relationships: A Case Study From The Northwoods Of Maine, Wesley Eugene Newton Jan 2012

Using Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) Technology To Assess Bird-Habitat Relationships: A Case Study From The Northwoods Of Maine, Wesley Eugene Newton

Natural Resources Management

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that quantifies the travel time of photons emitted in pulses from a LiDAR instrument to travel to and reflect back from objects. Knowing the travel time for the photons and accounting for the speed of light, distances to objects from the instrument can be quantified. When LiDAR is acquired over forested areas some of the pulses will find canopy openings and "penetrate" to the ground with others striking the canopy at various heights above the ground, generating an XYZ point-cloud of eastings, northings, and elevations. Capitalizing on the information …

Go to article

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study Of The Ultraviolet Exposure Of Ballistic Resistant Polymer Matrix Composites, Drew Adam Pavlacky Jan 2012

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study Of The Ultraviolet Exposure Of Ballistic Resistant Polymer Matrix Composites, Drew Adam Pavlacky

Materials and Nanotechnology

This study examined the effect of ultraviolet radiation on ballistic resistant polymer matrix composites. Two composite systems studied included a phenolic matrix with either S2 Glass® or Kevlar® fiber laminates. These composites were weathered in ultraviolet conditions and the effects were quantified with multiple destructive and non-destructive testing. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used as a non-destructive evaluation method which is a commonly used experiment in the corrosion community. Circuit modeling the EIS spectra produced both resistive and capacitive characteristics inherent of the composite materials. Surface characterization was performed to determine if degradation was occurring at the composite surface. Techniques …

Go to article

To Be Or Not To Be: An Empirical Test Of English Prime As Theory, Ryan Lee Boyd Jan 2012

To Be Or Not To Be: An Empirical Test Of English Prime As Theory, Ryan Lee Boyd

Psychology

English Prime is a language prescription advocating the abolition of all forms of the verb “to be” from usage. Such benefits of a “to be”-less form of communication might include an increased appreciation for the essential complexity of reality and the intangibility of certain forms of knowledge. However, to date, no English Prime claims have been rigorously examined in an empirical manner. A program of research systematically assessed individual differences in the use of the verb “to be” to determine their relationship to outcomes described by English Prime scholars. Relations between English Prime violations and the following theoretically relevant measures …

Go to article

Effectiveness Of Multiple Restoration Techniques In Reducing The Abundance Of Kentucky Bluegrass And Smooth Bromegrass In The Northern Great Plains, Corie Beth Lund Jan 2012

Effectiveness Of Multiple Restoration Techniques In Reducing The Abundance Of Kentucky Bluegrass And Smooth Bromegrass In The Northern Great Plains, Corie Beth Lund

Range Science

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermus L.) are cool-season, perennial, non-native grasses that are invading North Dakota grasslands. Two studies evaluated different restoration techniques aimed at reducing Kentucky bluegrass and smooth bromegrass abundance. The initial study, located on five different plant communities in a mixed grass prairie near Mandan, ND, noted some success at reducing Kentucky bluegrass through a combination of fire and chemicals. Therefore, a second study was initiated near Lisbon, ND to evaluate the effectiveness of fire and herbicides, alone or in combination, and the sequence for applying fire and herbicide. These treatments were …

Go to article

"Spectacular Opacities": The Hyers Sisters' Performances Of Respectability And Resistance, Jocelyn Buckner Jan 2012

"Spectacular Opacities": The Hyers Sisters' Performances Of Respectability And Resistance, Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

This essay analyzes the Hyers Sisters, a Reconstruction-era African American sister act, and their radical efforts to transcend social limits of gender, class, and race in their early concert careers and three major productions, Out of Bondage and Peculiar Sam, or The Underground Railroad, two slavery-to-freedom epics, and Urlina, the African Princess, the first known African American play set in Africa. At a time when serious, realistic roles and romantic plotlines featuring black actors were nearly nonexistent due to the country’s appetite for stereotypical caricatures, the Hyers Sisters used gender passing to perform opposite one another as heterosexual lovers in …

Go to article

"There Arose A Mist Of Darkness": The Narrative Of Lehi's Dream In Christ's Theophany, Dan Belnap, Daniel Belnap Jan 2012

"There Arose A Mist Of Darkness": The Narrative Of Lehi's Dream In Christ's Theophany, Dan Belnap, Daniel Belnap

Faculty Publications

The events surrounding Christ’s theophany as recounted in 3 Nephi describe the creation of a new world, both physically and socially. In particular, chapters 8–18 depict a series of events that are reminiscent of the creation of the earth as described in Genesis and elsewhere. From the all-pervasive darkness experienced during the cataclysmic destruction to the glorious, light-filled arrival of Christ and the institution of new laws and ordinances delivered during his first day among the people, the Book of Mormon text reflects this biblical narrative. Yet the manner in which it is presented echoes a creation narrative unique to …

Go to article

Genomics And Management Of Fusarium Root Rot Of Field Peas, Kishore Chittem Jan 2012

Genomics And Management Of Fusarium Root Rot Of Field Peas, Kishore Chittem

Plant Pathology

Dry Pea or field pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important cool season legume crop grown in the United States. Field peas are vulnerable to many diseases of which, soil borne diseases including wilt and root rot are of major economic importance and can cause significant reduction in yield. There is a dearth of satisfactory methods for control of root rot and no varieties with complete resistance to Fusarium root rot are currently available. Root rot disease was found to be prevalent in all the major pea growing counties of North Dakota surveyed in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011. Fusarium …

Go to article

Spiritual Diversity In Couple And Family Therapy Training: Student Perspectives, Nicole Lea Roberts Jan 2012

Spiritual Diversity In Couple And Family Therapy Training: Student Perspectives, Nicole Lea Roberts

Human Development and Family Science

The current study assessed couple and family therapy (CFT) students' levels of self-reported competence working with clients from non-Christian spiritual traditions, levels of content that students reported receiving related to preparing them to work with Christian and non-Christian clients, and perceptions of the training students received on working with clients of diverse spiritual faith traditions. Participants were CFT students from accredited Master's and doctoral programs of the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). Results indicated that there were significant differences in the content students reported receiving regarding working with clients of Christian faith traditions compared to …

Go to article

Evaluation Of Hard Red And White Spring Wheat Genotypes For Tolerance To Pre-Harvest Sprouting, Mory Rugg Jan 2012

Evaluation Of Hard Red And White Spring Wheat Genotypes For Tolerance To Pre-Harvest Sprouting, Mory Rugg

Plant Sciences

Each genotype was exposed to controlled PHS conditions for evaluation of susceptibility or tolerance to sprouting, falling number, kernel color, test weight, and yield. The 24 genotypes were grown in replicated trials at three locations over three years, all data subjected to an analysis of variance. Over three years the genotypes were rated for visual PHS using a 1 to 9 scale, with 1 equivalent to no visual PHS and 9 equivalent to maximum visual PHS. The red genotypes exhibited a higher tolerance to PHS than white genotypes with a mean PHS score of 4.46 compared with 5.16 for white …

Go to article

On K-Means Clustering Using Mahalanobis Distance, Joshua Nelson Jan 2012

On K-Means Clustering Using Mahalanobis Distance, Joshua Nelson

Statistics

A problem that arises quite frequently in statistics is that of identifying groups, or clusters, of data within a population or sample. The most widely used procedure to identify clusters in a set of observations is known as K-Means. The main limitation of this algorithm is that it uses the Euclidean distance metric to assign points to clusters. Hence, this algorithm operates well only if the covariance structures of the clusters are nearly spherical and homogeneous in nature. To remedy this shortfall in the K-Means algorithm the Mahalanobis distance metric was used to capture the variance structure of the clusters. …

Go to article

Teaching Conversations, Contemporary Art, And Figure Drawing, Mark Graham Jan 2012

Teaching Conversations, Contemporary Art, And Figure Drawing, Mark Graham

Faculty Publications

An important problem for high school art teachers is deciding what belongs in the art curriculum. What works of art, media, or ideas will inspire their students to more fully develop their own artistic potential and critically engage with contemporary art and culture? What artifacts of art, visual culture, or material culture should be included and how can these artifacts be connected to student interests? This article will visit these questions and contextualize figure drawing within contemporary art practice and emerging discussions about art education curricula. Although new media and technologies have important and unexpected places within the art curriculum, …

Go to article

Lease Transaction Structuring, Earnings Management, And Management Credibility, Susan D. Krische, Paula R. Sanders, Steven D. Smith Jan 2012

Lease Transaction Structuring, Earnings Management, And Management Credibility, Susan D. Krische, Paula R. Sanders, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

Despite recent regulatory concerns regarding off-balance sheet financing, and concerns about lease accounting in particular, relatively little is known about how financial statement users view lease transaction structuring compared to other forms of earnings management. We examine sell-side financial statement analysts’ views on lease transaction structuring and its impact on their assessments of management credibility. Although operating leases often act as the prototypical example of transaction structuring, survey responses suggest that lease structuring and related voluntary reconciliations do not raise the same concerns for analysts as do other earnings management activities (which lower analysts’ perceptions of management credibility). Our findings …

Go to article

Measuring Life Skills: Standardizing The Assessment Of Youth Development Indicators, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt, Mariela Fernandez, Marie Jolliff Bryant, Daniel Theriault Jan 2012

Measuring Life Skills: Standardizing The Assessment Of Youth Development Indicators, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt, Mariela Fernandez, Marie Jolliff Bryant, Daniel Theriault

Faculty Publications

While the development of life skills (e.g., communication, problem solving, etc.) is a commonly targeted youth program outcome, the lack of standardized conceptualizations and instrumentation make it difficult to compare impacts across programs and develop validated best practices. In order to promote a more unified approach to life skill development, literature reviews were conducted for 10 life skill domains to identify common definitions and, if available, appropriate outcome measures. Data were then collected from an ethnically diverse sample (N = 758) of elementary, middle, and high school aged youth for the 10 identified instruments. Analyses were conducted to ascertain the …

Go to article

Soft Strategic Information And Ipo Underpricing, James C. Brau, James Cicon, Grant Mcqueen Jan 2012

Soft Strategic Information And Ipo Underpricing, James C. Brau, James Cicon, Grant Mcqueen

Faculty Publications

Using content analysis we measure the impact of soft information, derived from words in IPO registration documents, on IPO pricing efficiency. First, using 2,298 U.S. IPOs from 1996 to 2008, we find that an IPO document’s strategic tone correlates positively with the stock’s first-day return; more frequent usage of positive and/or less frequent usage of negative strategic words lead to more IPO underpricing. Second, we find that an IPO document’s strategic tone is negatively correlated with the stock’s long-run return. Together, these findings imply that investors initially misprice soft information in registration statements, which mispricing is eventually corrected. Additionally, we …

Go to article

Small-Firm Uniqueness And Signaling Theory, James C. Brau, J. Troy Carpenter Jan 2012

Small-Firm Uniqueness And Signaling Theory, James C. Brau, J. Troy Carpenter

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, we develop a theory of small firm uniqueness. Instead of using an exogenous definition of firm size typical of the extant literature, we allow firms

Go to article

Did Securitization Affect The Cost Of Corporate Debt?, Taylor Nadauld, Michael S. Weisbach Jan 2012

Did Securitization Affect The Cost Of Corporate Debt?, Taylor Nadauld, Michael S. Weisbach

Faculty Publications

This paper investigates whether the securitization of corporate bank loan facilities had an impact on the price of corporate debt. Our results suggest that loan facilities that are subsequently securitized are associated with a 17 basis point lower spread than that of facilities that are not subsequently securitized. We consider facility characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of securitization and estimate the extent to which these characteristics are related to spreads. We document that Term Loan B facilities, facilities of B-rated firms, and facilities originated by banks that originate CLOs are securitized more frequently than other facilities. Spreads on …

Go to article

The Effects Of Digital Intensity On Combinations Of Sequential And Configural Process Variety, James Gaskin, Kalle Lyytinen, Youngjin Yoo, Brian Pentland Jan 2012

The Effects Of Digital Intensity On Combinations Of Sequential And Configural Process Variety, James Gaskin, Kalle Lyytinen, Youngjin Yoo, Brian Pentland

Faculty Publications

Two forms of variety have been noted in organizational processes: sequential and configural. These describe variations in how a work process is ordered (sequential) or what is involved in enacting each work activity (configural). Each has been mainly studied in isolation. In organizations, these two types of variety are always co-present and scholars will miss important insights if their dependencies and interactions are not examined. This calls for theorizing and empirical inquiries regarding how these two types of variety are related and how digitalization influences them. Our contribution in this paper is to call attention to the need to analyze …

Go to article

Global Representation In Psychiatric Research, Bruce L. Brown, Michael Zhang, Dawson W. Hedges Jan 2012

Global Representation In Psychiatric Research, Bruce L. Brown, Michael Zhang, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

To monitor global representation in the psychiatric literature, we compared publication rates in the ten psychiatric journals with the highest impact factors in 1998 and 2008 by world regions. In both 1998 and 2008, North America, Northern Europe, Western Europe and Oceania produced the majority of psychiatric research papers published in these journals, despite representing only a small fraction of the world’s population. This suggests that much of the world’s population continues to be underrepresented in highly influential psychiatric journals.

Go to article

Heritage | Heart Of The Community, Christa Pojanowski Jan 2012

Heritage | Heart Of The Community, Christa Pojanowski

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis explores small urban city revitalization. When small cities outlast the function of their own infrastructure, city revitalization needs to focus on how the city is functioning overall. City infrastructure is the basis for structure and function of a city. City revitalization plays an important part in reorganizing the forms and patterns of a city to create networks and connections for a successfully functioning community.

Go to article

Healing Life, Kristen Ketterling Jan 2012

Healing Life, Kristen Ketterling

Landscape Architecture Theses

This project aims to explore the design of healing gardens with plant materials and paths, as well as the role they play in the healing process. Landscape architects have the ability and knowledge to create usable spaces for hospitals that can encourage the healing process. Studies have shown that nature and plant materials are known to have a calming effect on patients and can be used to help in the healing process. The Jamestown Regional Medical Center will be redesigned as an example of how using plant material and suggestive paths can be applied.

Go to article

Not Just Ticking The Box: An Investigation Into Safeguarding Adults Training Transfer In Cornwall, Uk, Lindsey Anne Pike Jan 2012

Not Just Ticking The Box: An Investigation Into Safeguarding Adults Training Transfer In Cornwall, Uk, Lindsey Anne Pike

School of Health Professions Theses

Safeguarding adults is a priority in adult social care, and training is one of the main ways in which policy and guidance around it is implemented. Training transfer refers to the use of new learning on the job, and while the transfer literature is well developed, it does not extend to safeguarding adults training. This research aimed to identify, develop and refine a programme theory of safeguarding adults training transfer by identifying factors that facilitate or inhibit the use of safeguarding adults training in practice, and the impact that the training has. A cross sectional mixed methods realist synthesis approach …

Go to article

Multisine Excitation Design To Increase The Efficiency Of System Identification Signal Generation And Analysis, Michael J. Schmitz Jan 2012

Multisine Excitation Design To Increase The Efficiency Of System Identification Signal Generation And Analysis, Michael J. Schmitz

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Reducing sample frequencies in measurement systems can save power, but reduction to the point of undersampling results in aliasing and possible signal distortion. Nonlinearities of the system under test can also lead to distortions prior to measurement. In this dissertation, a first algorithm is presented for designing multisine excitation signals that can be undersampled without distortion from the aliasing of excitation frequencies or select harmonics. Next, a second algorithm is presented for designing undersampled distributions that approximate target frequency distributions. Results for pseudo-logarithmically-spaced frequency distributions designed for undersampling without distortion from select harmonics show a considerable decrease in the required …

Go to article

Producing Multimedia Resources For Teaching Medical Students About The Social Context Of Medicine: A Partnership Approach, Tracey J Collett, Priska Schoenborn, Verity Campbell Barr, Fiona Dalton, Valerie Huggins, Oxana Poverjuc, Lynne Wyness Jan 2012

Producing Multimedia Resources For Teaching Medical Students About The Social Context Of Medicine: A Partnership Approach, Tracey J Collett, Priska Schoenborn, Verity Campbell Barr, Fiona Dalton, Valerie Huggins, Oxana Poverjuc, Lynne Wyness

Plymouth Institute of Education

The UK General Medical Council (GMC) requires medical school graduates to be able to apply social science principles to medical practice (1993, 2009). At the policy level it is recognised that understanding of the social context of medicine results in drastic improvements to health care, morbidity and mortality (see, for example, Russell, 2009) but many undergraduate students tend to see the social sciences as ‘nice to know’ rather than ‘need to know’ (Armstrong 1979, Bolman et al, 1995, Benbassett et al, 2003, Litvia and Peters, 2008). The emphasis on disciplinary integration (Harden, 2000) and pedagogic transition from didactic to ‘problem …

Go to article

The Application Of Writing As Method Of Inquiry And Pedagogic Practice: The Promotion And Enhancement Of Teaching, Learning, Research And Scholarly Activity Within A Framework Of Continuing Professional Development., Ken Gale, Rebecca Turner, Liz Mckenzie, Andrew Edwards-Jones Jan 2012

The Application Of Writing As Method Of Inquiry And Pedagogic Practice: The Promotion And Enhancement Of Teaching, Learning, Research And Scholarly Activity Within A Framework Of Continuing Professional Development., Ken Gale, Rebecca Turner, Liz Mckenzie, Andrew Edwards-Jones

Plymouth Institute of Education

The project aimed to inquire into the application of different forms of writing as both method of inquiry and pedagogic practice. Therefore, the intended outcome of the project was measured in terms of the promotion and enhancement of teaching, learning, research and scholarly activity within a framework of continuing professional development. The focus group for the research activity will be HE in FE practitioners, who were identified as interested in undertaking scholarly professional development. The research considered: • How writing could be used as a method to inquire into learning; • How this could contribute to individual teaching practice and …

Go to article

An Investigation Of Mechanics Of Collagen And Fibril In Bone And Interactions In Swelling Clays: A Molecular And Multiscale Modeling Study, Shashindra Man Pradhan Jan 2012

An Investigation Of Mechanics Of Collagen And Fibril In Bone And Interactions In Swelling Clays: A Molecular And Multiscale Modeling Study, Shashindra Man Pradhan

Engineering

A fundamental study of the mechanics at the molecular scale and bridging it to the continuum level through multiscale modeling is the focus of this work. This work investigates how the material properties of nanoscale systems are influenced by the nonbonded interactions and molecular conformations. The molecular model is then bridged with the finite element model to link mechanics at nanoscale with the continuum scale. This work provides an unprecedented insight into how the interactions at the molecular scale influence mechanical properties at higher scales. Two materials are considered for the molecular modeling study: bone and Na-montmorillonite swelling clay. Bone …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last