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Oct. 4, 2012 Report

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December 2012 Full Issue

NASIG Newsletter

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Common Ownership And Equality Of Autonomy, Anna Di Robilant

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, common ownership has enjoyed unprecedented favour among policy-makers and citizens in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Conservation land trusts, affordable-housing co-operatives, community gardens, and neighborhood-managed parks are spreading throughout major cities. Normatively, these common-ownership regimes are seen as yielding a variety of benefits, such as a communitarian ethos in the efficient use of scarce resources, or greater freedom to interact and create in new ways. The design of common-ownership regimes, however, requires difficult trade-offs. Most importantly, successful achievement of the goals of common-ownership regimes requires the limitation of individual co-owners’ ability to freely use the common …

What Makes Finzi Finzi? The Convergence Of Style And Struggle In The Life Of Gerald Finzi And In His Set Before And After Summer, Op. 16, Trevor Dangerfield Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: to discuss the nationalistic characteristics in Gerald Finzi’s life and in his mature compositional style, and to discuss both the beliefs he held and the struggles he faced during his life, and how these themes are integrated into his work for voice and piano Before and after Summer, op. 16.

Before and after Summer was not conceived as a cycle, but its songs are tied together by similar poetic themes and emotional impact, so despite the fact they were composed as individual entities they form a coherent collection from beginning to end. …

Unnecessary Evil: An Examination Of Abu Ghraib Torture Photographs As Postcolonial Resistance Rhetoric, Patrick Gerhardt Richey

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the rhetorical nature of visual artifacts in a postcolonial context. In order to examine the nature of visual artifacts as a form of resistance against static ideologies and prevailing power structures, the author uses both media and cultural artifacts created in response to photographs taken of abused prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib Correctional Facility. The dissertation adds to scholarly knowledge of communication by addressing the intersections of iconographic visual communication and postcolonial resistance rhetoric. The dissertation provides a scholarly review of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, as well as of literature explicating …

The Relationship Between Perceptions Of School Climate And Student Achievement In Schools That Use Jostens' Renaissance Programs, Amy Yarborough Coyne

Dissertations

Each school has unique attributes and a personality that gives the school a distinct climate. Psychological qualities that schools possess might include trust, collaboration, cooperation, teaching attributes, expectations, community involvement, and engagement (Rhodes, Camic, Milburn, & Lowe, 2009). Given information regarding school climate, relationship needs, and motivation, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of teachers involved in change and improvement processes and to determine whether academic change was related to the use of programs such as Jostens’ Renaissance.

The participants of this study consisted of 242 faculty and staff from five public schools from three separate …

Understanding Corrosion Protection And Failure Through Model Polymers In Thin Films, Joshua Smith Hanna

Dissertations

When developing a model polymeric system to facilitate in the detection of molecular and microscopic events that preface macroscopic corrosive failure; a better understanding of how polymers can indicate corrosion was accomplished. Initially, the thought that molecular chain scission as a necessity for corrosion to occur had to be tested. Through the utilization of high molecular weight thermoplastic (HMWTP) model polymers, it was found that corrosion protection did not correlate to the quantity of weak bonds within an epoxy-amine polymer matrix. Therefore more sensitive methods of detecting corrosion had to be developed since changes within the polymer matrix did not …

Examining The Relationship Between Social Capital And Career Success Among Welfare To Work Participants In Louisiana, Dionne Marie Davis-Green

Dissertations

The study examined the relationship between social capital and career success among welfare to work participants in a Louisiana program from 2007 to 2009. Based on the high percentage who do not complete the Louisiana STEP program, outcomes from 2007 to 2009 suggest current STEP work activities may not prepare participants for career success and may neglect the development of social capital (e.g. networking skills). The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between social capital and the ability to produce social resources and social network benefits for the attainment of career success as perceived by welfare to …

Determining The Individual, Organizational, And Community Level Outcomes Of A Community Leadership Development Program As Perceived By The Program Alumni, Susan Johnston Bush

Dissertations

The need for community leaders is increasing while the supply of community leaders is decreasing, leaving a gap in community leadership. Community leadership development programs (CLDP) are the most common approach to leadership development, yet the effects of CLDPs are rarely determined. In order to sustain programs that develop potential community leaders, program outcomes at the individual, organizational, and community levels must be identified.

This exploratory, non-experimental quantitative study used Black’s (2006) Leadership Program Outcomes Measure (LPOM) to determine CLDP alumni’s perceptions of the individual, organizational, and community level outcomes associated with participation in the CLDP; to describe the socio-demographic …

Engineered, Harnessed, And Hijacked: Synthetic Uses For Cytoskeletal Systems, Brian S. Goodman, Nathan D. Derr, Samara L. Reck-Peterson

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Synthetic biology re-imagines existing biological systems by designing and constructing new biological parts, devices, and systems. In the arena of cytoskeleton-based transport, synthetic approaches are currently used in two broad ways. First, molecular motors are harnessed for non-physiological functions in cells. Second, transport systems are engineered in vitro to determine the biophysical rules that govern motility. These rules are then applied to synthetic nanotechnological systems. We review recent advances in both of these areas and conclude by discussing future directions in engineering the cytoskeleton and its motors for transport.

America Reads-Mississippi Future Teacher Corps: A Study Of Program Completers' Perception Of Factors Influencing The Decision To Become And Remain Classroom Teachers, Deborah Green Moore

Dissertations

Despite the number of programs in Mississippi that focus on developing and training teachers, the State continues to face a critical teacher shortage. This non-experimental, ex-post facto, quantitative study investigated the America Reads- Mississippi (ARM) Future Teacher Corps (FTC) program, an AmeriCorps program in Mississippi with a mission to improve the reading skills of students, encourage public awareness, support literacy, and help increase the number of certified teachers in Mississippi. FTC, a sub-corps of ARM, was created in 2007 to address teacher shortages through structured community education and teacher-specific training, with the goal of increasing the number of certified teachers …

African American Male Elementary Teachers' Perceptions On Factors That Influence Their Retention And Attrition: A Qualitative Study, Lemanski Chante' Walker

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and explore American male elementary teachers’ perceptions on factors that contribute to decisions to remain in or exit the teaching field, specifically elementary education. Ten African American male elementary teachers participated in the study. The theory from this study was the Motivation–Hygiene theory (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 2010). The study was conducted on the basis of Phenomenology with the use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1954). Research yielded African American males’ perceptions. Data were collected consisting of one on one interviews. The interview data were analyzed and collected using Colaizzi’s …

The Effectiveness Of A District-Wide Training Initiative On Determining Preparedness Of Educational Leaders In A Large, Southeastern Louisiana School System, Jeanne Bordelon Wagner

Dissertations

A nationwide shortage of qualified, experienced applicants to fill the roles of educational leaders has led to a hiring crisis among school districts across America. The diminishing pool of applicants, accompanied by a high turnover rate of practicing administrators and increasing accountability demands, has revealed the importance of recruitment and retention of educational leaders. As the roles of school administrators are constantly evolving and increasing in complexity, recruiting skillfully trained personnel proficient in all dimensions of school leadership is a catalyst for increasing student achievement and for reducing principal attrition rates. The purpose of this research was to reveal perceived …

An Examination Of Mississippi Public School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Their Professional Development Experiences In Raising Student Achievement, Daniel Martin Rushing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the elements needed to produce a high quality professional development program for teachers. The researcher sought to determine possible factors that had a significant relationship to Mississippi public school teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their professional development experiences in raising student achievement. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to identify possible inequities with professional development opportunities for teachers in Mississippi. It is the hope of the researcher to highlight the characteristics of effective professional learning defined by research that would kindle a desire in classroom teachers to advance their skill levels …

Uplift And Blame: Minority Parents In The Discourse Of Professional Educators, Katie Mitchell

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

This historical document analysis explores the professional discourse on minority parents in education during the Progressive (1900-1914), Post-Civil Rights/ESEA (1960-1974), and NCLB/Accountability Eras (1995-2009). Grounded theory was used to code and analyze 430 articles mentioning parents and/or home life from two peer-reviewed journals of education. Research questions asked which minority parents are of interest to educators in each era, how minority parenting roles are portrayed in the educational discourse, and why minority parents concern educators. Findings include a focus on immigrant parents in the Progressive Era and on African American and Hispanic parents in the Post-Civil Rights/ESEA and NCLB/Accountability Eras. …

Openline Newsletter, December 2012, Civil Service Council

OpenLine Newsletter

A monthly newsletter for Civil Service employees, Volume XXXVII, Number 6, December 2012.

Numerical Simulation Of Particle-Driven Gravity Currents, Sangdo An, Pierre Y. Julien, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Particle-driven gravity currents frequently occur in nature, for instance as turbidity currents in reservoirs. They are produced by the buoyant forces between fluids of different density and can introduce sediments and pollutants into water bodies. In this study, the propagation dynamics of gravity currents is investigated using the FLOW-3D computational fluid dynamics code. The performance of the numerical model using two different turbulence closure schemes namely the renormalization group (RNG) k-ε scheme in a Reynold-averaged Navier-Stokes framework (RANS) and the large-eddy simulation (LES) technique using the Smagorinsky scheme, were compared with laboratory experiments. The numerical simulations focus on two different …

Influencing Factors On The Dynamic Properties Of Organobentonites, Bate Bate, Susan Burns

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The dynamic responses of soils are important engineering properties, especially for soils with high organic contents, because these soils can underlie critical support structures such as highway bridges or levees. Consequently, the initial tangent shear modulus (Gmax), secant shear modulus ratio (G/Gmax), and damping ratio (D) are important parameters in evaluating the dynamic soil behavior for soils subjected to earthquake, wind, waves, traffic, and equipment vibration. in this study, these dynamic properties of organ bentonites were quantified experimentally using resonant column tests. the results from this study were evaluated in terms of the effect of shear strain, organic content, and …

Effect Of Scc Mixture Composition On Thixotropy And Formwork Pressure, A. F. Omran, Kamal H. Khayat, Y. M. Elaguab

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High lateral pressure exerted on formwork systems by self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is one of the hindrances for using such highly flowable concrete in cast-in-place applications. Self-consolidating concrete is a complex system that can be made using a wide range of mixture proportioning and often incorporated various chemical admixtures and supplementary cementitious materials. the investigation of the effect of each material ingredient independently on lateral pressure of SCC is not a simple task. in this study, thixotropy is rather used to assess the effect of various mixture parameters on formwork pressure. Thixotropy is determined by the evaluation of the structural buildup …

Accurate And Efficient Computation Of Power Plane Pair Inductance, Liang Li, Albert E. Ruehli, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The computation of the power-plane inductance for multiple ports is an important part of the PDN design. in this paper, we present an efficient approach for the inductance computation. Since this PEEC approach is based on partial inductance computations, vias and other discontinuities can accurately be taken into account. Speed-up techniques are employed like the faster decay of the coupling due to the symmetry, sparsification and simplification of the partial mutual inductance evaluation. Also, an approximate rectangular mesh reduction method is introduced which allows a local increase in mesh density. © 2012 IEEE.

A Low Complexity Algorithm For Linear Precoder Design With Finite Alphabet Inputs, Mingxi Wang, Yahong Rosa Zheng, Chengshan Xiao, Weiliang Zeng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A low complexity precoding method is proposed for practical multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. based on the two-step optimal precoder design algorithm that maximizes the lower bound of the mutual information with finite-alphabet inputs, the proposed method simplifies the precoder design by fixing the right singular vectors of the precoder matrix to be the modulation diversity matrix, eliminating the iterative optimization between the two steps, and discretizing the search space of the power allocation vector. the modulation diversity matrices are designed for different modulations, which outperform the existing maximum diversity for BPSK and 8PSK inputs. for a 4x4 channel, the computational …

Linear Mimo Precoding In Multi-Antenna Wiretap Channels For Finite-Alphabet Data, Yongpeng Wu, Chengshan Xiao, Zhi Ding, Xiqi Gao, Shi Jin

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we investigate the secrecy rate of finite alphabet communications over multiple-input, multiple-output, multiple-antenna eavesdropper (MIMOME) systems. Traditional precoder designs at the transmitter for achieving secrecy capacity (maximum secrecy rate) for MIMOME systems are developed according to the assumption of Gaussian input signals. Such designs may risk substantial secrecy rate loss when Gaussian inputs are replaced by practical finite alphabet inputs. to address this issue, we propose a linear precoding design to directly maximize the secrecy rate for MIMOME systems under the constraint of finite alphabet input. Exploiting convex optimization and matrix calculus, we present necessary conditions required …

Linear Precoding Of Finite Alphabet Signals In Multi-Antenna Broadcast Channels, Yongpeng Wu, Mingxi Wang, Chengshan Xiao, Zhi Ding, Xiqi Gao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We investigate the design of linear transmit precoding for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channels (BC) with finite alphabet input signals. We derive an explicit expression for the achievable rate region of the MIMO BC with discrete constellation inputs, which is generally applicable to cases involving arbitrary user number and arbitrary antenna configurations. for the case where all the users employ the same modulation scheme, we further present a weighted sum rate upper-bound of the MIMO BC with identical transmit precoding matrices. the resulting bound demonstrates a serious performance loss due to multi-user interference for MIMO BC with finite alphabet inputs …

Omphalocoele, Ten Years Experience At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Anila Haroon, Akhtar Amin Memon, Rehan Ali

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Omphalocoele is a rare congenital anterior abdominal wall defect. We present 12 cases of Omphalocoele seen in our hospital. Further, we have discussed the clinical presentation, antenatal diagnosis, associated abnormalities and final outcome of the cases.

On The Diversity Gain Region Of The Z-Interference Channels, Mohamed S. Nafea, Karim G. Seddik, Mohammed Nafie, Hesham El Gamal

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, we analyze the diversity gain region (DGR) of the single-antenna Rayleigh fading Z-Interference channel (ZIC). More specifically, we characterize the achievable DGR of the fixed-power split Han-Kobayashi (HK) approach under these assumptions. Our characterization comes in a closed form and demonstrates that the HK scheme with only a common message is a singular case, which achieves the best DGR among all HK schemes for certain multiplexing gains. Finally, we show that generalized time sharing, with variable rate and power assignments for the common and private messages, does not improve the achievable DGR. © 2012 IEEE.

Features For Automated Tongue Image Shape Classification, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, Ratchadaporn Kanawong, Dong Xu, Shao Li, Ye Duan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Inspection of the tongue is a key component in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese medical practitioners diagnose the health status of a patient based on observation of the color, shape, and texture characteristics of the tongue. The condition of the tongue can objectively reflect the presence of certain diseases and aid in the differentiation of syndromes, prognosis of disease and establishment of treatment methods. Tongue shape is a very important feature in tongue diagnosis. A different tongue shape other than ellipse could indicate presence of certain pathologies. In this paper, we propose a novel set of features, based on shape geometry …

Research Briefs: Special Educators And Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior: Self-Injury Training, Exposure And Self-Efficacy, Georgia Southern University

College of Education: News & Publications (2003-2023)

• Special Educators and Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior: Self-Injury Training, Exposure and Self-Efficacy

Wide Area Monitoring Of Rotor Angle Based On Synchrophasor Measurements, P. K. Olulope, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, K. A. Folly

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The concept of phasor is designed for steady state and phasor measurement unit (PMU) is based on this concept. Measuring rotor angle therefore during transient has become a challenging task. This paper investigates the possibility of using data from PMU to estimate the internal variables of synchronous generator such as rotor angle of large power system during transient disturbance. the rotor angle is estimated from synchro phasor such as phasor voltage and current as well as their angles. the proposed method is implemented on IEEE 68 bus system. © 2012 IEEE.