Digital Commons Network^™

Pittsburg State University Annual Commencement, December 2013, Pittsburg State University

Commencement, 1903-Present

Program of undergraduate and graduate commencement exercises at Pittsburg State University on December of 2013

A Geographical Approach For Integrating Belief Networks And Geographic Information Sciences To Probabilistically Predict River Depth, Nathan Lee Hopper

Dissertations

Geography is, traditionally, a discipline dedicated to answering complex spatial questions. Although spatial statistical techniques, such as weighted regressions and weighted overlay analyses, are commonplace within geographical sciences, probabilistic reasoning, and uncertainty analyses are not typical. For example, belief networks are statistically robust and computationally powerful, but are not strongly integrated into geographic information systems. This is one of the reasons that belief networks have not been more widely utilized within the environmental sciences community. Geography’s traditional method of delivering information through maps provides a mechanism for conveying probabilities and uncertainties to decision makers in a clear, concise manner. This …

Interactive Wireless Sensor For Remote Trace Detection And Recognition Of Hazardous Gases, Audrey Lama

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The interactive wireless sensor detects many hazardous gases such as Hexane, Propane, Carbon monoxide and Hydrogen. These gases are highly toxic and used in different kinds of manufacturing industries, domestic purpose and so on. So, building a sensor that can detect this kind of gases can save the environment; prevent the potential for explosion, and endangering human life. In long term, interactive wireless sensor can also prevent the financial losses that might occur due to the hazardous incident that might occur due to these toxic gases.

Hexane is a colorless, strong gas which inhaled in significant amounts by a person …

Feasible Algorithms For Lattice And Directed Subspaces, Jennifer (Hamlyn) Del Valle, Vladik Kreinovich, Piotr Wojciechowski

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In some practical situations (e.g., in econometrics), it is important to check whether a given linear subspace of a space R^m with component-wise order is a lattice -- and if it is not, whether it is at least a directed ordered space. Because of the practical importance, it is desirable to have feasible algorithms for solving these problems -- which in Computer Science is usually interpreted as algorithms whose computation time does not exceed a polynomial of the length of the input. No such algorithms were previously known. In this paper, we present feasible algorithms for solving both problems.

Improvement Of Pedagogical Laboratory Based Learning: Multimedia Enhanced Instructional Methods, Sumbul Khan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In engineering technology and other scientific-based education, lab-based courses play a crucial role (Ma & Nickerson, 2006). Even though laboratory experience in student learning is crucial, it faces some problems. Due to insufficient laboratory conditions that lead to overcrowding and inability to view demonstrations, the effectiveness of hands on experience declines (Tiwari & Singh, 2011; Tuysuz, 2010). Considering the limitations that constrain lab experience, investigating and implementing alternatives to enhance pedagogical laboratory based learning becomes inevitable. This study investigates multimedia enhanced pedagogical teaching methods for delivering laboratory instruction to students. The purpose of this study was to improve pedagogical laboratory …

Spatial Analysis Of Fatal Automobile Crashes In Nashville, Tn, 2001-2011, Yan Chen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

With increasing levels of motor vehicle ownership, automobile crashes have become a serious public issue in the U.S. and around the world. Knowing when, where, and how traffic accidents happen is critical in order to ensure road safety and to plan for adequate road infrastructure. There is a rich body of literature pertaining to time-related fatal crashes, most of which focuses on non-spatial factors such as a driver’s visibility at night, drinking and drug use, and road conditions. These studies provide a theoretical basis for understanding the causes of crashes from a non-spatial perspective, and a number of traffic laws …

Sources Of Co2 Controlling The Carbonate Chemistry Of The Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Bruce Elliott Hatcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Logsdon River is a major, base-level stream within the Turnhole Bend Drainage basin of the Mammoth Cave System. The Logsdon River system has provided a unique opportunity to examine the geochemical evolution of a stream flowing through a major karst conduit that can be traversed for 10 km. This study examines CO₂ inputs at the upstream portion of the river, which provide major control for the river’s hydrochemistry. Samples were collected from the upstream portion of Logsdon River at what is referred to as the S-188 sump and also nearby at Crowbar Dome over the course of 44 weeks …

Eastern Deciduous Forest Phenology And Vegetative Vigor Trends From 2000 To 2013, Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky, Sean Taylor Hutchison

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Global climate change is predicted to affect environmental systems at the midlatitudes, but the scope, severity, and outcomes of these impacts are yet to be fully understood. This study focuses on the implications of short-term climate variability for forests in central Kentucky. Using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument data, the photosynthetic activity of vegetation at Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA) is tracked from 2000 to 2013. Three methods were employed to examine the changes and climate influences in vegetation over the study period: 1) aggregating the NDVI of the Park by year …

Molecular Level Interaction Of Human Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 (Hfgf-1) With Phloridzin, Rammohan Paripelly

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of growth factors which includes twenty three proteins. FGFs work as modulators for various cellular activities like mitosis, differentiation and survival. Among the FGF family, human fibroblast growth factor-1 (hFGF-1), which is also known as acidic fibroblast growth factor, is a potent angiogenic agent, involved in the formation of new blood vessels in various tissues. hFGF-1 is regarded as a prototype of the FGF family. It serves as one of the potential targets in tumor inhibition and obesity due to its involvement in new blood vessel formation in cancerous regions and adipose tissues. …

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

PISA is a survey that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, who are near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems. PISA in Brief summarises the results from the PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results.

53rd Conference On Senior Engineering Design, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 53rd Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on December 2, 2013 at the College of Engineering and applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The college sponsors the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

Towards A System For Controlling Client-Server Traffic In Virtual Worlds Using Sdn, Jason Anderson, Jim Martin

Publications

Scaling virtual worlds in the age of cloud computing is complicated by the problem of efficiently directing client-server traffic in the face of agile and dynamic compute resources. In this proposed model, Software Defined Networking and compact encoding of avatar data in packet headers are combined to make a fast, scalable, high capacity proxy server that can hide the server infrastructure while fitting well with the IaaS paradigm of modern cloud providers.

Extended Book Review: Mathematics In Popular Culture: Essays On Appearances In Film, Fiction, Games, Television And Other Media, Edited By Jessica K. Sklar And Elizabeth S. Sklar; Loving+Hating Mathematics: Challenging The Myths Of Mathematical Life, By Reuben Hersh And Vera John-Steiner; Mathematicians: An Outer View Of The Inner World, By Mariana Cook, Gizem Karaali

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

I was delighted to have the opportunity to review three books on a topic near and dear to my heart. In recent years it has become a passion of mine to think of and speak about the place of mathematics in the real world, in the world of those who are not doing mathematics for a living. I care about the applications and the implications of mathematics, but more than that, I care about the feelings and the impressions attached to it. Often math anxiety or skepticism comes up; the latter may be due to how frequently others (mis)use statistics, …

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2013, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Uos : A Resource Rerouting Middleware For Ubiquitous Games, Fabricio N. Buzeto, Miriam A M Capretz, Carla D. Castanho, Ricardo P. Jacobi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) relies on the computation distributed over the environment to simplify the tasks performed by its users. A smart space is an instance of a ubiquitous environment, composed of a dynamic and heterogeneous set of devices that interact to support the execution of distributed smart applications. In this context, mobile devices provide new resources when they join the environment, which disappear when they leave it. This introduces the challenge of self-adaptation, in which smart applications may either include new resources as they become available or replace them when they become unavailable. Ubiquitous games combine ubicomp and computer game …

Operationalizing A Behavioral Finance Risk Model: A Theoretical And Empirical Framework, Rassoul Yazdipour, William P. Neace

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

To keep up with the rather fast-growing interest in the discipline of Behavioral Finance and Economics caused in part by the new realities of the post-200S world, and the realities prevailing over three decades before and leading up to that year- there is a discernible need for the production of new generations of testable and yet more realistic models and theories as guides for financial and economic decision makers everywhere. The present work is one such attempt in that direction. This writing first improves upon a recently developed, and real-life-inspired, Behavioral Finance Risk Model (Yazdipour, 2011) and then offers a …

The Long-Term Effects Of Childhood Malnutrition On Cognitive Development: The Case Of Famine In Ghana, Ampaabeng K. Samuel, Chih Ming Tan

Economics & Finance Faculty Publications

We examine the role of early childhood health in human capital accumulation. Using a unique data set from Ghana with comprehensive information on individual, family, community, school quality characteristics and a direct measure of intelligence together with test scores, we examine the long-term cognitive effects of the 1983 famine on survivors. We show that differences in intelligence test scores can be robustly explained by the differential impact of the famine in different parts of the country and the impacts are most severe for children under two years of age during the famine. We also account for model uncertainty by using …

A Solution Hiding In Plain Sight: Special Education And Better Outcomes For Students With Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Challenges, Yael Cannon, Michael J. Gregory, Julie Waterstone

Faculty Scholarship

This Article will contribute to the ongoing dialogue about special education and the IDEA in two ways. First, it will describe patterns that have emerged from our work with individual children and families that shed light on how common IDEA implementation failures increase the risk of poor outcomes for students with social, emotional and behavioral challenges. Critiques of the law and proposals to amend it should be grounded in an understanding of exactly how and why it is falling short of meeting its promise to these children. Our hope is that mapping the common implementation failures we have seen in …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 35, No. 3, Winter 2013, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

Deformations Associated With Rigid Algebras, M Gerstenhaber, Anthony Giaquinto

Mathematics and Statistics: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The deformations of an infinite dimensional algebra may be controlled not just by its own cohomology but by that of an associated diagram of algebras, since an infinite dimensional algebra may be absolutely rigid in the classical deformation theory for single algebras while depending essentially on some parameters. Two examples studied here, the function field of a sphere with four marked points and the first Weyl algebra, show, however, that the existence of these parameters may be made evident by the cohomology of a diagram (presheaf) of algebras constructed from the original. The Cohomology Comparison Theorem asserts, on the other …

Effects Of Autonomy-Supported Learning On Academic Achievement In Indiana Schools, Nicole L. Singer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Phonon Transport Analysis Of Semiconductor Nanocomposites Using Monte Carlo Simulations, Mayank Malladi

All Theses

Nanocomposites are composite materials which incorporate nanosized particles, platelets or fibers. The addition of nanosized phases into the bulk matrix can lead to significantly different material properties compared to their macrocomposite counterparts. For nanocomposites, thermal conductivity is one of the most important physical properties. Manipulation and control of thermal conductivity in nanocomposites have impacted a variety of applications. In particular, it has been shown that the phonon thermal conductivity can be reduced significantly in nanocomposites due to the increase in phonon interface scattering while the electrical conductivity can be maintained. This extraordinary property of nanocomposites has been used to enhance …

Sociallink: A Social Network Based Trust System For P2p File Sharing Systems, Fang Qi

All Theses

In peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems, many autonomous peers without preexisting trust relationships share files with each other. Due to their open environment and distributed structure, these systems are vulnerable to the significant impact from selfish and misbehaving nodes. Free-riding, whitewash, collusion and Sybil attacks are common and serious threats, which severely harm non-malicious users and degrade the system performance. Many trust systems were proposed for P2P file sharing systems to encourage cooperative behaviors and punish non-cooperative behaviors. However, querying reputation values usually generates latency and overhead for every user. To address this problem, a social network based trust system …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2013, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Soil Moisture

September Flooding in Colorado

Early October Blizzard

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Assessment Of The Predictive Reliability Of A Swat Flow Model And The Evaluation Of Runoff Generation And Bmp Effectiveness In A Shale-Gas Impacted Watershed Using A Modeling Approach, Kwasi Asante

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to ensure a harmonious harness of shale-gas resources while ensuring minimal damage to the environment, it is imperative that studies to conduct to inform various aspects of managing the environment. This includes the development of reliable hydrologic models to inform in decisions concerning water and the environment.

The first objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive reliability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model based on respective methods of LULC data classification and data type spatial resolution. Results showed that the high-resolution data classified with object-oriented image method does not provide any significant advantage …

Assessing Trichloromethane Formation And Control In Algal-Stimulated Waters Amended With Nitrogen And Phosphorus, Clinton Mash

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichments can stimulate algal growth in drinking water sources, which can cause increased production of disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors. However, the effect of systematic N and P enrichments on DBP formation and control has not been adequately studied. In this work, we enriched samples from a drinking water source - sampled on April 5, May 30, and August 19, 2013 - with N and P to stimulate algal growth at N:P ratios covering almost five orders of magnitude (0.2-4,429). To simulate DBP-precursor removal processes at drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), the samples were treated with …

Assessing The Impact Of Chlorine Residual On Trihalomethane And Haloacetonitrile Formation Under Chlorination And Chloramination Disinfection Regimes, Thien Duc Do

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation potential (FP) test can be used to indirectly measure the concentration of DBP precursors in natural waters, permitting assessment of various DBP-related treatment processes and control strategies. While these tests require a 7-day chlorine residual (CR) between 3-5 mg L^-1 as Cl², it is not well known if this recommended residual corresponds to the true DBPFP (i.e., the maximum concentrations) for trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs). In this study, THMs and HANs were quantified as a function of CR under three common disinfection regimes: (1) free chlorine at pH 7.0 (FC7), (2) …

Existence Of A Period-Two Solution In Linearizable Difference Equations, E. J. Janowski, M. R.S. Kulenović

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Consider the difference equation x n + 1 = f (x n,⋯ xn -k), n = 0, 1, ⋯ where k ∈ { 1, 2⋯ } and the initial conditions are real numbers. We investigate the existence and nonexistence of the minimal period-two solution of this equation when it can be rewritten as the nonautonomous linear equation xn +l = ∑ i = 1 - l k g i x n + i , n = 0, 1, ⋯ where l, k ∈ { 1, 2⋯ } and the functions g i: R k + l → R. We give …

Effects Of Direct Instruction Versus Reading First On Reading Comprehension Of Students In Southwest Arkansas, Judith A. Jenkins

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to add to the limited available research concerning the effectiveness of supplemental reading programs such as Reading First and Direct Instruction on reading achievement for students in elementary and middle grades. Particularly, in the first and third hypotheses, the independent variables were reading program (Direct Instruction versus Reading First) and ethnicity (Hispanic versus Non- Hispanic) on reading comprehension for third and eighth grade students. In the second and fourth hypotheses, the independent variables were reading program (Direct Instruction versus Reading First) and gender (male versus female) on reading comprehension for third and eighth students. …

A Social Dimensional Cyber Threat Model With Formal Concept Analysis And Fact-Proposition Inference, Anup Sharma, Robin Gandhi, Qiuming Zhu, William Mahoney, William Sousan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cyberspace has increasingly become a medium to express outrage, conduct protests, take revenge, spread opinions, and stir up issues. Many cyber attacks can be linked to current and historic events in the social, political, economic, and cultural (SPEC) dimensions of human conflicts in the physical world. These SPEC factors are often the root cause of many cyber attacks. Understanding the relationships between past and current SPEC events and cyber attacks can help understand and better prepare people for impending cyber attacks. The focus of this paper is to analyze these attacks in social dimensions and build a threat model based …