Digital Commons Network^™

An Algorithm To Recognize Multi-Stable Behavior From An Ensemble Of Stochastic Simulation Runs, Eduardo Monzon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthetic biological designers are demanding tools to help with the design and verification process of new biological models. Some of the most common tools available aggregate multiple simulation results into one “clean” trajectory that hopefully is representative of the system’s behavior. However, for systems exhibiting multiple stable states, these techniques fail to show all the possible trajectories of the system. This work introduces a method capable of detecting the presence of more than one “typical” trajectory in a system, which can also be integrated with other available simulation tools.

Influence Of Mountain Pine Beetle On Fuels, Foliar Fuel Moisture Content, And Litter And Volatile Terpenes In Whitebark Pine, Chelsea Toone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) has caused extensive tree mortality in whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm) forests. Previous studies conducted in various conifer forests have shown that fine surface fuels are significantly altered during a bark beetle outbreak. Bark beetle activity in conifer stands has also been shown to alter foliar fuel moisture content and chemistry over the course of the bark beetle rotation.

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes to fine surface fuels, foliar fuel moisture and chemistry and litter chemistry in and under whitebark pine trees infested by mountain pine beetle. Fuels …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Water Resources And Corresponding Adaptation Strategies Of The Nam Ngum River Basin, Laos, Dumindu Lasitha Jayasekera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Nam Ngum River Basin (NNRB) in Laos has received attention of foreign investors due to high hydropower development potential and low per capita electricity consumption. The NNRB is rapidly developing due to its hydropower generation potentials while water demands will increase for agricultural and domestic purposes due to population increase and land-use changes. Water availability conditions will be affected with the increasing water demand and climate change may worsen the water availability conditions. Climate is often defined as the weather averaged over time whereas weather describes atmospheric conditions at a particular place and time in terms of air temperature, …

Alluvial Geochronology And Watershed Analysis Of The Golo River, Northeastern Corsica, France, Emilee M. Skyles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Golo River in Corsica, France, is a short, steep river (~95 km, 2706 m relief) in the Western Mediterranean with formerly glaciated headwaters. The small size and location of the Golo River make this system ideal for observing the influence of climate and sea-level change on river dynamics over the 100,000 years. A rapidly advancing dating technique, optically stimulated luminescence, was utilized to determine the timing of these river deposits on the coastal plain in order to frame them in the context of previous glacial and interglacial episodes. Climate fluctuations in the headwaters supplied the vast majority of sediment …

Alternative Steel Reinforcement In Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Walls, Daniel T. Pond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mechanically Stabilize Earth (MSE) is a method in which soil tensile strength and shear resistance is increased by using reinforcement. The traditional forms of reinforcement include bars, galvanized strips, welded wire mats or steel grids, and geosynthetics.
When steel is used as reinforcement in MSE walls, it gets corroded or decayed. Certain shapes of reinforcement will have less corrosion because less surface area is exposed. Pullout resistance is the ability to resist a tensile force. This can be affected by the design and shape of the steel. This study simulates different overburden depths or pressures for pullout resistance and evaluates …

Winter Waterbird Ecology On The Great Salt Lake, Utah, And Interactions With Commercial Harvest Of Brine Shrimp Cysts, Anthony J. Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Interactions among commercial fisheries and birds have been studied in open ocean ecosystems and at aquaculture facilities. On the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, USA, a commercial harvest of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) eggs (i.e. cysts) occurs annually during fall and winter. Coinciding with commercial harvest is the use of the GSL by millions of waterbirds which has the potential to result in conflict among industry and birds. The objectives of my research were to examine fall and winter ecology of birds using the GSL and interactions with the brine shrimp cyst harvest. I examined the influence of temperature and …

Evaluating The Smart Steps For Stepfamilies: Embrace The Journey Program, A Hierarchical Examination, Katie L. Reck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the past decade, relationship education has grown as a means of enhancing couple relations. This study examines the experiences of 2,828 ethnically diverse and low-income adults who participated in the Smart Steps for Stepfamilies: Embrace the Journey program, a 12-hour stepfamily education program. Self-report measures of relationship quality, couple commitment, and relationship instability were gathered prior to and immediately after the Smart Steps intervention as well as six weeks, six months, and one year post-program. Results suggest that stepfamily participants experienced increases in relationship quality; however, these increases reduced to near pre-program levels one year after the programs completion. …

Conventional And Catalytic Pyrolysis Of Pinyon Juniper Biomass, Bhuvanesh Kumar Yathavan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pinyon and juniper are invasive woody species which has occupied more than 47 million acres of land in Western United States. Pinyon juniper woodlands domination decreases the herbaceous vegetation, increase bare lands which in turn increases soil erosion and nutrition loss. Thus, The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has focused on harvesting these woody species to make room for herbaceous vegetation. The major application of harvested pinyon-juniper (PJ) is low value firewood. Thus, there is a need to develop new high value products from this woody biomass to reduce the cost of harvesting. In this study pyrolysis was carried …

Anxiety In Children With Williams Syndrome : Association With Negative Reactivity, Self-Regulation, And Sensory Modulation., Nicole A. Crawford-Zelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a submicroscopic deletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7q11.23 (Hillier et al., 2003). This genotype is associated with a characteristic set of phenotypic features including mild to moderate intellectual disability, a distinctive cognitive profile, facial dysmorphology, common personality traits, cardiovascular problems, and connective tissue disorders (Morris, 2010). In addition, behavioral difficulties such as anxiety symptoms (e.g., Leyfer, Woodruff-Borden, & Mervis, 2009), negative reactivity (e.g., Davies, Udwin, & Howlin, 1998), problems with self-regulation (e.g., Woodruff-Borden, Kistler, Henderson, Crawford, & Mervis, 2010), and sensory modulation difficulties (e.g., John & Mervis, 2010) are …

The Supreme Court, The Establishment Clause, And The First Amendment., William Lorigan 1976-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the faiths of select Founding Fathers, the religious context of their time, and six Supreme Court decisions concerning religion, to highlight the inconsistencies found within the Supreme Court's jurisprudence covering cases concerning religion. Through an examination of the religious practices of the Founding Fathers, it became evident that their views on religion, and how religion should be observed, were as diverse as they were. An examination of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence concerning religion reflects a very confusing and inconsistent application of the First Amendment, including the Court's inability to formulate a test that can be consistently applied …

Success On Their Own Terms : Youths' Perspectives On What It Means To Be Successful In Foster Care., Justin Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Foster care is a fundamental component of the child welfare system. Traditionally, foster care has been viewed as the primary mechanism for caring for children placed outside of their home, and is considered one of the central intervention strategies for child welfare practitioners. Foster care services are regularly recommended for children who are abused and neglected. In 2011, there were an estimated 401,000 youths in foster care and approximately 646,000 youth were served by the foster care system. Yet, despite the importance of foster care to child welfare, social work literature in general, and child welfare literature specifically, is devoid …

Fighting For Success : The Use Of Resources By Ngos In The Anti-Human Trafficking Social Movement., Lisa Stapleton 1978-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an archival document analysis that will illustrate the importance of effective use of resources on the overall success of an anti-human trafficking organization. While there are multiple studies on resource mobilization and movements in general, little work has emerged regarding successful mobilization strategies in the anti-human trafficking movement. With my research, I pay particular attention to two groups and consider how their interactions with various resources influence their success. Comparing a more successful organization to a less successful organization provides the best assessment of a social movement and the process by which it meets its objectives. Results …

Geometric Modeling Of Non-Rigid 3d Shapes : Theory And Application To Object Recognition., Mostafa Abdelrahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the major goals of computer vision is the development of flexible and efficient methods for shape representation. This is true, especially for non-rigid 3D shapes where a great variety of shapes are produced as a result of deformations of a non-rigid object. Modeling these non-rigid shapes is a very challenging problem. Being able to analyze the properties of such shapes and describe their behavior is the key issue in research. Also, considering photometric features can play an important role in many shape analysis applications, such as shape matching and correspondence because it contains rich information about the visual …

Optimization Models For Resource Allocation Under Perturbation., Dongxue Bridgeman 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optimization Models for Resource allocation are investing in how to make the best use of available but limited resources in order to achieve the best results. In strategic planning, resource allocation is a plan for using available resources, especially in the near future, to achieve the goals of the future. It is a process of allocating resources during the entire planning horizon and among the various units. Resource allocation plans can be decided by using mathematical programming. In this dissertation, the research has been focused on how to allocate resources in the uncertain environment. The mathematical programming formulations for the …

Sagestep News, Fall 2013, No. 22, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

The Societal Acceptance Of Online Degrees In The Arab World: Evidence From Two Countries, Alaa Sadik

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the societal acceptance of degrees earned wholly online and to define the factors that affect the perceived value of these degrees in two Arab countries; Egypt and Oman. To achieve this purpose, a societal acceptance of online distance education degrees questionnaire was developed and administered online to a sample of 479 participants from different business sectors in Egypt and Oman. The responses to the rating scales and open-ended questions were organized, analyzed, and coded to address pattern of responses. Quantitative data and open-ended responses showed that the overall perception expressed by respondents …

Developing Normative Consensus: How The "International Scene" Reshapes The Debate Over Internal And External Criticism, Ericka L. Tucker

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

Can we ever justly critique the norms and practices of another culture? When activists or policy-makers decide that one culture’s traditional practice is harmful and needs to be eradicated, does it matter whether they are members of that culture? Given the history of imperialism, many argue that any critique of another culture’s practices must be internal. Others argue that we can appeal to a universal standard of human well-being to determine whether or not a particular practice is legitimate or whether it should be eradicated. In this paper, I use the FGC eradication campaigns of the 1980s to show that …

Measurement Of The Differential And Double-Differential Drell-Yan Cross Sections In Proton-Proton Collisions At S√ = 7 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, S. Chatrchyan, V. Khachatryan, Marc M. Baarmand, B. Dorney, Marcus Hohlmann, Himali Kalakhety, Francisco Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Measurements of the differential and double-differential Drell-Yan cross sections are presented using an integrated luminosity of 4.5 (4.8) fb⁻¹ in the dimuon (dielectron) channel of proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at s" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline; line-height: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; text-wrap: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">s√� = 7 TeV. The measured inclusive cross section in the Z-peak region (60–120 GeV) is σ(ℓℓ) = 986.4 ± 0.6 (stat.) ± 5.9 (exp. …

Measurement Of The Cross Section And Angular Correlations For Associated Production Of A Z Boson With B Hadrons In Pp Collisions At S√ = 7 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, S. Chatrchyan, V. Khachatryan, Marc M. Baarmand, B. Dorney, Marcus Hohlmann, Himali Kalakhety, Francisco Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A study of proton-proton collisions in which two b hadrons are produced in association with a Z boson is reported. The collisions were recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeVwith the CMS detector at the LHC, for an integrated luminosity of 5.2 fb⁻¹. The b hadrons are identified by means of displaced secondary vertices, without the use of reconstructed jets, permitting the study of b-hadron pair production at small angular separation. Differential cross sections are presented as a function of the angular separation of the b hadrons and the Z boson. In addition, inclusive measurements are presented. …

A Cost Model For Managing Producer And Consumer Risk In Availability Demonstration Testing., Randall L. Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation and demonstration of system performance against specified requirements is an essential element of risk reduction during the design, development, and production phases of a product lifecycle. Typical demonstration testing focuses on reliability and maintainability without consideration for availability. A practical reason considers the fact that demonstration testing for availability cannot be performed until very late in the product lifecycle when production representative units become available and system integration is completed. At this point, the requirement to field the system often takes priority over demonstration of availability performance. Without proper validation testing, the system can be fielded with reduced mission …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 40, No. 4 (December 2013)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

REDEFINING SOCIAL WELFARE: CONNECTIONS ACROSS SPECIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE: REDEFINING SOCIAL WELFARE: CONNECTIONS ACROSS SPECIES - Christina Risley-Curtiss
• HUMAN CONSEQUENCES OF ANIMAL EXPLOITATION: NEEDS FOR REDEFINING SOCIAL WELFARE - Atsuko Matsuoka and John Sorenson
• THE IMPACT OF COMPANION ANIMALS ON SOCIAL CAPITAL AND COMMUNITY VIOLENCE: SETTING RESEARCH, POLICY AND PROGRAM AGENDAS - Phil Arkow
• RELATIONAL ECOLOGY: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE HUMANANIMAL BOND - Jennifer M. Putney
• CHILDREN'S IDEAS ABOUT THE MORAL STANDING AND SOCIAL WELFARE OF NON-HUMAN SPECIES - Gail F Melson
• EXPANDING THE ECOLOGICAL LENS IN CHILD WELFARE PRACTICE TO INCLUDE OTHER …

Index Of Volume Xl, 2013

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Contents of Volume XL-2013

Privatization And Ethical Implications For Public Managers., Eric Dennison 1979-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis is an examination of privatization and the ethical implications for public managers. It begins with a historical overview of public administration, followed by discussion of the ethical concerns. Case studies show private companies have gained an upper hand in contract negotiations, and public managers have failed to keep the public trust by offering long term contracts that result in monopolies from closed or no bid contract systems. The thesis addresses ways to improve ethical decision making through better regulations and teaching. As privatization becomes a more viable way to pay for government services, the public administrator must maintain …

Face Recognition Using Statistical Adapted Local Binary Patterns., Abdallah Abd-Elghafar Mohamed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biometrics is the study of methods of recognizing humans based on their behavioral and physical characteristics or traits. Face recognition is one of the biometric modalities that received a great amount of attention from many researchers during the past few decades because of its potential applications in a variety of security domains. Face recognition however is not only concerned with recognizing human faces, but also with recognizing faces of non-biological entities or avatars. Fortunately, the need for secure and affordable virtual worlds is attracting the attention of many researchers who seek to find fast, automatic and reliable ways to identify …

Motor Protection Lab Experiment Using Sel-710, Ozro Corulli

Electrical Engineering

Advancements in microprocessor based relay technology for power protection applications provide quicker response times and new methods of mitigation. This project develops a lab experiment for Cal Poly class EE444 - Power Systems Laboratory based on the Schweitzer SEL-710 motor protection relay. Learning objectives for this lab include relay setup, programming, and protection schemes for the following conditions: undervoltage, loss of phase, fault, locked rotor, and thermal overload. Today, utility companies across the globe use SEL relays for primary system protection, putting engineers familiar with their operation in high demand.

Two Channel Audio Mixer, Dylan Kinney

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Artificial Neural Network Used For Short Term Wind Speed Prediction, Alexandra Lodge

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Performative Gender And Pop Fiction Females: "Emancipating" Byronic Heroines Through A Feminist Education, Joy Smith

Masters Theses

"I can be a regular bitch. Just try me." With this phrase emblazoned across her t-shirt, Lisbeth Salander, pierced, tattooed, and bedecked in leather, waltzes from the pages of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This woman who subverts authority, maliciously tattoos and sodomizes a man, and intentionally distances herself from close relationships of any kind has somehow managed to capture both the attention and admiration of the American audience. This disheartening phenomenon stems from a renewed interest in the Byronic heroine, a female possessing those traits traditionally assigned to Byronic heroes and men, and the rise of …

Are Supervisory Feedback Messages A Motivational Factor To Enhance Employee Retention?, Yang Yali

Masters Theses

Employee retention is one of most valuable resources in an organization. Feedback from supervisors provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal difficulty, improve job performance, and enhance job satisfaction. The present study is intended to investigate the role that supervisory feedback messages play in employee retention decisions. The participants took a three-session survey that aimed to examine their perception of supervisory feedback received through direction-giving messages, empathy-giving messages, and meaning-making messages, as well as the effect that each kind of message had on each participant's retention intent. The follow-up interviews were conducted to explore in-depth insights on the factors motivating …

"This Is Exactly Why We Sweep Things Under The Rug:" A Polite Approach To Abc's Modern Family, Andrea Fasciano

Masters Theses

The sitcom has remained a popular choice for television viewers since its inception. They have evolved in their methods of entertaining their audiences, often depicting unlikeable characters engaging in antisocial behaviors. This study examines one such sitcom, Modern Family, through the lens of Brown and Levinson's politeness theory, and related concepts contributed by other theorists. These theorists maintain that a primary motive behind any interaction is the presentation and maintenance of a chosen identity or "face." Those actions that fail to maintain face, for either participant are called "face-threatening acts." This study attempts to determine if the characters behave in …