Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial Gaussian Markov Random Fields: Modelling, Applications And Efficient Computations, Yu Ryan Yue, Xiao-Feng Wang

Publications and Research

A powerful modelling tool for spatial data is the framework of Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs), which are discrete domain Gaussian random fields equipped with a Markov property. GMRFs allow us to combine the analytical results for the Gaussian distribution as well as Markov properties, thus allow for the development of computationally efficient algorithms. Here we briefly review popular spatial GMRFs, show how to construct them, and outline their recent developments and possible future work.

An African-Centered Approach To Land Education, Salvotore Engel-Dimauro, Karanja Keita Carroll

Publications and Research

Approaches to environmental education which are engaging with place and critical pedagogy have not yet broadly engaged with the African world and insights from Africana Studies and Geography. An African-centered approach facilitates people's reconnection to places and ecosystems in ways that do not reduce places to objects of conquest and things to be exploited for profitability and individual gain. Such an approach offers effective critiques of settler coloniser perspectives on the environment and deeper understandings of the relationship between worldview and ecologically sensitised education. Through examples from Africana Studies and Geography, this article provides an introduction to how an African-centered …

Climate, Humans Pose Consequences For Water, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Undergrads Inspired By Ability To Do Research, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Retiring Professor Leaves Environmental Legacy, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Economies And Cultures Can’T Be Separated, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Teaching Students To Overcome A Fear Of Math, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Racism, Sexism Problems For Women Of Color, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Relaxation Adaptive Memory Programming For The Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem, Robert Christopher-Lee Riley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) is one of the most intractable problems in operations research; it is NP-hard in the strong sense. Due to the hardness of the problem, exact solution methods can only tackle instances of relatively small size. For larger instances commonly found in real applications heuristic solution methods are necessary to find near-optimal solutions within acceptable computation time limits. In this study algorithms based on the relaxation adaptive memory programming (RAMP) method (Rego, 2005) are developed for the purpose of solving the RCPSP. The RAMP algorithms developed here combine mathematical relaxation, including Lagrangian relaxation and …

Raptorqp2p: Maximize The Performance Of P2p File Distribution With Raptorq Coding, Zeyang Su

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BitTorrent is the most popular Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing system widely used for distributing large files over the Internet. It has attracted extensive attentions from both network operators and researchers for investigating its deployment and performance. For example, recent studies have shown that under steady state, its rarest first scheme with the tit-for-tat mechanism can work very effectively and make BitTorrent near optimal for the generic file downloading process. However, in practice, the highly dynamic network environment, especially the notorious user churns prevalently existing in most peer-to-peer systems, can severely degrade the downloading performance. In this thesis, we first study …

The Pilot-Wave Perspective On Spin, Travis Norsen

Physics: Faculty Publications

The alternative pilot-wave theory of quantum phenomena—associated especially with Louis de Broglie, David Bohm, and John Bell—reproduces the statistical predictions of ordinary quantum mechanics but without recourse to special ad hoc axioms pertaining to measurement. That (and how) it does so is relatively straightforward to understand in the case of position measurements and, more generally, measurements, whose outcome is ultimately registered by the position of a pointer. Despite a widespread belief to the contrary among physicists, the theory can also account successfully for phenomena involving spin. The main goal of this paper is to explain how the pilot- wave theory’s …

Stability Of Force-Free Magnetospheres, Huan Yang, Fan Zhang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We analyze the dynamical evolution of a perturbed force-free magnetosphere of a rotating black hole, which is described by the Blandford-Znajek solution in the stationary limit. We find that the electromagnetic field perturbations can be classified into two categories: "trapped modes" and "traveling waves". The trapped modes are analogous to the vacuum (without plasma) electromagnetic quasinormal modes in rotating black hole spacetimes, but with different eigenfrequencies and wave functions, due to their coupling with the background electromagnetic field and current. The traveling waves propagate freely to infinity or the black hole horizon along specific null directions, and they are closely …

Electron Heating During Magnetic Reconnection: A Simulation Scaling Study, M. A. Shay, C. C. Haggerty, T. D. Phan, J. F. Drake, P. A. Cassak, P. Wu, M. Oieroset, M. Swisdak, K. Malakit

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Proposed Return Algorithm For Elastoplastic Constitutive Relations, David A. Cooper, David L. Littlefield

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 5: Numerical Methods; pp. 121-125

Semantics In Support Of Biodiversity Knowledge Discovery: An Introduction To The Biological Collections Ontology And Related Ontologies, Ramona L. Walls, John Deck, Robert Guralnick, Steve Baskauf, Reed Beaman, Stanley Blum, Shaun Bowers

Computer Science Faculty Scholarship

The study of biodiversity spans many disciplines and includes data pertaining to species distributions and abundances, genetic sequences, trait measurements, and ecological niches, complemented by information on collection and measurement protocols. A review of the current landscape of metadata standards and ontologies in biodiversity science suggests that existing standards such as the Darwin Core terminology are inadequate for describing biodiversity data in a semantically meaningful and computationally useful way. Existing ontologies, such as the Gene Ontology and others in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry library, provide a semantic structure but lack many of the necessary terms to …

From Piano Girl To Professional: The Changing Form Of Music Instruction At The Nashville Female Academy, Ward’S Seminary For Young Ladies, And The Ward-Belmont School, 1816-1920, Erica J. Rumbley

Theses and Dissertations--Music

During the nineteenth century middle and upper-class women in Nashville and the surrounding region occupied a clearly defined place within society, and their social and academic education was designed to prepare them for that place. Even as female education gradually became more progressive in the later nineteenth-century, its scope was still limited by gender roles and expectations. Parents wanted their daughters to learn proper social graces, and “ornamental” studies such as music, needlework, and painting were a large part of their education. As the nineteenth gave way to the early twentieth-century, the focus of women’s education began to shift, with …

The Effects Of A Cooperative Learning Environment On Preservice Elementary Teachers' Interest In And The Application Of Music Into Core Academic Subjects, John Okley Egger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cooperative learning on preservice elementary teachers’ interest in, and the application of music into, core academic subject lesson plans. Participants (N = 59) were preservice elementary teachers enrolled in four class sections of a music method course designed for elementary education majors at a large southern university. All members participating in the study were placed by section for eight weeks in one of two groups-an individualistic learning group or cooperative learning group.

During the first 6 weeks of the study, participants worked on the Music Integration Project. …

Edward Elgar’S Extended Tonal Procedures—An Inquiry Into Elgar’S Chromatic Realm, Higo Henrique Rodrigues

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This study aims to examine the ways in which English composer Edward Elgar (1857–1934) expanded common-practice tonality; it shows how Elgar employed harmonic structures and syntax in an innovative manner through specific extended-tonal techniques such as the use of chromatic-third relations (both harmonically and as a tonal plan), harmonic substitutions, and local ambiguous sonorities that at times lead to tonal ambiguity. The system that Elgar expanded upon has been called “Classical diatonic tonality”, which was extended when late nineteenth-century composers such as Elgar infused their music with chromaticism. Through an investigation of Elgar’s extended tonal techniques one can come to …

Resoling International Shoe, Donald L. Doernberg

Texas A&M Law Review

Something has got to give. The Supreme Court has retreated from more than seven decades of personal jurisdiction analysis. After Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, the Court’s jurisprudence of general jurisdiction looked like an M.C. Escher print. If read fast enough, it appeared to make sense. Closer examination reveals an intellectual structure as impossible as anything that Escher could have drawn. Then the Court made it worse in Daimler AG v. Bauman. The Court seemingly has begun a project to rein in what it now regards as states’ unreasonable (and therefore unconstitutional) assertions of general jurisdiction over corporations. …

The Choice Is Yours! Researchers Assign Subject Metadata To Their Own Materials In Institutional Repositories, Maira Bundza

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The Digital Commons platform for institutional repositories provides a three-tiered taxonomy of academic disciplines for each item submitted to the repository. Since faculty and departmental administrators across campuses are encouraged to submit materials to the institutional repository themselves, they must also assign disciplines or subject categories for their own work. The expandable drop-down menu of about 1,000 categories is easy to use, and facilitates the growth of the institutional repository and access to the materials through the Internet.

Domestic Wells, Paul Bossert, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

The domestic well statutes direct that the State Engineer “shall” issue a permit for certain types of temporary or low volume wells, including wells for household use. For the past fifty-five years, the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) has interpreted this to mean that such permits are granted with no evaluation, public notice, or hearing.

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement, Paul Bossert, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In November of 2010, the Congress passed the Claims Resolution Act and on December 8, President Obama signed it into law. Title V of the Claims Act, the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, settles the Pueblo portion of the Abeyta case and approves an agreement signed in 2006 by officials from Taos Pueblo, the State of New Mexico, and other interested water rights owners in the Taos area. The settlement act also helps resolve the non-Indian portion of Abeyta. The measure quantifies Taos Pueblo’s water rights and protects the interests of local acequias, the Town of Taos, and …

Water Trust Board, Joanne Hilton, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In 2001, the New Mexico legislature passed the Water Project Finance Act. The stated purpose of the Water Project Finance Act is to provide a financing mechanism to promote water use efficiency, water resource conservation and protection, and fair distribution and allocation of water to all users. The Water Trust Board was created in the Act. Its purpose is to: 1) oversee and administer the Water Trust Fund and Water Project Fund; 2) review and recommend funding for qualifying water projects to the legislature; and 3)pursue additional funding opportunities.

New Techniques To Analyse The Prediction Of Fuzzy Models, Florentin Smarandache, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy, K. Ilanthenral

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

For the first time authors have ventured to study, analyse and investigate the properties of the fuzzy models, the experts opinion and so on. Here the concept of merged Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps are carried out, which are based on merged graphs and merged matrices. This concept is better than the usual combined Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. Further by this new technique we are able to give equal importance to all the experts who work with the problem. Here the new concept of New Average Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps is defined and described. This new …

Some Properties Of The Harmonic Quadrilateral, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this article, we review some properties of the harmonic quadrilateral related to triangle simedians and to Apollonius circles.

Neutrosophic Principle Of Interconvertibility Matter-Energy Information, Florentin Smarandache, Stefan Vladutescu

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The research aims to reveal and prove the thesis of the neutral and convertibility relationship between constituent constructive elements of the universe: matter, energy and information. The approach perspective is a computationally-communicative neutrosophic one. We configure a coherent and cohesive ideation line. Matter, energy and information are fundamental elements of the world. Among them, there is an inextricable multiple, elastic and evolutionary connection. The elements are defined by the connections between them. Our hypothesis is that the relationship between matter, energy and information is a neutral one. This relationship is not required by the evidence. At this level, it does …

Impact Of Intelligent Transportation Systems On Parallel Hybrid Electric Heavy Duty Vehicles, Ahmed Shihab Ahmed Al-Samari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A hybrid electric vehicle uses multiple sources of energy that can be independently or all together used to propel the wheels. In the presented work, the vehicle propulsion controller (VPC) for a parallel heavy duty hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) model has been modified to manage the alternative power source in advance based on the forthcoming traffic information. The goal is to prepare the powertrain for the next power event by making more energy storage capacity to capture free energy via regenerative braking or store more energy for expected need. The method of preparation will be by managing the battery state …

Energy-Efficient Wireless Interconnect Design For Non-Destructive Testing (Ndt) Applications, Lokesh Avala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A method for non-destructive, wireless testing of integrated circuits(ICs) is presented in this thesis. This system is suitable for applications which require testing after the manufacturing of ICs. According to Moore's Law the number of transistors in an IC doubles every two years, the current probing equipment will also have to reduce its size accordingly which will be difficult after a certain point. The proposed system relies on near field communication in order to transfer data between probe and device under test. The probe and IC will include small antenna and a transceiver circuit. The antenna and the transceiver circuit …

Statistical Methods For Detection And Mitigation Of The Effect Of Different Types Of Cyber-Attacks And Inconsistencies In Electrical Design Parameters In A Real World Distribution System, Vivek Joshi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the present grid real time control systems are the energy management systems and distribution management systems that utilize measurements from real-time units (RTUs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). The SCADA systems are designed to operate on isolated, private networks without even basic security features which are now being migrated to modern IP-based communications providing near real time information from measuring and controlling units. To function "brain" (SCADA) properly "heart" (RTUs) should provide necessary response thereby creating a coupling which makes SCADA systems as targets for cyber-attacks to cripple either part of the electric transmission grid or fully …

Introduction To Animal- And Nature-Assisted Therapies: A Service-Learning Model For Rural Social Work, Laura J. Praglin, Linda L. Nebbe

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This teaching note details the teaching philosophy and practices of an innovative university service-learning course in nature- and animal-assisted therapies. The course took place at a wildlife rehabilitation center, and students engaged as counselors, putting academic theories into action by facilitating an “animal camp” for 25 at-risk children. The course represented a “best practice” in rural social work given its intensive focus upon social work’s ecological and person-in-environment perspectives; multidisciplinary, collaborative community-based partnerships; and evocation of a rural schoolhouse model.