Digital Commons Network^™

Decision Support System Data For Farmer Decision Making, Pornchai Taechatanasat, Leisa Armstrong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The capacity of farmers and agricultural scientists to be able to make in-season decisions is dependent on accurate climate, soil and plant data. This paper will provide a review of the types of environmental and crop data that can be collected by sensors which can used for decision support systems (DSS) or be further interrogated for real time data mining and analysis. This paper also presents a review of the data requirements for agricultural decision making by firstly reviewing decision support frameworks and agricultural DSSs, data acquisition, sensors for data acquisition and examples of data incorporation for agricultural DSSs.

Integrating Soil And Plant Tissue Tests And Using An Artificial Intelligence Method For Data Modelling Is Likely To Improve Decisions For In-Season Nitrogen Management, Andreas Neuhaus, Leisa Armstrong, Jinsong Leng, Dean Diepeveen, Geoff Anderson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper hypothesizes that there is value in combining soil, climate and plant tissue data to give more reliable advice on nitrogen top-ups in-season when compared with models that are currently available. The benefit of soil and climate data is to factor in N mineralisation and potential yield while plant test data is a more direct approach of yield estimates when considering firstly plant N uptake from the whole soil profile and secondly biomass (important yield component). Plant test data are closer to yield in time and space than soil test data, shortening the time period for any yield prognosis …

What Do Elevated Background Contaminant Concentrations Mean For Amd Risk Assessment And Management In Western Australia?, C. D. Mccullough, J. J Pearce

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Water quality contaminants include a range of naturally occurring chemicals that can cause degradation of aquatic ecosystem water values when concentration ranges exceed biological tolerances. Both acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) and acid sulfate soil (ASS) can increase contaminant concentrations through reduced pH and increased solute concentrations especially of toxic metals and metalloids. Water quality guideline criteria are typically used to maintain existing end use value objectives when managing AMD/ASS-affected waters. However, surface and ground waters of catchments comprising mining resources often show elevated solute concentrations in baseline conditions due to their unique geologies. From an AMD and ASS risk …

Numerical Study Of Lipid Translocation Driven By Nanoporation Due To Multiple High-Intensity, Ultrashort Electrical Pulses, Viswanadham Sridhara, Ravindra P. Joshi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The dynamical translocation of lipids from one leaflet to another due to membrane permeabilization driven by nanosecond, high-intensity (>100 kV/cm) electrical pulses has been probed. Our simulations show that lipid molecules can translocate by diffusion through water-filled nanopores which form following high voltage application. Our focus is on multiple pulsing, and such simulations are relevant to gauge the time duration over which nanopores might remain open, and facilitate continued lipid translocations and membrane transport. Our results are indicative of a N^1/2 scaling with pulse number for the pore radius. These results bode well for the use of pulse …

Plasma Processes And Polymers Special Issue On: Plasma And Cancer, Mounir Laroussi, Michael Keidar

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

During the last two decades, research efforts on the application of low temperature plasmas in biology and medicine have positioned nonequilibrium lowtemperature plasmas as a technology that has the potential of revolutionizing healthcare.[1,2] Low temperature plasmas can be applied in direct contact with living tissues to inactivate bacteria,[3] to disinfect wounds and accelerate wound healing,[4] and to induce damage in some cancer cells.[5–11]

Evaluations Of A Mechanistic Hypothesis For The Influence Of Extracellular Ions On Electroporation Due To High-Intensity, Nanosecond Pulsing, V. Sridhara, R. P. Joshi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of ions present in the extracellular medium on electroporation by high-intensity, short-duration pulsing is studied through molecular dynamic simulations. Our simulation results indicate that mobile ions in the medium might play a role in creating stronger local electric fields across membranes that then reinforce and strengthen electroporation. Much faster pore formation is predicted in higher conductivity media. However, the impact of extracellular conductivity on cellular inflows, which depend on transport processes such as electrophoresis, could be different as discussed here. Our simulation results also show that interactions between cations (Na+ in this case) and the carbonyl oxygen of …

Examining Childbirth-Related Trauma And Its Effect On Maternal Self-Efficacy And Appraisal Of Infant Temperament, Teresa B. Stire

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

It is estimated that 3--9% of women will meet full diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth, with another 20 to 40% being partially symptomatic for the disorder. While precedents and associated factors leading to childbirth related PTSD have been fairly well researched, the postpartum outcomes such as the mother's perception of herself in the parenting role, and her appraisal of her infant's temperament have been far less studied. Other psychiatric disorders have been linked to lower estimations of parental self efficacy and more negative views of infant temperament. This study examined childbirth related trauma and its effect …

Implications Of Dose‐Rounding Intravenous Chemotherapy At A Community‐Based Hospital, Wilbert Fuerte, Omi Gopalani, Judy Tseng

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Exploitation On An Overabundant Species: The Lesser Snow Goose Predicament, David N. Koons

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Invasive and overabundant species are an increasing threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning world-wide. As such, large amounts of money are spent each year on attempts to control them. These efforts can, however, be thwarted if exploitation is compensated demographically or if populations simply become too numerous for management to elicit an effective and rapid functional response.
2. We examined the influence of these mechanisms on cause-specific mortality in lesser snow geese using multistate capture–reencounter methods. The abundance and destructive foraging behaviours of snow geese have created a trophic cascade that reduces (sub-) Arctic plant, insect and avian biodiversity, bestowing them …

Ventral Tegmental Area Regulation Of Stress-Induced Reinstatement Of Cocaine-Seeking Behavior, Jordan Michael Blacktop

Dissertations (1934 -)

No FDA approved medications currently exist for the prevention of drug craving, drug seeking, and relapse to cocaine use. Stress is a major factor in causing relapse in cocaine dependent individuals. Cocaine use is positively correlated with stress-induced craving and relapse outcomes. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41-amino acid neuropeptide that plays an important role in the stress response and in the reinstatement rodent model of stress-induced relapse. CRF is released during stress in brain regions associated with the effects of drugs of abuse, notably the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This dissertation addresses key unknown mechanisms behind drug-induced neuroplasticity and …

Determination Of Correlations Induced By The Sense And Grappa Pmri Models With An Application To Mri Rf Coil Design, Iain Peter Bruce

Dissertations (1934 -)

Functional connectivity MRI is fast becoming a widely used non-invasive means of observing the connectivity between regions of the brain. In order to more accurately observe fluctuations in the blood oxygenation level of hemoglobin, parallel MRI reconstruction models such as SENSE and GRAPPA can be used to reduce data acquisition time, effectively increasing spatial and temporal resolution. However, the statistical implications of these models are not generally known or considered in the final analysis of the reconstructed data. In this dissertation, the non-biological correlations artificially induced by the SENSE and GRAPPA models are precisely quantified through the development of a …

Dangerous Knowledge? Morality And Moral Progress After Naturalism, Daniel Diederich Farmer

Dissertations (1934 -)

From the perspective of at least some of our valuing practices, the advance of the sciences can seem to constitute a threat. The question I take up in this dissertation is whether or not naturalism--understood as the picture of the world and of ourselves bequeathed to us by the sciences--should be understood as a threat to our moral practices, to moral living. On the account I defend, the knowledge we gain from empirical inquiry need not undermine moral living in toto, although a naturalistic mindset does raise some possibly dangerous questions for particular inherited moral norms and ideals.

In defense …

Early Termination And Barriers To Treatment In Parent And Child Therapy, Brittany Lynn Gresl

Dissertations (1934 -)

Young children typically experience challenging behaviors. However, 10-15% of young children experience clinical behaviors that can impact the child's typical development. These challenging behaviors are even more common in children from low-income, urban settings. If left untreated, such challenging behaviors may lead to more severe behaviors including aggression, violence, and anti-social behaviors. Research has demonstrated that participation in parent and child therapy (PCT) programs significantly reduces problematic child behaviors while increasing positive behaviors in both the child and the parent. However, PCT programs report rates of early termination as high as 70%. Research to reduce these early termination rates has …

Child Sexual Abuse, Attachment, Dating Behaviors, And Sexual Assault, Lucie Holmgreen

Dissertations (1934 -)

The current study used survey methodology to investigate the relationships among child sexual abuse, adult attachment, risky dating behaviors, and sexual assault. Specifically, it tested a model whereby attachment mediates a hypothesized relationship between child sexual abuse and risky dating behaviors, thus partially explaining sexual abuse survivors' risk of sexual assault (or revictimization). Results indicate that child sexual abuse relates to attachment anxiety but not to avoidance or the dating behaviors studied. While risky dating behaviors are associated with increased rates of sexual assault, most of them were not predicted by attachment. Attachment avoidance does relate, however, to some key …

Generation Of Diverse Molecular Complexity From Cyclooctatetraene, Mohamed Fawzy El Mansy

Dissertations (1934 -)

ABSTRACT

GENERATION OF DIVERSE MOLECULAR COMPLEXITY

FROM CYCLOOCTATETRAENE

Mohamed F. El Mansy, B.Sc, M.Sc.

Marquette University, 2014

The use of simple hydrocarbons as starting materials for the synthesis of complex molecules relies on efficient methods for oxidation, functionalization or rearrangement. For example, various researchers have explored cyclopentadiene or cycloheptatriene as precursors for the preparation of a wide variety of drug candidates, natural products and synthetic products. The purpose of this research is to explore methods to transform the simple hydrocarbon, cyclooctatetraene (COT) into complex target molecules.

Tricarbonyl (cyclooctatetraene)iron, readily prepared from COT, reacts with a variety of electrophiles to form …

A Feminist Perspective On Listening To Women: Birth Stories Of Vaginal Birth Following Previous Cesarean Delivery, Elizabeth Hill-Karbowski

Dissertations (1934 -)

Women's perspectives of their experiences are important, and worthy of study. However, there have been no qualitative comparative investigations of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) experiences of American women using their birth stories as data. Furthermore, there have been no studies where women's experiences of cesarean have been compared with their own subsequent VBAC.

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the comparative experience of VBAC and cesarean, valuing women and their experiences through the use of a feminist research perspective. By contributing new and valuable insight into an area of research that has been identified as …

Bioinformatics Systems And Mathematical Models For Improved Understanding Of Malaria Transmission, Control, And Elimination, Samson Sifael Kiware

Dissertations (1934 -)

The leading malaria vector control strategies (i.e., long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying) can reduce indoor transmission, but these tools alone are insufficient to eliminate it. Strategies that target adult mosquitoes when they feed on humans or animals outdoors or target mosquito immature stages are also needed to achieve malaria elimination. Improved data systems for integrating

diverse experimental observations and research groups, as well as process-explicit mathematical models for evaluating them are both essential to achieving these goals.

We have developed a generic schema and data repositories for the studies of malaria vectors that encompass a wide variety of …

Big Men On Campus: Administrative Response To Title Ix And The Development Of Women's Sports In The Big Ten Conference, 1972-1982, Jeffrey T. Ramsey

Dissertations (1934 -)

Signed into law in 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments was designed to eliminate gender discrimination throughout the American educational system. Title IX applied to all educational programs at any level of schooling including admissions, financial aid, academic programs, and social organizations. However, Title IX has primarily been associated with college sports. Since 1972, female participation in intercollegiate athletics has increased dramatically. Yet additional opportunities for

women in sports have not come easily. Significant battles between university leaders and the government about how this piece of legislation was to be enforced have persisted throughout the decades since passage of …

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide: Impact On Energy Homeostasis And Glutamate Signaling, Jon Resch

Dissertations (1934 -)

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a member of the secretin-glucagon superfamily of peptide hormones, with homology to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and activity at both the VIP receptors and the PACAP specific PAC1 receptor (PAC1R). Abundantly expressed in the hypothalamus, PACAP was recently discovered to regulate energy balance when central injections produced hypophagia and increased metabolic rate. However, the neurocircuitry mediating these effects in the hypothalamus are poorly understood.

To characterize how hypothalamic PACAP signaling affects energy homeostasis we microinjected PACAP site-specifically into the hypothalamic paraventricular (PVN) and ventromedial nuclei (VMN) and examined feeding behavior and metabolism. PACAP injected …

Gis Modeling Of Elk Habitat Suitability In The North Cascades Of Washington State, Anna Yost

All Master's Theses

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) elk management goals are to adjust the distribution of elk on the landscape in the North Cascades to reduce negative impacts to private property while maintaining a healthy population of elk in the area. The goal of this study was to use custom Geographic Information System (GIS) elk habitat suitability models to model baseline elk habitat suitability in the 8,600 km² North Cascades elk management area, and then evaluate how theoretical forage enhancement sites would affect habitat suitability. Prior to creating the baseline and proposed habitat suitability maps for the …

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …

2014 Fall Commencement, Georgia Southern University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Optimising Stem Education In Wa Schools, Mark Hackling, Karen Murcia, John West, Karen Anderson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a powerful and productive driving force for economic growth. A strong STEM education system provides the essential underpinning of an innovative and scientifically literate culture that: develops the capabilities for individuals to function effectively within a science and technology based society; provides an ever widening range of career opportunities; and, builds the productive capacity required to drive a prosperous economy and enhanced well-being in an increasingly competitive world. The STEM education pipeline begins in our schools, therefore there is widespread and deep concern about the unsatisfactory status of STEM education in …

How Well Does Multiple Ocr Error Correction Generalize?, William B. Lund, Eric K. Ringger, Daniel D. Walker

Faculty Publications

As the digitization of historical documents, such as newspapers, becomes more common, the need of the archive patron for accurate digital text from those documents increases. Building on our earlier work, the contributions of this paper are: 1. in demonstrating the applicability of novel methods for correcting optical character recognition (OCR) on disparate data sets, including a new synthetic training set, 2. enhancing the correction algorithm with novel features, and 3. assessing the data requirements of the correction learning method. First, we correct errors using conditional random fields (CRF) trained on synthetic training data sets in order to demonstrate the …

Explanations Of A Violent Relationship: The Male Perpetrator’S Perspective, Jason B. Whiting Phd, Timothy G. Parker, Austin W. Houghtaling

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to understand the way male perpetrators’ perceive and explain intimate partner violence (IPV) in their relationship. Specifically, men were invited to reflect upon their role in their relationship when violence exists, their contributions to the violence, and how they felt about it. Using coding procedures from grounded theory methodology, researchers analyzed data from 13 men who had been in violent relationships. Seven key themes were identified from 104 significant statements. These themes included justification, relapse, control, anger, emotional threshold, triggers, and remorse. Clinical implications as well as suggestions for future research are presented.

Eagle Executive Magazine, Georgia Southern University

College of Business: News & Publications

• From the Desk of Dean Amason
• Student Honored Posthumously at Spring Commencement
• LaunchSAVANNAH First Year Anniversary Celebration
• College News
• Georgia Southern hosts Belgian consul general
• Department News
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• Graduate Studies Update
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• 40 UNDER 40: 11 College of business alumni Honored
• Development News

Impact Of Paternal And Maternal Postpartum Depression On Infant Language Development: A Quasi Meta-Analysis, Kelsey Canada

Honors Projects

This paper presents a quasi meta-analysis of 16 different articles published between 2004 and 2014 examining the impact of maternal and paternal postpartum depression (hereafter PPD) on language development, specifically in infants up to 2 years old. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to adapt this methodology at the undergraduate level reducing the number of steps from 12 to 10. To achieve this goal, the author synthesized the results of the studies following selected themes of risk factors, synchrony and interaction patterns, meaning making, and connections within the family system. While significant results were reported throughout the studies, a presenting …

The Application Of Stochastic Processes In The Sciences: Using Markov Chains To Estimate Optimal Resource Allocation, Population Distribution, And Gene Inheritance, Nate Demaagd

Honors Projects

The consideration of quantitative data is often required to perform research in both the physical and social sciences and, as a result, researchers must at times include mathematical models in their studies in order to use the data in a meaningful way. The use of stochastic, or probabilistic, methods is particularly useful for those who are attempting to predict future phenomena; for example, an economist may wish to advise a corporation by forecasting long-term prices of the corporation's assets, and an ecologist may wish to predict the migration of animal populations between regions and its effect on local ecosystems. To …

Alternative Theologies Of Christianity: Influencing The Christian Church From Within, Paul Bratt

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Identifying Cognitive Dissonance In Religious Or Spiritual College Students: A Proposal To Act, Elizabeth Balboa

Honors Projects

For the most part, religion and academia maintain compatible views. A few instances of contradiction, though, may induce cognitive dissonance in students working to integrate the two. Such dissonance can result in a cognitive stalemate; the students cannot move forward in their faith or their discipline because they are unable to reconcile one with the other. In an effort to prevent the dissonance from affecting students’ academic performances, universities can offer the guidance of spiritual professors who have already reconciled their faith and discipline.