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Technology And Wonder In Thirteenth-Century Iberia And Beyond, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

As the desire for affective experiences of the sacred increased in communities across Europe in the late Middle Ages, the Christian faithful crafted lifelike, mechanized figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints for use in religious festivals. Although each devotional culture evidences unique body/object relationships and meanings, in general animated ritual objects encouraged lay participation in the celebration of saints and the Passion by engaging the senses, and, consequently, an emotional sense of God. In this essay I investigate the ritual alliances between moveable, prop-like saints and their Iberian devotees, in particular the performative meanings that arose from encounters …

Quantifying Nutrient Cycling And Fate Within An Abandoned Feedlot And Adjacent Wetlands, Prosper Prosper Gbolo

Theses and Dissertations

Feedlot operations over the years have increased revenue and boosted economies of states and countries, but these operations have resulted in elevated concentrations of nutrients in soils, surface water, and groundwater. Feedlot operations generate large quantities of manure and other waste, which when not managed properly can result in environmental problems.

It is hypothesized that nitrogen can cause a short-term contamination of soils and groundwater beneath abandoned feedlots, but phosphorus can cause both short- and long term contamination, especially in well-drained carbonate and iron-rich soils associated with Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. It is also hypothesized that a spectral vegetation index …

Electron Donor Contributions To Denitrification In The Elk Valley Aquifer, North Dakota, Amanda M. Krieger

Theses and Dissertations

Six denitrification tracer tests were performed over eight and a half years in in situ mesocosms (ISMs) in the Elk Valley Aquifer (EVA) in east-central North Dakota. Groundwater samples were analyzed to determine how much nitrate was lost beyond that explained by dilution of the bromide tracer. Additional losses were attributed to denitrification. The denitrification rates varied from 0.10 to 0.23 mg N/L/day for the six tests. In general, the major electron donors for denitrification are organic carbon (OC), pyrite (FeS2), and ferrous iron silicate minerals. In the EVA tracer tests, increases in sulfate indicated that the oxidation of pyrite …

Essays On Financial Constraints, Export, And Entrepreneur Gender In Latin America, Maria Barulina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on financial constraints faced by firms in Latin America and the Caribbean and their financing patterns. Unique firm level survey data from World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) is leveraged for this study. The sample used in this research consists of over 22,000 firms from 31 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries for the period between 2006 and 2010.

First, this author empirically estimates the effect of financial constraints on a firm's export behavior in terms of probability to export and export intensity. The analysis shows that older, larger firms with a share of foreign ownership, and those …

An Intelligent System For High Resolution Radar Systems, Janette C. Briones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cognitive radio is a recent, novel approach that integrates machine perception software into wireless systems. The term cognitive radio was first used by Joe Mitola. The concept and the term cognitive radio quickly caught the attention and interest of many in the communications field. Cognitive radios are capable of making decisions and selecting or modifying the operating parameters of a radio. Given these capabilities, it is feasible to build a cognitive radar system as introduced by Simon Haykin in 2006. Cognitive radar, as described by Haykin, is an intelligent system that must be aware of its environment, uses prior knowledge, …

Smart Grids: A Paradigm Shift On Energy Generation And Distribution With The Emergence Of A New Energy Management Business Model, Jesus Alvaro Cardenas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An energy and environmental crisis will emerge throughout the world if we continue with our current practices of generation and distribution of electricity. A possible solution to this problem is based on the Smart grid concept, which is heavily influenced by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Although the electricity industry is mostly regulated, there are global models used as roadmaps for Smart Grids' implementation focusing on technologies and the basic generation-distribution-transmission model. This project aims to further enhance a business model for a future global deployment. It takes into consideration the many factors interacting in this energy provision process, based …

Mentor Preparation: A Qualitative Study Of Stem Master Teacher Professional Development, Heather Lynn Click-Cuellar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has required districts to staff all classrooms with highly qualified teachers. Yet, retaining certified teachers in the profession has been a national concern, especially among new teachers who leave at alarming rates within their first three years. This comes at a heavy cost to districts financially and in trying to maintain highly qualified status, but also to the continuity and effective education of students. Mentoring has been identified by many researchers as a plausible solution to reducing attrition rates for beginning teachers.

In this Dissertation, I conducted qualitative research to explore and …

Natural Selectivity Of Nickel And Vanadium In Crude Oil, Olienka P. De La O Fernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nickel and Vanadium have always been found in crude oil all around the world. The metal content is found mainly in porphyrin structures in the asphaltene fraction of the petroleum. In order to determine the reason for this natural preference, a set of experiments testing thermodynamics, kinetics, and other factors were performed. Candidate metalloporphyrins containing Vanadyl, Chromium, Iron, Nickel, Copper and Zinc were analyzed through chemical reactions characterized using Silica Column Chromatography, HPLC, MS and UV-Visible. Theoretical analysis of the stability of metalloporphyrins was conducted using DFT/NRLMOL for computational calculation. The analysis of all factors leads us to conclude that …

Computationally Efficient Representation Of Statistically Described Material Microstructure For Tractable Forming Simulations, Nicholas Landry

Honors Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this project is to reduce a large statistical distribution of metal microstructure orientations to a manageable distribution to be used in metal forming simulations. Microstructure sensitive simulations at the macro-scale are impractical, because with so many state variables associated with material microstructure data, these simulations are extremely computationally expensive.

The goal was to develop a framework to accurately model plastic material response while repre- senting the material microstructure in a more compact form, reducing 106 or more microstructure orientations to a significantly smaller statistical distribution of representative orientations. This will significantly increase the computational efficiency and make …

Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus Crinitus) Nest-Site Selection And Nesting Success In Tree Cavities, Karl E. Miller

Florida Field Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Optimized Integrated Software Package For Classification Of Small Airway Dysfunction Using Genetic Algorithms, Elias Estrada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Due to the similarity in the symptoms of respiratory disorders, an accurate diagnosis could be a difficult task. Regarding asthma as the main focus of this research, early detection of small airway impairment could represent a better opportunity for timely diagnosis. An integrated software package (ISP) based on the impulse oscillometry technique, has been developed to serve as an important tool for clinicians during classification of asthma severities on children [1]. The current version of the ISP was tested with data obtained during several years by Dr. Homer Nazeran and Dr. Michael Goldman from 110 Hispanic children [2], providing an …

Environmental Assessment Of Used Motor Oil In The Ciudad Juarez-El Paso Area, Alma Leticia Figueroa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As a hazardous waste generated in large amounts worldwide, used motor oil (UMO) is an important issue for environmental science. UMO contains the carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Unless properly managed and disposed of PAHs remain in the environment, principally in sediments and soil. From such environmental sinks, PAHs can migrate to watersheds contaminate drinking water, and damage ecosystems and human health.

Generators of used oil include "businesses that handle used oil through commercial or industrial operations or from the maintenance of vehicles and equipment," (United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2013). An example of such a …

Why Ricker Wavelets Are Successful In Processing Seismic Data: Towards A Theoretical Explanation, Afshin Gholamy Salehabady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many engineering applications ranging from engineering seismology to petroleum engineering and civil engineering, processing seismic data plays a key role. In processing seismic data, it turns out to be very efficient to describe the signal's spectrum as a linear combination of Ricker wavelet spectra.

In this Thesis, we provide a possible theoretical explanation for this empirical efficiency. Specifically, signal propagation through several layers is discussed, and it is shown that the Ricker wavelet is the simplest non-trivial solution for the corresponding data processing problem, under the condition that the described properties of the approximation family are satisfied.

Gadolinia Doped Hafnia (Gd2o3- Hfo2) Thermal Barrier Coatings For Gas Turbine Applications, Satya Kiran Gullapalli

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Thermal efficiency of the gas turbines is influenced by the operating temperature of the hot gas path components. The material used for the hot gas path components can only withstand temperature up to a certain limit. Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) provide the additional thermal protection for these components and help the gas turbine achieve higher firing temperatures. Traditionally available yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs have a limitation up to 1200 C due to their phase transformation. The present work focuses on gadolinia based hafnia (GSH) TBCs to study their potential to replace the YSZ coatings. Different compositions of gadolinia doped …

Characterizing Cryogenic Propellant Flow Behavior Through A Cavitating Venturi In Comparison To Alternative Flow Control Mechanisms, Marjorie Adele Ingle

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work detailed is an investigation of the use of a cavitating venturi as both a flow control and metering device. This was achieved through the combination of actual experimentation and numerical modeling of the fluid behavior of both liquid water and liquid methane as it passes through the test article designed, developed, and validated here within this study. The discharge coefficient of the cavitating venturi was determined through weigh flow calibration testing to determine an average mass flow rate. Turbine flow meter flow rate readings were used as a point of comparison and the discharge coefficient was computed. The …

Design Of Three Different Particle Size Distributions In Silver Paste Through Computer Simulation For Higher Electrical Conductivity, Kyungdeok Jang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the field of printed electronics technology, researchers have tried to print highly conductive electrodes with fine width and height in order to manufacture high performance devices.

The purpose of this research is to print particle monolayer silver patterns which have better electrical conductivity than existing ones. The key idea of this experiment is to analyze silver inks with different sized particles. Let us consider a particle monolayer pattern printed with silver ink consisting of mono-sized particles. Inside of the pattern, there are some vacant spaces between the particles, which can lead to low electrical conductivity and discontinuity of the …

An Optimization Of Neighbor Discovery In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Felipe Jovel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis aims to improve the performance of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) that use soft-state signaling for neighbor discovery, specifically OLSR. In particular, it uses simulations and previous work based on experiments conducted on a physical test bed to study the behavior of the neighbor-discovery algorithm used by OLSR to identify and explore ways to optimize the neighbor-discovery process. Candidate optimizations include the actual and relative settings of the refresh and expiry timers used by the algorithm.

Previous studies focused on understanding how the settings of the algorithms Hello Interval (δ) and TC Interval refresh timers affect network performance …

2014-2015 Graduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2014-2015 graduate catalog for Morehead State University.

Towards Analytical Techniques For Optimizing Knowledge Acquisition, Processing, Propagation, And Use In Cyberinfrastructure, Leonardo Octavio Lerma

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For many decades, there has been a continuous progress in science and engineering applications. A large part of this progress comes from the new knowledge that researchers acquire, propagate, and use. This new knowledge has revolutionized many aspects of our life, from driving to communications to shopping. Somewhat surprisingly, there is one area of human activity which is the least impacted by the modern technological progress: the very processes of acquiring, processing, and propagating information. When we decide where to place sensors, which algorithm to use for processing the data - we rely mostly on our own intuition and on …

2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2014-2015 undergraduate catalog for Morehead State University.

Experimental Investigation Of Syngas Flame Stability Using A Multi-Tube Fuel Injector In A High Pressure Combustor, Sergio Elzar Maldonado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over 92% of the coal consumed by power plants is used to generate electricity in the United States (U.S.). The U.S. has the world's largest recoverable reserves of coal, it is estimated that reserves of coal will last more than 200 years based in current production and demand levels. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants aim to reduce the amount of pollutants by gasifying coal and producing synThesis gas. SynThesis gas, also known as syngas, is a product of coal gasification and can be used in gas turbines for energy production. Syngas is primarily a mixture of hydrogen and …

Art And Hyperreality, Alfredo Martin-Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My Thesis pertains to philosophy of art. Its main purpose is a reconsideration of the notion of art as a response to claims stating the end of art, as in the case of the writings on hyperreality, stating that the transformation of reality, has resulted in a world that is permeated with a virtual reality that replaces traditional schemas for ways of living in the world, that valued the originality of art.

In the setting up of the subject, I will briefly mention descriptions of both reality and hyperreality, and the developments in art throughout the modern, and post modern …

Another Colonialist Tool?, Aaron Barlow

Publications and Research

"the student enrolled in an xMOOC, I believe, is in much the same position as both the student before the teaching machine and the colonized individual. She or he is forced to deal with foreign assumptions having little to do with the reality of the learner or the colonized."

Neighbor Discovery Message Hold Times For Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Joshua Lee Mccartney

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We present the results of an experimental study designed to understand the impact of neighbor discovery message hold times on network performance measures for a mobile ad hoc network. A physical testbed of pseudo-mobile nodes using the OLSR routing protocol was used for our experiments. We found statistically significant evidence to suggest that setting the neighbor discovery message hold times close to the neighbor discovery message interval time results in the best overall network performance.

Super Resolution Pump-Probe Microscopy With Point Spread Function Engineering, Farzaneh Mohajerani

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Since the last decade, new techniques have made optical microscopy break the diffraction barrier of resolution where all of them are based on molecular fluorescence. Among them, stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) has reached less than 25 nm resolution by engineering the point spread function. However, the existing obstacles associated with fluorescence tagging makes it desirable to achieve label-free imaging. Recently the pump-probe method has made it possible to obtain image contrast from molecular absorption and vibration signatures that do not depend on fluorescence. We introduce Super Resolution Pump-Probe Microscopy (SRPPM), in which we combine both PSF engineering method and …

An Exploration Of Self-Management Support In The Context Of Palliative Nursing: A Modified Concept Analysis, Bridget Johnson, Liz Rogerson, Jurate Macijauskiene, Aurelija Blaževičienė, Patricia Cholewka

Publications and Research

Background
The role of self-management is often ambiguous, yet, it is an important area in clinical practice for palliative nurses. A clear conceptual understanding, however, of what it represents is lacking.

Method
This paper reports an analysis of the concept of self-management support in palliative nursing. Avant and Walker's method was used to guide this concept analysis. A search of electronic databases (1990–2013), use of internet search engines and supplementary hand searching produced an international data set of reviews, empirical research, editorials, protocols and guidelines.

Results
Based on the analysis self-management support in palliative nursing has been defined as assessing, …

Fabrication Of A Nickel-Based Superalloy In Electron Beam Melting And Process Improvements Using Thermal Feedback From A Multi-Wavelength Pyrometer, Jonathan Minjares

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this research was to fabricate parts composed of a nickel-based superalloy containing high levels of aluminum and titanium (NSAT) by using electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing (AM) technology and utilizing thermal feedback from a multi-wavelength pyrometer to perform process improvements leading to near defect-free parts. EBM is an AM technology that utilizes metal powder to fabricate parts in layer-by-layer manner. A multi-wavelength pyrometer was implemented in an Arcam S12 (Arcam AB, Sweden) EBM system to observe and record surface temperatures throughout fabrication. Temperature data from the EBM system and the multi-wavelength pyrometer were graphed using MATLAB …

Design And Evaluation Of A High Temperature/Pressure Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Direct Tubular Receiver For Concentrating Solar Power Applications, Jesus Daniel Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work focuses on the development of a solar power thermal receiver for a supercritical-carbon dioxide (sCO2), Brayton power-cycle to produce ~1 MWe. Closed-loop sCO2 Brayton cycles are being evaluated in combination with concentrating solar power to provide higher thermal-to-electric conversion efficiencies relative to conventional steam Rankine cycles. High temperatures (923 - 973 K) and pressures (20 - 25 MPa) are required in the solar receiver to achieve thermal efficiencies of ~50%, making concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies a competitive alternative to current power generation methods. In this study, the CSP receiver is required to achieve an outlet temperature of …

Views From A Community College On The U.S.- Mexico Border: Mexican/Mexican-American Postsecondary Students' Perceptions Of K-16 Mathematics Education, Carlos Ruben Paez Paez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate Mexican/Mexican-American postsecondary students' perceptions and experiences of mathematics instruction in U.S. formal education (K-16). Framed by critical race theory and using a grounded theory approach, this inquiry was conceptualized within the framework of the literature on academic disparities in achievement in mathematics between Mexican American students and other student populations in U.S. schools, highlighting students' perceptions and student voice. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and surveys from five postsecondary students who voluntarily participated in the study. Data analysis used the constant comparative method, a key element of grounded theory methodology (Glaser, …

Design And Development Of Implantable And Remote Controlled Distraction Osteogenesis Device For Limb Lengthening Practice In Children, Mario Eduardo Rodriguez De La O

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent technology improvements have been positively affecting medical industry in recent years since procedures and equipment are more precise and reliable. Nevertheless, there are still surgical procedures and medical devices that not fully address specific needs according to medical experts. One of those necessities is focused on options available for children patients when subjected to a surgical procedure named distraction osteogenesis. In general, distraction osteogenesis is performed when skeletal deformities need to be corrected or when bone lengthening is required, typically a mechanism is utilized to elongate bone at a controlled rate. The existing osteodistraction methods for limb lengthening and …