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Enabling Others To Win In A Complex World: Maximizing Security Force Assistance Potential In The Regionally Aligned Brigade Combat Team, Liam P. Walsh Cpt (P)

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Beginning in 2013, the U.S. Army began an effort to “engage regionally and respond globally.” A central tenant of this strategy, building upon National strategic guidance, is the necessity to build partner capacity. Army units, through the regionally aligned forces concept, may find themselves conducting security force assistance (SFA) missions across the globe as a means to achieve these ways. However, after examining the Army’s SFA mission in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM from 2003-10, it becomes apparent that institutional and organizational shortcomings plagued the Army’s initial efforts in this critical aspect of the campaign. Many of these shortcomings remain in the …

Reforming U.S. Export Controls Reforms: Advancing U.S. Army Interests, Richard Weitz Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The U.S. defense export system needs further major reforms to reduce inefficiencies and weaknesses. Although the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) do help prevent potential foreign adversaries from using U.S. arms against the United States and its allies, the Regulations, as enforced, can weaken U.S. national security in other important ways. For example, by excessively impeding defense exports, the ITAR makes it more difficult for U.S. firms to sustain core U.S. defense technological and industrial advantages, decreases U.S. military interoperability with allies that purchase ITAR-free weapons from other sources, and generates other undesirable effects for the U.S. Army and …

Activation Of Microglia In The Rotenone Lymnaea Stagnalis Model Of Parkinson's Disease, Xiomara Galvan

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common irreversible neurodegenerative movement disorder affecting approximately ten million people worldwide. In the central nervous system (CNS), PD is known by the selective loss of Dopamine (DA) cells of the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although the disease has been very widely studied, the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. Several hypotheses have arisen as result of injury of the mitochondria, some experiments include microglia activation, microtubule damage, and reactive oxidative species, which all result in the death of DA cells. The theory of microglia activation upon inflammation was explored in this study. Using the …

A New American Fiction: Personal Essays, Observances, And Interviews, Daniel M. Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

This work consists of essays on the author’s personal development as a writer. It also contains reflections on the state of contemporary American and Mexican-American fiction. The author seeks to illustrate the relevance of certain writers affiliated with working-class fiction, a genre of contemporary American fiction that blends social, political, and aesthetic values into their novels and short stories.

Included in this work are also a number of conversations with writers of working-class fiction. In these conversations the author engages other writers in dialogue that further illuminates the author’s development of his creative identity as a cultural and literary writer.

3d Reconstruction Of Close Range Objects Using Free And Open Source Software And Raspberry Pi Technologies, Juan Lorenzo Monrreal

Theses and Dissertations

Existing 3D rendering open source software along with Raspberry Pi technology can be used to create an affordable method and workflow for time efficient, accurate and quality scans for 3D printing. The emergence of technology spurs a technological community working to progress in a collaborative effort. This brings a potential to the possibility of efficient and economical solutions to emerging problems, in this case, the ability to render three dimensional scans using free and open source software as well as Raspberry Pi technology. The focus of this paper will be divided into three different aspects including the background needed to …

The Competitive Environment Of Community Banking And The Potential Impact On Microenterprise Entrepreneurs' Access To Bank Financing, Robert D. Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 35 years, Great Depression era regulatory restrictions on the geographic area of operation and the scope of financial services banks can offer have change significantly. These changes fueled a surge of merger activity and resulted in a 70% decrease in the number of bank charters by 2015. Currently, community banks hold only 14% of bank assets in the US; nonetheless, they play an important role in the US economy because they continue to provide the majority of funding to small businesses. This study finds that over 83% of bank failures occurred in metropolitan areas despite the distribution …

Identifying Elements Of A Climate For Sustainability, Rosemond A. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability as an area of research is growing in importance not only among academicians, but practitioners as well. A 2010 Accenture study of 700 CEOs found that 93% identified sustainability as important to the long term future success of their organizations. Utilizing CEO sustainability statements Content Analysis was conducted to understand and identify those key elements necessary for a climate for sustainability. A climate for sustainability is one in which sustainability policies, practices, and procedures drive behaviors that are rewarded, supported, and expected within an organization.

Content analysis of CEO statements from organizations recognized for both their sustainability practices as …

De Vida, Regalos E Historias, Monica Skrzypinski

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a collection of short stories where the common denominator is women, and a compilation of sensual poems that are authored by the protagonists of each story. Stories and poems are intertwined based in the notion that every human being has a sensual and erotic side. The poems are not a reflection of the stories, but a reflection of the woman. This creative work is best defined as hybrid literature.

My True Father, David Rice

Theses and Dissertations

My True Father is novel about a Mexican American family in South Texas going through a divorce.

Mack Thomas: The Total Beat, James B. Welton

Theses and Dissertations

Mack Thomas enjoyed both an audience seat and a role in the Beat Generation. He lives the life that fits one of his mottos, “if at first you don’t succeed, quit”. Thomas was the author of two autobiographical novels Gumbo and The Total Beast, a jazz and literature columnist for Grove Press in the 1950s and 1960s. Thomas was also a jazz musician worthy to share the stage with Miles Davis, inventor, and entrepreneur among numerous other interests. His friendship with William S. Burroughs was forged by their Texas ties while they were neighbors living in Paris, France and offered …

I Never Left The Borderland, Rosa E. Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

I Never Left the Borderland is a memoir encouraged seven years ago. It was originally meant to be the story of a young girl and her experiences as a migrant student, but once the writing process got under way, the narrative began to evolve. It became a complicated account of how the protagonist, now an adult, felt she was experiencing an inexplicable second coming of age, wrestling with her roles as a wife, mother and scholar. The critical introduction focuses on her relationship with literature and how it kept her sane while she struggled with who she was and who …

Radiography Clinical Instructors' Perceptions Of The Transition From Technologist To Educator, Christina G. Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Radiologic technologists who transition into the role of clinical instructor are usually expert practitioners but may lack knowledge of best practices regarding student instruction and evaluation. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to investigate how CIs experience the transition from practitioner to educator and what knowledge or education of best practices of instruction and evaluation they bring to the position. This study consisted of interviews with radiography CIs from one associate degree radiography program in the southeastern part of the United States. While some CIs felt prepared to transition into the CI role, none of them had previously …

Borderplex Economic Outlook To 2017, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr.

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Essays On Managing Intuition For Strategic Option Generation, Tejpavan Singh Gandhok

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation comprises of two essays. The first essay seeks to examine the issue of 'slow' (i.e. gestation periods over hours, weeks and months) forms of intuition and their complex interactions with analytic thinking, especially in the context of breakthrough ideation/ complex problem solving. This exploratory study with qualitative observations with a small set of experienced practitioners supports the sparse academic literature in this area that managers do rely on long gestation forms of sub-conscious processing and that these forms of thinking manifest themselves in different forms with varying degrees of confidence and positive emotion/ affect (popularly referred to as …

Human Capital In The Human Resource Function: The Positioning And Impact Of The Chief Human Resource Officer, Richard Raymond Smith

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In recent years, interest in human capital as a strategic resource of the firm has created new streams of research oriented on the value of strategic human resource management, high performance work systems, and human capital as resource of the firm for competitive advantage. The Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) serves as the steward of human capital of the firm, yet little is known about the nature and impact of this critical role that is charged with building strategic advantage with the human capital resources of the firm. Over the past decade the CHRO has risen to take a prominent …

The Problem Of Masculinity For Male Health, Kieran Geary, Maurice Murphy

Dept. of Management & Enterprise Publications

Men’s health has historically received little attention in terms of consultation, planning, strategy development or project implementation, but in recent years there has been an increased focus on gender in the context of men’s health. Whilst in the past the focus on gender and health in Ireland has tended to be synonymous with women’s health, the significance of gendered health practices (particularly gendered patterns of help-seeking) have more recently come to the forefront in the context of men. Men’s reluctance to seek help and use health services is a concern across most Western cultures. Some commentary has suggested that men …

The 'War' In Russia's 'Hybrid Warfare', Andrew Monaghan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Will Army 2025 Be A Military Profession?, Don M. Snider

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Theory Of Mind Indexes The Broader Autism Phenotype In Siblings Of Children With Autism At School Age, Tawny Tsang, Kristen Gillepsie-Lynch, Ted Huntman

Publications and Research

Subclinical variants of the social-communicative challenges and rigidity that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are known as the broader autism phenotype (BAP). The BAP has been conceptualized categorically (as specific to a subset of relatives of individuals with ASD) and dimensionally (as continuously distributed within the general population). The current study examined the compatibility of these two approaches by assessing associations among autism symptoms and social-communicative skills in young school-age children with ASD, children who have a sibling with ASD, and children without a sibling with ASD. Autism symptomswere associated with reducedTheory ofMind (ToM), adaptive skills, cognitive empathy, and language …

Stella: A Python-Based Domain-Specific Language For Simulations, David Mohr

Computer Science ETDs

Stella is a domain-specific language that (1) has single thread performance competitive with low-level languages, (2) supports object-oriented programming (OOP) to properly structure the code, and (3) is very easy to use. Instead of prototyping in a high-level language and then rewriting in a lower-level language, Stella is embedded in Python, is transparently usable, retains some OOP features, compiles to machine code, and executes at speed similar to C. Stella's source code is compatible with Python, and allows easy integration of C libraries. Its features are focused on the needs of scientific simulations. Other projects to speed up Python focus …

Evolving Efficient Foraging Behavior In Biologically-Inspired Robot Swarms, Joshua Peter Hecker

Computer Science ETDs

Human beings are driven to explore distant new worlds as we seek to better understand our place in the Universe. Because of the inherent dangers of human spaceflight, we often send robots as surrogate explorers, controlled from millions of miles away by teams of capable rover drivers here on Earth. As technology continues to advance, scientists and engineers aspire to build low-cost, durable, fully autonomous rovers to succeed today's tele-operated extraplanetary explorers. Here we aim to advance this goal by designing and programming robots that can successfully navigate unknown and variable environments. We present a swarm robotics system that mimics …

Behavioral Assessment And Referral For Patients With Cardiovascular Disease, Sarah June Sadeghi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most frequent cause of death in the United States. CVD affects more than a third of the U.S. population translating to approximately $431.8 billion in direct and indirect costs (Rosamond et al., 2007 as cited in Hunter et al., 2009). Given the significant rates of mental health issues exhibited in cardiovascular patients coupled with the lack of standard screening practices of psychosocial risk factors implicated in cardiovascular disease, the introduction of adequate assessment and referrals to mental health providers could substantially benefit health outcomes of patients.

The aims of this project are to: 1) provide …

Executive Functioning Outcomes Among Self-Harming Adolescents Receiving Dbt-A, Alphonso A. Smith

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Changes in WM, GM, and neural activation in networks involving the PFC underlie the development of EFs during adolescence; however, adolescents with DSH have impaired EFs in the areas of inhibition, emotion regulation, shifting, and interpersonal functioning. DBT-A has been shown to be effective in treating these youth and the skills of mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and “walking the middle path” are suited to treat their impaired EFs. As such, this study examined EF changes in adolescents receiving DBT-A and discussed implications for treatment and brain-behavior relationships. Ninety-three adolescents from a 16-week DBT-A program for DSH were …

Soft-Sediment Deformation And Dune Collapse In The Navajo Sandstone, Colby Ford

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The Canyon Overlook Trail of Zion National Park follows an outcrop of Navajo Sandstone, which displays a uniquely well-exposed assemblage of features associated with failure of the lee face of a large eolian dune, and run-out over an expanse of interdune sediments downwind of that bedform. Exposed features include dramatic folds in the interdune succession and a stacked series of thrust sheets incorporating both interdune and overlying dune deposits. Thrust surfaces display consistent strikes, parallel to those of undeformed foresets, and incorporate zones of brittle failure and fluid deformation, including folds overturned in the direction of foreset dip. These features …

The Gaussian Approximation To Multiple-Access Interference In The Evaluation Of The Performance Of A Communication System With Convolutional Coding And Viterbi Decoding, Snigdhaswin Kar

All Theses

The standard Gaussian approximation is extended to the performance analysis of direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems using binary con-volutional coding, quaternary modulation with quaternary direct-sequence spreading and Viterbi decoding. Using the standard Gaussian approximation, the random variables mod-eling the multiple-access interference in the receiver statistics are replaced by an equivalent additive Gaussian noise term with the same variance as the actual multiple-access interfer-ence term. The Gaussian approximation is shown to result in an accurate approximation to the probability of code-word error at the receiver. The accuracy is demonstrated by compar-ing simulation results for the actual multiple-access system and a model …

"She Just Wanted To Get With An Athlete": The Effects Of Race And Status On The Public's Perception Of Guilt In Sexual Assault Cases, Katie Barnes

All Theses

This thesis explored the effects of race and athlete status on the public’s perceptions of guilt in sexual assault cases. It investigated how race and athlete status of a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman affected the perceived believability of the accuser and the perceived severity of the crime. It also explored the correlation between perceived guilt and rape myth acceptance. The results of this thesis did not directly support the hypotheses but hypothesis 4 was significant in suggesting that participants who gave any of the accused a lower guilt rating had higher levels of rape myth acceptance. The …

Scaled Synthetic Aperture Radar System Development, Ryan K. Green

Master's Theses

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems generate two dimensional images of a target area using RF energy as opposed to light waves used by cameras. When cloud cover or other optical obstructions prevent camera imaging over a target area, SAR can be substituted to generate high resolution images. Linear frequency modulated signals are transmitted and received while a moving imaging platform traverses a target area to develop high resolution images through modern digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. The motivation for this joint thesis project is to design and construct a scaled SAR system to support Cal Poly radar projects. Objectives include …

Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization Suite (Stops): Optimization Of Multiple Gravity Assist Spacecraft Trajectories Using Modern Optimization Techniques, Timothy J. Fitzgerald

Master's Theses

In trajectory optimization, a common objective is to minimize propellant mass via multiple gravity assist maneuvers (MGAs). Some computer programs have been developed to analyze MGA trajectories. One of these programs, Parallel Global Multiobjective Optimization (PaGMO), uses an interesting technique known as the Island Model Paradigm. This work provides the community with a MATLAB optimizer, STOpS, that utilizes this same Island Model Paradigm with five different optimization algorithms. STOpS allows optimization of a weighted combination of many parameters. This work contains a study on optimization algorithm performance and how each algorithm is affected by its available settings.

STOpS successfully found …

Sparse Aperture Speckle Interferometry Telescope Active Optics Control System, Matthew Clause

Master's Theses

A conventional large aperture telescope required for binary star research is typically cost prohibitive. A prototype active optics system was created and fitted to a telescope frame using relatively low cost components. The active optics system was capable of tipping, tilting, and elevating the mirrors to align reflected star light. The low cost mirror position actuators have a resolution of 31 nm, repeatable to within 16 nm. This is accurate enough to perform speckle analysis for the visible light spectrum. The mirrors used in testing were not supported with a whiffletree and produced trefoil-like aberrations which made phasing two mirrors …