Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Intensive Speech Treatment For An Individual With Spastic Dysarthria Secondary To Stroke, Charlotte Purcell

Open Access Master's Theses

Objective: This study investigated the impact of an intensive speech treatment on listener-rated communication success and functional outcome measures of communication for an individual with spastic dysarthria secondary to stroke.

Method: A single-subject A-B-A-A experimental design was used to measure the effects of an intensive speech treatment that incorporated principles of motor learning to drive activity-dependent changes in neural plasticity. The primary dependent variables were listener-rated communication success (comprehensibility transcription in two conditions and listener perceptual ratings of speech and voice), and functional outcome measures as rated by the participant and his spouse. Secondary dependent variables included acoustic …

Three-Dimensional Model-Observation Intercomparison In The Loop Current Region, Kellen C. Rosburg

Open Access Master's Theses

Accurate high-resolution ocean models are required for hurricane and oil spill pathway predictions, and to enhance the dynamical understanding of circulation dynamics. In order to investigate Loop Current dynamics, including eddy-shedding mechanisms and the forcing of deep flow in the Gulf of Mexico, a mapping array centered near 26°N 87°W was deployed from April 2009 through November 2011. The array provides a unique dataset for studying the Loop Current eddy cycle: it was centered in the region of Loop Current eddy formation/separation and during its 30-month deployment observed four Loop Current eddy events with measurements throughout the water column at …

Functional Site Based Protein Structure Analysis With Self-Organizing Maps, Seonjoo Lim

Open Access Master's Theses

The exponential growth of proteome databases has increased the demand for methodologies that can reveal the structural relationships between proteins. In general, large protein families need to be approached on several different levels in order to be fully understood. In such families, key characteristics and relationships are hidden under their sophisticated structures. While similarities in the primary sequences of two proteins give basic clues about their relationship, three-dimensional structural information provides crucial details needed for determining protein functionality.

As such, powerful and efficient computational analytic methods are becoming all the more essential. In the case of proteins, functionalities are most …

Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants (Pops) In The Western South Atlantic And Antarctic Biota, Erin Markham

Open Access Master's Theses

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are largely synthetically produced chemicals that are known to persist in the environment, bioaccumulate, have the potential to be transported long distances, and cause adverse effects. There are legacy POPs that have been around for decades and have either been banned or strictly regulated, but are still found in the environment; and there are emerging POPs that are either not yet or are very newly regulated. This research focuses on contributions to the global dataset of emerging POPs by investigating hydrophilic perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface waters and at depth of the Western South Atlantic; as …

Verification Of Ph Fluctuations In Narragansett Bay, Cathleen Turner

Open Access Master's Theses

In order to understand potential changes in pH driven by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, we first need to understand what controls pH and its variability in estuaries today. We measured total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature and salinity of samples taken hourly for 24 hours once a month at three sites in Narragansett Bay (2/2010 to 4/2011) to understand the controls on daily and seasonal pH variation: GSO, Greenwich Bay (GB), and Potter Cove (PC). We also measured in situ pH (pHe) and temperature every five minutes at the same sites and during the same time periods. Our calculations …

A Call For Bioregional Governance In Cascadia: Shaping An Ecological Identity In The Land Of Falling Waters, Molly D. Freed

Scripps Senior Theses

In recent years, as globalization has taken a toll on North Americans’ “sense of place,” there has been a swelling interest in the identification of bioregions: spaces delineated by their natural borders and shaped by the cultures that arise within them. Bioregionalism, the movement that arose from this scalar shift, emphasizes the “reinhabitation” of bioregions through a deep understanding and attachment between residents and their watershed and habitat. This thesis argues for a shift to bioregional-scale environmental governance in the Cascadian bioregion (the Pacific Northwest) via an interstate compact. Using the Great Lakes bioregion as a comparable case …

Gps Spoofing Detection Using Multiple Antennas And Individual Space Vehicle Pseudoranges, David S. Radin

Open Access Master's Theses

Spoofing is the common term used for describing the intentional broadcasting of false radio frequency signals intended to disrupt and mislead systems that depend on accurate position, navigation, and timing information provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS). Spoofing is an increasingly recognized threat which is garnering increased interest from researchers and users, both military and civilian.

This thesis presents a novel GPS spoof detection algorithm that exploits the geometric distribution of a horizontal array of GPS antenna-receivers and the geometric configuration of visible navigation satellites. Using a Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing formulation, a spatial correlation test is developed that can …

Queer Content In Science Fiction Allegory And Analogue: Is It In Disguise?, Anna C. Marburger

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis performs a textual analysis of two for-profit science fiction texts in which the authors implanted queer content: Bryan Singer's X-Men films and James Robert's Transformers comic series, "More Than Meets the Eye". The argument incorporates queer (referring to attraction and gender variance) media representation and western identity politics lenses into its critique.

By interrogating reality through the masquerade of an impossible universe, science fiction affects how subversive a text can be. When authors designate the natural and the unnatural in a strange universe, they designate what and who belongs in our society. Whatever they imagine has an effect …

Distribution Of Tephra From The 1650 Ad Submarine Eruption Of Kolumbo Volcano, Greece, Sarah A. Fuller

Open Access Master's Theses

Kolumbo submarine volcano, located 7 km northeast of Santorini in the Aegean Sea, last erupted in 1650 AD resulting in significant coastal destruction from tsunamis and about 70 fatalities on nearby Thera from gas discharge. Pyroclastic materials were reported as far south as Crete and as far northeast as Turkey. Tephra from the 1650 AD submarine eruption has been correlated in sediment box cores using a combination of mineralogy and major element composition of glass shards. The biotite-bearing rhyolite of Kolumbo can be readily discriminated from other silicic pyroclastics derived from the main Santorini complex. In general, the tephra deposits …

Modeling The Probability Of Mortgage Default Via Logistic Regression And Survival Analysis, Qingfen Zhang

Open Access Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis is to model and predict the probability of default (PD) for a mortgage portfolio. In order to achieve this goal, logistic regression and survival analysis methods are applied to a large dataset of mortgage portfolios recorded by one of the national banks. While logistic regression has been commonly used for modeling PD in the banking industry, survival analysis has not been explored extensively in the area. Here, survival analysis is offered as a competitive alternative to logistic regression.

The results of the final modeling for both methods show very similar fit in terms of the …

Linkages Between New England Dolphin Stranding Frequency And North Atlantic Oscillation Variability, Charles Thomas Harry Ii

Open Access Master's Theses

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a dominant climatic driver that influences hydrographic and ecological parameters at multiple spatial scales and several trophic levels. To date, linkages between NAO variability and dolphin strandings on a regional scale have not been investigated. Stranding records of short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) during 1990–2014 between Maine and New York were correlated against the winter NAO index at several time lags in order to explore the link between stranding variability and NAO. The stranding frequencies of the two species were positively correlated to one …

A Bayesian Zero-Inflated Generalized Growth Mixture Model For Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors, Si Yang

Open Access Master's Theses

Using longitudinal data to model change patterns of behaviors is a major interest in the field of developmental psychology and behavioral science. As het- erogeneity often exists in the population, researchers are more and more interested in a topological representation of the growth trajectories. That is, to identify distinct trajectories depending on their individual characteristics. Latent class models(LCM) are flexible methods of modeling unobserved heterogeneity in a population and it has been recently extended to analyzing longitudinal data. Latent class growth models(LCGM) assume individuals come from a finite number of latent classes and individuals share the same growth trajectory within …

Caving Into The Will Of The Masses?: Relics In Augustine's City Of God, Jessica Gadis

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines Augustine of Hippo's support of the cult of relics through the lens of Peter Brown's revision of the two-tiered model which was proposed in his 1981 book The Cult of Saints. More specifically, this thesis attempts to explain the introduction of saint's relics in the final book, book 22, of Augustine's magnum opus The City of God (De Civitate Dei). After providing proof of the theologian's opposition to the cult of relics in his youth, historical, biographical, and textual evidence is used to trace his later change of heart. This change in position is crystallized in …

Winter Vertical Distributions Of Antarctic Krill As Seen Through A New Stereo Camera System, Mary Kane

Open Access Master's Theses

A new stereo camera system, encompassing a Sonde, acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), and high-resolution-imaging cameras, was developed to improve our understanding of in situ Antarctic krill behaviors and distribution. Krill were observed on 18 deployments in 3 bays in the Western Antarctic Peninsula from May-June 2013. Observation conditions varied, including time of day, clear to stormy surface conditions, temperatures (-1.2ºC to 0.8ºC) and salinities (33.5ppt to 34.8ppt). Krill were observed in 61% of profiles. Krill distributions were found in two distinct profiles with regards to where highest abundances occurred: Type I profiles had maxima in the middle of the …

Complementary Control Allocation For Over-Actuated Depth Control In Underwater Vehicles, William Snyder

Open Access Master's Theses

Some underwater vehicles utilize multiple types of depth actuators to achieve depth control to take advantage of desirable properties of each actuator in different situations. The Lagrangian Float developed at URI uses both a piston style variable buoyancy system (VBS) and a thruster to achieve depth control. The purpose of this work is to develop a single control system to intelligently balance actuation between the thruster and VBS that takes advantage of the properties of each actuator. A three part state feedback controller was developed. The controller calculates a control force, uses a pair of complementary filters to allocate the …

Asymptotic Analysis Of A Magnetized Target Fusion Reactor, Michael R. Lindstrom

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Nonlinear conservation laws with moving boundaries often arise in applications such as gas dynamics and more recently in the context of nuclear fusion reactors. Gaining insight into the nature of solutions to such models and their dependence upon design parameters is often done numerically. We use formal asymptotics to study a model of a magnetized target fusion reactor for producing energy. We will asymptotically solve the compressible Euler equations with two free moving boundaries, with an algebraic coupling of fluid pressure at one of the free boundaries. The model consists of an intense pressure being imparted on the boundary of …

A Direct Demand Model Of Departure Time And Mode For Intercity Passenger Trips, Fatemeh Nazari, Seyedehsan Seyedabrishami, Amir Reza Mamdoohi

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Travel demand is well announced as a crucial component of transportation planning. This paper aims to develop a direct demand model, denoting a more acceptable abstraction of reality, for intercity passengers in daily work and leisure trips in Tehran province. The model utilizes combined estimation across the data source, collected in 2011, of travelers originating from the city of Tehran and heading toward two destination clusters: intra-province and inter-province. The paper sketches a way to predict simultaneous choice of departure time and travel mode under the influence of zonal (origin, destination, and residence), individual and household socio-demographic, and trip-related variables. …

Long Live Bohatch: Why A Law Firm Partner Can Be Expelled For Following The Rules Of Professional Conduct, David A. Grenardo

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reactive Nitrogen Species Emission Trends In Three Light-/Medium-Duty United States Fleets, Gary A. Bishop, Donald H. Stedman

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Repeated, fuel specific, emission measurements in Denver (2005/2013), Los Angeles (2008/2013) and Tulsa (2005/2013) provide long-term trends in on-road reactive nitrogen emissions from three light/medium duty U.S. fleets. Reductions in oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions ranged from 21% in Denver (5.6 ± 1.3 to 4.4 ± 0.2 gNO_x/kg of fuel) to 43% in Tulsa (4.4 ± 0.3 to 2.5 ± 0.1 gNOx/kg of fuel) since 2005 while decreases in fleet ammonia (NH₃) emissions ranged from no change in Denver (0.45 ± 0.09 to 0.44 ± 0.02 gNH₃/kg of fuel) since 2005 to …

Believe It Or Not: Examining The Case For Intuitive Logic And Effortful Beliefs, Stephanie Howarth

School of Psychology Theses

The overall objective of this thesis was to test the Default Interventionist (DI) account of belief-bias in human reasoning using the novel methodology introduced by Handley, Newstead & Trippas (2011). DI accounts focus on how our prior beliefs are the intuitive output that bias our reasoning process (Evans, 2006), whilst judgments based on logical validity require effortful processing. However, recent research has suggested that reasoning on the basis of beliefs may not be as fast and automatic as previous accounts claim. In order to investigate whether belief based judgments are resource demanding we instructed participants to reason on the basis …

A Review Of Probabilistic Methods Of Assessment Of Load Effects In Bridges, Eugene J. Obrien, F Schmidt, Donya Hajializadeh, X-Y Zhou, Bernard Enright, Colin C. Caprani, Simon Wilson, Emma Sheils

Articles

This paper reviews a range of statistical approaches to illustrate the influence of data quality and quantity on the probabilistic modelling of traffic load effects. It also aims to demonstrate the importance of long-run simulations in calculating characteristic traffic load effects. The popular methods of Peaks Over Threshold and Generalized Extreme Value are considered but also other methods including the Box-Cox approach, fitting to a Normal distribution and the Rice formula. For these five methods, curves are fitted to the tails of the daily maximum data. Bayesian Updating and Predictive Likelihood are also assessed, which require the entire data for …

Introducing New Engineering Students To Mechanical Concepts Through An “Energy Cube” Project, Shannon Chance, Micheal O'Flaherty, Fionnuala Farrell, Christopher Montague

Conference papers

The objective of this paper is to describe a problem based learning module, called the “Energy Cube”, offered by Dublin Institute of Technology that is designed to teach mechanical, building services and manufacturing engineering concepts to first year engineering students.

The Energy Cube project gives students hands-on experience in areas ranging from heat transfer, lighting and energy efficiency to industrial and product design. In the Energy Cube, students design and construct (using cardboard, clear plastic, and glue) a model of a building that admits as much daylight as possible while being energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing.

The students, working in …

Spatial Brightness, Horizontal Illuminance And Mean Room Surface Exitance In A Lighting Booth, James Duff, Kevin Kelly, C. Cuttle

Articles

This paper presents a pilot study that has investigated the suitability of mean room surface exitance as a predictor of spatial brightness and compared these results with how horizontal illuminance predicts spatial brightness under the same conditions. The experiment took a group of 26 participants and, using a scaled booth, exposed each participant to three levels of mean room surface exitance, each delivered with three different light distributions and three different surface reflectances, resulting in a total of 27 light scenes. Results demonstrated that, under the range of conditions to which participants were exposed, a systematic relationship existed between mean …

Topological Risk Mapping Of Runway Overruns: A Probabilistic Approach, Paolo Trucco, Massimiliano Ambroggi, Maria Chiara Leva

Articles

The paper presents a topological risk mapping for aircraft overruns. The proposed procedure is based on the study published in 2008 by Hall et al. (Analysis of aircraft overruns and undershoots for runway safety areas. Airport Cooperative Research Program. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board; 2008). In that study the authors performed an analysis of aircraft overruns and undershoots for runway safety areas proposing the ACRP hazard probability model. In the present study the model was integrated into a two-step Monte Carlo simulation procedure to assess the risk of overrun accidents and to provide a topological risk map for a specific …

Work Placement 1 Men's Health Forum In Ireland, Aisling Fenton

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Breath And Urine Alcohol Levels To Assess The Impact Of Lower Limits On New And Recently Qualified Drivers, Brian Murphy

Students Learning with Communities

The aim of this project was to increase awareness on the dangers associated with drink driving and how alcohol can impact on new and recently qualified drivers. To achieve this, volunteers were asked to complete a survey as well as supply breath and urine samples the morning after they had consumed alcohol. This approach was used to highlight to volunteers that it is still possible to be over the legal limit the day after consuming alcohol. The survey was used to test the knowledge of the volunteers on the rules of the road and how alcohol impairs drivers. This project …

Asymmetric Encryption For Wiretap Channels, Salah Yousif Radhi Al-Hassan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Since the definition of the wiretap channel by Wyner in 1975, there has been much research to investigate the communication security of this channel. This thesis presents some further investigations into the wiretap channel which improve the reliability of the communication security. The main results include the construction of best known equivocation codes which leads to an increase in the ambiguity of the wiretap channel by using different techniques based on syndrome coding. Best known codes (BKC) have been investigated, and two new design models which includes an inner code and outer code have been implemented. It is shown that …

Authentication Aura: A Cooperative And Distributed Approach To User Authentication On Mobile Devices, Christopher George Hocking

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

As information technology pervades our lives we have increasingly come to rely on these evermore sophisticated and ubiquitous items of equipment. Portability and the desire to be connected around the clock has driven the rapid growth in adoption of mobile devices that enable us to talk, message, tweet and inform at will, whilst providing a means to shop and administer bank accounts. These high value, high risk, desirable devices are increasingly the target of theft and improvement in their protection is actively sought by Governments and security agencies. Although forms of security are in place they are compromised by human …

Evaluating Hrd Programmes, Sue Mulhall

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Technology-Enhanced Learning: Towards Providing Supports For Phd Students And Researchers In Higher Education., Eileen O'Donnell, Liam O'Donnell

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.