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2016

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Automated Launch And Recovery Of An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle From An Unmanned Surface Vessel, Edoardo I. Sarda Jan 2016

Automated Launch And Recovery Of An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle From An Unmanned Surface Vessel, Edoardo I. Sarda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Research on collaboration among unmanned platforms is essential to improve the applications for autonomous missions, by expanding the working environment of the robotic systems, and reducing the risks and the costs associated with conducting manned operations. This research is devoted to enable the collaboration between an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), by allowing the first one to launch and recover the second one. The objective of this dissertation is to identify possible methods to launch and recover a REMUS 100 AUV from a WAM-V 16 USV, thus developing this capability by designing and implementing a …

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Assessment Of Changes In Precipitation Data Characteristics Due To Infilling By Spatially Interpolated Estimates, Mohammad Hachmi Jan 2016

Assessment Of Changes In Precipitation Data Characteristics Due To Infilling By Spatially Interpolated Estimates, Mohammad Hachmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Spatial and temporal interpolation methods are commonly used methods for estimating missing precipitation rain gauge data based on values recorded at neighboring gauges. However, these interpolation methods have not been comprehensively checked for their ability to preserve time series characteristics. Assessing the preservation of time series characteristics helps achieving a threshold criteria of length of gaps in a data set that is acceptable to be filled. This study evaluates the efficacy of optimal weighting interpolation for estimation of missing data in preserving time series characteristics. Rain gauges in the state of Kentucky are used as a case study. Several model …

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Can Priming A Firm’S Organizational Identity Overcome The Influences Of National Culture On Auditor Judgment?, Michael Killey Jan 2016

Can Priming A Firm’S Organizational Identity Overcome The Influences Of National Culture On Auditor Judgment?, Michael Killey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A significant challenge faced by large auditing firms is offering consistent quality across the global network. Unfortunately, variation in judgments and decision-making, resulting from cultural differences, can undermine the provision of a uniform level of audit quality for these international firms. Previous research has determined that national culture influences an auditors’ professional judgments and decisions. Relying on Social Identity Theory, I explore whether inducing one’s organizational identification can both enhance auditor judgment and mitigate any deleterious impact that culture may have on the provision of a uniform level of audit quality. I also examine current cultural variations in auditor judgment …

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Between Rock Cairns And Charm Stones: An Examination Of Women’S Access To Healing Roles In California Hunter-Gatherer Groups, Ashley Hampton Jan 2016

Between Rock Cairns And Charm Stones: An Examination Of Women’S Access To Healing Roles In California Hunter-Gatherer Groups, Ashley Hampton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of previous theories concerning women’s access to roles of power within hunter-gatherer societies. This study examines how accurately immanent social identity theory and bifurcated role circumstantiality predict women’s access to the role of healer (shaman) within California hunter-gatherer groups. A sample of 27 California hunter-gatherer groups was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Notably, chi-square tests of independence evinced a correlation between men’s and women’s circumstantial labor and observed healer gender. Through the statistical verification of such engendered ideas, this study tests notions concerning the strict binary division of …

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Beyond Water Restrictions: Informing Effective Lawn Watering Behavior, Felicia D. Survis Jan 2016

Beyond Water Restrictions: Informing Effective Lawn Watering Behavior, Felicia D. Survis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Evaluating trends of historical rainfall on a weekly and seasonal basis is needed for optimizing the design and implementation of lawn water conservation strategies like outdoor water restrictions. While “day of the week” water restrictions are a typical strategy to limit the frequency and duration of urban lawn water use, they may not necessarily result in more conservative behaviors from end-users. Because weekly rainfall and local climate variables are seldom taken into account in water restriction strategies, they are not connected to actual lawn water demand. However, since lawn water demand is directly related to weekly rainfall totals, not to …

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Assessing Processes Of Connection And Development In Observations Of The Therapeutic Relationship, Robert R. Freund Jan 2016

Assessing Processes Of Connection And Development In Observations Of The Therapeutic Relationship, Robert R. Freund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The present study applies Driver and Gottman’s (2004a) Turning System to observations of the therapeutic relationship in a quasi-experimental between and within groups design. A sample of 63 full counseling sessions (21 first sessions with clients who return for four sessions, 21 first sessions for clients who terminate therapy prior to four sessions, and 21 fourth sessions) were collected from a university counseling center in South Florida. Clients and clinicians also completed self report evaluations of the therapeutic relationship that were also included in this study (Working Alliance Inventory – Short Form, and the Real Relationship Inventory). A series of …

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Cognitive Dissonance And Auditor Professional Skepticism, Ruwan K. Adikaram Jan 2016

Cognitive Dissonance And Auditor Professional Skepticism, Ruwan K. Adikaram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

I show that auditors experience cognitive dissonance when they fail to take appropriate professionally skeptical (hereafter PS) action in line with high PS judgment I specifically show that cognitive dissonance leads auditors to revise their attitudes on low ranking audit actions upward and lower their risk assessments, consequently, lower overall professional skepticism I also find that auditor cognitive dissonance leads to exaggerated ex-post auditor self-assessments professional skepticism Professional skepticism is fundamental to performing an audit according to auditing standards and critical to audit quality Extant research that investigates treatments to enhance professional skepticism predominantly treats both skeptical judgment and skeptical …

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Aspiring To A Higher Education: Students’ Perception Of Christian Campus Culture At Selected Christian, Kathryn A. Wolfe Jan 2016

Aspiring To A Higher Education: Students’ Perception Of Christian Campus Culture At Selected Christian, Kathryn A. Wolfe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This mixed methods research study explored students’ perceptions of Christian campus culture at three Christian institutions of higher education. The aim of this study was threefold: to comprehend why students want to obtain an education within a Christian campus culture; to understand students’ perceptions of and experiences with the Christian campus culture at their Christian university/college; and to decipher the presence of predominant characteristics of Christian campus culture at all three Christian institutions. Qualitative and quantitative data demonstrated that while many students attend their Christian institution due to personal conviction or their Christian identity, other students attend their Christian university …

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An Inquiry Into Fire Service Consolidation And The Economies Of Scale Debate: The Centralization Versus Decentralization Argument, Iii Salvatore A D’Angelo Jan 2016

An Inquiry Into Fire Service Consolidation And The Economies Of Scale Debate: The Centralization Versus Decentralization Argument, Iii Salvatore A D’Angelo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Addressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire district (ISFCD) that serve residents on a full-time platform. The concurrent embedded methodology used attempted to unearth which organizational design achieves economies of scale based on quarterly emergency service calls: the centralized county model or …

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A Whiteheadian Interpretation Of The Zoharic Creation Story, Michael Gold Jan 2016

A Whiteheadian Interpretation Of The Zoharic Creation Story, Michael Gold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation presents a Whiteheadian interpretation of the notions of mind, immanence and process as they are addressed in the Zohar. According to many scholars, this kabbalistic creation story as portrayed in the Zohar is a reaction to the earlier rabbinic concept of God qua creator, which emphasized divine transcendence over divine immanence. The medieval Jewish philosophers, particularly Maimonides influenced by Aristotle, placed particular emphasis on divine transcendence, seeing a radical separation between Creator and creation. With this in mind, these scholars claim that one of the goals of the Zohar’s creation story was to emphasize God’s immanence within creation. …

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Aggressive Behaviors Of Adult Male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella Frontalis) During Intraspecific And Interspecific Aggressive Interactions, Cassandra L. Volker Jan 2016

Aggressive Behaviors Of Adult Male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella Frontalis) During Intraspecific And Interspecific Aggressive Interactions, Cassandra L. Volker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are two sympatric species resident to the Bahamas. The visibility of the Bahamian water provided a unique opportunity to study spotted dolphin communication during aggression. This study’s main focus was to decipher any similarities or differences in the behaviors used by spotted dolphins during interspecific and intraspecific aggression. Both similarities and differences were discovered. Biting, following, and chasing behavioral events were used more during interspecific aggression, while the display behavioral class was used more than the contact behavioral class during intrabut not interspecific aggression. This study showed that spotted dolphins …

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An Intelligent Method For Violence Detection In Live Video Feeds, Maryam Eneim Jan 2016

An Intelligent Method For Violence Detection In Live Video Feeds, Maryam Eneim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In the past few years, violence detection has become an increasingly rele- vant topic in computer vision with many proposed solutions by researchers. This thesis proposes a solution called Criminal Aggression Recognition Engine (CARE), an OpenCV based Java implementation of a violence detection system that can be trained with video datasets to classify action in a live feed as non-violent or violent. The algorithm extends existing work on fast ght detection by implementing violence detection of live video, in addition to prerecorded video. The results for violence detection in prerecorded videos are comparable to other popular detection systems and the …

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Enhancing Independent Task Performance Of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities Through The Use Of An Ipad Application, Kerri Morse Jan 2016

Enhancing Independent Task Performance Of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities Through The Use Of An Ipad Application, Kerri Morse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

There has been a dramatic increase in the utilization of technology within the fields of education and rehabilitation in the past two decades. Two studies focused on technology intended to assist a total of seven young adults with developmental disabilities to increase independence, decrease the need for paid supports, and improve task performance. Participants completed food preparation tasks in an employee break room, adhering to an industry specific protocol, while using a task application on an iPad that provided audio and video prompts. A multiple baseline across participants was used to show effects of the intervention on task performance and …

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Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding The Inclusion Of Lgbtq Themed Literature, Dominic Grasso Jan 2016

Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding The Inclusion Of Lgbtq Themed Literature, Dominic Grasso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This critical explanatory mixed methods study examined elementary teachers’ perceptions regarding the inclusion of LGBTQ-themed literature in the curriculum. An electronic survey questionnaire and focus group sessions were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data that described the perceived benefits and barriers of LGBTQ-themed literature and teachers’ level of interest in attending professional developing on this topic. The sample population for this study consisted of 100 participants. All 100 participants completed the electronic survey questionnaire, and a subset of 10 of the survey respondents participated in focus groups to explore further the perceived benefits and barriers relating to the …

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Ensemble Learning Algorithms For The Analysis Of Bioinformatics Data, Alireza Fazelpour Jan 2016

Ensemble Learning Algorithms For The Analysis Of Bioinformatics Data, Alireza Fazelpour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Developments in advanced technologies, such as DNA microarrays, have generated tremendous amounts of data available to researchers in the field of bioinformatics. These state-of-the-art technologies present not only unprecedented opportunities to study biological phenomena of interest, but significant challenges in terms of processing the data. Furthermore, these datasets inherently exhibit a number of challenging characteristics, such as class imbalance, high dimensionality, small dataset size, noisy data, and complexity of data in terms of hard to distinguish decision boundaries between classes within the data. In recognition of the aforementioned challenges, this dissertation utilizes a variety of machine-learning and data-mining techniques, such …

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Face Processing Using Mobile Devices, Jhanon James Jan 2016

Face Processing Using Mobile Devices, Jhanon James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Image Processing and Computer Vision solutions have become commodities for software developers, thanks to the growing availability of Application Program- ming Interfaces (APIs) that encapsulate rich functionality, powered by advanced al- gorithms. To understand and create an e cient method to process faces in images by computers, one must understand how the human visual system processes them. Face processing by computers has been an active research area for about 50 years now. Face detection has become a commodity and is now incorporated into simple devices such as digital cameras and smartphones. An iOS app was implemented in Objective-C using Microsoft …

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Evaluating The Demand For Tax Professionals, Leigh Rosenthal Jan 2016

Evaluating The Demand For Tax Professionals, Leigh Rosenthal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Taxpayers who hire tax professionals to assist with tax matters have a choice as to which type of tax professional to hire. This study looks at the choice between hiring a tax accountant or a tax attorney. Stephenson (2010) identifies four constructs that explain a taxpayer’s motivation to hire a tax professional—legal compliance, time savings, money savings, and a protection from/avoidance of the Internal Revenue Service. A taxpayer may be motivated by one or more of these demand constructs. Further, the context of the advice—whether given in a planning or compliance setting—may influence the choice of a specific type of …

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Eye Fixations Of The Face Are Modulated By Perception Of A Bidirectional Social Interaction, Michael J. Kleiman Jan 2016

Eye Fixations Of The Face Are Modulated By Perception Of A Bidirectional Social Interaction, Michael J. Kleiman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Eye fixations of the face are normally directed towards either the eyes or the mouth, however the proportions of gaze to either of these regions are dependent on context. Previous studies of gaze behavior demonstrate a tendency to stare into a target’s eyes, however no studies investigate the differences between when participants believe they are engaging in a live interaction compared to knowingly watching a pre-recorded video, a distinction that may contribute to studies of memory encoding. This study examined differences in fixation behavior for when participants falsely believed they were engaging in a real-time interaction over the internet (“Real-time …

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Food Buzzwords: Understanding How Schemas Of Proper Dieting Are Formed, Sacha Franklin-Jeune Jan 2016

Food Buzzwords: Understanding How Schemas Of Proper Dieting Are Formed, Sacha Franklin-Jeune

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In the modern United States, the concept of food has become as much of a social phenomenon as it is a biological need. The process of eating has become highly structured into a system of communication. Food terms used to share ideas are referred to as food buzzwords, terms rife with additional meanings whose values are continuously debated, discussed, and altered. Such terminology has swayed how middle-class Americans interpret the proper status quo of food consumption and production. This thesis analyzes how middle-class Americans form their view of a proper diet based on their understanding of food buzzwords and other …

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Finite Element Modeling And Fatigue Analysis Of Composite Turbine Blades Under Random Ocean Current And Turbulence, Marco M. Canino Jan 2016

Finite Element Modeling And Fatigue Analysis Of Composite Turbine Blades Under Random Ocean Current And Turbulence, Marco M. Canino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Several modifications have been implemented to numerical simulation codes based on blade element momentum theory (BEMT), for application to the design of ocean current turbine (OCT) blades. The modifications were applied in terms of section modulus and include adjustments due to core inclusion, buoyancy, and added mass. Hydrodynamic loads and mode shapes were calculated using the modified BEMT based analysis tools. A 3D model of the blade was developed using SolidWorks. The model was integrated with ANSYS and several loading scenarios, calculated from the modified simulation tools, were applied. A complete stress and failure analysis was then performed. Additionally, the …

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Here, Let Me Show You: The Use Of Senior Exhibitions In Conjunction With Traditional Assessments, Christopher Mimbs Jan 2016

Here, Let Me Show You: The Use Of Senior Exhibitions In Conjunction With Traditional Assessments, Christopher Mimbs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This case study examined how senior exhibitions function in a progressive educational environment that employs traditional assessments. The researcher interviewed 18 students and three faculty members of The Crefeld School about the Creative Expression, one of the 14 exhibitions that students are required to complete for graduation. The researcher conducted a document analysis and content analysis of rubrics for two essays and the Creative Expression. The researcher conducted a survey of student participants and a questionnaire to assess students’ perceptions of authenticity. The researcher observed three students present their Creative Expression in front of faculty, students, and family. The researcher …

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Implementation Of The Ieee 1609.2 Wave Security Services Standard, Chad Christopher Jr Mandy Jan 2016

Implementation Of The Ieee 1609.2 Wave Security Services Standard, Chad Christopher Jr Mandy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This work presents the implementation of the the IEEE 1609.2 WAVE Security Services Standard. This implementation provides the ability to generate a message signature, along with the capability to verify that signature for wave short messages transmitted over an unsecured medium. Only the original sender of the message can sign it, allowing for the authentication of a message to be checked. As hashing is used during the generation and verification of signatures, message integrity can be verified because a failed signature verification is a result of a compromised message. Also provided is the ability to encrypt and decrypt messages using …

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High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates For Improved Decision Making, With A Case Study Of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability In Boca Raton, Florida, Hannes Moritz Ziegler Jan 2016

High Resolution Population Distribution Estimates For Improved Decision Making, With A Case Study Of Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability In Boca Raton, Florida, Hannes Moritz Ziegler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Planners and managers often rely on coarse population distribution data from the census for addressing various social, economic, and environmental problems. In the analysis of physical vulnerabilities to sea-level rise, census units such as blocks or block groups are coarse relative to the required decision-making application. This study explores the benefits offered from integrating image classification and dasymetric mapping at the household level to provide detailed small area population estimates at the scale of residential buildings. In a case study of Boca Raton, FL, a sea-level rise inundation grid based on mapping methods by NOAA is overlaid on the highly …

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Implementations Of The Dtm, Dadcq And Slab Vanet Broadcast Protocols For The Ns-3 Simulator, Ahmed M. Alwakeel Jan 2016

Implementations Of The Dtm, Dadcq And Slab Vanet Broadcast Protocols For The Ns-3 Simulator, Ahmed M. Alwakeel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This work presents the implementations of three adaptive broadcast protocols for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) using the Network Simulator 3 (Ns-3). Performing real life tests for VANET protocols is very costly and risky, so simulation becomes a viable alternative technique. Ns-3 is one of the most advanced open source network simulators. Yet Ns-3 lacks implementations of broadcast protocols for VANET. We first implement the Distance to Mean (DTM) protocol, which uses the distance to mean to determine if a node should rebroadcast or not. We then implement the Distribution-Adaptive Distance with Channel Quality (DADCQ) protocol, which uses node distribution, …

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Implementation Of A Vanet Geo-Fence Based Adaptive Traffic Light Control Scheme, Alain D. Edwards Jan 2016

Implementation Of A Vanet Geo-Fence Based Adaptive Traffic Light Control Scheme, Alain D. Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this thesis we extend the VANET-based approach to counting vehicles at a traffic light by implementing a Geo-fence Based Vehicle Counting Algorithm which supports the use of RFID technology. This implementation utilizes the concept of geo-fencing to create a Zone of Interest (ZOI) that sections off a roadway that is relevant to a traffic intersection. All vehicles in this ZOI are used to determine the required length of the green-cycle time. By utilizing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologies, we broadcast beacons that are propagated to all vehicles in the ZOI from the infrastructure which in this case is …

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Imprinting Effects Of Founding Conditions, Structure, And Capabilities On Social And Financial Organizational Outcome Satisfaction, Jason Lortie Jan 2016

Imprinting Effects Of Founding Conditions, Structure, And Capabilities On Social And Financial Organizational Outcome Satisfaction, Jason Lortie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

My work investigates the effects of founding conditions for organizational founders on the eventual satisfaction founders have with the financial and social outcomes of their organization. First, I introduce two new constructs, social salience and economic salience, which represent the intended social or economic goals of the founder for their organization when they found the new organization. I then utilize organizational imprinting theory to argue that the social and economic salience, along with founders’ previous work experience, influence the structure of the new organization via the legal form. I then argue that the legal form influences the specific capabilities that …

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Improving The Mechanical Properties Of Nano-Hydroxyapatite, Suraj P. Khanal Jan 2016

Improving The Mechanical Properties Of Nano-Hydroxyapatite, Suraj P. Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an ideal bioactive material that is used in orthopedics. Chemical composition and crystal structure properties of HAp are similar to the natural bone hence it promotes bone growth. However, its mechanical properties of synthetic HAp are not sufficient for major load-bearing bone replacement. The potential of improving the mechanical properties of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) by incorporating carboxyl functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (CfSWCNT) and polymerized ɛ-caprolactam (nylon) is studied. The fracture toughness, tensile strength, Young’s modulus, stiffness and fracture energy were studied for a series of HAp samples with CfSWCNT concentrations varying from 0 to 1.5 wt. …

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Influence Of Median Grain Size Ratio On The Strength And Liquefaction Potential Of Loose Granular Fills, Spencer Waganaar Jan 2016

Influence Of Median Grain Size Ratio On The Strength And Liquefaction Potential Of Loose Granular Fills, Spencer Waganaar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The characterization of silty soils is usually designated by the percentage of silt contained within the soil matrix, along with the soil’s void ratio, which is used to describe the soil’s current state. The use of these parameters to assess a soil’s strength and undrained behavior is limited when finer material is contained within the soil. Therefore, additional parameters must be considered in order to correctly assess the strength and liquefaction potential of silty soils. These additional parameters include the skeleton void ratio, equivalent void ratio and granulometric factors. The current research investigates the influence of granulometric parameters, specifically the …

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Informational Aspects Of Audiovisual Identity Matching, Lauren Wood Mavica Jan 2016

Informational Aspects Of Audiovisual Identity Matching, Lauren Wood Mavica

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this study, we investigated what informational aspects of faces could account for the ability to match an individual’s face to their voice, using only static images. In each of the first six experiments, we simultaneously presented one voice recording along with two manipulated images of faces (e.g. top half of the face, bottom half of the face, etc.), a target face and distractor face. The participant’s task was to choose which of the images they thought belonged to the same individual as the voice recording. The voices remained un-manipulated. In Experiment 7 we used eye tracking in order to …

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Investigating Approaches To Media Literacy: An Analysis Of Media Literacy Organizations, Michael Francis Jan 2016

Investigating Approaches To Media Literacy: An Analysis Of Media Literacy Organizations, Michael Francis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Media literacy is a competency needed for success in the 21st century yet a clear purpose does not exist that is useful in curriculum design. The purpose of this study was to investigate a combined (eclectic) approach to media literacy education according to selected international media literacy organizations. Determining an eclectic approach from subject area experts will be useful in designing and integrating media literacy curriculum. Methodologically, this study was a qualitative content analysis and is thematic in nature using a constant comparative method of analysis. Supporting frameworks were established through standards based curriculum development and Schwab’s (1969, 1971, 1973, …

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