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The Gifts Of Membership, Andrew Kosmowski

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Appeal for support for CLA: gift sponsorships.

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Perpetua, Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2017

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

No abstract provided.

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Relative Importance Of Different Body Channels To The Believability Of A Stylized 3d Character Animation In A Full Body Shot, Saikiran Anasingaraju

Open Access Theses

Character animation involves movement in different channels of the character’s body. There is a norm in the animation industry that each of these different body channels has varying contributions to the believability of an acting performance: body movement being the highest contributor and lip sync the lowest. This thesis investigated this norm using statistical analysis. While the reduction of body motion caused the biggest drop in believability, similar reductions in facial animation and lip sync have not made a significant effect on the believability. The only exception to the above statement is the animation depicting the emotion sadness, where no …

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An Open-Source Life Cycle Analysis Tool For Rare Earth Products Critical To The Clean-Tech Industry, Praneet Singh Arshi

Open Access Theses

The clean-energy industry has been expanding drastically over the past decade with economically scalable technology and favorable policies. Rare earth elements (REEs), with unique chemical and physical properties have played a key role in this boom by improving the efficacy of certain cleanenergy products. For example, rare earth based magnets have a higher maximum energy output, reducing the size and weight of magnets in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. However, its benefits are undercut by the drastic environmental impacts on the areas surrounding the mining and processing sites. Existing literature provides some information on these impacts but often fails …

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Performance Improvement Of An Electronic Nose And Tongue System, Po-Yu Chou

Open Access Theses

Environmental pollution is a matter of serious concern and monitoring needs to be improved. In this research, we focused on how to improve the performance of an integrated sensor system for detecting environmental contaminants. The system we investigated is the electronic nose and tongue system, which is designed to emulate human chemosensory system. The system is capable of detecting pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia and carbon dioxide in the air, and arsenic (As(III)) in the water.

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Food And Language: Price-Based Lexical Variation In Turkish Online Restaurant Reviews, Maria Joy Cupery

Open Access Theses

Previous research has demonstrated price-based lexical variation in American online restaurant reviews and advertising (Freedman and Jurafsky, 2011; Jurafsky, Chahneau, Routledge & Smith 2014). According to the theories of Bourdieu (1986, 1987), and Douglas and Isherwood (2002), this type of variation may be the result of different social classes using differing cultural capital to evaluate their consumer experiences. As reviewers’ lexical choices reflect the criteria they apply to that good, the reviews of more expensive restaurants were expected to use significantly different lexicons than the reviews of less expensive restaurants. In comparing lexical, grammatical and etymological choices across four price …

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Optimizing Strength And Versatility Of Underwater Adhesion Polymer System, Shannon R. Daily

Open Access Theses

Among the hundreds of commercial adhesives available today, few, if any, have the ability to form strong adhesive bonds in an underwater system. Man-made adhesives have been shown to not work underwater because the glues interact with water rather than forming adhesive and cohesive bonds with the surface of the substrate. However, mussels and oysters naturally produce an adhesive that is unaffected by their watery environment. Examination of this adhesive has shown that shellfish use a mixture of proteins containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) that crosslink to form glue. Thus, an effort has been made to create a biomimetic polymer that includes …

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A Study On Understanding The Creation Of Component Maintenance Manual Using Model-Based Definition, Akshob Dasaiah Aravind

Open Access Theses

The use of Model-based definition (MBD) over 2D drawings is slowly becoming a reality in most organizations. The MBD models are intended to replace drawings in all downstream processes including technical publication. Technical authors have for long relied on engineering drawings as one of the inputs to create maintenance manuals. There exists no frameworks or models that can help define the contents of an MBD dataset for creation of maintenance manuals. The intent of this study was to develop one such model specific to creation of Component Maintenance Manuals (CMMs). A survey and an optional follow-up interview was used to …

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Social Perceptions Of Word-Final Alveolar Stop Deletion: Examining The Meaning Of A Sociophonetic Variable, Emily C. Dick

Open Access Theses

Word-final alveolar stop deletion is a form of variation that is found in many dialects of American English, and therefore, has been extensively studied and documented in the literature. Within the available literature, however, there is very little information to be found regarding if and how listeners use this variation to form initial judgments about a speaker’s character. The work described in this thesis is an attempt to begin bridging this literary gap. This thesis studies how both word-final alveolar stop deletion and speaker gender, as well as the interactions between these two factors, affect a listener’s initial opinions about …

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A Machine Learning Approach For Identifying The Effectiveness Of Simulation Tools For Conceptual Understanding, Sindhura Elluri

Open Access Theses

Interactive learning environments have been identified as promising technologies to improve teaching and learning in science and engineering. Specifically, simulation tools have become a vital part of coursework in both K-12 and higher education. It is therefore essential to identify better ways to integrate simulation tools in the classroom and at the same time provide teachers and students with feedback capabilities that can support existing assessment methods and provide opportunities for just-in-time teaching. One effective way to identify how students are benefiting from the use of computer simulations for conceptual learning is by having them explain the phenomena being explored. …

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Above- And Belowground Community Responses To Control Techniques For The Invasive Shrub Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera Maackii [Rupr.] Herder) In Mixed Hardwood Forests Of Indiana 0028199836, Graham S. Frank

Open Access Theses

Invasive shrubs in forest understories represent a threat to biodiversity and forest regeneration in the Eastern United States. Lonicera maackii [Rupr.] Herder (Amur honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae) is a prevalent invasive shrub species in the Midwest, and has been documented in more than 30 states. Once a handful of established L. maackii shrubs reach maturity, prolific fruit production and extensive dispersal by wildlife can lead to explosive population growth and the formation of dense, monotypic thickets across wide areas of forested land. Light limitation, changes to soil nutrient cycling, increased throughfall interception, cascading effects on wildlife (e.g., increased rates of seed predation), …

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Data Clustering Techniques To Identify User Groups And Resource Grouping In Nanohub, Mugdha Gogte

Open Access Theses

With a massive increase in the number of online resources for education and research, it is important to study their usage by target audience comprised mainly of students, educators and researchers. This study explores the application of data clustering techniques on user access data of online science platforms in order to detect user groups and categorize resources with the aim of finding evidence that nanoHUB, the largest science gateway in the field of nanotechnology, aids educational advancement and research. Several algorithms are examined to find the best-suited algorithm for the data set in question. The study uses a two-stage methodology …

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A Case Study On Monetary Fraud In A Cashless Economy, Swarnalakshmi M. Iyer

Open Access Theses

The payment market has many electronic instruments like cards and mobile phones competing with cash for market share. This thesis compares costs, involving two components: (i) the cost of implementing and maintaining an economy where the instrument can be used and, (ii) the losses suffered due to abuse of the payment instrument, for cash and card instruments. A case study on three countries Sweden, United States and India is conducted to survey variations in costs for cash and card instruments in economies that have varying extents of cash in circulation. Findings show that losses suffered due to abuse of cash …

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A Wearable Paper-Based Dermal Platform For Monitoring Perspiration, Vaibhav Jain

Open Access Theses

Consumer scale wearable devices have the potential to shift the healthcare paradigm from curative to preventive by allowing unobtrusive monitoring of important physiological parameters. Towards such a goal, this work presents a flexible and conformal, paper-based dermal platform (patch), for real time in-situ perspiration monitoring and quantification to aid in maintenance of hydration balance. Depending on the bio-metrics of the user and desired application, the wicking based platform having a spiral design with spokes/fingers of increasing length emanating from a central sweat collection region, can be customized in size and shape to sequentially trigger feedback (passive chemical color change on …

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Analytics Protocol For Data-Driven Decision-Making In The Construction Industry, Ashwini Jain

Open Access Theses

Due to the unique nature of construction projects and the need for leaders in the business to have knowledge from multiple fields, it has become difficult for decision makers to confidently make choices in their complex working environment. Over time, data availability and computational power have both improved. Moreover, technological advancements from the past few years have overwhelmed the industry by generating a diverse amount data from various sources. This large amount of data makes it possible to find nuggets of information. However, in this digital era, collecting data is not the problem, but how to extract useful information is …

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Facilitating Willingness To Communicate (Wtc): Communication For Academic And Social Life (Casl), Sarah Elizabeth Fehrman

Open Access Theses

Much has been written about learner Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in a second language. Multiple factors, including anxiety, motivation, personality, and context, have been identified as contributing to language learners’ willingness (or lack thereof) to attempt to communicate in a second language. Current research has identified these factors, yet there has been very little work done on how to facilitate WTC in learners or provide instructors with specific strategies and tools to utilize in the classroom. This thesis will undertake a historical overview of the development of WTC theory, examine the main antecedents to WTC, and finally examine current research …

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An Assessment Of Reef Restoration Potential In Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, Nicholas Ivars Kalejs

Open Access Theses

Historically, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron had a complex of rocky reefs that functioned as preferred spawning habitat for various fish species, including Walleye (Sander vitreus) and Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). This reef system likely acted as a source of protection from egg predation, as well as of increased spawning diversity. Shifts in land use from forest to primarily agriculture and industry resulted in elevated runoff and sedimentation, leading to the loss of nearly all reef structure in Saginaw Bay. Coupled with overfishing and additional habitat degradation, these shifts precipitated dramatic declines of many fish species in the bay, including Walleye. …

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"An Rbf Neural Network Approach In Radionuclide Identification Of Unknown Sources Utilizing Gamma-Ray Spectra", Pola-Lydia Lagari

Open Access Theses

At first, simulated γ-ray spectra for a set of 25 radionuclides, have been produced using the “Gamma Detector Response and Analysis Software (GADRAS)”. For each of these profiles (counts/kev vs energy), a Gaussian “Radial Basis Function” (RBF) network has been trained to represent it by an analytic closed form expression. Hence a library consisting of 25 RBF-networks, for the corresponding radionuclides, has been built. Secondly, a method for identifying the presence of radionuclides in the spectrum of an unknown source has been developed, assuming that the source contains a mixture of the considered radionuclides only. A linear combination of the …

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Design And Implementation Of A Content Searchable File System, Peng Li

Open Access Theses

Plenty of data is produced every second in the world. Having a huge amount of data, finding valuable data in a collection is much more difficult than before. There are many methods for data storage and retrieval. The file system is one of them and it is used by users on a computer. The current file system is based on the information storage concepts which is proposed in 1965. It manages the file metadata and provides the functionality that maps the file path to the data stored on the disk. However, it manages limited file metadata which is not able …

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A Systematic Literature Review To Identify Best Practices For Communication In Virtual Teams, Arielle Mabon

Open Access Theses

Virtual teams are necessary for organizations to remain competitive in today’s global society, but the complexities of virtual team environments impart strain on virtual teams to perform key team activities. Although virtual teams are expected to deliver complex projects, training for communicating in virtual teams is often overlooked. This thesis was conducted using a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles from 2012-2017 to identify elements of communication that contributed to virtual team effectiveness and communication best practices that may be perceived as prescriptive content for virtual team communication training. The results of this study suggest that virtual team communication training …

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Assessing The First And Last Mile Problem In Intercity Passenger Rail: Effects On Mode Choice And Trip Frequency, Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas

Open Access Theses

Passenger rail service is an integral part of intercity transportation networks, especially in areas where residents do not have access to cars or other intercity travel options. Some municipalities in the U.S. have experienced a decline in passenger rail service in recent years, which has prompted schedule reductions and entire abandonment of service in some cases. To improve the current intercity passenger rail service predicament, two alternatives can be considered: (1) improve the rail service itself (frequency, infrastructure, etc.) and (2) improve accessibility to the rail stations, which might be cheaper and more cost-effective overall. Improvements in accessibility can impact …

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A Method For Assessing And Predicting Water Quality Status For Improved Decision- Making And Management, Valeria Mijares

Open Access Theses

With the increasing population and demand for water, it is crucial to be able to assess its quality on a real-time basis and for predictive purposes. Water-quality Indices (WQIs) provide a means by which the water quality can be compared across space and time based on a composite indicator. Index and subindex values can be used to flag contaminants of concern, guide prioritization of management efforts, and for predictive purposes. In this study, subindex formulations for key water quality parameters were developed and enhanced to incorporate water quality targets and criteria. The enhanced subindex formulations were built into the Unweighted …

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Influence Maximization Using Observational Data, Mohith Murlidhar

Open Access Theses

Influence maximization is the problem of finding a subset of nodes (seed nodes) in a network, such that by incentivizing these set of nodes, one maximizes the expected spread of influence in the network. This is an NP hard problem for which in the past, greedy algorithms and heuristics have been proposed for solving the problem. Most of these algorithms on this topic have focused on using information about the underlying graph and the edge probabilities, while running expensive controlled experiment simulations to find a solution to the influence maximization problem. These algorithms also accounted only for direct (or indirect) …

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Orbit Maintenance Strategies For Sun-Earth/Moon Libration Point Missions: Parameter Selection For Target Point And Cauchy-Green Tensor Approaches, Vivek Muralidharan

Open Access Theses

The libration point orbits in the Sun-Earth/Moon system are formed by concurrent gravitational influences by various celestial bodies, originating in a nonlinear dynamical regime. Coupled with the unstable nature of the orbit, the impact of any perturbations are expected to increase rapidly. The feasibility of a flow-based, Cauchy-Green tensor control strategy for station-keeping is examined. An orbit consistent with the mission objectives is selected for examination. The station-keeping process is stochastic, thus Gaussian random errors are introduced for simulation. The evolution of a velocity perturbation over time is monitored, beyond which the attainable state in the accessible region nearest to …

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Effect Of A Brand Story Structure On Perceived Brand Image: The Mediating Role Of Immersion In A Brand Story Of A Luxury Hotel, Kyungin Ryu

Open Access Theses

Creating a more positive brand image in the competitive luxury hotel industry is an important goal for managers of such hotel brands. However, there are some skeptics as to the effectiveness of branding strategies of luxury hotels in developing a positive brand image for consumers. It has been suggested that consumers can be easily confused by the plethora of brand choices in the luxury hotel, making it difficult to remember a specific brand value differentiated from other choices. Based on psychographic research of luxury hotel consumers, these consumers have a tendency to prefer hedonic benefits stimulating emotional and symbolic benefits …

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Experimental Investigation Of Inlet Distortion In A Multistage Axial Compressor, Razvan Rusu

Open Access Theses

The primary objective of this research is to present results and methodologies used to study total pressure inlet distortion in a multi-stage axial compressor environment. The study was performed at the Purdue 3-Stage Axial Compressor Facility (P3S) which models the final three stages of a production turbofan engine’s high-pressure compressor (HPC). The goal of this study was twofold; first, to design, implement, and validate a circumferentially traversable total pressure inlet distortion generation system, and second, to demonstrate data acquisition methods to characterize the inter-stage total pressure flow fields to study the propagation and attenuation of a one-per-rev total pressure distortion. …

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Atmospheric Rural Community And Tourists' Experience -- China's Rural Tourism And Seniors' Quality Of Life, Jieyu Shi

Open Access Theses

The increasing percentage of aged populations in many parts of the world is an issue of global attention and significance. China is no exception and faced with a pressing challenge to find solutions for improving seniors’ quality of life. Extending the extant knowledge on the relationship between tourism and health, the current study posits that rural tourism, as a growing and popular form of leisure in China, can enhance the quality of life for both senior tourists and senior locals and proposes the concept of atmospheric community for rural tourism. This study develops the concept by investigating the elements of …

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Kalman Filtering For Lti Systems With State Dependent Packet Losses, Omanshu Thapliyal

Open Access Theses

Due to recent advances in networked control systems and wireless networked control systems, most systems of interest operate in environments susceptible to sensor malfunctions. The increased dependency on communication channels to transfer measurement data due to the geographical separation of sensors from actuators and plants further contributes to the issue. Most existing methods that deal with the problem of estimation under packet losses assume the packet arrival process to have stationary statistics. In this work we relax this assumption and address the problem of state estimation under state dependent packet losses. This problem presents inherent modeling of practical applications of …

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Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complexes In Porcine Embryos, Yu-Chun Tseng

Open Access Theses

Gene expression is under precise regulation during early mammalian embryonic development. Epigenetic modifications are a major aspect of studying gene expression. SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes are large multiprotein complexes, which can reposition nucleosomes and alter transcription factor accessibility to DNA. Subunits of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes play essential roles in development by guiding the complexes to specific loci. The aims of this study were to 1) determine the function of ARID1A, a SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex subunit during cleavage development in the porcine embryo and 2) determine the intracellular localization of four SWI/SNF subunits, ARID1A, ARID2, BRD7, and SNF5, in …

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Sensor Fusion To Detect Scale And Direction Of Gravity In Monocular Slam Systems, Seth C. Tucker

Open Access Theses

Monocular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is an important technique that enables very inexpensive environment mapping and pose estimation in small systems such as smart phones and unmanned aerial vehicles. However, the information generated by monocular SLAM is in an arbitrary and unobservable scale, leading to drift and making it difficult to use with other sources of odometry for control or navigation. To correct this, the odometry needs to be aligned with metric scale odometry from another device, or else scale must be recovered from known features in the environment. Typically known environmental features are not available, and for systems …

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Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Gifts Of Membership, Andrew Kosmowski

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Perpetua, Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2017

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

Relative Importance Of Different Body Channels To The Believability Of A Stylized 3d Character Animation In A Full Body Shot, Saikiran Anasingaraju

Open Access Theses

An Open-Source Life Cycle Analysis Tool For Rare Earth Products Critical To The Clean-Tech Industry, Praneet Singh Arshi

Open Access Theses

Performance Improvement Of An Electronic Nose And Tongue System, Po-Yu Chou

Open Access Theses

Food And Language: Price-Based Lexical Variation In Turkish Online Restaurant Reviews, Maria Joy Cupery

Open Access Theses

Optimizing Strength And Versatility Of Underwater Adhesion Polymer System, Shannon R. Daily

Open Access Theses

A Study On Understanding The Creation Of Component Maintenance Manual Using Model-Based Definition, Akshob Dasaiah Aravind

Open Access Theses

Social Perceptions Of Word-Final Alveolar Stop Deletion: Examining The Meaning Of A Sociophonetic Variable, Emily C. Dick

Open Access Theses

A Machine Learning Approach For Identifying The Effectiveness Of Simulation Tools For Conceptual Understanding, Sindhura Elluri

Open Access Theses

Above- And Belowground Community Responses To Control Techniques For The Invasive Shrub Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera Maackii [Rupr.] Herder) In Mixed Hardwood Forests Of Indiana 0028199836, Graham S. Frank

Open Access Theses

Data Clustering Techniques To Identify User Groups And Resource Grouping In Nanohub, Mugdha Gogte

Open Access Theses

A Case Study On Monetary Fraud In A Cashless Economy, Swarnalakshmi M. Iyer

Open Access Theses

A Wearable Paper-Based Dermal Platform For Monitoring Perspiration, Vaibhav Jain

Open Access Theses

Analytics Protocol For Data-Driven Decision-Making In The Construction Industry, Ashwini Jain

Open Access Theses

Facilitating Willingness To Communicate (Wtc): Communication For Academic And Social Life (Casl), Sarah Elizabeth Fehrman

Open Access Theses

An Assessment Of Reef Restoration Potential In Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, Nicholas Ivars Kalejs

Open Access Theses

"An Rbf Neural Network Approach In Radionuclide Identification Of Unknown Sources Utilizing Gamma-Ray Spectra", Pola-Lydia Lagari

Open Access Theses

Design And Implementation Of A Content Searchable File System, Peng Li

Open Access Theses

A Systematic Literature Review To Identify Best Practices For Communication In Virtual Teams, Arielle Mabon

Open Access Theses

Assessing The First And Last Mile Problem In Intercity Passenger Rail: Effects On Mode Choice And Trip Frequency, Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas

Open Access Theses

A Method For Assessing And Predicting Water Quality Status For Improved Decision- Making And Management, Valeria Mijares

Open Access Theses

Influence Maximization Using Observational Data, Mohith Murlidhar

Open Access Theses

Orbit Maintenance Strategies For Sun-Earth/Moon Libration Point Missions: Parameter Selection For Target Point And Cauchy-Green Tensor Approaches, Vivek Muralidharan

Open Access Theses

Effect Of A Brand Story Structure On Perceived Brand Image: The Mediating Role Of Immersion In A Brand Story Of A Luxury Hotel, Kyungin Ryu

Open Access Theses

Experimental Investigation Of Inlet Distortion In A Multistage Axial Compressor, Razvan Rusu

Open Access Theses

Atmospheric Rural Community And Tourists' Experience -- China's Rural Tourism And Seniors' Quality Of Life, Jieyu Shi

Open Access Theses

Kalman Filtering For Lti Systems With State Dependent Packet Losses, Omanshu Thapliyal

Open Access Theses

Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complexes In Porcine Embryos, Yu-Chun Tseng

Open Access Theses

Sensor Fusion To Detect Scale And Direction Of Gravity In Monocular Slam Systems, Seth C. Tucker

Open Access Theses