Digital Commons Network^™

The Ny Safe Act: County Clerks And County-State Relations, Christopher D. Kuwik

Public Administration Master’s Projects

The NY SAFE Act is a controversial gun control law in New York State. Since its passage on January 15, 2013, it has been the source of a continuing controversy. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the reactions of New York State (elected) county clerks tasked with the law’s implementation. In this phenomenological study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 county clerks across New York State. The researcher asked various questions about how the SAFE Act has affected their offices. The researcher used thematic analysis to organize themes, which reveal that a lack of or inadequate intergovernmental …

Education For The Changing Public Sector: An Impact Study Of The Suny Buffalo State's Mpa In The Erie County Department Of Social Services' Employee Education Program, Caroline M. Alagna

Public Administration Master’s Projects

In 1982, the Erie County Department of Social Services (ECDSS) developed the Employee Education Program (EEP). The EEP is an educational sponsorship program that provides eligible employees with a tuition-free education at area higher education institutions for a number of various degrees. One such degree is the Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management, or MPA at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo State College. This 2017 evaluation concentrates on identifying the skills and knowledge that employees of ECDSS gained from their participation in the MPA component of the EEP and the impact that these new or …

Factors Influencing Recruitment Into The U.S. Armed Services: Could Health Insurance Be A Motivator?, Michael P. Hughes

Public Administration Master’s Projects

Caring for our nation's veterans is a responsibility of the federal promise that began with a promise by Abraham Lincoln on the event of his second inauguration. The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act requires the Army to recruit an additional 16,000 enlisted personnel and retain an additional 9,000 soldiers by the end of September 2017, with the Army offering enlistment bonuses of up to $40,000 and upwards of $10,000 for soldiers willing to extend their contracts for one year (Myers, 2017). A RAND Corporation study identified several risk factors for Army recruitment should the need arise to commit forces including …

Design And Development Of Flipped Classes Video Lectures For Secondary Level Education Of Nepal, Bijaya Shrestha, Nikita Gautam, Manoj Shakya

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Student Publications

Flipped classroom is a simple method to flip the things done inside the classroom with the things done at home. The prepared video lectures are delivered to the students prior to the students actually come and sit in the new class on following days. At the top of this, students will gain the opportunity to watch the video time and again until they understand the lesson.

Deerwalk Learning Center is developing the flipped classroom video lectures based on the syllabus prescribed by the Curriculum Development Centre, Nepal. The main objective of this development project is to make student easy to …

December 1-2, 2017, Vs. Western Michigan, University Of North Dakota

UND Athletics Publications: Men's Hockey

Program for the December 1-2, 2017, weekend series against the Western Michigan Broncos.

Und Today: December 2017, University Of North Dakota

UND Today Archive

No abstract provided.

What Do Developers Search For On The Web?, Xin Xia, Lingfeng Bao, David Lo, Pavneet Singh Kochhar, Ahmed E. Hassan, Zhenchang Xing

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Developers commonly make use of a web search engine such as Google to locate online resources to improve their productivity. A better understanding of what developers search for could help us understand their behaviors and the problems that they meet during the software development process. Unfortunately, we have a limited understanding of what developers frequently search for and of the search tasks that they often find challenging. To address this gap, we collected search queries from 60 developers, surveyed 235 software engineers from more than 21 countries across five continents. In particular, we asked our survey participants to rate the …

D-Watch: Embracing “Bad” Multipaths For Device-Free Localization With Cots Rfid Devices, Ju Wang, Jie Xiong, Hongbo Jiang, Xiaojiang Chen, Dingyi Fang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Device-free localization, which does not require any device attached to the target, is playing a critical role in many applications, such as intrusion detection, elderly monitoring and so on. This paper introduces D-Watch, a device-free system built on the top of low cost commodity-off-the-shelf RFID hardware. Unlike previous works which consider multipaths detrimental, D-Watch leverages the ''bad'' multipaths to provide a decimeter-level localization accuracy without offline training. D-Watch harnesses the angle-of-arrival information from the RFID tags' backscatter signals. The key intuition is that whenever a target blocks a signal's propagation path, the signal power experiences a drop which can be …

Policy Gradient With Value Function Approximation For Collective Multiagent Planning, Duc Thien Nguyen, Akshat Kumar, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Decentralized (PO)MDPs provide an expressive framework for sequential decision making in a multiagent system. Given their computational complexity, recent research has focused on tractable yet practical subclasses of Dec-POMDPs. We address such a subclass called CDec-POMDP where the collective behavior of a population of agents affects the joint-reward and environment dynamics. Our main contribution is an actor-critic (AC) reinforcement learning method for optimizing CDec-POMDP policies. Vanilla AC has slow convergence for larger problems. To address this, we show how a particular decomposition of the approximate action-value function over agents leads to effective updates, and also derive a new way to …

A Selective-Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm For Solving A Class Of Orienteering Problems, Aldy Gunawan, Vincent F. Yu, Perwira Redi, Parida Jewpanya, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This study addresses a class of NP-hard problem called the Orienteering Problem (OP), which belongs to a well-known class of vehicle routing problems. In the OP, a set of nodes that associated with a location and a score is given. The time required to travel between each pair of nodes is known in advance. The total travel time is limited by a predetermined time budget. The objective is to select a subset of nodes to be visited that maximizes the total collected score within a path. The Team OP (TOP) is an extension of OP that incorporates multiple paths. Another …

Multi-User Multi-Keyword Rank Search Over Encrypted Data In Arbitrary Language, Yang Yang, Ximeng Liu, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Multi-keyword rank searchable encryption (MRSE) returns the top-k results in response to a data user's request of multi-keyword search over encrypted data, and hence provides an efficient way for preserving data privacy in cloud storage systems while without loss of data usability. Many existing MRSE systems are constructed based on an algorithm which we term as k-nearest neighbor for searchable encryption (KNN-SE). Unfortunately, KNN-SE has a number of shortcomings which limit its practical applications. In this paper, we propose a new MRSE system which overcomes almost all the defects of the KNN-SE based MRSE systems. Specifically, our new system does …

Leveraging The Trade-Off Between Accuracy And Interpretability In A Hybrid Intelligent System, Di Wang, Chai Quek, Ah-Hwee Tan, Chunyan Miao, Geok See Ng, You Zhou

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Neural Fuzzy Inference System (NFIS) is a widely adopted paradigm to develop a data-driven learning system. This hybrid system has been widely adopted due to its accurate reasoning procedure and comprehensible inference rules. Although most NFISs primarily focus on accuracy, we have observed an ever increasing demand on improving the interpretability of NFISs and other types of machine learning systems. In this paper, we illustrate how we leverage the trade-off between accuracy and interpretability in an NFIS called Genetic Algorithm and Rough Set Incorporated Neural Fuzzy Inference System (GARSINFIS). In a nutshell, GARSINFIS self-organizes its network structure with a small …

Magically Empathetic: An Investigation Of Theory Of Mind And Empathy In The Harry Potter Series, Lindsey M. Layman

Honors Theses

Research suggests that reading fiction can increase empathy, and a number of studies have found the Harry Potter series to promote pro-social values. One prosocial value that has not been explored directly in relation to the series, however, is empathy. Defined as “the experience of understanding another person’s condition from their perspective,” empathy is the motivation behind many prosocial behaviors and values, making it an important focus of investigation. In this study, I conduct a textual analysis of the Harry Potter series using the perspective of theory of mind and simulation theory as a guide. After analyzing a range of …

Development And Production Of A One Act Play, Josiah D. Motok

Honors Theses

A commonly known facet of the traditional western Christian faith is that mankind is "created in God's image." The question that immediately follows this is "what is God's image?" or "what does it mean to be made in someone or something's image?" This play attempts to explore that question by creating an understandable and humanized caricature of the Christian God. In the author's opinion, what is meant by humanity being made in God's image is that humanity has been granted the power of consciousness, the attribute of individual and self-aware life. Neither the biblical representation of God nor many of …

Effectiveness Of Conservation Education At The Chattanooga Zoo, Luke Allen Black

Honors Theses

Conservation is the central focus of many modern zoos and aquariums. These zoos incorporate guest education to facilitate a connection between zoo guests and animal conservation. I conducted a study at the Chattanooga Zoo and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga which examined two modern zoo education approaches. The two approaches utilized in the study are currently used in keeper chats at the Chattanooga Zoo. The first approach is an emotional appeal (an appeal to the personalities of the chimps at the zoo) and the second approach is a utilization of a take-action initiative (recycling cell phones to reduce mining …

Bsn Student's Perspective Of Departmental Honors Thesis: A Case Study Approach, Kathryn Messier

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to personally recount my experience and adventure constructing a Departmental Honors Thesis in the field of nursing research. This thesis is a case study approach in which I explore the question as to why there is an increase in African American infant mortality as opposed to other races. Nursing implications and theories as well as limitations to the research are included in this study as well. Construction of this thesis was met with great difficulty including an intense literature review, multiple changes in research methodologies, limited clinician participation, etc. Overall, the conclusion of this …

Preparing Education Leaders To Meet Diverse School Needs: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Principal Preparation Programs, Angela W. Cox

All Dissertations

As schools become increasingly culturally diverse, school leaders require the preparation to assist them with the challenges they may face. Educational leaders have a responsibility to guarantee that all students are receiving an equitable and fair education. School leaders have a duty to promote teaching and learning for all students. Principal preparation program should prepare today's school leaders with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be culturally aware and hold high expectation for all students and create inclusive school environments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and determine if principal preparation programs in South Carolina are preparing school …

Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis Of Its Impact On Large Companies And Society, Alexandra Marie Gray

Journalism

The success of a business is often determined by the economic status it has built itself to, or the magnitude of its renowned distinction across society. The topic of CSR is often overlooked as a minor aspect of helping the business grow.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be characterized into many facets. Some, when thinking of the topic, will think of giving back to its community. Others will associate it with keeping a modest supply chain or healthy working conditions (Agaard, Valente, & Rasmussen, 2007). Either way, any instance where a business acts on social activism and producing for the …

A Phenomenology Of Calling Among Undergraduates At A Public University: Reliance On Faith During An Intentional Career Decision-Making Process, Justin Arnold

Dissertations

Recent studies in vocational psychology and student development have discussed the fact that many college students value spirituality, and that a spiritual calling is positively associated with desirable work traits (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011; Chickering, 2006; Dik & Duffy, 2012; Duffy & Dik, 2013; Hunter, Dik, & Banning, 2010). What has yet to be deeply explored is how undergraduates at a public university who believe they are called explore careers and make vocational decisions.

The purpose of this phenomenology was to describe and interpret the lived experiences of emerging adults at a public university who believe they are called …

County Judges And Cosmetologists: A Preliminary Inquiry Into “Constitutional” County Courts, Larry Karson

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

Since at least the days of Prohibition there has been a discussion regarding the professionalism of the individuals involved in the American criminal justice system. From the police officers being required to have some college education along with months of academy training in the law and procedures of the justice system to attorneys being mandated, after college, to complete a 3 year program of formalized academic training in the law and passing a state administered exam of competence, the requirements that determined competency have increased as society and the law have become more complex.

Supporting Healthcare Teams With Implementation Projects: Shaping A Toolbox, Carian Van Der Sman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores a) the challenges healthcare professionals experience when they work in a team to implement new (but elsewhere existing or proven) products or solutions into their practice and b) how a toolbox of creativity and change methods, tools and techniques might look like to support them to overcome these challenges. This project shows that healthcare professionals most likely benefit from 1) tools that provide teambuilding and would support the sense of growing together, 2) tools that would demonstrate an overview of types of resistance they could face and strategies to overcome them and 3) tools that provide an …

Giving Technology The Place It Deserves In Creative Problem Solving, Yves De Smet

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores the potential for using artificial intelligence (AI) in Creative Problem Solving (CPS) to facilitate a creative process. It invites members from the technology and CPS communities to see the opportunities for AI-augmented creative problem solving, and to join forces to turn those opportunities into reality. To this end the author looks at creativity through a knowledge-centered lens. He proposes a model based on how the human brain makes connections, to enable AI developments that help transform the knowledge residing in a team and/or from external resources into creative solutions. A vision of how AI could be leveraged …

Fostering Metacognition In Cps Training – Tools And Techniques, Anna Packham

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Metacognition is described as the awareness of one’s own cognitive processes, as well as the ability to regulate them. This Master’s project provides an insight into how metacognition can be integrated into a Creative Problem Solving training with the aim of enhancing the participants’ understanding of relevant strategies employed in the context of creative thinking, enabling them to accelerate the application of their learning outside the training environment. A toolkit for metacognitive instruction within a CPS training is provided, consisting of specific tools as well as guidelines and suggestions for the trainer.

Addressing Our Implicit Bias Against Embracing Creative Ideas, Michelle K. Neumayer Ms.

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The purpose of this Master's Project is to highlight the fact that we all carry an implicit bias against embracing creative ideas experienced as psychological reactions such as anxiety related to the uncertainties that surround truly creative ideas. Two main innovation processes, Creative Problem Solving and Design Thinking will be compared against suggestions by social psychologist and creativity researcher Jennifer Mueller for addressing this bias. One of the main areas of discussion will revolve around the need to balance two opposing mind-sets often used by decision-makers, which results in the ability to think more like an inventor. Characteristics of these …

The Role Of Education In Self-Sustaining Community Development, Leanne Riegel

Senior Honors Theses

Self-sustaining community development strategies, focused on education as a means for change, have great potential to make an impact on worldwide poverty. Instead of a one-time intervention with results that fade over time, the cyclical structure of participatory development will yield increasing results as time goes on. Teaching the community how to improve itself will increase its ability to deal with future problems, and positively impact women, children, and the environment in developing countries. This philosophy and practical strategy could be effective in any geographic location or culture, focusing on education and the ability of the local people to transform …

2017-December-Mfa Alum David Mazure Featured In Print Magazine.Pdf, College Of Arts And Sciences, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Stoudsburg Unviersity art and design professor, and ETSU MFA alum David Mazure is currently being featured in the Fall 2017 issue of Print Magazine. Mazure along with philosophy professor T. Storm Heter taught a “Human Rights and Freedom” class that produced 30 posters on an inclusion project. In early December 2017 the posters were hung throughout the ESU campus, displaying various views on political, racial/ethical, cultural, gender differences, barriers, and multiple other topics that take on issues people face every day. To view the article please visit this link: http://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/academic-freedom-sides/

December 1, 2017, The Dakota Student

The Dakota Student

No abstract provided.

Transient Solution Of M[X1],M[X2]/G1,G2/1 With Priority Services, Modified Bernoulli Vacation, Bernoulli Feedback, Breakdown, Delaying Repair And Reneging, G. Ayyappan, J. Udayageetha

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper considers a queuing system which facilitates a single server that serves two classes of units: high priority and low priority units. These two classes of units arrive at the system in two independent compound Poisson processes. It aims to decipher average queue size and average waiting time of the units. Under the pre-emptive priority rule, the server provides a general service to these arriving units. It is further assumed the server may take a vacation after serving the last high priority unit present in the system or at the service completion of each low priority unit present in …

Exponentiated Weibull-Exponential Distribution With Applications, M. Elgarhy, M. Shakil, B. M. Golam Kibria

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this article, a new four-parameter continuous model, called the exponentiated Weibull exponential distribution, is introduced based on exponentiated Weibull-G family (Hassan and Elgarhy, 2016). The new model contains some new distributions as well as some former distributions. Various mathematical properties of this distribution are studied. General explicit expressions for the quantile function, expansion of distribution and density functions, moments, generating function, Rényi and q – entropies, and order statistics are obtained. The estimation of the model parameters is discussed using maximum likelihood method. The practical importance of the new distribution is demonstrated through real data set where we compare …

The Fmx/Fm/1 Queue With Multiple Working Vacation, G. Kannadasan, N. Sathiyamoorthi

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This study investigates the batch arrival FM^X/FM/1 queue with multiple working vacation. For this fuzzy queuing model, this research obtains some performance measure of interest such as mean system length, mean system sojourn time, mean busy period for the server and working vacation period. Finally, numerical results are presented to show the effects of system parameters.