Digital Commons Network^™

Senegal’S Unsustainable Economic Growth., Amadou Konteye

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Modeling Taxi Demand Using Time Series Models, Sabiheh Faghih

Dissertations and Theses

The spatio-temporal variations in demand for transportation, particularly taxis, are impacted by various factors such as commuting, weather, road work and closures, disruption in transit services, etc. Identifying the factors that influence taxi demand and understanding its dynamic provide planners with the information necessary to improve the transportation systems and also help drivers to reduce their vacant time.

This dissertation focuses on important factors affecting the demand. In the beginning, the impact of price changes on the demand is studied. Chapter One discusses how the seasonal effects and trends are removed from the demand, and then price elasticity for demand …

Are The Public Subsidies Of Professional Sports Stadiums Worth The Cost Of Building Them?, Spencer Abraham

CMC Senior Theses

The results generated by this research argue that, in the future, communities should take into account crime and other social costs as they analyze the merits of investing in new sports complexes and that a failure to consider these factors could constitute a serious dereliction on the parts of the public officials who are ultimately responsible for new facility investment decision making. Moreover, both this research and previous studies of the economic effects of new sports facilities, strongly indicate that public entities considering funding new facilities do a more in depth independent study of the likely economic consequences of their …

Classification Of Aerosol Population Type And Cloud Condensation Nuclei Properties In A Coastal California Littoral Environment Using An Unsupervised Cluster Model, Samuel A. Atwood, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Paul J. Demott, Markus D. Petters, Gavin Cornwell, Andrew C. Martin, Kathryn A. Moore

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aerosol particle and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) measurements from a littoral location on the northern coast of California at Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory (BML) are presented for approximately six weeks of observations during the boreal winter–spring as part of the CalWater-2015 field campaign. The nature and variability of surface (marine boundary layer, MBL) aerosol populations were evaluated by classifying observations into periods of similar aerosol and meteorological characteristics using an unsupervised cluster model to derive distinct littoral aerosol population types and link them to source regions. Such classifications support efforts to understand the impact of changing aerosol properties on precipitation …

A State Aggregation Approach For Stochastic Multiperiod Last-Mile Ride-Sharing Problems, Lucas Agussurja, Shih-Fen Cheng, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The arrangement of last-mile services is playing an increasingly important role in making public transport more accessible. We study the use of ridesharing in satisfying last-mile demands with the assumption that demands are uncertain and come in batches. The most important contribution of our paper is a two-level Markov decision process framework that is capable of generating a vehicle-dispatching policy for the aforementioned service. We introduce state summarization, representative states, and sample-based cost estimation as major approximation techniques in making our approach scalable. We show that our approach converges and solution quality improves as sample size increases. We also apply …

The Uses Of History In International Society: From The Paris Peace Conference To The Present, Margaret Macmillan, Patrick Quinton-Brown

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

History has been used—and abused—for centuries. Yet the more familiar notion of ‘history's lessons’—a notion which tends to make most historians uncomfortable, and which surely demands thoroughgoing skepticism—is far from exhaustive of history's uses in the practice and study of international relations. One important and timely subject is the more constitutive role of history in international deliberations over the creation, fragmentation and transformation of nation-states. What follows is a historical comparison of the changing ways in which the past has been used to frame the terms and content of such debates. While we will be exploring the uses of history …

Investigation Into Photovoltaic Distributed Generation Penetration In The Low Voltage Distribution Network, Shivananda Pukhrem

Doctoral

Significant integration of photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) in the low voltage distribution network (LVDN) could potentially pose threats and challenges to the core activity of distribution system operators (DSO), which is to transport electrical energy in a reliable and cost-effective way. The main aim of this research is to investigate the active planning and operation of LVDNs with increased PVDG integration through steady state power system analysis. To address the impacts of voltage profile fluctuation due to power flow modification, this research proposes a probabilistic risk assessment of power quality (PQ) variations and events that may arise due to significant …

The Warren Court’S Pursuit Of Kant’S Realm Of Ends, Daniel Feldman

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Temporal Variation Of Moose–Vehicle Collisions In Alaska, Lucian R. Mcdonald, Terry A. Messmer, Michael R. Guttery

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Collisions between vehicles and wildlife have long been recognized to pose threats to motorists and wildlife populations. In addition to the risk of injury or mortality faced by the motorists involved in wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs), other drivers are also put at risk due to road obstructions and traffic congestions associated with WVCs. Most WVCs in Alaska involve moose (Alces alces), an animal that is sufficiently large to pose a threat to property and human life when involved in collisions. We analyzed the temporal variation in the number of moose–vehicle collisions (MVCs) reported in the 4 most populous boroughs …

Pipelines & Power-Lines: Building The Energy Transport Future, James W. Coleman

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The United States is in the middle of three profound energy revolutions — with booming production of renewable power, natural gas, and oil. The country is replacing coal power with renewable and natural gas power, reducing pollution while saving consumers money. And it has dramatically cut its oil imports while becoming, for the first time in half a century, an important oil exporter. The U.S. is on the cusp of an energy transformation that will provide immense economic and environmental benefits.

This new energy economy will require massive investment in energy transport — especially power lines to bring wind and …

From Nativism To White Power: Mid-Twentieth-Century White Supremacist Movements In Oregon, Shane Burley, Alexander Ross

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two document cases in the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) Research Library's George Rennar papers contain significant documentation of White supremacist organizations that developed in Oregon during the period between World War I and World War II. In this Research Files article, Shane Burley and Alexander Reid Ross highlight connections found within the collection between the variety of interlinked, racist, and nationalist organizations during that time period. Burley and Ross argue that while “membership numbers remained relatively small, these organizations provided a crucial link to the development of radical right-wing groups during the postwar era.”

A Pca-Ols Model For Assessing The Impact Of Surface Biophysical Parameters On Land Surface Temperature Variations, Mohammad Karimi Firozjaei, Seyed Kazem Alavipanah, Hua Liu, Amir Sedighi, Naeim Mijani, Majid Kiavarz, Qihao Weng

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Analysis of land surface temperature (LST) spatiotemporal variations and characterization of the factors affecting these variations are of great importance in various environmental studies and applications. The aim of this study is to propose an integrated model for characterizing LST spatiotemporal variations and for assessing the impact of surface biophysical parameters on the LST variations. For this purpose, a case study was conducted in Babol City, Iran, during the period of 1985 to 2018. We used 122 images of Landsat 5, 7, and 8, and products of water vapor (MOD07) and daily LST (MOD11A1) from the MODIS sensor of the …

Application Of Geodetector Method And Other Statistical Methods To Study Groundwater Vulnerability To Nitrate Contamination In The Central Valley Aquifer, California, Anil Shrestha

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Central Valley (CV) Aquifer, California is one of the most productive regions of the United States, where large amount of nitrogen fertilizer has been applied for the last few decades to increase the crop productivity. The application of excessive fertilizer has increased the level of nitrate (NO3-N) in the groundwater to above EPA’s maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 mg/L in several domestic, public and monitoring wells. The concentration of nitrate in the groundwater can vary spatially depending on the local nitrogen sources, aquifer characteristics and geochemical condition of the area. The changing hydrogeological conditions of the valley due …

Beyond A Language Boundary: Encounters With Silence And L1 Spanish-Speakers' Willingness To Communicate In English, John Turnbull

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The descriptive multi-case study asks three adult migrants, first-language (L1) Spanish-speakers from México, about their interpretations of their own and others’ silences as they navigate daily life, jobs, family, and English-language learning in the United States. Subjective opinions about silence, their second-language (L2) acquisition processes, comfort levels in various speaking situations, functions of L2 communication, and affective and social dimensions of language learning are related to participants’ willingness to communicate (WTC), a construct that measures a predisposition to talk, rather than stay silent, in L2 interaction.

The research, through daily language-use surveys and semi-structured Spanish-language interviews with the three English-language …

Analyzing Changes In Rural Town Development And Spatial Morphology: A Case Study Of Lakota, North Dakota, 1908-2018, Kelli Fika

Theses and Dissertations

The face of the many rural towns in the U.S. Great Plains region has changed dramatically. Many towns that boomed in the early 1900s struggle to survive or no longer exist, collectively contributing to the depopulation of the Great Plains. One way to study these changes and understand what influences a rural town’s ability to survive is through analyzing its spatial morphology. Spatial morphology includes looking at changes in roads, buildings, and building plots and how these elements work together to shape town form and function. Previous works have focused mainly on applying this technique to urban areas, but I …

Determination Of Maximum Scour Depth For Spur Dikes Based On A Validated Two-Dimensional Hec-Ras Model, Mathew Lee Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of spur dikes into a river flow field can have many far-reaching positive effects on the stability of a river channel. While the flow velocity directly at the spur dike tip or crest may increase, a large embayment area downstream of the spur dike will form with reduced flow velocities. Due to the increase in flow velocity at the spur dike, a scour hole will form. Scour is the leading cause of failure of hydraulic structures. In the past many hydraulic structures were tested by building scale prototype models, this method is very costly and hard to model …

Disruption, Remix, And Mediation: Analyzing "Bot" Algorithm Case Studies To Better Understand Rhetorical Agency In The Digital Age, Aaron Geiger

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Algorithms are ubiquitous components of digital age rhetoric and communication. Although they are integrated within our daily online functions, shaping our discourse and interactions with one another and with other algorithms, little is known how they shape rhetorical agency. Most of our online communication occurs through social media on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and we rely on social spaces like Wikipedia for updated information that is shaped by social constructs. We presume that since we program algorithms, their communicating functions mimic human discourse and can be shaped similarly.

However, a rich text analysis of three different case studies …

Use Of Landsat Satellite Imagery To Identify The Salinization Of Soil Due To Brine Spills In Northwestern North Dakota, Neha Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Oil and gas development in northwestern North Dakota, has resulted in the drilling of more than 32,000 wells and produced large volumes of salt water (brine). Brine spills can have negative impacts on plant and water resources. This research evaluated the detection of brine spills in Bottineau County, North Dakota using Landsat imagery and the Canopy Response Salinity Index (CRSI). The CRSI uses ratios of near-infrared and infrared bands from Landsat imagery. Spill data for Bottineau County from 1975 to 2017 were collected from the North Dakota Department of Health for analysis of spill volume, number of spills, and timing …

Full Issue, New Mexico Historical Review

New Mexico Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Unmanned Aerial-Vehicle-Based Measurement Of Urban Forests, Earle W. Isibue

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Human and natural forces continually act on urban forests to producing changes that leading to trees being removed or replanted. Therefore, to manage the urban forest effectively, periodic inventories are needed to ensure that information about the urban forest is current and comprehensive. This task has traditionally been accomplished by manual ground-based field surveys, or more recently by lidar; however, these methods are expensive, either in terms of time, labor, or cost. This project proposes a novel method of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to more accurately measure urban tree height and trunk diameter than is currently possible using conventional …

Faculty Adaptation To Emerging Instructional Technologies In Higher Education, Marilyn Murrillo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an …

Rural Teachers' Perceptions Of Collaboration And Professional Growth In Mathematics, Katherine M. Burns

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are a focal point in rural communities, building educational and cultural connections between the families and schools they serve on a daily basis. At the same time, geography and other constraints can impact rural teachers’ access to professional development and other resources. This mixed methods exploratory study focuses on a two-year professional learning program that supported rural teachers’ (n=38) professional growth in mathematics and encouraged the development of a collaborative Community of Practice spanning 14 elementary school sites in four Northern California counties.

Research methods incorporated a secondary data analysis, as well as the collection of new data. Quantitative …

Development Along Rattlesnake Creek: An Assessment Of Stream Health, Channel Form, And Land Cover, Christopher D. Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using existing water quality data, historical aerial photographs, and recent orthoimagery, this research assessed how the environmental conditions of Rattlesnake Creek near Missoula, Montana have changed over nearly 90 years of human alteration of the Rattlesnake valley. To characterize stream health, the following indicators were investigated: fish genetic composition and species distribution, water temperature, streamflow, and nutrient levels. Five overlapping aerial photos from 1929 were georectified and compared to 2015 orthoimagery to assess changes in channel form (particularly channel straightening) and land cover across the Rattlesnake Creek valley bottom. Results indicate that trout species in Rattlesnake Creek have hybridized, in …

Understanding The Relationship Between Discursive Resources And Risk-Taking Behaviors In Outdoor Adventure Athletes, Mira Ione Cleveland

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explores the various discursive resources influencing the identities of outdoor adventure athletes, specifically in regard to risk taking behaviors. The qualitative analysis reported here relied on participants’ accounts on how they understood themselves, specifically as outdoor adventure athletes. Interviewees had the opportunity to reflect on their identities when they were asked questions about their experiences in their sports. Discourse was the means to both develop and express understanding of their identities. Results indicate that personal relationships and mountain environments were perceived to have a major influence on both identity and risk taking. These influences emerged through the processes …

Tectonic Geomorphology Of The Ne Clark Canyon Reservoir Area, Beaverhead County, Montana, Ian Robinson Thomsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Clark Canyon Reservoir occupies the northern Red Rock Valley in Beaverhead County, southwestern Montana. The region is a part of the northern Basin and Range province of western North America. It is characterized by a series of north-south trending extensional basins that have served as sediment traps since their formation. The Red Rock Valley is drained by the Red Rock River, which flows from Lower Red Rock Lake north to the Clark Canyon Reservoir at its confluence with the Beaverhead River. This river system has been active in the Red Rock Valley since the Miocene epoch.

This study characterizes …

Long-Term Impact On Environmental Attitudes And Knowledge Assessed Over Three Semesters Of An Environmental Engineering Sequence, Benjamin Michael Wallen, Nathaniel Sheehan, Luke Plante, Erick Martinez, Jeffrey A. Starke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The pedagogy employed in a three-course environmental engineering sequence is investigated to determine the efficacy of enabling long-term improvement of knowledge and attitudes toward the environment. These three courses incorporate concepts of the five grand challenges released by the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences and increase the breadth of knowledge for T-professionals. Previous studies of lengths from a few weeks to semester long courses evaluated the potential causality among various demographics and environmental knowledge and attitudes. The research presented herein contrasts and compares changes in environmental knowledge based upon a 12-question survey and changes in environmental …

Rethinking Pedagogy: Exploring The Potential Of Digital Technology In Achieving Quality Education, Lorenzo Alemán De La Garza, Alessandra Anichini, Péter Antal, Aurélie Beaune, Helen Crompton, Avgoustos Tsinakos, Et Al.

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s Category 1 education Institute in the Asia-Pacific region devoted to education for peace and sustainable development, as enshrined in SDG Target 4.7. UNESCO MGIEP promotes the use of digital learning platforms where teachers and students can co-create and share a highly interactive learning experience. With the rise of the internet, there has been a proliferation of online content and digital resources intended to support teaching and learning, albeit widely varying in quality. Digital education media and resources, if carefully designed and implemented, have a …

Amyloid And White Mater Hyperintensity Burden In The Stroke Belt, Emily Carol Mckinley

All ETDs from UAB

Several large cohort studies have found associations between residence in the Stroke Belt and cognitive impairment as well as dementia mortality; however, the rela-tionship between residence in the Stroke Belt and buildup of amyloid has not been estab-lished. The current project assessed the association between residence in the Stroke Belt and amyloid burden, amyloid accumulation, or white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in a large, national cohort of older US residents. The first study used linear regression models to examine the relationship between geographic residence and Centiloid values. Residence in the Stroke Belt at the time of baseline amyloid PET assessment was …

The Role Of The Built Environment In Transforming Underserved Neighborhoods Into Smart And Connected Communities, Mary Claire Nabors

All ETDs from UAB

The goal of this report is to create a model for transforming underserved neighborhoods into smart, connected, healthy, and sustainable communities by focusing on the built environment. To do this, there must be a thorough neighborhood analysis of the existing conditions with recommendations for what needs to be done, both short term and long term. The built environment impacts many aspects of a neighborhood and the quality of life for residents. Sidewalks, streets, lighting, landscaping, and accessibility are all components of the built environment and research has continuously shown how the deterioration of the built environment affects the health and …

Creative Lesson Planning With College And Career Readiness Standards: Thoughts From The Curriculum Library, Margaret Robillard

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Preservice teachers carefully craft lesson plans to meet the academic needs of elementary through high school students in their fieldwork. They rely in part on finding high quality texts and trade books that relate to College and Career Readiness Standards (CCR). While college curriculum libraries are excellent sources for materials, their organization often is not aligned with national curriculum academic standards. Preservice teachers therefore sometimes struggle to find appropriate analog resources to create lesson plans that integrate disciplinary literacy. This research utilizes CCR standards, survey data from stakeholders, and library organizational research literature to create a categorization system based on …