Digital Commons Network^™

Pre-Test Processing Differences Of Test Anxious Students, Michelle M. Garcia

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-testing differences in persons with test anxiety (TA) comparted to person without test anxiety. Specifically, the study focused on differences in test preparation and study methods between groups. Further understanding of pretest differences regarding the processing and study methods of TA students may lead to the development of interventions that improve the deficits experienced by those with TA. All participants were administered the Cognitive Test Anxiety Inventory (CTAI) designed by Cassady and Johnson (2002). Persons that scored above the mean of 73.1 were classified as having TA, those who scored below …

A Novel Switch-Like Function Of Delta-Catenin In Dendrite Development, Ryan Baumert

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The formation of neuronal networks in the brain is tightly regulated, and dependent on the morphology of dendrites, the branch-like signal-receiving structures extending from neurons. Disruptions in dendrite development, or dendritogenesis, can lead to the atypical neuronal connectivity associated with multiple neurodevelopmental diseases. My research addresses molecular processes that underlie dendritogenesis via analysis of a pair of novel interactions involving the protein delta-catenin.

In neurons, delta-catenin localizes to dendrites and synapses, where it functions in their development and maintenance. Structurally, delta-catenin possesses a central Armadillo domain and a C-terminal PDZ-binding motif. This motif associates with PDZ domain-containing proteins, and is …

2019 Summer-Fall Graduate Recognition Program, Propulsion Research Center, Robert Frederick

PRC Graduate Recognition

This program includes the graduate recognition program for summer and fall 2019. Includes photographs, upcoming events, recent publications, and student profiles.

Stability Through Economic Growth In Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir Khan

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Afghan public’s opinion to identify the overall direction of the country, whether the country, in terms of economic growth, is moving in a positive direction or not. How do economic factors affect the public’s views on the direction of the country? Based on that, this study finds that economic growth has an effect on the Afghan public’s opinion on the country’s direction.

Afghans are not enjoying stability in their country yet, after the majority of Afghans accepted U.S. military intervention in 2001 and the establishment of the new government to end instability. It was not an …

Fitchett And Nolans' "Case Studies In Spiritual Care: Healthcare Chaplaincy Assessments, Interventions & Outcomes" (Book Review), Xin "Lucy" Bai

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Modelling And Fault Diagnosis Approach For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Systems Incorporating Ambient Conditions, Saad Saleem Khan

Dissertations

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), as a source of electrical power, provides numerous benefits such as zero carbon emission and high reliability as compared to wind and solar energy. PEMFC operates at very low temperature, high power density, and has very high durability as compared to other fuel cells. Being a non-linear power source with high sensitivity to ambient conditions variation, the prediction of PEMFC voltage and temperature is a complicated issue. The most common PEMFC models are classified as mechanistic models, semi-empirical models, and purely empirical methods. The mechanistic models are complex and require differential equations to predict …

An Empirical Study Of Sms One-Time Password Authentication In Android Apps, Siqi Ma, Runhan Feng, Juanru Li, Yang Liu, Surya Nepal, Elisa Bertino, Robert H. Deng, Zhuo Ma, Sanjay Jha

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A great quantity of user passwords nowadays has been leaked through security breaches of user accounts. To enhance the security of the Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) in such circumstance, Android app developers often implement a complementary One-Time Password (OTP) authentication by utilizing the short message service (SMS). Unfortunately, SMS is not specially designed as a secure service and thus an SMS One-Time Password is vulnerable to many attacks. To check whether a wide variety of currently used SMS OTP authentication protocols in Android apps are properly implemented, this paper presents an empirical study against them. We first derive a set …

The Dynamic Impacts Of Online Healthcare Community On Physician Altruism: A Hidden Markov Model, Kai Luo, Qiu-Hong Wang, Hock Hai Teo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Physician altruism is not only a key foundation of modern medical professionalism, but also a critical component in the theoretical health economics study. There is considerable interest in understanding the impacts of contemporary healthcare technology on physician altruism. In this paper, we investigate the dynamic influence of multiple incentive mechanisms developed by an online healthcare community (OHC) on physician altruism. We model physician altruism as the degree of tendency to benefit the patients at the cost of oneself and focus on the incentive mechanisms that give physicians social and economic returns. The dynamics of physician altruism is characterized via a …

Appmod: Helping Older Adults Manage Mobile Security With Online Social Help, Zhiyuan Wan, Lingfeng Bao, Debin Gao, Eran Toch, Xin Xia, Tamir Mendel, David Lo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The rapid adoption of Smartphone devices has caused increasing security and privacy risks and breaches. Catching up with ever-evolving contemporary smartphone technology challenges leads older adults (aged 50+) to reduce or to abandon their use of mobile technology. To tackle this problem, we present AppMoD, a community-based approach that allows delegation of security and privacy decisions a trusted social connection, such as a family member or a close friend. The trusted social connection can assist in the appropriate decision or make it on behalf of the user. We implement the approach as an Android app and describe the results of …

Smu Teaching Bank: Case Study Of A Multiyear Development Project Utilizing Student Resources, Alan Megargel, Terence P. C. Fan, Venky Shankararaman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A domain refers to a business sector such as banking, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing etc. For an IS student, it is imperative that the domain knowledge includes a comprehension and understanding of business processes, technology and data related to the chosen domain. For example, when learning the retail banking domain, an IS student must have an understanding of the transactions concerned with retail banking such as fund transfers and loan repayments. The student must also gain a strong foothold in transaction fulfilment processes, the various application services that are used, the data that is transferred, etc. Teaching domain knowledge is very …

Self-Organizing Neural Networks For Universal Learning And Multimodal Memory Encoding, Ah-Hwee Tan, Budhitama Subagdja, Di Wang, Lei Meng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Learning and memory are two intertwined cognitive functions of the human brain. This paper shows how a family of biologically-inspired self-organizing neural networks, known as fusion Adaptive Resonance Theory (fusion ART), may provide a viable approach to realizing the learning and memory functions. Fusion ART extends the single-channel Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) model to learn multimodal pattern associative mappings. As a natural extension of ART, various forms of fusion ART have been developed for a myriad of learning paradigms, ranging from unsupervised learning to supervised learning, semi-supervised learning, multimodal learning, reinforcement learning, and sequence learning. In addition, fusion ART models …

The Travel And Tourism Competitiveness Index: Examining The Reciprocal Relationship Among The Ttci Factors Relative To Porter’S (1998) Diamond Model And Airline Passenger Seat Capacity For The Countries Of The World, Hani Abdullah

Theses and Dissertations

The current study tested the application of Porter's (1998) diamond model of international competitiveness to the travel and tourism (T&T) industry by examining the relationship among the 14 factors of the travel and tourism competitiveness index (TTCI) to the model's four dimensions. The assignment of TTCI factors to these dimensions was guided by Dwyer and Kim (2003) and Ritchie and Crouch (2010). The study also examined the relationship between TTCI factors and airline passenger seat capacity, which was measured as the per capita annual average of weekly available seat kilometers. The sample comprised 136 countries, which represented 70% of the …

Multimethod Assessment Of Interpersonal Dysfunction Using The Rorschach And The Mmpi-2-Rf, Ryan Daniels

Theses and Dissertations

Well established and widely used personality measures such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) and Rorschach contain several scales or indices related to interpersonal dysfunction, but from very different methodologies. Using a multimethod assessment framework, the current study examined four primary areas of interpersonal dysfunction assessed by these measures in a sample of 65 adult outpatient clients who underwent services at a Community Psychological Services center. The four areas examined were hostility and aggression; isolation and avoidance; passivity and dependency; and insecurity and ineffectiveness. First, the study postulated that MMPI-2-RF and Rorschach variables within an interpersonal domain would …

A Comparison Of Mmpi-2-Rf Profiles Of Outpatients With Reported Chronic Medical Conditions, Reported Disability, Or Psychological Ailments, Natalie Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

Past personality assessment research using MMPI instruments has examined their use in a variety of contexts, including in healthcare settings. The utility of the more recently developed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2- RF), however, has not been examined in these contexts to the same degree. The present study evaluated differences between MMPI-2-RF scores in a sample of 154 adult outpatient community mental health clients who (a) reported a preexisting physical condition in conjunction with psychological symptoms (n = 66), (b) were either in the process of applying for or were already receiving Social Security disability compensation (n = …

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Iv (Mcmi-Iv) Profile Patterns And Scale Score Correlates For Jail Inmates Referred For Mental Health Services, Lauren Ashley Price

Theses and Dissertations

Personality assessment measures have been heavily used and researched with criminal offender populations in the realms of clinical, forensic, and correctional psychology for reasons including assessing reoffending risk, informing predictions regarding future behavior, and treatment planning. The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) features among the personality assessment measures widely used in evaluating criminal offenders. This current study compromised of adults male inmates (N=95) incarcerated in Brevard County, Florida examined scores from the recently released Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Fourth Edition (MCMI-IV). The study’s goals included (a) providing reference data based on a sample of jail inmates receiving mental health services, (b) …

Motivated Interpersonal Emotion Regulation In Leadership, Julianna Jasmin Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

Emotions are important and prevalent workplace phenomena. Previous research has found that emotions can impact different workplace-related outcomes, from increasing employee performance to increasing employee well-being (Barsade & Gibson, 2007). Leaders are expected to engage in interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies that influence their followers’ emotions to facilitate these outcomes. However, little is known about this process. Leaders might have different motives for regulating followers’ emotions, such as to help them learn a skill, to be compassionate with them, or to push them to get work done. Additionally, they might target specific emotions depending on that intention and, in turn, …

Earth – Mars Cycler Vehicle Conceptual Design, Bhumika Patel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis summarizes a conceptual design for an Earth – Mars Cycler vehicle designed to transfer astronauts between Earth and Mars. The primary objective of the design study is to accommodate the crews’ needs and to estimate the overall mass and power required during Earth – Mars transfer. The study defines a concept of operations and system functional requirements and discusses the systems breakdown and subsystems design analysis. Systems developed for the cycler vehicle is designed primarily for the S1L1 cycler trajectory. The initial sizing of cycler subsystems is based on reference data from historical human spaceflight. The study performed …

Design Of A System For Inexpensive Underwater Fiber Optic In Vivo Imaging And Mass Balance Accounting Of Tissue Engineering Candidates, Nicole Melissa Bueno Guerrero

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to create a prototype bioreactor that mimics a cell’s microenvironment. The ultimate goal is to set up an array of 36 bioreactors in parallel and monitor them with an array of sensors that will enable full mass and energy balance accounting and in vivo imaging. This thesis will analyze the various options available for cell imaging, as well as describe the construction of a bioreactor design in which cell images can be obtained without removing the cells from the bioreactor. The hypothesis for this project is that imaging of unstained cells in an aquarium …

A Taxonomy Of Security Features For The Comparison Of Home Automation Protocols, Amal Abdullah Alasiri

Theses and Dissertations

Both academia and industry environments are getting significant attention to the Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology because of the unlimited benefits that this technology can bring to the environment. The technology presents a vision of a future Internet where computing systems, nodes, users, and daily nodes such as sensors and actuators cooperate with unprecedented convenience and economic benefits. The umbrella of IoT covers various applications as the following (smart home, transport, community, and national applications). Most of the studies focus on its technical and usage more than the security perspective. Especially, there are limited papers focus on smart home protocols security regarding …

A Systematic Approach For Automatically Answering General-Purpose Objective And Subjective Questions, Lok Prasad Acharya

Theses and Dissertations

In this era of information explosion, people generally rely on the Internet, and more precisely, the search engines to get answers to their questions. However, what a search engine can do is just retrieve documents. Given some keywords, it only returns the relevant ranked documents that contain the keywords. Although users often want a precise answer to a question, they are left to extract answers from the documents themselves. This is where Automatic Question Answering (AQA) systems come into play. An AQA system takes questions in natural language as input and searches related answers in the set of documents and …

Human-Robot Plan Communication, Rajaa A. Rahil

Theses and Dissertations

Although the technical development of robots has made them more autonomous, they still benefit from some human skills and advice. Therefore, the robot needs to interact with a human and ask him for help to get out of difficulties in the best way. This dissertation addresses the problem of finding better mechanisms to communicate to a robot the directions for navigation in indoor environments. We identify which out of a set of combinations of speech, gestures, and drawing mechanisms are the most comfortable, easier to learn, and least error-prone for human users. Three different methods: a Speaking method, a Gesturing …

Machine Learning In The State Design Pattern, Timothy Matthew Von Friesen

Theses and Dissertations

As the Internet of Things revolution continues to become more prevalent in humanity's daily routine, securing these devices is paramount. Society has seen a substantial increase in activity in the cyber-warfare battle space, resulting in an increasing amount of security breaches every year. The responsibility of securing our devices can no longer rely solely on cyber-security engineers keeping systems hardened through Security Technical Implementation Guides and vulnerability scans; it must shift towards the developer. Previous research has been done in this area of securing our devices. However, these solutions rely heavily on cloud computing resources to perform computationally expensive algorithms. …

Single Photon Avalanche Diode (Spad) Array Quenching And A Novel Quantum Random Number Generator (Qrng), Mano Rahul Kumar Pakalapati

Theses and Dissertations

Single Photon Avalanche Diodes, SPADs is a single-photon sensitive light detector with capabilities of pico-second timing resolutions and offer potential for enhancing various fields of science to evolve into quantum-age. SPAD has applications ranging from quantum computing, cryptography (QKD) to applications in medicine such as neural imaging and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). SPAD arrays are gaining popularity as they enable for parallel photon detection and 3D imaging. To account for the process tolerances and aging, each SPAD-pixel needs a tunable quenching circuit in the frontend for post-fabrication fine-tuning, this research work presents a novel Dual Triggered Tunable Active …

Gut Content Analysis Of Benthic Foraging Fish Compared To Invertebrate Infauna Distributions In Dredged Vs. Undredged Habitats, Danielle Louise Juzwick

Theses and Dissertations

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) has experienced a loss in seagrasses due to organic sediment accumulation and harmful algal blooms. Seagrasses are an essential nursery habitat for many fishes and benthic invertebrates. IRL fish known to utilize benthic habitat and feed on invertebrates include Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulates), juvenile Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and Mojarra (Eucinostomus spp.). The most abundant major infaunal taxa of the IRL are crustaceans, polychaetes, and mollusks. Environmental dredging in the IRL’s Turkey Creek is intended to improve water quality, remove harmful sediments and restore benthic habitat. Such dredging may impact benthic invertebrate populations and, indirectly, …

An Estimation Of Light Attenuation In A Shallow Estuary Using In-Situ Observations And Multispectral Satellite Imagery, Samin Taosif Aziz

Theses and Dissertations

A methodology is used to predict the underwater light field using data from the WorldView-3 (WV-3) multispectral satellite sensor. WV-3 multispectral imagery is analyzed to estimate reflectance above the water surface, followed by application of empirical algorithms at different water depth locations to estimate light attenuation and penetration depths in shallow water. This approach uses (a) full bit resolution WV-3 imagery, (b) top of atmosphere spectral radiance to estimate reflectance at the sensor and (c) atmospheric corrections to estimate water surface reflectance just above the water. After the water reflectance is obtained, it is used to correct for water surface …

Working With Environmental Economists, Annika Marie Rieger, Joerg Rieger

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Awareness of environmental degradation, culminating in the broad global transformations of human-caused climate change, is no longer a peripheral issue. And while there may be some debate of climate change, a simple denial is no longer an option in light of the data and the agreement of 97 per cent of scientists. In light of the sheer magnitude of the challenge, which has the potential to threaten human survival, much of what we know must be rethought, including traditional academic disciplines. In this essay, an environmental sociologist and a theologian enter into a conversation with environmental economists and others concerned …

Air Quality Monitoring Wireless Sensor Network With Electrochemical Sensing Elements, Saeed Faisal Malky

Theses and Dissertations

Harmful atmospheric pollutants have been attributed to causing adverse weather conditions and health problems, which are particularly prevalent in more populated global regions, such as megacities. Nongovernmental and international agencies throughout the world have likewise called for increased awareness and action to effectively counter the increased rates of air pollution, as the consequences seem ominous. Meanwhile, in several major urban landscapes such as Saudi Arabia, no modern apparatus or efficient systematic mechanisms exist for the qualitative detection of dangerous pollutants and gases. The current counterparts for hazardous gas measurements are expensive, bulky and cumbersome to set up. Thus, sensor devices …

Pornographic Deepfakes: The Case For Federal Criminalization Of Revenge Porn’S Next Tragic Act, Rebecca A. Delfino

Fordham Law Review

This could happen to you. Like millions of people worldwide, you have uploaded digital photographs of yourself to the internet through social media platforms. Your pictures aren’t sexually explicit or revealing—they depict your daily life, spending time with friends or taking “selfies” on vacation. But then someone decides they don’t like you. Using an app available on any smartphone, this antagonist clips digital images of your face from your innocuous pictures and pastes them seamlessly onto the body of a person engaged in sexually explicit acts. Without your knowledge or consent, you become the “star” of a realistic, pornographic “deepfake.” …

How To Explain To Your Twins Why Only One Can Be American: The Right To Citizenship Of Children Born To Same-Sex Couples Through Assisted Reproductive Technology, Lena K. Bruce

Fordham Law Review

Sections 301 and 309 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) govern birthright citizenship by descent. Per the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) interpretation of these sections, to transmit citizenship to a child, the U.S. citizen-parent must have a biological connection with the child. For couples who use assisted reproductive technology (ART) to have children, however, this means that one parent will always be barred from transmitting citizenship to their own child. This is because in ART families, at least one parent will always lack the biological connection that the DOS requires to transmit citizenship pursuant to the INA. This …

Public Nuisance Claims After Conagra, Steven Czak

Fordham Law Review

This Note examines the continuing harms of lead-based paint and attempts by cities and states to hold manufacturers and distributors liable for abatement under the public nuisance doctrine. Such suits have stretched traditional conceptions of public nuisance, particularly on the threshold issue of whether pervasive lead paint in residences infringes on a common right held by the public. This Note reviews the major lead paint public nuisance cases from across the country. The plaintiffs were unsuccessful in each case for a variety of reasons until ten California counties prevailed in People v. ConAgra in November 2017. While subsequently reduced by …