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Gardner-Webb Selects Second Recipient Of Tucker Scholarship, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

A high school senior who excels academically and shares her faith enthusiastically is the second recipient of the Tucker Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength Scholarship at Gardner-Webb University. Kyndal Jackson, of Gaffney, S.C., was honored in a formal presentation of the award on Dec. 21 in the Tucker Student Center. This prestigious scholarship recognizes a student with exceptional academic achievement, who also exemplifies the commands of Jesus found in Mark 12:29-31—“Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jackson was chosen from a field of 118 applicants, and was …

Characteristics Of The Tapanuli Orangutan Habitat In The Conflict Area Of Batang Toru Landscape, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wanda Kuswanda, R. Hamdani Harahap, Hadi S. Alikodra, Robert Sibarani

Forest and Society

Forest fragmentation has resulted in decreased wildlife habitat, which has triggered conflicts with humans due to the use of the same plants. This has been particularly contentious with the tapanuli orangutan. Research of the tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) habitat is very limited. The aims of this research is to examine the latest habitat conditions, such as land cover, composition of vegetation, feed plant, and habitat carrying capacity to provide recommendations for habitat management in developing a mitigation policy of the human-tapanuli orangutan conflict. The research location is focused on the area of human-orangutan conflict in the Batang Toru …

Efficiency Of Land Use In Smallholder Palm Oil Plantations In Indonesia: A Stochastic Frontier Approach, Dyah Wulan Sari, Faqih Nur Hidayat, Irawati Abdul

Forest and Society

Indonesia has become the country with the largest palm oil production. However, the level of productivity of oil palm per land in Indonesia tends to remain stagnant. The main objective of this study is to evaluate oil palm lands of smallholders that experience land inefficiency. In analyzing land efficiency, this study used cross-section data obtained from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). This study uses an input distance function approach with stochastic frontier analysis tools. Our estimation results found that on average, smallholders oil palm plantations face land inefficiency. The land inefficiency of smallholder oil palm plantations is not proportional to the negative …

Evidence-Based Practices To Promote Inclusion In Today’S Catholic School, Sean Smith, G Cheatham, Maggie Mosher

Journal of Catholic Education

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present inclusionary practices for Catholic education classrooms that emphasize the integration of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Practices that have been developed to address the needs of all students, particularly learners who are at-risk as well as their peers with an identified disability. Over the past two decades, educational reforms and corresponding effective practices have evolved to correspond with the growing expectations that all student should be given the opportunity to participate in the general education experience. Applying the evidence-based practices presented in this article can provide Catholic educators with the needed support and …

Effects Of Student Leadership In A Peer-To-Peer Programme On Resiliency, Self-Efficacy And Motivation Of Undergraduate Students In A Private University, Christine Wong Siew Kuan

Student Works (2020-2029)

An ongoing concern amongst students in higher education is the ability to do well and succeed academically. One of the main factors in addressing that concern is ensuring a smooth and positive transition for students from high school entering university. Hence, the first-year experience in higher education institution for these students is crucial to help them to manage and cope with the new environment. Peer learning programmes have been proven to help students succeed academically especially for the first-year students. In building that momentum for ultimate academic success, it is also important to note that students need to build their …

The Role Of Exposure To Communication Channels, Institutional Trust And Moral Norm In Predicting Pm2.5 Risk-Reduction Intention In China: A Study Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior., Tong Lin

Theses - ALL

Understanding and encouraging people to perform PM2.5 risk-reduction behaviors is essential to reduce the health risks caused by PM2.5 and to promote a healthy lifestyle. This study aims to predict the effects of psychological factors (attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm and moral norm) on individual’s PM2.5 risk-reduction intention. It also looks into how contextual factors (exposure to communication channels and institutional trust) can influence behavioral intention and make contributions to the predicting powers of the theory of planned behavior. To achieve this goal, I analyze the secondary survey data that randomly selected residents living in three regions known for …

Modeling Intra-Annual Variation In Coral Extension Rate Using Multiproxy Geochemical Records From Pacific Corals, Jessie Mccraw

Theses - ALL

The relationship between coral growth and environmental parameters is not straightforward, and few studies have explored intra-annual changes in extension rate. Variations in the magnitude and timing of intra-annual extension could be influenced by various environmental parameters such as sea surface temperature (SST), light and nutrient availability, turbidity or salinity stress, as well as by inter-annual climate variations such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In this study we use SST proxy data from Porites spp. corals to model intra-annual growth using an iterative numerical model comparing growth and temperature sine functions to measured Sr/Ca data to find the best …

Discrete-Time Stable Geometric Controller And Observer Designs For Unmanned Vehicles, Reza Hamrah

Dissertations - ALL

In the first part of this dissertation, we consider tracking control of underactuated systems on the tangent bundle of the six-dimensional Lie group of rigid body motions, SE(3). We formulate both asymptotically and finite-time stable tracking control schemes for underactuated rigid bodies that have one translational and three rotational degrees of freedom actuated, in discrete time. Rigorous stability analyses of the tracking control schemes presented here guarantee the nonlinear stability of these schemes. The proposed schemes here are developed in discrete time as it is more convenient for onboard computer implementation and ensures stability irrespective of the sampling period. A …

Natural And Synthetic Ligand-Binding Induce Different Pilin Assemblies In Vitro And Control P. Aeruginosa Bioactivities In Vivo, And Development Of Bacterial-Motility Enabled Binding Assays, Arizza Chiara Siwa Ibañez

Dissertations - ALL

Proteins found on bacterial cells surfaces are capable of sensing and transducing signals from the environment to elicit a biological response. Fibrous appendages formed by assembly of pilin proteins on P. aeruginosa are surface proteins that are necessary for host colonization, adhesion on abiotic surfaces, controlling motilities, formation of biofilm, horizontal gene transfer and virulence production of the bacterium. Upon contact with stimuli, pili appendages extend and retract on the cell surface, driven by the assembly and disassembly of pili at inner membrane of the bacteria cells. The dynamic response of this protein assembly is likely caused by a conformational …

Atmospheric Chemistry Of Outdoor And Indoor Environments: Physical And Chemical Characterization Of Urban Grime And Measurements Of Oxidants In Vehicle Cabins, Corey Richard Kroptavich

Dissertations - ALL

This work investigates chemistry in two distinct environments in urban atmospheres. The first is the coatings found on urban surfaces often referred to as urban grime. Urban grime may serve as an important medium for photochemical and heterogeneous reactions in cities. This study characterized the composition and physical state of urban grime collected from two American cities. Wavelength-resolved extinction spectra of urban grime samples were also analyzed to improve our understanding of urban grime’s role in photochemistry. The research showed that the grime from the American cities was similar in composition to previous studies conducted in Europe and Canada, but …

Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning For Walkers, Inhee Park

Master's Projects

This project was motivated by seeking an AI method towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), that is, more similar to learning behavior of human-beings. As of today, Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) is the most closer to the AGI compared to other machine learning methods. To better understand the DRL, we compares and contrasts to other related methods: Deep Learning, Dynamic Programming and Game Theory.

We apply one of state-of-art DRL algorithms, called Proximal Policy Op- timization (PPO) to the robot walkers locomotion, as a simple yet challenging environment, inherently continuous and high-dimensional state/action space.

The end goal of this project is …

Supporting Multimedia Services Over A Token-Passing Bus Local Area Network., Hassan Soliman, T. El-Danaf

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Besides data transactions such as web surfing and e-commerce, the Internet today has been experiencing growth in audio and video streaming with the emergence of multimedia tools. However, the existing network infrastructure (e.g., Ethernet) only offers a single best effort class of service without any guarantees on delay variation, packet losses or available bandwidth. This can adversely impact the end-to-end performance of multimedia applications. Accordingly, a different class of Media Access Control (MAC) protocols must be used to support multimedia services over the existing Local Area Networks (LANs) without seeking to ehange it [3]. The token-passing bus was introduced to …

Application Of Wavelet Transform To Endurance Time Analysis Method For Performance-Based Seismic Design, Mohammadhossein Mamaghani

Dissertations - ALL

Earthquakes occur quite frequently around the world, but the number of reliable recorded ground motion data for a given site is often limited. In addition, the use of present methodologies to modify existing earthquake records to match site conditions could change the relationship between the recorded earthquake characteristics and their actual physical attributes. The result is that these modified earthquakes could have qualities not quite the same as those of the real earthquakes. Instead of using scaling and spectral matching of real earthquakes, artificial earthquakes capable of mimicking both the physical conditions and qualities of real earthquakes should be generated …

Professional Development In Context: Investigating In-Service Development Programs For Syrian Teachers Of English As A Foreign Language During Times Of Military Conflict, Fadi Al-Issa

Dissertations - ALL

The purpose of this study is to research how teaching practices and in-service professional development of English language teachers’ in Syria have been affected during times of military conflict: what impact English language teachers in Syria perceive the professional development programs they are required to attend have on their teaching and the learning environments they provide for their students, and how this perceived impact relates to the country’s current military conflict; and to explore the ways that teachers can be assisted to enhance their in-service professional development in a country experiencing a military conflict. Thus, by probing these two issues, …

Does Age Of Second-Language Acquisition Improve Intellectual Processing Abilities?, Sanum Shafi

Theses - ALL

Past research on bilingual education indicates that the onset-age of second language learning is negatively associated with both second language proficiency and the cognitive benefits of being bilingual. However, there is inconsistency in the bilingual education field as to whether bilingual speakers benefit from enhanced intellectual processing abilities compared to monolingual speakers. The critical period hypothesis states that during childhood development a certain window of time exists in which second language acquisition skills are strongest. This hypothesis provides the theoretical foundation for my research study. In the current study, I synthesize evidence on the associations between onset-age of second language …

End-To-End Learning Utilizing Temporal Information For Vision- Based Autonomous Driving, Dapeng Guo

Master's Projects

End-to-End learning models trained with conditional imitation learning (CIL) have demonstrated their capabilities in driving autonomously in dynamic environments. The performance of such models however is limited as most of them fail to utilize the temporal information, which resides in a sequence of observations. In this work, we explore the use of temporal information with a recurrent network to improve driving performance. We propose a model that combines a pre-trained, deeper convolutional neural network to better capture image features with a long short-term memory network to better explore temporal information. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model achieves performance gain …

Lidar Object Detection Utilizing Existing Cnns For Smart Cities, Vinay Ponnaganti

Master's Projects

As governments and private companies alike race to achieve the vision of a smart city — where artificial intelligence (AI) technology is used to enable self-driving cars, cashier-less shopping experiences and connected home devices from thermostats to robot vacuum cleaners — advancements are being made in both software and hardware to enable increasingly real-time, accurate inference at the edge. One hardware solution adopted for this purpose is the LiDAR sensor, which utilizes infrared lasers to accurately detect and map its surroundings in 3D. On the software side, developers have turned to artificial neural networks to make predictions and recommendations with …

Detecting Deepfakes With Deep Learning, Eric C. Tjon

Master's Projects

Advances in generative models and manipulation techniques have given rise to digitally altered videos known as deepfakes. These videos are difficult to identify for both humans and machines. Typical detection methods exploit various imperfections in deepfake videos, such as inconsistent posing and visual artifacts. In this paper, we propose a pipeline with two distinct pathways for examining individual frames and video clips. The image pathway contains a novel architecture called Eff-YNet capable of both segmenting and detecting frames from deepfake videos. It consists of a U-Net with a classification branch and an EfficientNet B4 encoder. The video pathway implements a …

The Occurrence Of Rocky Habitable-Zone Planets Around Solar-Like Stars From Kepler Data, Steve Bryson, Michelle Kunimoto, Ravi K. Kopparapu, Jeffrey L. Coughlin, William J. Borucki, David Koch, Victor Silva Aguirre, Christopher Allen, Geert Barentsen, Natalie M. Batalha, Travis Berger, Alan Boss, Lars A. Buchhave, Christopher J. Burke, Douglas A. Caldwell, Jennifer R. Campbell, Joseph Catanzarite, Hema Chandrasekaran, William J. Chaplin, Jessie L. Christiansen, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard, David R. Ciardi, Bruce D. Clarke, William D. Cochran, Jessie L. Dotson, Laurance R. Doyle, Eduardo Seperuelo Duarte, Edward W. Dunham, Andrea K. Dupree, Michael Endl, James L. Fanson

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

We present the occurrence rates for rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZs) of main-sequence dwarf stars based on the Kepler DR25 planet candidate catalog and Gaia-based stellar properties. We provide the first analysis in terms of star-dependent instellation flux, which allows us to track HZ planets. We define η⊕ as the HZ occurrence of planets with radii between 0.5 and 1.5 R⊕ orbiting stars with effective temperatures between 4800 and 6300 K. We find that η⊕ for the conservative HZ is between... (See article for full abstract).

Feasibility Study Of A Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems Threshold-Pressure Sensor Based On Parametric Resonance: Experimental And Theoretical Investigations, Mark Pallay, Meysam Daeichin, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

A tunable threshold pressure sensor based on parametric resonance of a microbeam subjected to electrostatic levitation is proposed. Parametric excitation can trigger a large amplitude vibration at twice the natural frequency if the magnitude of the driving force is large enough to overcome energy loss mechanisms in the system such as squeeze film damping. This causes a temporarily unstable response with a significant gain in oscillation amplitude over time until it is eventually capped by nonlinearities in the force or material or geometric properties. The instability divides the frequency region into two regions: distinct responses bounded by the system non-linearity, …

What A Difference A Decade Makes. The Evolving Gender Gap In Students’ Goal Endorsement And Stem Career Choice, Chen Chen, Gerhard Sonnert, Philip M. Sadler

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Two national datasets of first-year college students, collected a decade apart, asking the same questions about career interests and life goal endorsement, allowed us to investigate the extent to which the life goals and career interests had converged among young men and women. We compared the gender differences in four types of goal endorsement (communal, material, intellectual, and free-time goals) by career interest groups (science, engineering, medicine, health, and other professions) between the two cohorts (2007 vs. 2017). Conversely, we compared the gender differences in career interests by goal endorsement between the two cohorts. Our specific focus was on science, …

Comparative Analysis Of Cryptographic Key Management Systems, Levgeniia Kuzminykh, Bogdan Ghita, Stavros Shiaeles

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Managing cryptographic keys can be a complex task for an enterprise and particularly difficult to scale when an increasing number of users and applications need to be managed. In order to address scalability issues, typical IT infrastructures employ key management systems that are able to handle a large number of encryption keys and associate them with the authorized requests. Given their necessity, recent years have witnessed a variety of key management systems, aligned with the features, quality, price and security needs of specific organisations. While the spectrum of such solutions is welcome and demonstrates the expanding nature of the market, …

On Interfacing The Brain With Quantum Computers: An Approach To Listen To The Logic Of The Mind, Er Miranda

School of Art, Design and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopic Study Of Ices With Astrophysical Interest, Shahnewaz M. Emtiaz

Dissertations - ALL

In this thesis, I investigate the physical and chemical processes of simulated cosmic dust grainsand planetary surface analogues in laboratory experiments performed at the Syracuse University Astrophysics and Surface Science Laboratory. I have studied the mid-infrared (Mid-IR) bands of thin films of pure CH4 ices and of CH4 ices mixed with N2 and H2O in order to characterize the thermal evolution of ices in confined geometry and to improve the understanding of observations of ices present in interstellar space and in outer solar system bodies. Furthermore, I studied the self-diffusion of CO2 isotopes in different thin-film arrangements. Mid-IR laboratory data …

Cardiac Organoid Technology And Computational Processing Of Cardiac Physiology For Advanced Drug Screening Applications, Plansky Hoang

Dissertations - ALL

Stem cell technology has gained considerable recognition since its inception to advance disease modeling and drug screening. This is especially true for tissues that are difficult to study due to tissue sensitivity and limited regenerative capacity, such as the heart. Previous work in stem cell-derived cardiac tissue has exploited how we can engineer biologically functional heart tissue by providing the appropriate external stimuli to facilitate tissue development. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the potentials of stem cell cardiac organoid models to recapitulate heart development and implement analytical computational tools to study cardiac physiology. These new tools were …

Amplifier Architectures For Wireless Communication Systems, Mehmet Kok

Dissertations - ALL

Ever-increasing demand in modern wireless communication systems leads researchers to focus on design challenges on one of the main components of RF transmitters and receivers, namely amplifiers. On the transmitter side, enhanced efficiency and broader bandwidth over single and multiple bands on power amplifiers will help to have superior performance in communication systems. On the other hand, for the receiver side, having low noise and high gain will be necessary to ensure good quality transmission over such systems. In light of these considerations, a unique approach in design methodologies are studied with low noise amplifiers (LNAs) for RF receivers and …

Characterization Of Crystalline Pigments With Low-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy And Solid-State Density Functional Theory, Elyse M. Kleist

Dissertations - ALL

Although historical pigments are seldom found in the modern artist’s palette, their characterization is a critical aspect of designing effective conservation and restoration protocols, establishing provenance, and detecting forgeries. Ideal characterization methods are nondestructive, noninvasive, and able to distinguish between pure and mixed pigment samples. Spectroscopic techniques are commonly used to identify pigment composition because of their non-ionizing nature, rapid acquisition times, and safety. Unfortunately, the majority of these methods have difficulty distinguishing between pigments with similar chemical and physical properties. Recent advancements in instrument technology have increased the broader availability of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and low-frequency Raman spectroscopy …

Defining Inclusionary Practices In Catholic Schools, Sean J. Smith, G Cheatham, Jennifer M. Amilivia

Journal of Catholic Education

The purpose of this article is to provide Catholic educators, administrators, families, and broader parish communities an understanding of critical elements required to effectively include all students, particularly those with disabilities, in Catholic schools. With an understanding that Catholic schools enroll and will continue to add not only students with disabilities, but also other students who may struggle with learning in some manner, the Catholic school community needs to keep abreast of effective practices that facilitate meaningful inclusion. This is especially relevant for those Catholic families who desire a Catholic education for their children with disabilities, as well as their …

Gravity Waves, Na Lidar, Yafang Guo, Alan Z. Liu

Publications

Vertical energy transports due to dissipating gravity waves in the mesopause region (85–100 km) are analyzed using over 400 h of observational data obtained from a narrow-band sodium wind-temperature lidar located at Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), Cerro Pachón (30.25°S, 70.73°W), Chile. Sensible heat flux is directly estimated using measured temperature and vertical wind; energy flux is estimated from the vertical wavenumber and frequency spectra of temperature perturbations; and enthalpy flux is derived based on its relationship with sensible heat and energy fluxes. Sensible heat flux is mostly downward throughout the region. Enthalpy flux exhibits an annual oscillation with maximum downward …

Predicting The Effects Of Climate Change On Freshwater Cyanobacterial Blooms Requires Consideration Of The Complete Cyanobacterial Life Cycle, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Kathleen C. Weathers, Holly Ewing, Meredith Greer, Cayelan C. Carey

All Faculty Scholarship

To date, most research on cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater lakes has focused on the pelagic life stage. However, examining the complete cyanobacterial life cycle—including benthic life stages—may be needed to accurately predict future bloom dynamics. The current expectation, derived from the pelagic life stage, is that blooms will continue to increase due to the warmer temperatures and stronger stratification associated with climate change. However, stratification and mixing have contrasting effects on different life stages: while pelagic cyanobacteria benefit from strong stratification and are adversely affected by mixing, benthic stages can benefit from increased mixing. The net effects of these potentially …