Digital Commons Network^™

Research Directions For Historic Preservation Law, Sara C. Bronin

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Preservation laws govern an ever-increasing range of public and private activities affecting historic properties. Enacted at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels, these laws shape four aspects of preservation practice: designation, public obligations, private constraints, and financial incentives. Unfortunately, research on the scope and impact of these laws has been lacking. Whose history do we preserve? What costs are imposed by historic designation, and on whom? Do preservation regulations prepare us for climate change? Who are the regulators? What legal tools maximize economic activity in general, and equitable growth more specifically? Considering these and other unanswered questions, this chapter …

Sustainable Strategies For Mass Rapid Transit Ppps, Sock Yong Phang, Bin Chye Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

Mass rapid transit (MRT) PPPs have proliferated in the past two decades. This chapter provides a framework to categorise and understand alternative PPP designs. As MRT systems are inherently large, unprofitable and risky projects, PPP design is critical to project success and sustainability. We study the experiences of MRT PPPs in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing to understand factors underlying success and failure and to arrive at policy recommendations for PPPs. Policymakers need to have additional governance improvement and risk mitigation measures in place when tied supply chains are utilised. Hong Kong’s experience illustrates that ‘Rail plus Property’ strategy …

Does A District Mandate Matter For The Behavior Of Politicians? An Analysis Of Roll-Call Votes And Parliamentary Speeches, Andreas Born, Aljoscha Janssen

Research Collection School Of Economics

In most democracies, members of parliament (MPs) are elected either through a party list or by a district. We use a discontinuity in the German electoral system to investigate the causal effect of a district election on an MP’s conformity with the party line. A district election does not affect roll-call voting behavior causally, possibly due to overall high adherence to party-line voting. Analyzing the parliamentary speeches of each MP allows us to overcome the high party-line discipline with regard to parliamentary voting. Using textual analysis and machine learning techniques, we create two measures of closeness of an MP’s speeches …

Toward Video-Conferencing Tools For Hands-On Activities In Online Teaching, Audrey Labrie, Terrance Mok, Anthony Tang, Michelle Lui, Lora Oehlberg, Lev Poretski

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Many instructors in computing and HCI disciplines use hands-on activities for teaching and training new skills. Beyond simply teaching hands-on skills like sketching and programming, instructors also use these activities so students can acquire tacit skills. Yet, current video-conferencing technologies may not effectively support hands-on activities in online teaching contexts. To develop an understanding of the inadequacies of current video-conferencing technologies for hands-on activities, we conducted 15 interviews with university-level instructors who had quickly pivoted their use of hands-on activities to an online context during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our analysis, we uncovered four pedagogical …

Sheep And Goat Industry Funding Scheme Annual Report 2020/2021, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

The Sheep and Goat Industry Funding Scheme (IFS) has been operating since 2010 to address biosecurity threats relevant to the Western Australian (WA) sheep and goat industry. The Scheme was established by regulation under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 to enable sheep and goat producers to identify pest and disease priorities at a whole-of-industry level and raise funds for activities to address these priorities.

There are currently three Industry Funding Schemes in operation. In addition to the Sheep and Goat IFS, there is a Cattle IFS and a Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS. The three IFSs operate in …

The Legal Framework For Multimodal Transport In West Africa: The African Continental Free Trade Area In Perspective, Damilola Idris Osinuga

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

This thesis examines how multimodal transport can play a role in achieving the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The thesis argues that multimodal transport is cheaper compared with unimodal transportation. While there are a number of issues affecting the operationalisation of multimodal transport in Africa, this study considers, at its core, the legal regimes and other fragmented institutional and governance frameworks of multimodal transport in West Africa. The fragmentation of the legal framework governing multimodal transport leads to uncertainty and unforeseeability of the liability of parties involved in multimodal transport, consequently leading to increased legal costs. …

A Systematic, Holistic And Transdisciplinary Energy Management Framework To Promote Environmentally Sustainable Shipyards, Seyedvahid Vakili

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

Shipbuilding is an energy-intensive industry and has negative environmental impacts. Given the contribution of the production phase to ships' air emissions throughout their life cycle, there is no international regulation to monitor, control or reduce air emissions during this phase. However, it may be covered by State’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. Achieving a zero-emission shipping industry requires a broader, holistic, systematic and "cradle to grave" approach that takes into account the life cycle of the ship, from production to scrapping.

The aim of the study is to develop to a holistic and systematic approach to reducing …

Cellular Network-Supported Machine Learning Techniques For Autonomous Uav Trajectory Planning, Ghada Afifi, Yasser Gadallah

Faculty Journal Articles

Autonomous trajectory planning is a hot topic in the UAV mission planning area of research. Autonomous UAVs have major use case applications which involve navigation in complex environments such as aerial photography, package delivery and relief operations. Many existing trajectory planning solutions rely on the GPS system. However, such GPS-based solutions do not provide a reliable real-time navigation solution, particularly in dense urban environments. Opportunely, cellular networks can be utilized as an attractive alternative for UAV navigation applications. We therefore propose to utilize existing 5G infrastructure to enable the UAV to navigate complex environments, independent of the GPS and other …

Integral Equation Formulation For Planar Plasmonic Structures With Finite Thickness In Layered Media, Esraa M. Mahdy, Alaa Abdelmageed, Ezzeldin A Soliman

Faculty Journal Articles

A detailed Volume Integral Equation (VIE) formulation for planar plasmonic nano structures with finite thickness in flat multi-layers medium is presented. The boundary condition along the localized metallic objects is expressed in terms of the unknown polarization current flowing through these objects in the form of an integral equation, which is solved using the Method of Moments (MoM). The Green's functions associated with a layered medium of practical importance are expressed in the spectral domain. The corresponding spatial domain Green's functions are obtained using the Discrete Complex Images Method (DCIM). Special treatment for the spectral function's asymptote at high spectral …

‘Own Your Narrative’: Teenagers As Producers And Consumers Of Porn In Netflix’S Sex Education, Debra Dudek, Giselle Woodley, Lelia Green

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Netflix’s Sex Education both represents sex education and educates viewers about sex. From the opening scene of the first episode, viewers are positioned to see this series as one that is not afraid to represent explicitly the details of a range of sexual experiences. The series’ frank depiction of sexual relationships between characters, and its exploration of characters’ hopes, fears, and choices regarding ways to express their sexual desire is, arguably, ground-breaking. This paper focuses upon the ways in which the series represents young people as producers and consumers of pornographic/erotic narratives, harnessing the communication options within their social settings …

Deformation And Stress Theory Of Surrounding Rock Of Shallow Circular Tunnel Based On Complex Variable Function Method, Guizhen Wang, Linglong Zhou, Reem Alotaibi, Roaya Hdeib

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

After reviewing many literature foundations, the thesis combines the basic methods of elastic mechanics with mathematical knowledge, sets the bipotential stress potential complex function and analyses the relationship between stress component, strain component and stress potential function, and applies the complex variable function. The expression of the relevant stress component is derived, and the displacement boundary conditions of the surrounding rock of shallow circular tunnel are obtained. Furthermore, the paper applies the basic theory of complex variable function to solve the boundary condition complex variable function for common tunnel sections, and obtains the analytical expression of the surrounding rock stress …

M-Cubes: An Efficient And Portable Implementation Of Multi-Dimensional Integration For Gpus, Ioannis Sakiotis, Kamesh Arumugam, Marc Paterno, Desh Ranjan, Balŝa Terzić, Mohammad Zubair

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The task of multi-dimensional numerical integration is frequently encountered in physics and other scientific fields, e.g., in modeling the effects of systematic uncertainties in physical systems and in Bayesian parameter estimation. Multi-dimensional integration is often time-prohibitive on CPUs. Efficient implementation on many-core architectures is challenging as the workload across the integration space cannot be predicted a priori. We propose m-Cubes, a novel implementation of the well-known Vegas algorithm for execution on GPUs. Vegas transforms integration variables followed by calculation of a Monte Carlo integral estimate using adaptive partitioning of the resulting space. mCubes improves performance on GPUs by maintaining relatively …

Ready Raider One: Exploring The Misuse Of Cloud Gaming Services, Guannan Liu, Daiping Liu, Shuai Hao, Xing Gao, Kun Sun, Haining Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cloud gaming has become an emerging computing paradigm in recent years, allowing computer games to offload complex graphics and logic computation to the cloud. To deliver a smooth and high-quality gaming experience, cloud gaming services have invested abundant computing resources in the cloud, including adequate CPUs, top-tier GPUs, and high-bandwidth Internet connections. Unfortunately, the abundant computing resources offered by cloud gaming are vulnerable to misuse and exploitation for malicious purposes. In this paper, we present an in-depth study on security vulnerabilities in cloud gaming services. Specifically, we reveal that adversaries can purposely inject malicious programs/URLs into the cloud gaming services …

Occupational Characteristics Of Psychology Baccalaureate Graduates, Adam Butler, Michael Gasser

Faculty Publications

Although the field of psychology is classically associated with a career path in mental health services, career options for graduates with a baccalaureate degree in psychology are far broader. Yet, we do not have a good understanding of the occupational spectrum for psychology graduates or of the skills necessary to excel in those positions. The goal of the present study was to identify the characteristics of occupations held by alumni with a baccalaureate degree in psychology. Understanding these occupational characteristics is useful for career advising and for developing job-relevant skills in the psychology major.

Triton Haze Analogs: The Role Of Carbon Monoxide In Haze Formation, Sarah E. Moran, Sarah M. Hörst, Chao He, Michael J. Radke, Joshua A. Sebree, Noam R. Izenberg, Véronique Vuitton, Laurène Flandinet, François Régis Orthous-Daunay, Cédric Wolters

Faculty Publications

Triton is the largest moon of the Neptune system and possesses a thin nitrogen atmosphere with trace amounts of carbon monoxide and methane, making it of similar composition to that of the dwarf planet Pluto. Like Pluto and Saturn's moon Titan, Triton has a haze layer thought to be composed of organics formed through photochemistry. Here, we perform atmospheric chamber experiments of 0.5% CO and 0.2% CH4 in N2 at 90 K and 1 mbar to generate Triton haze analogs. We then characterize the physical and chemical properties of these particles. We measure their production rate, their bulk composition with …

Maximizing Learning Of L2 Adult Learners In Higher Education, Gabriela Olivares-Cuhat

Faculty Publications

In the fall of 2019, the age of 33.5% of students enrolled in US institutions of higher education was 25 and above. However, research in the fields of adult learning, developmental, cognitive, and socio-cognitive theories suggests that this group of students presents L2 instructors with a set of strengths and challenges. One specific concern is that empirical studies have indicated a steady decline in L2 success along with the age of the adult learners (Hakuta et al., 2003). The aim of this article is to examine how teaching practices may be derived from research findings, with a view to better …

Discerning Users Of Information: A Qualitative Analysis Of Student Inquiry, Karla Steege Krueger, Joan Bessman Taylor

Faculty Publications

A shift is needed in information and digital literacy instruction and assessment led by elementary and secondary school librarians with an emphasis on the evaluation of information sources. The need is in response to widespread societal sharing of mis- and disinformation related to political news including the politicizing of scientific understandings of a disease and the ensuing distrust of the messages of public health officials during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In this article, I create an instructional framework for information evaluation that is grounded in data derived from a qualitative content analysis of published research, standards, and theoretical perspectives and …

Exploring State Department Of Education Grading Guidance During Covid-19: A Model For Future Emergency Remote Learning, Matt Townsley, Joshua Kunnath

Faculty Publications

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many United States brick-and-mortar schools in Spring 2020 rapidly transitioned to emergency remote learning. School leaders grappled with how grades ought to fit within the many unknowns of K-12 remote education. In some cases, schools modified their grading scales to give students greater flexibility to pass courses, and in other situations, schools offered incomplete grades in lieu of failures. During this time, state departments of education (DOEs) provided a variety of guidance documents to their school districts. The purpose of this study was to explore the components of state DOE grading guidance during the Spring …

Research And Graduate Studies Annual Report, 2022, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies, Illinois State University

Research and Graduate Studies Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Light & Shadow [Grades Prek-3], Regents’ Center For Early Developmental Education

STEM Experiences for Classrooms

No abstract provided.

A Blockchain-Based Retribution Mechanism For Collaborative Intrusion Detection, Wenjun Fan, Shubham Kumar, Sang Yoon Chang, Younghee Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Collaborative intrusion detection approach uses the shared detection signature between the collaborative participants to facilitate coordinated defense. In the context of collaborative intrusion detection system (CIDS), however, there is no research focusing on the efficiency of the shared detection signature. The inefficient detection signature costs not only the IDS resource but also the process of the peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In this paper, we therefore propose a blockchain-based retribution mechanism, which aims to incentivize the participants to contribute to verifying the efficiency of the detection signature in terms of certain distributed consensus. We implement a prototype using Ethereum blockchain, which instantiates …

Assessing And Meeting The Mental Health Needs Of Student Athletes - A Case Study Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Samantha Bennett

Honors Program Theses

It is my hope with this work to shed light on these grave issues facing our student-athletes at UNI, and to more greatly inform community members about the real experiences of this population. Readers should come away with an understanding of why greater action is necessary to help our student-athletes and remedy the disparities our campus is seeing in terms of mental health resource need and acquisition.

For stakeholders and institutional leaders at UNI, I hope this paper may provide a helpful and informed
framework for responding to the issues being presented by our athletics community.

Blough Dairy Farm Comprehensive Safety & Training Manual, Riley Elaine Elenz

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Media Recruitment And Online Propaganda By Extremist Groups, Megan Marie Robinson

Honors Program Theses

As billions of people turn to their technologically elite phones and laptops for immediate information, online groups have learned how to take advantage of social media patterns and isolate people into a specific belief or carefully tailored platforms that eliminate opposing ideas. Extremist groups’ online presence have been studied as individual dilemmas, rather than being studied for patterns to combat the rapidly increasing radicalization of people who had no claim to these beliefs before social media. This study will contrast the online presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the January 6th insurrectionists in terms of …

Changes In Brain Oxygenation Of Rugby Players Before And After Head Trauma, Megan Benmore

Honors Program Theses

Clinicians often rely on simple neuropsychological and balance tests to diagnose concussion and determine return to sport. These tests are not fully comprehensive and lack a measure of brain physiology, warranting the need for an objective biomarker, especially in sports with frequent head trauma (e.g., rugby). The high number of concussions occurring in recreational sport necessitates an affordable and accurate biomarker to easily assess the severity of trauma. The purpose of the present study was to address this issue, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess relative changes in oxyhemoglobin (O₂Hb), deoxyhemoglobin (HHb), total hemoglobin (tHb) and hemoglobin …

College-Age Students' Attitudes Toward Essential Oils, Alternative Medicines, And Modern Medicine, Taylor Nicole Brown

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the attitudes of college-age students on the use of essential oils, alternative medicines, and modern medicine. Essential oils are natural oils that contain the essence/fragrance of a plant and are often used for cleaning purposes (e.g., in soaps, detergents, disinfectant sprays) and therapeutic purposes (e.g., relieving aches and pains, calming a person, healing illnesses and injuries, improving mood). Although essential oils are primarily used in alternative medicine, some oils have also been used on an experimental basis in modern medical settings (Corner et al., 1995).

College-age students took part in an …

Best Practice For Treatment And Prevention Of Ankle Sprains In Ballet Dancers, Sara Bergin

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Machine Learning For Detecting Iot-Based Interference In Operational Wifi Networks, Josh Pulse

Honors Program Theses

IoT (Internet of Things) devices have become increasingly popular in recent years while WiFi continues to serve as primary network provider indoors. With the advancements in technology, the networks of IoT devices continue to weave closely with indoor WiFi network deployments. Both kinds of these networks primarily operate in 2.4 GHz ISM Band (though latest WiFi standards can operate in 5 GHz and 60 GHz bands, too). With the multitude of tiny IoT sensors being deployed indoors alongside operational WiFi networks, severe interference scenarios cannot be ruled out. As a result of this interference, performance of WiFi networks is bound …

The Effects Of Acute Aerobic Exercise On Motor Cortex Activation And Piano Performance, Maya Deuso

Honors Program Theses

Previous research has shown that an acute (single) bout of aerobic exercise performed immediately before a fine motor task can improve the performance of that particular task as well as alter motor cortex (M1) activation. However, the intensity of exercise may influence the extent of motor skill acquisition and M1 activation. The primary aim of the current investigation was to compare the impact of moderate-intensity training (MIT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on whole-body motor skill acquisition via a piano task. We also aimed to determine if M1 activation was a potential mechanism for any changes in piano performance. Nine …

Selective Mutism In Immigrant Children, Lauren Cummings

Honors Program Theses

Selective mutism is a highly debilitating anxiety disorder that is characterized by a child’s lack of verbal speech in certain situations, despite having the ability to speak (Elizur & Perednik, 2003). Children with selective mutism may present with a variety of symptoms, including high levels of anxiety and isolation, which significantly impacts their social and
language development, educational and occupational achievement, and mental health (Elizur & Perednik, 2003). Children who are diagnosed with selective mutism in early childhood often have communication or cognitive difficulties and may display higher rates of psychiatric disorders later in life compared to children without selective …