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Irene Nemirovsky: A Jewish-Russian Inter-War Writer, Lucy Hoffman Dec 2012

Irene Nemirovsky: A Jewish-Russian Inter-War Writer, Lucy Hoffman

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Irene Nemirovsky was a woman balanced between two worlds--the world of her childhood as the daughter of a wealthy man in Russia and the world of her immigrant status in France. Many critics have maintained that the Jewish Russian writer, Irene Nemirovsky, was an anti-Semite. Writing in the interwar period of the early 20th century, Nemirovsky often used stereotypical Jewish characters in her early writing. As her writing progressed, her subject was often on immigrants and their lifestyle choices in a foreign country. Nemirovsky appears to be a woman of neither world, a woman juxtaposed in the 'borderland' world of …

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Connecting Architecture, Fitness, Optimizations And Performance Using An Anisotropic Diffusion Filter, Sumedh Naik Dec 2012

Connecting Architecture, Fitness, Optimizations And Performance Using An Anisotropic Diffusion Filter, Sumedh Naik

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Over the past decade, computing architectures have continued to exploit multiple levels of parallelism in applications. This increased interest in parallel computing has not only fueled the growth of multi-core processors but has also lead to an emergence of several non-traditional computing architectures like General Purpose Graphical Processing Units (GP-GPUs), Cell Processors, and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Of these non-traditional computing architectures, GP-GPUs have gained widespread popularity due to their massively parallel computational abilities and relative ease of programmability.
Several software development ecosystems have emerged to harness the power of these parallel architectures. Although several threading libraries like POSIX …

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A Node Based Volume Modeling And Rendering Toolkit For Python, Robert Kern Dec 2012

A Node Based Volume Modeling And Rendering Toolkit For Python, Robert Kern

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This thesis covers the implementation and use of a node based volume modeling and ren- dering toolkit for python. The first part of the thesis covers the code structure of the toolkit, the implementation of the nodes, and how they are evaluated. Operator graphs are built from nodes to create and shape volumes. During volume rendering these graphs are evaluated for the density and color values. The second part of the thesis covers how the toolkit was used to create and render volumetric effects by emulating an effect seen in a movie. The animation of the effect, the use of …

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Observers' Judgments Of The Effects Of Glare On Visual Acuity, Ashley Sewall Dec 2012

Observers' Judgments Of The Effects Of Glare On Visual Acuity, Ashley Sewall

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Traffic collisions and pedestrian fatalities increase significantly when driving at night. There is a need for greater roadway visibility when driving at night and the use of high beam headlights can significantly improve the distance at which drivers recognize objects along the roadway. However, research suggests that drivers underuse their high beams. It is possible that drivers do not use their high beam headlights in an effort to minimize glare to oncoming vehicles. The purposes of this experiment were to extend earlier research indicating that the visually impairing effects of glare may often be exaggerated and to investigate the role …

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Alternative Energy Sources - Integration Of Power Generation Systems Into A Microgrid At Clemson University And An Atmospheric Thermodynamic Driven Mechanical Clock, Shreyas Patel Dec 2012

Alternative Energy Sources - Integration Of Power Generation Systems Into A Microgrid At Clemson University And An Atmospheric Thermodynamic Driven Mechanical Clock, Shreyas Patel

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Non-renewable energy sources such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas are being consumed at a brisk pace which is promoting a worldwide energy crisis. The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides as well as soot which contribute to atmospheric pollution. Although fossil fuels will continue to be available for many decades, the amount of petroleum remaining in the earth and its associated cost remains an open issue. The utilization of green energy such as solar and wind offer renewable and pollution free sources. A worldwide shift is slowly underway towards the …

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Detecting Copper Residues In Sediments From Aquatic Copper-Based Pesticide Applications, Ben Willis Dec 2012

Detecting Copper Residues In Sediments From Aquatic Copper-Based Pesticide Applications, Ben Willis

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Copper-based algaecides and herbicides are commonly used to mitigate risks of problematic algae and weeds, however there are concerns regarding copper accumulation from treatments. Modeling and laboratory experiments can be used to predict copper accumulation and measurement in sediments, as well as benthic invertebrate responses following treatments. Modeling was used to estimate copper residual concentrations in sediments from algaecide and herbicide treatments. Reported and measured method detection limits (MDLs; minimum concentration of an analyte of interest that can be measured with 99 percent confidence in a specific matrix using an analytical method) were compared to model estimated copper residual concentrations …

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Semantic Similarity Detection In Natural Language Documents, Lianyu Zhao Dec 2012

Semantic Similarity Detection In Natural Language Documents, Lianyu Zhao

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Data leak prevention (DLP) solutions monitor and control data flow. Current techniques find data that matches user defined syntactic patterns. Unfortunately, large classes of DLP relevant data are defined by information semantics, rather than data syntax. Syntax refers to data format, whereas semantics refers to data meaning. The class of social security numbers can be adequately expressed using data syntax, whereas a new industrial process can only be adequately described using information semantics. In this paper, we propose methods for extracting and identifying document semantics using training sets of limited size (tens of documents). The first method is based on …

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The Effects Of Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure On The Metabolic And Mechanical Properties Of Articular Cartilage, Carl Lindburg Dec 2012

The Effects Of Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure On The Metabolic And Mechanical Properties Of Articular Cartilage, Carl Lindburg

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Radiation therapy is necessary treatment for many cancer patients due to its non-surgical, yet aggressive and efficacious properties. In fact, over 50% of patients with cancer will undergo some form of radiotherapy during the course of their treatment. While the biological response to ionizing radiation has been examined over the years and many adverse effects have been identified, the effects of radiation on mature cartilage and musculoskeletal tissues are not well understood. Bone, once thought to be a tissue relatively resistant to radiation, has recently been shown to have osteoporosis-like bone atrophy after exposure to low doses (2 Gy) of …

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Standardization Of Process Sheet Information To Support Automated Translation Of Assembly Instructions And Product-Process Coupling, Matthew Peterson Dec 2012

Standardization Of Process Sheet Information To Support Automated Translation Of Assembly Instructions And Product-Process Coupling, Matthew Peterson

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The design and manufacture of large scale systems, particularly automobiles, is a process that requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. This collaboration is facilitated through efficient and effective data and knowledge storage and transfer. Specifically, the data associated with the final assembly of the vehicle should be generated, organized, and distributed in such a manner that each user of the data is able to use it effectively. Furthermore, the structure for the assembly data should be robust and reliable such that it fosters consistency among various planners for multiple vehicle platforms that are assembled all around the world. This research aims …

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Predictors Of Motivation To Participate In Whitewater Kayaking, Jon Evans Dec 2012

Predictors Of Motivation To Participate In Whitewater Kayaking, Jon Evans

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Whitewater kayaking has grown in popularity over the past two decades (NSRE, 1994; NSRE, 2000). Because of this growth a better understanding of participants motivations could assist vendors, programmers, and decision making bodies for the future of the sport. The intent of this study is to explore the differences between the demographic variables age, sex, and skill level on the motivations to participate in whitewater kayaking. A secondary purpose was to assess the differences between the basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and motivation to participate in the sport of whitewater kayaking.
Whitewater enthusiasts were recruited from across …

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Hydromechanical Well Testing Using A 3d Fiber Optic Extensometer, Glenn Skawski Dec 2012

Hydromechanical Well Testing Using A 3d Fiber Optic Extensometer, Glenn Skawski

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Some fractured rock formations hold important resources, such as water, hydrocarbons or heat, whereas others are good candidates for waste disposal. Hydromechanical well tests have been developed to improve characterization of formation properties and parameter distributions by measuring displacement along with pressure while stressing a well. The displacement that occurs during a well test depends on the geometry of fractures or other sources of permeability, as well as the distribution of compliance or elastic modulus. Current methods of hydromechanical well testing, measures axial displacements along a wellbore, which may cause ambiguity in interpretations when 3-D components of deformation are present. …

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Study On Corrosion Activity Of Carbon Steel In Concrete Simulated Pore Solution Under Static Tensile And Compressive Stresses, Yujie Zhang Dec 2012

Study On Corrosion Activity Of Carbon Steel In Concrete Simulated Pore Solution Under Static Tensile And Compressive Stresses, Yujie Zhang

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Reinforced concrete is a structure material made up of concrete with relatively lower tensile strength containing reinforcements with higher tensile strength and better ductility, which are embedded into fresh concrete to resist tensile stress in certain regions of concrete. Steel reinforced concrete is most widely used around the world in civil engineering structures, water conservancy and highway construction due to its durability strength and reasonable cost.
However, reinforced concrete structures such as bridges and parking lots slabs inevitably experience variable loads and constant degradation from the aggressive environments, such as marine and deicing salts. Therefore, it is imperative to study …

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Objective Bayesian Inference On The Common Mean Of Normal Distributions, Shiyi Tu Dec 2012

Objective Bayesian Inference On The Common Mean Of Normal Distributions, Shiyi Tu

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One of the oldest problems in statistical area is to make inference on a common mean of several different normal populations with unknown and probably unequal variances. There are several different ways to make inference on the common mean. The most common methods are point estimation, hypothesis testing, and interval estimation. Point estimation uses sample data to calculate a single value serving as a best guess for the unknown population mean. Hypothesis testing assumes all populations have the same mean as the null hypothesis. Interval estimation is an interval of possible values of the unknown mean.
In this paper, we …

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Finding Upstate South Carolina's Consumers' Willingness To Pay For Local Food With A Price Premium Donation To Local Food Banks, Emily Young Dec 2012

Finding Upstate South Carolina's Consumers' Willingness To Pay For Local Food With A Price Premium Donation To Local Food Banks, Emily Young

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The objective of this study is to evaluate Upstate South Carolina consumers' willingness to pay for a system in which local food banks and local farms support one another. The proposed system will be based on local food consumers paying a price premium for locally grown agricultural products, and this premium is then donated to local food banks. The food banks would act as intermediaries to improve sustainability of local farms and in the long term, this system is expected to provide external benefits to local economic development. The study uses a consumer demand mail survey to record opinions about, …

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Product Display Versus Graphical Representation On Packaging, Joshua Galvarino Dec 2012

Product Display Versus Graphical Representation On Packaging, Joshua Galvarino

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ABSTRACT
Previous research conducted (Hurley, et al., 2012) concerning physical and graphical product visibility from the primary display panel (PDP) is limited to one product category. This research expands previous peer-reviewed research, which indicates that there is a significant difference between consumer preferences of graphical display vs. physical product display on packaging.
The shelf presence of packages showing actual product visibility versus packages showing only a graphical representation of the product was evaluated. Both shopping results and quantitative data using eye-tracking technology were collected and cross-referenced with a qualitative, post-experiment survey.
Specifically, variables of packaging within pasta, snacks, prepared frozen …

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An Error Quantification Methodology For Hurricane Storm Surge Simulations, Bin Pei Dec 2012

An Error Quantification Methodology For Hurricane Storm Surge Simulations, Bin Pei

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This thesis describes the development of a procedure to quantify errors in hurricane storm surge simulations using a decoupled wind-surge model. The state-of-the-art storm surge simulation program, ADCIRC (Advanced Circulation), and the Georgiou's wind field model were used to simulate the storm surge heights associated with 169 historical hurricanes from 1922 to 2011 along the coast of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The storm surge modeling errors were quantified by comparing the measured to the simulated annual maximum surge heights at nine water level observation stations maintained by the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). The simulated …

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I Laughed Until I Cried: The Tragicomedy Of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming , Kesha Garner Dec 2012

I Laughed Until I Cried: The Tragicomedy Of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming , Kesha Garner

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There appears to be a disconnect between the actual events of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming and the scholarly work devoted to the play--while each of the main characters are morally problematic, it is only the play's sole female character, Ruth, whose morality is questioned. This schism in which Ruth is questioned but others are not stems primarily from the time in which most of this criticism occurred: before post-structuralist understandings of gender undermined our presuppositions about the sexes. The Homecoming was written on the cusp of second-wave feminism, the movement focusing mainly on the legal and social equality of women, …

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Development Of A Two-Dimensional Model Of A Pneumatic Tire, Timothy Lewis Dec 2012

Development Of A Two-Dimensional Model Of A Pneumatic Tire, Timothy Lewis

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The pneumatic tire has been studied extensively since its invention in 1888. With the advent of high-powered computers and the use of the finite element method, the understanding of the tire's complex non-linear behavior has grown tremendously. However, one weakness of finite element models is that parameter studies are difficult and time consuming to perform. In contrast, an analytical model can quickly and easily perform extensive parameter studies. To the knowledge of the author, all existing analytical models of the tire make assumptions concerning the tire's behavior and construction that while useful for obtaining some of the first-order characteristics, are …

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Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Bioretention Cells And Porous Paving Practices In Aiken, Sc, Casey Johnson Dec 2012

Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Bioretention Cells And Porous Paving Practices In Aiken, Sc, Casey Johnson

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This work seeks to quantify the impact and effectiveness of green infrastructure practices, specifically bioretention cells and porous asphalts, for the reduction of peak flow and volume of stormwater that discharges into the headwaters of the Sand River watershed in Aiken, SC. Stormwater runoff flows and volumes were monitored in the upper Sand River watershed that includes the urban Aiken area, along with two nested subwatersheds, prior to, during, and after the construction of the bioretention cells and porous asphalt sites. Flow data from these monitoring stations were analyzed and the data suggested that there was no significant reduction in …

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Impedance-Based Fault Location Methods For Transmission Line Connecting Wind Farm Plants, Chaoqi Ji Dec 2012

Impedance-Based Fault Location Methods For Transmission Line Connecting Wind Farm Plants, Chaoqi Ji

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With an increasing capacity of wind power installed in the world, the impact of wind generation during fault condition has been studied. Wind plants equipped with induction generator results in a different fault behavior in transmission networks. In this paper, the validation of existing impedance-based fault location methods are performed on a transmission line connecting wind plant equipped with three different types of induction generators. This work is based on the simulation in real-time digital simulator (RTDS).
Squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG), wound-rotor induction generator (WRIG) and doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) are the three common generators used for wind power plants. …

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Stranger Of The House: The Evolution Of Sensation's New Man, Laura Mogel Dec 2012

Stranger Of The House: The Evolution Of Sensation's New Man, Laura Mogel

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While Elaine Showalter argues that the 'crisis in masculinity' occurs with the emergence of the New Woman and the fin de sicle, this thesis suggests that men, specifically here wealthy men, were in crisis long before these phenomena due to their dissolved understanding of their place and position amidst immense changes in Victorian England. An interrogation of 1860s sensation fiction, and specifically Wilkie Collins's Basil and Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret, suggests that men grappled with their position and masculinity prior to the fin de sicle as evidenced by the heroine-prescribed social deaths of Basil and George Talboys. After …

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Composite Sandwich Structures With Honeycomb Core Subjected To Impact, Lei He Dec 2012

Composite Sandwich Structures With Honeycomb Core Subjected To Impact, Lei He

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Composite sandwich structures constructed with honeycomb core can be an effective means of absorbing impact in many engineer applications. Conventional hexagonal honeycomb exhibit an effective positive Poisson's ratio, are commonly employed due to their lightweight and high axial stiffness properties. In contrast, auxetic honeycombs offer high in-plane shear stiffness, and exhibit negative Poisson's ratios with lateral extension, instead of contraction, when stretched axially.
In this study, the dynamic response of an aluminum composite panel with a honeycomb core constrained within two thin face sheets is investigated undergoing impact with a rigid ball. The finite element models used to simulate impact …

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Analysis Of Energy Savings Through The Use Of Displacement Ventilation In Domestic Buildings, Patrick Daffin Dec 2012

Analysis Of Energy Savings Through The Use Of Displacement Ventilation In Domestic Buildings, Patrick Daffin

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This study investigates the conditions under which it might be possible to implement a displacement ventilation system in a residential building. An experimental study of the impact on a mechanical air conditioning system of the vertical location of the inlet and outlet vents was performed. The four ventilation configurations of low inlet high outlet, low inlet low outlet, high inlet high outlet, and high inlet low outlet were compared. These four configurations were compared under 13 different heat load scenarios in a full scale instrumented model room. It was found that, for higher heat loads, the low inlet high outlet …

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In Situ Ground Freezing And Sampling Of A Pleistocene Sand Deposit In The South Carolina Coastal Plain, Michael Esposito Iii Dec 2012

In Situ Ground Freezing And Sampling Of A Pleistocene Sand Deposit In The South Carolina Coastal Plain, Michael Esposito Iii

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The procedures used to freeze and sample a Pleistocene sand deposit at the Coastal Research and Education Center near Charleston, South Carolina to preserve and study the effects of diagenesis are presented in this thesis. An initial feasibility study was conducted to target a layer of clean sand at the CREC site with little to no frost heave potential. To freeze the sand deposit, a ground freezing system with a central freezing pipe was installed to target a column of sand 1-m in radius and 2.3-m long. Liquid nitrogen was continuously supplied to the large steel freezing pipe, which was …

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To Kill A Vampire?: Through The Hearth, Charlsie Lamos Dec 2012

To Kill A Vampire?: Through The Hearth, Charlsie Lamos

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Long before Dracula was terrorizing English families, Emily Brontë's Heathcliff captivated Victorian audiences. Critics such as James Twitchell propose that Emily Brontë carefully creates the possibility of Heathcliff as a metaphorical vampire, using his unknown parentage and his physical descriptions throughout the novel as evidence for this claim. Indeed, my thesis examines how Heathcliff exhibits characteristics of the vampire in his decimation of the English families in the novel by consuming the Earnshaw's and Linton's properties, monies, and women. In Brontë's and Bram Stoker's novels, the vampires prey upon humanity, consuming property, lives, and bloodlines. However, although vampires are often …

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An Examination Of The Influence Of Cement Paste On Pervious Concrete Mixtures, Donald Singer Dec 2012

An Examination Of The Influence Of Cement Paste On Pervious Concrete Mixtures, Donald Singer

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Pervious concrete has many environmental benefits, but with these benefits come additional hurdles unseen in conventional concrete. The main focus of pervious concrete is the maintenance of the interconnected pore structure, leading to porosity values between 15 and 25%, while still developing adequate strength. Due to these inherent properties of pervious concrete, development of a systematic optimum mix design method is challenging. Currently, there is a need to develop a systematic optimum mix design for pervious concrete, but it has yet come to fruition. This research focuses on the influence of cement paste on the performance of pervious concrete, and …

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Community By [Design] By Community: Product & Process, Aaron Bowman Dec 2012

Community By [Design] By Community: Product & Process, Aaron Bowman

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In his seminal work De Architectura (The Ten Books on Architecture), the Roman architect Vitruvius proposed a definition that became a lasting benchmark for the elements of [DESIGN] -Firmness, Commodity, and Delight. While this three-part definition provided a common lens through which to view [DESIGN], it also created a divide between the trained 'specialists' who create [DESIGN] and the Community who experience and interact with it. For Vitruvius, [DESIGN] provided a physical demarcation of place and created a shared association that was collectively understood as a Community. As the idea of Community has become increasingly dissociated with place in the …

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3d Reconstruction For Post-Disaster Analysis Of Civil Infrastructure, Joshua Caron Dec 2012

3d Reconstruction For Post-Disaster Analysis Of Civil Infrastructure, Joshua Caron

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Following a natural disaster, there is a need to rapidly assess the safety of civil infrastructure. This job is typically undertaken by local governments with the help of volunteer civil engineers with structural expertise, as well as organizations such as Cal EMA and ASCE. However, the inspection process is labor-intensive and a bit tedious, and results are prone to error as they tend to rely on the individual expertise of the inspectors. 3D reconstruction stands to become a useful tool in the safety evaluation process, as well as providing valuable opportunities for forensic engineering. This research explores the application of …

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Characterization And Restoration Of Historic Rosendale Cement Mortars For The Purpose Of Restoration, Stephanie Hart Dec 2012

Characterization And Restoration Of Historic Rosendale Cement Mortars For The Purpose Of Restoration, Stephanie Hart

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Mortar was a very common building material in today's historic sites. Before Portland cement was manufactured at a global level, Rosendale cement was commonly used in these mortars. Over time, these mortars in historic sites have begun to break down and wear away. With Rosendale cement in production again, measures can be taken to restore and repair the historic mortars. However, little testing has been done to establish durability of modern Rosendale cement mortars. This presentation highlights the common mix techniques used at the time, and undergoes experiments to establish general properties and predict future durability. Six different mortar mixes …

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An Efficient Image Segmentation Algorithm Using Bidirectional Mahalanobis Distance, Rahul Suresh Dec 2012

An Efficient Image Segmentation Algorithm Using Bidirectional Mahalanobis Distance, Rahul Suresh

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In this thesis, we present an efficient graph-based image-segmentation algorithm that improves upon the drawbacks of the minimum spanning tree based segmentation algorithm, namely leaks that occur due to the criterion used to merge regions, and the sensitivity of the output to the parameter k. To address these problems, we propose the use of bidirectional Mahalanobis distance, along with a Gaussian model for each region, and an intuitive normalized parameter τ that replaces k and works for all images without having to be changed. Furthermore, we propose an approximation to the algorithm that enables it to run efficiently in O(NlogN) …

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