Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Quantifying Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Dynamics With Mechanistically-Based Biogeochemistry Models And In Situ And Remotely Sensed Data, Shaoqing Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Terrestrial ecosystem plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle and climate system. Therefore, it is important to accurately quantify the carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystem under future climatic change condition. This dissertation evaluates the regional carbon dynamics by using upscaling approach, mechanistically-based biogeochemistry models and in situ and remotely sensed data.

The upscaling studies based on FLUXNET network has provided us the spatial and temporal pattern of the carbon fluxes but it fails to consider the atmospheric CO2 effect given its important physiological role in carbon assimilation. In the second chapter, we consider the effect of atmospheric CO2 …

Computational Environment For Modeling And Analysing Network Traffic Behaviour Using The Divide And Recombine Framework, Ashrith Barthur

Open Access Dissertations

There are two essential goals of this research. The first goal is to design and construct a computational environment that is used for studying large and complex datasets in the cybersecurity domain. The second goal is to analyse the Spamhaus blacklist query dataset which includes uncovering the properties of blacklisted hosts and understanding the nature of blacklisted hosts over time.

The analytical environment enables deep analysis of very large and complex datasets by exploiting the divide and recombine framework. The capability to analyse data in depth enables one to go beyond just summary statistics in research. This deep analysis is …

Tool Comparison Of Semantic Parsers, Robert Hinh

Open Access Theses

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a vital aspect for artificial intelligence systems to achieve integration into human lives, which has been a goal for researchers in this industry. While NLP focuses on an array of problems, semantic parsing will be specifically focused on throughout this paper. These parsers have been considerably targeted for improvement through the scientific community and demand for semantic parsers that achieve high accuracy has increased. There have been many approaches developed for this specific purpose and in this paper, a deep analysis was performed to compare the performance of semantic parsing systems. The implications of this …

Zephyr: A Social Psychology-Based Mobile Application For Long-Distance Romantic Partners, Dhiraj Bodicherla

Open Access Theses

Long-distance romantic relationships have become quite common nowadays. With CMC tools advancing day-by-day, their usage among LDRs is proliferating rapidly. Attachment-related anxiety and avoidance can block the ability to enjoy happy relationships. During such situations, remembering happy past moments can be comforting. In this study a mobile chat application that enables LDR couples to reminisce about happy moments was developed. This study primarily focuses on evaluating the usability of this mobile application using survey-based methods. System Usability Scale was considered to discuss the outcome of the study. The overall results provide useful recommendations for further improvements in the design of …

A History Of African And South American Basins, Rebecca A. Bobick

Open Access Theses

As hydrocarbon development in Africa and South America continues to expand, understanding the geologic evolution as well as the geologic symmetry of each of the continent's coastal basins grows increasingly important. Unfortunately, there's currently no comprehensive database that contains the stratigraphic record, depositional environments, and tectonic evolution available for either Africa or South America. Therefore, the goal of my research is to create an extensive datapack and guide booklet for Africa's major sedimentary basins, complete the South America datapack that's currently being constructed, and correlate the western African conjugate basins to the eastern South American conjugate basins. To accomplish this, …

An Evaluation Of Noise Reduction Strategies At Large Commercial Airports In The United States: A Policy Analysis And Framework Classification, Tyler Spence

Open Access Dissertations

Noise pollution from aircraft, specifically in the vicinity of airports as aircraft takeoff and land, is a problem that has been shown to have negative impacts on the welfare of humans, animals, and the surrounding environment. The problem may only become worse as air travel increases for cargo and passenger operations, populations increase, and the overall number of aircraft increase. Currently, guidance has been issued from the International Civil Aviation Organization on how to combat the issue of noise pollution through policy, both at that national regulatory level, and at the local airport level. This study evaluated the local airport …

Electric Power And The Global Economy: Advances In Database Construction And Sector Representation, Jeffrey C. Peters

Open Access Dissertations

The electricity sector plays a crucial role in the global economy. The sector is a major consumer of fossil fuel resources, producer of greenhouse gas emissions, and an important indicator and correlate of economic development. As such, the sector is a primary target for policy-makers seeking to address these issues. The sector is also experiencing rapid technological change in generation (e.g. renewables), primary inputs (e.g. horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing), and end-use efficiency. This dissertation seeks to further our understanding of the role of the electricity sector as part of the dynamic global energy-economy, which requires significant research advances in …