Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating Head Gestures For Panning 2-D Spatial Information, Matthew O. Derry

Master's Theses

New, often free, spatial information applications such as mapping tools, topological imaging, and geographic information systems are becoming increasingly available to the average computer user. These systems, which were once available only to government, scholastic, and corporate institutions with highly skilled operators, are driving a need for new and innovative ways for the average user to navigate and control spatial information intuitively, accurately, and efficiently. Gestures provide a method of control that is well suited to navigating the large datasets often associated with spatial information applications. Several different types of gestures and different applications that navigate spatial data are examined. …

Automation In Cs1 With The Factoring Problem Generator, Joshua B. Parker

Master's Theses

As the field of computer science continues to grow, the number of students enrolled in related programs will grow as well. Though one-on-one tutoring is one of the more effective means of teaching, computer science instructors will have less and less time to devote to individual students. To address this growing concern, many tools that automate parts of an instructor’s job have been proposed. These tools can assist instructors in presenting concepts and grading student work, and they can help students learn to program more effectively. A growing group of intelligent tutoring systems attempts to tie all of this functionality …

Bio-Inspired Node Localization In Wireless Sensor Networks, Raghavendra V. Kulkarni, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Maggie X. Cheng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) require location information of the randomly deployed nodes. a common solution to the localization problem is to deploy a few special beacon nodes having location awareness, which help the ordinary nodes to localize. in this approach, non-beacon nodes estimate their locations using noisy distance measurements from three or more non-collinear beacons they can receive signals from. in this paper, the ranging-Based localization task is formulated as a multidimensional optimization problem, and addressed using bio-inspired algorithms, exploiting their quick convergence to quality solutions. an investigation on distributed iterative localization is presented in this paper. …

Health Impacts Of Traffic Related Air Pollution, Amit U. Raysoni, Wen-Wahi Li

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ambient air pollution can be a serious cause of concern for any community. Anthropogenic ambient air pollutants can emanate from industries, traffic, geological sources and domestic heating and cooking. However, studies have shown that traffic related air pollution can have far more detrimental health effects than non-combustion sources. These adverse health effects are most profound in sensitive populations like the elderly and young children. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes more than 300 million deaths every year to ambient air pollution. The WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) and the United States Environment Protection Agency’s (USEPA) National Ambient Air Quality Standards …

"All The Crises Reached A Concerted Crescendo" - The Arab Oil Embargo And Why The United States Was Unprepared For It, Jonathan D. Chilcote

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the 2008 spike in oil prices, oil companies and government officials were brought under close scrutiny as many Americans began to question why prices were able to rise so quickly. Americans had become accustomed to living in an economy where cheap oil was the norm, and demanded answers when that situation changed. What most of them did not know is that they were repeating history and mimicking the response to the 1973 oil embargo. Just as in 2008, the United States faced a crisis in 1973 with which it was unprepared to effectively cope. This thesis analyzes the reasons …

A Two-Sample Adaptive Procedure Based On The Log-Rank And Peto And Peto's Wilcoxon Tests, Annie A. Tordilla

Dissertations

It has been shown that under a location-scale model y = μ + βz + σε at where y is right censored, the Log-Rank test is asymptotically efficient for the Extreme minimum value error distribution while Peto and Peto's Wilcoxon test is asymptotically efficient for the Logistic error distribution. We propose a two-sample adaptive test, which first selects between Extreme minimum value and Logistic error distribution as to which is a better fit to the data, then performs the asymptotically efficient test (Log-Rank or Peto and Peto's Wilcoxon test) for the selected distribution. The performance of the adaptive test is …

A Cognitive Model For Problem Solving In Computer Science, Jennifer Parham

All Dissertations

According to industry representatives, computer science education needs to emphasize the processes involved in solving computing problems rather than their solutions. Most of the current assessment tools used by universities and computer science departments analyze student answers to problems rather than investigating the processes involved in solving them. Approaching assessment from this perspective would reveal potential errors leading to incorrect solutions.
This dissertation proposes a model describing how people solve computational problems by storing, retrieving, and manipulating information and knowledge. It describes how metacognition interacts with schemata representing conceptual and procedural knowledge, as well as with the external sources of …

A Study Of The Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere: Noctilucent Cloud Observations And Rocket Borne Density Measurements, Shelton Simmons

All Theses

Herein, a study of a noctilucent cloud, NLC, display from 17 July 2007 is analyzed. A photogrammetric analysis was applied to time lapsed photographs taken from two observation sites, RŸgen and KŸhlungsborn, Germany. Both Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and internal gravity waves were identified during the NLC display based on the typical characteristics of such waves in the mesopause region. With the two observation sites, the location of details can be identified with an accuracy of ±0.125¡ longitude and ±0.5¡ latitude. A gravity wave with a wavelength of 50km and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability or gravity wave of wavelength 16.5km were observed. The 16.5km …

Light Beaming From A Single Subwavelength Metal Slit, Pengyu Chen

All Theses

In this thesis, light transmission through a single sub-wavelength slit in a silver thin film with periodic gratings at the exit side of the slit has been studied in both the visible and mid-infrared wavelength ranges.
In the visible wavelength range, we first investigate the enhancement of plasmonic light beaming efficiency by near field resonance in a subwavelength metallic slit-groove beaming structure. We show that by varying the film thickness and the separation distance of the beaming grating, the intensity of the near field can be greatly enhanced by resonance, which leads to the increase of the beaming efficiency. Moreover, …

The Effects Of Pulsed Exposures Of Suspended Clay On The Survival, Growth, And Reproduction Of Daphnia Magna, Sarah Robinson

All Theses

Suspended sediments are a natural component of aquatic ecosystems but anthropogenic activity such as land development can result in significant increases, especially following rain events due to surface erosion. Continuous exposures of suspended clay and silt have been shown to effect growth and reproduction of Cladocera, leading to a decrease in population growth rate. The mechanism of clay toxicity in these filter-feeding organisms is clogging of the gut tract resulting in decreased food uptake and assimilation. When placed in clean water, daphnids can purge clay from their gut and recover. In many surface waters, aquatic organisms experience episodic exposures of …

Analysis Of Mercury And Lead In Birds Of Prey From Gold-Mining Areas Of The Peruvian Amazon, Peggy Shrum

All Theses

This study was conducted to determine levels of lead and mercury in the raptors of the South-eastern Peruvian Amazon. The study took place within the Los Amigos Conservation Concession in Madre de Dios, Peru. Eighty-six raptors from among sixteen species were captured with Bal-Chatri traps. From each individual, feather samples were obtained for mercury analysis and blood was taken for lead analysis. Each raptor was then released without incident or injury.
Mercury amalgamation for gold extraction is widely used by small-scale, transient mining operations, which are numerous along the rivers and creeks in the tropical forests and other locations in …

The Program Evaluation Standards Applied For Metaevaluation Purposes: Investigating Interrater Reliabiity And Implications For Use, Lori A. Wingate

Dissertations

Metaevaluation is the evaluation of evaluation. Metaevaluation may focus particular evaluation cases, evaluation systems, or the discipline overall. Leading scholars within the discipline consider metaevaluation to be a professional imperative, demonstrating that evaluation is a reflexive enterprise. Various criteria have been set forth for what constitutes excellence in evaluation. In the context of educational program evaluation, the dominant criteria are the Program Evaluation Standards, developed by the developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation.

There has been widespread acceptance and application of the Program Evaluation Standards, and their use is advocated by major organizations and several of …

Off-Metal Synthesis Of Some Aryl Substituted Rhenium N5-Cyclopenta [C] Pyridazyl Complexes, James Leif Neathery

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Heterocyclic organic and organometallic compounds (e.g. polypyrrole), and their derivatives, have been of great interest for conductive polymers due to their novel properties and environmental stability as compared to non-aromatic analogs (e.g. polyacetylene). Our current interests focus upon the potential role of pyridazines in next generation electronic devices that utilize organics as the semiconducting material. Pyridazines, 6-membered aromatic rings with two adjacent nitrogens, are promising candidates for a variety of materials and commercial applications. These molecular electronic materials posses several advantages over traditional inorganic semiconducting materials including lower cost of production, higher processibility, and the ability to function on flexible …

Chemistry Of Zirconia And Its Bioanalytical Applications, Oge Anazia

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research studies the chemical nature of zirconia and the complex surface chemistry of zirconia in order to better comprehend its behavior under chromatographic conditions. This research shows how the physical and chemical properties of zirconia depend strongly on the thermal treatment during synthesis. The morphology of the samples was also studied. The absorption capability of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) on zirconia was also monitored and spectrally characterized.

The results of this research showed how the properties of zirconia vary with thermal treatment. It was observed that the zirconia prepared at a higher temperature had lower surface area, lower pore size …

Incomplete Concerted Evolution In The Non-Hybrid Diploid Clematic Fremontii S. Watston (Rananculaceae), Meredith C. Montgomery

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Clematis fremontii S. Wats. (Ranunculaceae) is a diploid perennial forb with strict habitat requirements that occurs in isolated populations in the cedar glades of Missouri and the mixed-grass prairies of Kansas and Nebraska. Based on geographical isolation and morphological differences, this species was formerly subdivided into two varieties, the autonymic prairie variety and the glade variety, C. fremontii var. riehlii Erickson. Interestingly, two disjunct populations of C. fremontii inhabit cedar glades have been recently located in Rome, GA and Chattanooga, TN. Initially, the focus of my research was to gain insight into whether the two eastern populations are recent introductions …

Fisheries Research Report No. 197 - Coastal And Marine Resource Condition Monitoring - Scoping Project, Brett A. Human, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries research reports

Final NRM Report – Project 073007

Part 1– Knowledge review and gap analysis: Resource condition monitoring in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia

This report details extensive literature searches for both research and monitoring programs that have been undertaken in the marine and coastal environments of the Pilbara and Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The Pilbara and Kimberley region is remote and difficult to access, resulting in very little monitoring effort of the marine and coastal environments in that region.

We currently know very little of the condition of marine and coastal natural resources in the Pilbara …

Perturbation Theory Analysis Of Attosecond Photoionization, Anthony F. Starace, Evgeny A. Pronin, M. V. Frolov, N. L. Manakov

Anthony F. Starace Publications

Ionization of an atom by a few-cycle attosecond xuv pulse is analyzed using perturbation theory (PT), keeping terms in the transition amplitude up to second order in the pulse electric field. Within the PT approach, we present an ab initio parametrization of the ionized electron angular distribution (AD) using rotational invariance and symmetry arguments. This parametrization gives analytically the dependence of the AD on the carrier envelope phase (CEP), the polarization of the pulse, and on the ionized electron momentum direction, p^ . For the general case of an elliptically polarized pulse, we show that interference of the first- and …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2009), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American eel in November 1999. The FMP focuses on increasing coastal states’ efforts to collect American eel data through both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent studies. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young-of-year (YOY) American eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the YOY eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast” (ASMFC 2000). The development of these surveys began in 2000 with full implementation …

Decolorization Of Anthraquinone Vat Blue 4 By The Free Cells Of An Autochthonous Bacterium, Bacillus Subtilis, Rajee Olaganathan, Jamila Patterson

Publications

Uncontaminated soil, Vat Blue 4 contaminated soil and Vat Blue 4 effluent were screened for heterotrophic bacterial population and the bacterial density were found to be 19.3 £ 104 Colony Forming Units (CFU)/gm, 5.5 £ 104 CFU/gm and 1.1 £ 104 CFU/ml respectively. Student’s ‘t’ test analysis affirmed that significant variation prevailed between the three set of ‘t’ tests conducted (P , 0.001 to 0.002). The heterotrophic bacterial population of dye contaminated soil comprised of 32.5% of Pseudomonas spp. followed by 27.5% of Bacillus spp., 15.0% of Aeromonas spp., 12.5% of Micrococcus spp. and 12.5% of Achromobacter spp. The optimum …

Constructing A Magneto-Optical Trap For Cold Atom Trapping, Eric S. Muckley

Physics

A magneto-optical trap, or MOT, is a device that traps atoms between three pairs of opposing perpendicular laser beams for cooling the atoms to temperatures near absolute zero. The MOT uses Doppler cooling and a magnetic quadrupole field to trap the atoms; in our case, Rb87 atoms. In the future, the MOT will be used in experiments pertaining to the advancement of quantum computing. In this paper, I explain some of the processes required for construction and operation of the MOT.

The Greenhouse Effect: Common Misconceptions And Effective Instruction, Trevor W. Strickland

Physics

This study is an extension of the research of Dr. John Keller. It attempts to identify common student misconceptions regarding the greenhouse effect and investigate instructional methods of teaching the greenhouse effect. Dr. Keller developed a test, known as the Greenhouse Effect Concept Inventory (GECI), designed to measure a student’s understanding of the greenhouse effect. A central goal of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of this concept inventory at measuring differences in student knowledge of the greenhouse effect. In addition to the Cal Poly student population that participated in this research, we will be looking at the population …

Developing A B-Jet Tagging Algorithm For Alice: Lessons From Cdf, Paul Chester-John Carlson

Physics

This paper compares the detectors and algorithms developed and used at both A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) and the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). We found that the detectors share many similarities in data collection and analysis methods and that by adapting algorithms that have been tested and used at CDF, ALICE could augment its existing algorithms. The algorithms formed from this adaptation will help ALICE isolate b-jets quickly and explore the quark-gluon plasma, ultimately expanding our understanding of the strong nuclear force and its role in the evolution of our universe.

A Construction Of Lagrangian Submanifolds In Complex Euclidean Spaces With Legendre Curves, Yun Myung Oh

Faculty Publications

In [1], B. Y. Chen provided a new method to construct Lagrangian surfaces in C2 by using Legendre curves in S3(1)C2. In this paper, we investigate the similar methods to construct some Lagrangian submanifolds in complex Euclidean spaces Cn (n≥b3).

Non-Negative Steady State Solutions To An Elliptic Biological Model, Brian Ibanez, Joon Hyuk Kang, Jungho Lee

Faculty Publications

The non-existence and existence of positive solutions for the generalized predator-prey biological model for two species of animals Δu + ug(u,v) = 0 in Ω, Δv + vh(u,v) = 0 in Ω, u = v = 0 on ∂Ω, is investigated in this paper. The techniques used in this paper are from elliptic theory, the upper-lower solution method, the maximum principles and spectrum estimates. The arguments also rely on detailed properties of solutions to logistic equations. © 2009 Academic Publications.

Managing Supply Uncertainty With An Information Market, Zhiling Guo, Fang Fang, Andrew B. Whinston

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We propose a market-based information aggregation mechanism to manage the supply side uncertainty in the supply chain. In our analytical model, a simple supply chain consists of a group of retailers who order a homogeneous product from two suppliers. The two suppliers differ in their ability to fulfill orders – one always delivers orders and the other fulfills orders probabilistically. We model the supply chain decisions as a Stackelberg game where the supplier who has uncertain reliability decides a wholesale price before the retailers who independently receive signals about the supplier’s reliability determine their sourcing strategies. We then propose an …

Evaluating The Effects Of Green Roofs As Tools For Stormwater Management In An Urban Metropolis, Robyn R. Polinsky

Geosciences Theses

Stormwater management is an essential aspect of urban hydrology. Urbanized areas have large amounts of impervious surface cover (ISC) and well developed sewer and drainage networks which rapidly channel water and pollutants off of streets and into local streams. This research evaluates the use of vegetated roofs as mechanisms to reduce ISC and stormwater runoff in downtown Atlanta. A 3-D model of the study site was created so that runoff rates could be measured for various rooftop scenarios under different size storm events. The results revealed a reduction in peak runoff and an increase in both the lag time and …

A Comparison Of Soil Moisture And Hillslope-Stream Connectivity Between Aspen And Conifer-Dominated Hillslopes Of A First Order Catchment In Northern Utah, Amy R. Burke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain headwater catchments in the semi-arid Intermountain West are important sources of surface water because these high elevations receive more precipitation than neighboring lowlands. The hydrology of these mountain catchments is especially important as the region faces water shortages and conflicts. Conifer encroachment on aspen stands has been observed across the western US and can result in a decline in water yield. The overall objective of this study was to further our understanding of hillslope-stream connectivity in a headwater catchment of Northern Utah and any observable differences in this connection between aspen and conifer hillslopes. Hillslopes are the fundamental unit …

A Comparison Theorem For The Topological And Algebraic Classification Of Quaternionic Toric 8-Manifolds, Piotr Runge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to discuss topological properties of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds, we introduce the notion of an algebraic morphism in the category of toric spaces. We show that the classification of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds with respect to an algebraic isomorphism is finer than the oriented topological classification. We construct infinite families of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds in the same oriented homeomorphism type but algebraically distinct. To prove that the elements within each family are of the same oriented homeomorphism type, and that we have representatives of all such types of a quaternionic toric 8-manifold, we present and use a method of evaluating …

Geologic Mapping, Alluvial Stratigraphy, And Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Of The Kanab Creek Area, Southern Utah, Michelle Carlene Summa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

At the turn of the century, Kanab Creek incised 30-meters into its alluvium, leaving behind fluvial terraces and thick basin fill sediments exposed along arroyo walls. Research objectives were to determine the timing and causes of past valley-filling and arroyo-cutting episodes along a 20 km-long reach of Kanab Creek in southern Utah. Fluvial deposits were mapped at the 1:12,000 scale and sediments were described and dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating.

The Kanab Creek valley can be divided into a narrow, upper terraced reach and a broad lower basin fill reach near Kanab, Utah. The most prominent …

Salinity And Stratification In The Gulf Of Maine: 2001-2008, Heather E. Deese-Riordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The salinity and vertical density structure (stratification) of the Gulf of Maine strongly influence the physical and biological character of the region including: circulation and transport, vertical mixing, and primary productivity. Variability in salinity and stratification also provides insights into the character and timing of the oceanic waters entering the region, a key to predicting regional climate change. This thesis addresses outstanding questions related to variability in salinity and the relative role of salinity and temperature in creating stratification. Hourly observations from Ocean Observing System buoys throughout the Gulf provide the primary data source for this investigation. Analysis of estimated …