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2015

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Articles 11581 - 11610 of 12617

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The State Of Mobile Learning Implementation In Government Cabinet-Level Agencies And Departments, Algernon B. Corbett Jan 2015

The State Of Mobile Learning Implementation In Government Cabinet-Level Agencies And Departments, Algernon B. Corbett

CCE Theses and Dissertations

As mobile technologies have increasingly become a part of personal and work environments, mobile learning is emerging as a viable alternative for training and education needs. Faced with the need for innovative and cost-efficient ways for training government employees, agencies and departments are considering the use of mobile learning. The availability of a wide range of mobile technology provides many options. Other than the Department of Defense, little is known about implementing mobile learning in United States government cabinet level agencies and departments. A concurrent, mixed methods case study was used to examine how organizations decide to use, implement and …


Production, Persistence And Diversity Of Species In Temperate Grasslands, Meredith L. Mitchell, Brendan P. Christy Jan 2015

Production, Persistence And Diversity Of Species In Temperate Grasslands, Meredith L. Mitchell, Brendan P. Christy

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Temperate grassland areas are considered to be semi-arid, with rainfall typically between 250 and 500 mm, much of it occurring in the late spring and early summer. Grazing plays an important role in all these grasslands with impacts on diversity and persistence. Against this assumption that seasonal productivity would be more uniform within a pasture that was diverse, the research suggested that species rich pastures were less stable, because this species richness was composed of non-perennial, volunteer and weed species. This paper explores the concept that systems diversity of temperate grassland does not always equate to production. In these systems …


Ecologically And Socially Sustainable Livestock Development In Marginal Areas, Ilse Köhler-Rollefson Jan 2015

Ecologically And Socially Sustainable Livestock Development In Marginal Areas, Ilse Köhler-Rollefson

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

“Marginal areas” are perceived as difficult and unproductive landscapes, always under the threat of drought, desertification and poverty. Yet, both dryland and high altitude marginal areas have an extraordinary output of livestock products; in the efficiency of producing human-edible protein they far surpass more fertile areas. This productivity under adverse climatic conditions rests on sophisticated strategies and social institutions developed by pastoral communities to deal with variability in the availability of resources. It depends on the use of animal genetic resources that are adapted to make best use of local vegetation and can cope with seasonal variations in availability. Livestock …


Recent Trends In Breeding Of Tropical Grass And Forage Species, J. S. Sandhu, Dinesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar Yadav, Tejveer Singh, R. P. Sah, Auji Radhakrishna Jan 2015

Recent Trends In Breeding Of Tropical Grass And Forage Species, J. S. Sandhu, Dinesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar Yadav, Tejveer Singh, R. P. Sah, Auji Radhakrishna

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Germplasm enrichment in major tropical grasses and their characterization for emerging environmental challenges have been major focussed area in the recent past. Breeding efforts in tropical grasses are still limited to few selected species viz. Panicum spp, Cenchrus spp, Pennisetum spp and Bracharia spp and all other grasses use of land races for varietal development through selection have been major source of improvement. The pace of breeding efforts in the tropical grasses have been slowed because of many inherent characteristics viz. apomixis, poor seed set, high photo and thermo sensitivity often creating problem in designing and implementing an effective breeding …


Three Is Company: Fixing The Grazing-Land Business Conundrum, Ralph Von Kaufmann Jan 2015

Three Is Company: Fixing The Grazing-Land Business Conundrum, Ralph Von Kaufmann

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Grazing-lands have the largest footprint on the world’s land surface area but this is not reflected in the amount of business conducted on them. The most common land use systems are very land intensive, i.e., they use a lot of land to produce not very much and few jobs. The health of the planet depends on having healthy grazing-lands but there is a perfect storm brewing in which the demand from expanding pastoral communities for more food and jobs cannot be met just by applying good grazing-land management practices. Compatible businesses must be found that can create jobs without increasing …


Thiol Dioxygenases: An Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Cysteine Dioxygenase And 3-Mercaptopropionic Acid Dioxygenase, Joshua Crowell Jan 2015

Thiol Dioxygenases: An Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Cysteine Dioxygenase And 3-Mercaptopropionic Acid Dioxygenase, Joshua Crowell

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Thiol dioxygenase (TDO) enzymes catalyze the molecular oxygen-dependent oxidation of sulfur containing amino acid derivatives. The loss of the ability to regulate thiols has been linked to a number of neurological diseases. Two TDO enzymes, a mammalian cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) and a bacterial 3-mercaptopropionic acid dioxygenase, are examined by probing the various effects on the steady-state kinetic parameters kcat and kcat/KM. Both of these enzymes show a similar deviation from the iconic 2-His-1-carboxylate facial triad active site motif that dominates the mononuclear non-heme iron oxidase/oxygenase class of enzymes. However, CDO shows an unusual covalently crosslinked Cys-Tyr pair within 3.3 Å …


Solution Combustion Synthesis Of Oxide Semiconductors, Abegayl Lorenda Shara-Lynn Thomas Jan 2015

Solution Combustion Synthesis Of Oxide Semiconductors, Abegayl Lorenda Shara-Lynn Thomas

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

The quest for stable and efficient photocatalytic materials beyond TiO2 and WO3 has over the years led to the development of new materials that possess varied interfacial energetics. This dissertation study focused on using for the first time a novel method, solution combustion synthesis (SCS), to prepare two distinct families of binary metal-based oxide semiconductor materials. Detailed studies on material characteristics and applications were carried out on tungsten- and niobium-based oxide semiconductors with varying principal metals. Initial emphasis was placed on the SCS of tungsten-based oxide semiconductors (ZnWO4, CuWO4, and Ag2WO4). The influence of different tungsten precursor’s on the resultant …


Grassland Resources And Protections In The Yellow River Source Zone On The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xilai Li, Gary J. Brierley, Youming Qiao, George L. W. Perry, Jay King Gao Jan 2015

Grassland Resources And Protections In The Yellow River Source Zone On The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xilai Li, Gary J. Brierley, Youming Qiao, George L. W. Perry, Jay King Gao

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

This paper summarises resources and protections of the Yellow River Source Zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A concerted effort has been made to address concerns for overgrazing on the alpine steppe and alpine meadow landscapes in the source zone of the Yellow River. An assessment of the impacts of overgrazing includes consideration of the role of small mammals (on the one hand they are considered as a critical ecosystem engineer, on the other they are perceived as a major threatening pest). Analyzed in this paper are management options in the restoration of degraded grasslands.


Quality Seed Production And Effective Marketing Systems For Development Of Grasslands, M. Philip Rolston Jan 2015

Quality Seed Production And Effective Marketing Systems For Development Of Grasslands, M. Philip Rolston

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Seed quality is defined as (i) maintaining genetic purity using seed certification principles (generation system; isolation; previous cropping history); (ii) achieving high levels of physical purity (especially low weed seed levels) by in field weed control and seed cleaning; (iii) achieving high levels of seed germination at harvest and maintaining germination through the seed supply chain. Seed production systems must not only produce high quality seed but also achieve economic seed yields. Seed crops have to be profitable (by being high yielding) to justify the investment of time and input costs to achieve quality. This in turn requires supporting research …


Livestock And Local Development: Going To A New Humananimal Relationship, Jean François Tourrand, Laurent Dobremez, Benoit Dedieu, Guillaume Duteurtre, M. G. Piketty, P. Lescoat, B. Hubert Jan 2015

Livestock And Local Development: Going To A New Humananimal Relationship, Jean François Tourrand, Laurent Dobremez, Benoit Dedieu, Guillaume Duteurtre, M. G. Piketty, P. Lescoat, B. Hubert

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Along the past ten years, the French National Agency for Research (ANR) has financed projects regarding livestock. Results of five projects were gathered to understand the long-term livestock trends. At the end of the 19th century, animal breeding was oriented towards the production of goods to meet the local, regional, national and global demand, according to the zone. The market gradually became the key-factor to norm both production and consumption. It is now integrating environmental norms and is starting to invest in the social domain. However, this economical vision of animal production does not take into account the other functions …


Breeding Strategies To Improve Fodder Legumes With Special Emphasis On Clover And Medics, Ajoy K. Roy, D. R. Malaviya, P. Kaushal Jan 2015

Breeding Strategies To Improve Fodder Legumes With Special Emphasis On Clover And Medics, Ajoy K. Roy, D. R. Malaviya, P. Kaushal

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In India, Forage has a unique integration of agriculture and animal industry in diversified rich cultural environment. Greater part of rural economy in India relies much upon mixed farming system, a well-knit combination of crop production and livestock rearing. In India, grazing-based livestock husbandry plays an important role in the rural economy as around 50% of animals depend on grazing. Pasturelands over an area of 12 Mha constitute the main grazing resources that are available. Nearly 30 pastoral communities in hilly or arid/semi-arid regions in northern and western parts of India, depend on grazing-based livestock production. Nomadic pastoralism, a traditional …


Biochemical, Kinetic And Spectroscopic Characterizations Of Non-Heme Iron Oxygenase Enzymes, Bishnu P. Subedi Jan 2015

Biochemical, Kinetic And Spectroscopic Characterizations Of Non-Heme Iron Oxygenase Enzymes, Bishnu P. Subedi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

MiaE is a non-heme diiron enzyme which catalyzes the O2-dependent hydroxylation of selected tRNA-nucleotides as part of a multienzyme posttranscriptional hypermodification pathway. This tRNA-modifying enzyme is postulated to signal O2-availability within the pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella typhimurium. Recombinant MiaE was cloned from Salmonella typhimurium genomic DNA, purified to homogeneity, and characterized by steady-state kinetics and spectroscopic techniques (UV-visible, Circular Dichroism, dual mode electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and Mössbauer) for comparison to other non-heme diiron enzymes. Remarkably, regardless of the substrate used in peroxide-shunt assays, hydroxylation of the terminal isopentenyl-C4-position was observed with > 97% E-stereoselectivity. The role of tRNA-protein macromolecular interactions on …


Evaluation Of Rock Fall Hazards Using Lidar Technology, Norbert H. Maerz, Travis Kassebaum, Kenneth J. Boyko, James Otoo Jan 2015

Evaluation Of Rock Fall Hazards Using Lidar Technology, Norbert H. Maerz, Travis Kassebaum, Kenneth J. Boyko, James Otoo

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lidar (light detection and ranging) is a relatively new technology that is being used in many aspects of geology and engineering, including researching the potential for rock falls on highway rock cuts. At Missouri University of Science and Technology, we are developing methods for measuring joint orientations remotely and quantifying the raveling process. Measuring joint orientations remotely along highways is safer, more accurate and can result in larger and more accurate data sets, including measurements from otherwise inaccessible areas. Measuring the nature of rock raveling will provide the data needed to begin the process of modeling the rock raveling process. …


New Methodologies For Grasslands Monitoring, Katarzyna Dabrowska-Zielinska, Piotr Goliński, Marit Jorgensen, Jørgen Mølmann, Gregory Taff, Monika Tomaszewska, Barbara Golińska, Maria Budzynska, Martyna Gatkowska Jan 2015

New Methodologies For Grasslands Monitoring, Katarzyna Dabrowska-Zielinska, Piotr Goliński, Marit Jorgensen, Jørgen Mølmann, Gregory Taff, Monika Tomaszewska, Barbara Golińska, Maria Budzynska, Martyna Gatkowska

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Monitoring grassland areas to assess changes in their condition over time has been the subject of a lot of research at different scales. Initially the techniques focused on field-based measurements, and modelling. However, several obtained data were site specific. Based on the increase in availability of remote sensing data and products, there is an expectation that remote sensing can provide rapid and definite answers to the challenges of detecting and monitoring grassland conditions and associated changes in productivity. At the time of European Copernicus Programme, the new possibilities of satellite data from the group of Sentinel satellites give the new …


Enhancing Grassland Productivity Through Disease Management Of Grass And Forage Species, Tingyu Duan, Chunjie Li, Yanzhong Li, Binhua Yu, Zhibiao Nan Jan 2015

Enhancing Grassland Productivity Through Disease Management Of Grass And Forage Species, Tingyu Duan, Chunjie Li, Yanzhong Li, Binhua Yu, Zhibiao Nan

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The total area of grassland in China is about 400 million hectares, accounting for 41.7% of the country’s land area, which plays important role in ecological construction and food security assurance of the national. However, diseases of grass and forage limited the development of the pastoral agriculture. There are more than1500 new diseases were reported in the past 16 years with more and more new diseases were discovered. The damage to grassland is becoming more severe with the known diseases prevalent areas expanding.


Valuing Variability--New Perspectives On Climate Resilient Dryland Development, Saverio Kratli Jan 2015

Valuing Variability--New Perspectives On Climate Resilient Dryland Development, Saverio Kratli

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Valuing Variability is a challenge to the view of the drylands as naturally vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty. It argues that improving agricultural productivity in dryland environments is possible by working with climatic uncertainty rather than seeking to control it – a view that runs contrary to decades of development practice in arid and semi-arid lands.


Conservation Of Grassland Plant Genetic Resources Through People Participation, D. R. Malaviya, Ajoy K. Roy, P. Kaushal Jan 2015

Conservation Of Grassland Plant Genetic Resources Through People Participation, D. R. Malaviya, Ajoy K. Roy, P. Kaushal

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Agrobiodiversity provides the foundation of all food and feed production. Hence, need of the time is to collect, evaluate and utilize the biodiversity globally available. Indian sub-continent is one of the world’s mega centers of crop origins. India possesses 166 species of agri-horticultural crops and 324 species of wild relatives. India is reported to have five grass covers identified. There have been almost nil human interference in terms of selection pressure; hence, the biodiversity is well conserved in these grazing lands. There is need of a system approach to understanding biodiversity that moves significantly beyond taxonomy and species observations. In …


Optical Microfibre Based Photonic Components And Their Applications In Label-Free Biosensing, Pengfei Wang, Lin Bo, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell, Gilberto Bramilla Jan 2015

Optical Microfibre Based Photonic Components And Their Applications In Label-Free Biosensing, Pengfei Wang, Lin Bo, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell, Gilberto Bramilla

Articles

Optical microfibre photonic components offer a variety of enabling properties, including large evanescent fields, flexibility, configurability, high confinement, robustness and compactness. These unique features have been exploited in a range of applications such as telecommunication, sensing, optical manipulation and high Q resonators. Optical microfibre biosensors, as a class of fibre optic biosensors which rely on small geometries to expose the evanescent field to interact with samples, have been widely investigated. Due to their unique properties, such as fast response, functionalization, strong confinement, configurability, flexibility, compact size, low cost, robustness, ease of miniaturization, large evanescent field and label-free operation, optical microfibres …


Investigating The Engagement Of Mature Students With Mathematics Learning Support, Cormac Breen, Michael Carr, Mark Prendergast Jan 2015

Investigating The Engagement Of Mature Students With Mathematics Learning Support, Cormac Breen, Michael Carr, Mark Prendergast

Articles

The Maths Learning Support Centre (MLSC) in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) provides free mathematical support to all DIT students. This support is primarily delivered through a drop-in service, where students can receive one-to-one tuition, without an appointment, in any area of mathematics. In the first semester of the 2013/14 academic year, a significant proportion of students that availed of this drop-in service were mature students enrolled in Engineering programmes. This is of particular interest as mature students constitute a relatively small proportion of the total student body, motivating a deeper study of the reasons for the high levels …


Major Challenges And Solutions For Utilizing Big Data In The Maritime Industry, Sadaharu Koga Jan 2015

Major Challenges And Solutions For Utilizing Big Data In The Maritime Industry, Sadaharu Koga

World Maritime University Dissertations

The dissertation is a study of big data for the use in the maritime industry. Today’s society is information-intensive. The term “big data” is becoming more common. In fact, some maritime companies and institutions have already been trying to utilize big data for enhancing maritime safety and environmental protection. In order to promote this trend, the dissertation tries to identify common and important challenges for the whole maritime industry in terms of the utilization of big data and propose corresponding solutions. First, by reviewing the definitions of big data, three major features are identified. Big data takes electronic form, is …


Air Quality And Respiratory Health Among Adolescents From The United Arab Emirates, Caroline Barakat-Haddad, Sheng Zhang, Ayesha Siddiqua, Rania Dghaim Jan 2015

Air Quality And Respiratory Health Among Adolescents From The United Arab Emirates, Caroline Barakat-Haddad, Sheng Zhang, Ayesha Siddiqua, Rania Dghaim

All Works

© 2015 Caroline Barakat-Haddad et al. Purpose. To examine the role of air quality in relation to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, wheeze, and dry cough among adolescents from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods. A survey was administered on 6,363 adolescents from 9 UAE regions. Data consists of demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and behavioural variables, such as location of residence, residing near industry/gas stations/dumpsites/construction sites, residing near overhead power line/plants, exposure to tobacco, residential exposure, ethnicity, concern over air pollution, smoking, and purposely smelling gasoline fumes/glue/correctors/car exhaust/burning black ants. Logistic regression modeling was used to determine significant predictors of respiratory health. …


Effects Of Hydrologic Modifications On Flooding In Bottomland Hardwoods, Erin Johnson Jan 2015

Effects Of Hydrologic Modifications On Flooding In Bottomland Hardwoods, Erin Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

Complex fluvial processes influence floodplains. River modifications in the 1930s have affected hydrogeomorphic processes influencing the lower White River in southeastern Arkansas. The overall objective of this study was to better understand the hydrologic and geomorphic influence on the floodplain forest. We used the HEC-RAS model to quantify hydrologic relationships within the floodplain before and after 1930s river modifications. The model can replicate flooding within 3-5 m. Despite river modifications, HEC-RAS modeling showed headwater floods influenced the upper reach of the floodplain while backwater floods from the Mississippi River influenced the lower reach of the floodplain. Post-1930s incision that occurred …


The Effects Of Tropical Storms And Hurricanes On Phytoplankton And Nutrient Concentrations In Wetland-Estuary Transition Zones Along The Gulf Coast, Tiffany Chantelle Johnson Jan 2015

The Effects Of Tropical Storms And Hurricanes On Phytoplankton And Nutrient Concentrations In Wetland-Estuary Transition Zones Along The Gulf Coast, Tiffany Chantelle Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

Two consecutive storms made landfall along the Northern Gulf of Mexico on June and August 2012 (Tropical Storm Debby, 06/26/2012; Isaac, 08/28/2012, Category (Cat) 1 Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). Each storm passed within 48 to 273 km of one of seven wetland-estuary transition zone sampling sites, and indirect storm effects associated with changes in freshwater discharge and an inflow of inorganic nutrients were observed at five of the seven sites. To assess the impacts of the 2012 hurricanes on hydrology, nutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton concentrations at transition zones along the Gulf Coast, a within-sites analysis along with a seasonal analysis were …


Bridging Gaps: Supplemental Materials For Struggling Students In Common Core Aligned Algebra 1, Reynalin Apinardo Baricuatro Jan 2015

Bridging Gaps: Supplemental Materials For Struggling Students In Common Core Aligned Algebra 1, Reynalin Apinardo Baricuatro

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis emphasizes the need for, and the development of, auxiliary and supplemental materials for students struggling with the Module 1 of the Common Core aligned EngageNY/Eureka Math, Algebra 1 Curriculum, in particular, special education students and regular education students who are missing essential pre-requisite skills. The goal of this thesis is to provide resources which assist both the students and the teachers with the transition from the old Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum to the intensity, rigor, and mathematical sophistication of the new Common Core aligned curriculum. Clearly, the need for supplementary materials is not restricted to the first of six …


Effects Of Oil Spill And Recovery Of Terrestrial Arthropods In Louisiana Saltmarsh Ecosystem, Wokil Bam Jan 2015

Effects Of Oil Spill And Recovery Of Terrestrial Arthropods In Louisiana Saltmarsh Ecosystem, Wokil Bam

LSU Master's Theses

Saltmarshes are under continuous multiple stressors such as, land loss, erosion, climate change, environmental pollutions and oil spills, which affect the ecological communities inhabiting saltmarshes. Terrestrial arthropods play an important role in the ecology of saltmarshes, affecting primary production and decomposition. Arthropods are often found in the gut contents of Seaside Sparrows and fishes making them an important trophic link to terrestrial and marine vertebrates. Insects and spiders have the potential to be a good indicator of overall marsh health and environment as they are differentially sensitive to oil exposure. Oil pollutants may have significant long-term negative impacts on the …


An Accelerated Middle School Mathematics Curriculum: Combined Engageny Math 6 And Math 7 Curriculum, Emily Jane Moran Jan 2015

An Accelerated Middle School Mathematics Curriculum: Combined Engageny Math 6 And Math 7 Curriculum, Emily Jane Moran

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis discusses the importance and benefits of subject acceleration for mathematically gifted students. The objective was to create an accelerated mathematics curriculum for mathematically gifted students by combining the Math 6 and Math 7 EngageNY curricula and adapting these curricula to meet the needs of my gifted students. This curriculum is to be implemented in a gifted classroom, which allows students to be on an accelerated path in mathematics. This thesis focuses on the Accelerated Mathematics 6 program implemented for 15 sixth grade gifted and scholastic academy students at Woodlawn Middle School, a school located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. …


Increasing Student Engagement In The Secondary Math Classroom, Chantell Holloway Walker Jan 2015

Increasing Student Engagement In The Secondary Math Classroom, Chantell Holloway Walker

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis reports on a professional development package developed by the author to help three teachers increase the level of student engagement in their math classrooms. There were three phases: 1) initial presentation of strategies and sample lessons, 2) classroom implementation, 3) reflection and evaluation. As a result of the professional development, the Louisiana Compass Teacher Evaluation Rubric scores of the teachers improved in the area of student engagement. This thesis can be used as a guide for principals or instructional specialists who wish to provide professional development for small groups of teachers, with a focus on increasing student engagement.


Analyzing Site Suitability For Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Regeneration Along A Hydrologic Gradient In South Louisiana Swamps, Marcus Rutherford Jan 2015

Analyzing Site Suitability For Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Regeneration Along A Hydrologic Gradient In South Louisiana Swamps, Marcus Rutherford

LSU Master's Theses

The future of Louisiana’s coastal cypress-tupelo forests is threatened by prolonged or permanent flooding during the growing season. Permanent inundation prevents baldcypress seedlings from becoming established. The upper limit of submergence with respect to adequate planted baldcypress seedling performance has not been effectively tested under actual field conditions. Similarly, an effective method for determining a site’s regeneration potential based on present vegetation attributes has not been developed. To test first-year performance of planted baldcypress seedlings under varying levels of submergence, I planted 900 of both 1-0 and 2-0 age-class bare-root seedlings across 12 different sites covering a range of hydrologic …


Constructing Desirable Scalar Fields For Morse Analysis On Meshes, Mustafa Hajij Jan 2015

Constructing Desirable Scalar Fields For Morse Analysis On Meshes, Mustafa Hajij

LSU Master's Theses

Morse theory is a powerful mathematical tool that uses the local differential properties of a manifold to make conclusions about global topological aspects of the manifold. Morse theory has been proven to be a very useful tool in computer graphics, geometric data processing and understanding. This work is divided into two parts. The first part is concerned with constructing geometry and symmetry aware scalar functions on a triangulated $2$-manifold. To effectively apply Morse theory to discrete manifolds, one needs to design scalar functions on them with certain properties such as respecting the symmetry and the geometry of the surface and …


A Plausibly Deniable Encryption Scheme For Personal Data Storage, Andrew Brockmann Jan 2015

A Plausibly Deniable Encryption Scheme For Personal Data Storage, Andrew Brockmann

HMC Senior Theses

Even if an encryption algorithm is mathematically strong, humans inevitably make for a weak link in most security protocols. A sufficiently threatening adversary will typically be able to force people to reveal their encrypted data. Methods of deniable encryption seek to mend this vulnerability by allowing for decryption to alternate data which is plausible but not sensitive. Existing schemes which allow for deniable encryption are best suited for use by parties who wish to communicate with one another. They are not, however, ideal for personal data storage. This paper develops a plausibly-deniable encryption system for use with personal data storage, …