Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

2018 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Cadmium Sulfide-Buffered Pv Systems: Assessing The Environmental, Health, And Economic Impacts, Maqsood Ali Mughal, Rajesh Sharma

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

As the world’s population continues to grow, global energy crises are expected to rise in the future, thus accelerating the demand for renewable energy technology, particularly solar photovoltaics. The energy sector will face an increasingly complex array of interlocking challenges - technological, environmental, health, economic, and regulatory. In this paper, we study CdS, a widely used buffer material in thin film photovoltaics, to assess and monetize environmental, health, and socio-economic externalities associated with the use of the material. Currently, CdS has a significant advantage over other alternate buffer materials in terms of efficiency and low-cost production of large-area processing of …

A Tacticians Guide To Conflict, Vol. 1: Advancing Explanations & Predictions Of Intrastate Conflict, Khaled Eid

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Intrastate conflict is an ever-evolving problem – causes, explanation, and predictions are increasingly murky as traditional methods of analysis focus on structural issues as precursors of conflict. Often times these theories do not consider the underlying meso and micro dynamics that can provide vital insights into the phenomena. Tactical decision-makers are left using models that rely on highly aggregated, country level data to create proper courses of actions (COAs) to address or predict conflict. The shortcoming is that conflicts morph quite rapidly and structural variables can struggle capture such dynamic changes. To address this some tacticians are using big data …

Examining The Influence Of Source-Message Incongruence On Source Trustworthiness And Attitudes Regarding Hazardous Waste Cleanup Decisions, Lori Garner Manes

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that when a source proffers a message that is incongruent with its expected position on a topic, it can have an effect on the perceived trustworthiness of the communicator, the persuasiveness of the message, and the extent to which the receiver elaborates the message. However, research in this area has not been consistent. Questions remain as to whether sourcemessage incongruence enhances source trustworthiness, attitude change, or both, relative to source-message congruence. Focusing on an environmental risk management context involving the cleanup of a hazardous waste site, this research investigated how source-message incongruence influenced perceptions of source trustworthiness, …

Free Market On The Free Way, Yuan Cheng

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Self-driving cars have the potential to decrease congestion and will probably become the future of efficient transportation. This dissertation presents a unique approach to implement sharing lanes on a freeway using the idea of option pricing. A macroscopic physical model (LWR) is implemented by adding noise to the speed which accounts for unexpected events. We then proceed to provide a fair price for lanes in real time.

On The Regularity Radius Of Delone Sets In R3, Nikolay Dolbilin, Alexey Garber, Undine Leopold, Egon Schulte

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We complete the proof of the upper bound ρ^3≤10R for the regularity radius of Delone sets in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Namely, summing up the results obtained earlier, and adding the missing cases, we show that if all 10R-clusters of a Delone set X with parameters (r,R) are equivalent, then X is a regular system.

Blocks In The Category Of Finite-Dimensional Representations Of Principal W-Algebra For Q(2), Elena Poletaeva

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe the blocks in the category of finite-dimensional representations of the principal finite W-algebra for the Lie superalgebra Q(2).

Voronoi Conjecture For Five-Dimensional Parallelohedra, Alexey Garber, Alexander Magazinov

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We prove the Voronoi conjecture for five-dimensional parallelohedra. Namely, we show that if a convex five-dimensional polytope P tiles R5 with translations, then P is an affine image of the Dirichlet-Voronoi cell for a five-dimensional lattice.

Connections Between Pre-Service Teachers’ Mathematical Dispositions And Self-Efficacy For Teaching Mathematics, Jasmine M. Cruz, Aaron T. Wilson, Xiaohui Wang

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mathematical dispositions (MD) and self-efficacy for teaching mathematics (SEFTM) are important elements of teachers‟ beliefs that significantly influence their behaviors and educational practices in the classroom. This study looked at relationships between pre-service teachers‟ (PSTs) MD and their SEFTM in connection with other descriptors related to their progress through the teacher education program and prior mathematical experiences. Survey data were collected from 238 PSTs at a midsized university in the US. Results include the finding that PSTs‟ intended grade-level and subject approximately mirror their MD and SEFTM: those planning to be elementary school (generalist) teachers were slightly behind both middle …

Volcanic Glass As A Proxy For Cenozoic Elevation And Climate In The Cascade Mountains, Oregon, Usa, John Bershaw, Elizabeth J. Cassell, Tessa Boe Carlson, Ashley R. Streig, Martin J. Streck

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

After deposition, volcanic glass hydrates with ambient water, recording the average hydrogen isotope ratio (δD or δ2H) of local meteoric water during the hydration period. Previous researchers have used ancient glass δD values to reconstruct paleotopography and paleoclimate, while others have questioned the long-term reliability of the proxy as a recorder of ancient meteoric water. In this study, we sampled volcanic glasses ranging in age ~33 Ma to(east) side of the Oregon Cascade Mountains. Our results strongly suggest that volcanic glass acquires and preserves δD values that are proportional to the stable isotopic composition of environmental water at the time …

On A Class Of Parameter Dependent Series Generalizing Euler’S Constant, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Series which depend on a parameter and generalize the constant discovered by Euler are introduced and studied. Convergence results are established. An infinite series expansion is obtained from these generalized formulas which can be used to evaluate the generalized constant. Euler’s constant can be obtained as a special case. Some asymptotic results are formulated and limits of some closely related sequences are given.

Attitudes Toward Using And Teaching Confidence Intervals: A Latent Profile Analysis On Elementary Statistics Instructors, Hyung Won Kim, Woo Jin Kim, Aaron T. Wilson, Ho Kyoung Ko

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The use of confidence intervals (CIs) for making a statistical inference is gaining popularity in research communities. To evaluate college statistics instructors’ readiness to teach CIs, this study explores their attitudes toward teaching CIs in elementary statistics courses, and toward using CIs in inferential statistics. Data were collected with a survey that classifies instructors’ attitudes on the basis of three previously established pedagogical components: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. Based on the survey responses from 270 participants, we created three profiles (subgroups) via latent profile analysis, and identified each profile’s pattern of attitudes toward CIs and common characteristics of the instructors …

Reanalysis Of The Us Geological Survey Benchmark Glaciers: Long-Term Insight Into Climate Forcing Of Glacier Mass Balance, Shad O’Neel, Christopher Mcneil, Louis Sass, Caitlyn Florentine, Emily Baker, Andrew G. Fountain, Multiple Additional Authors

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountain glaciers integrate climate processes to provide an unmatched signal of regional climate forcing. However, extracting the climate signal via intercomparison of regional glacier mass-balance records can be problematic when methods for extrapolating and calibrating direct glaciological measurements are mixed or inconsistent. To address this problem, we reanalyzed and compared long-term mass-balance records from the US Geological Survey Benchmark Glaciers. These five glaciers span maritime and continental climate regimes of the western United States and Alaska. Each glacier exhibits cumulative mass loss since the mid-20th century, with average rates ranging from −0.58 to −0.30 m w.e. a−1. We produced a …

Globally Detected Volcanic Lightning And Umbrella Dynamics During The 2014 Eruption Of Kelud, Indonesia, Kirstin A. Hargie, Alexa R. Van Eaton, L. G. Mastin, Robert H. Holzworth, John W. Ewert, Michael Pavolonis

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Volcanic lightning shows considerable promise as a monitoring and research tool to characterize explosive eruptions. Its key strengths are rapid and remote detection, because the radio signals produced by lightning can propagate thousands of km at the speed of light. Despite these tantalizing properties, the scientific work on volcanic lightning has only recently started gaining momentum. Much more is needed to understand what lightning reveals about the evolution of an eruption in near-real time. Here we examine the timing and energy release of lightning generated by the eruption of Kelud volcano in Indonesia on 13 February 2014, as detected by …

Dabke: Secure Deniable Attribute-Based Key Exchange Framework, Yangguang Tian, Yingjiu Li, Guomin Yang, Willy Susilo, Yi Mu, Hui Cui, Yinghui Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We introduce the first deniable attribute-based key exchange (DABKE) framework that is resilient to impersonation attacks. We define the formal security models for DABKE framework, and propose a generic compiler that converts any attribute-based key exchanges into deniable ones. We prove that it can achieve session key security and user privacy in the standard model, and strong deniability in the simulation-based paradigm. In particular, the proposed generic compiler ensures: 1) a dishonest user cannot impersonate other user's session participation in conversations since implicit authentication is used among authorized users; 2) an authorized user can plausibly deny his/her participation after secure …

Modeling Location-Based Social Network Data With Area Attraction And Neighborhood Competition, Thanh Nam Doan, Ee-Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modeling user check-in behavior helps us gain useful insights about venues as well as the users visiting them. These insights are important in urban planning and recommender system applications. Since check-in behavior is the result of multiple factors, this paper focuses on studying two venue related factors, namely, area attraction and neighborhood competition. The former refers to the ability of a spatial area covering multiple venues to collectively attract check-ins from users, while the latter represents the extent to which a venue can compete with other venues in the same area for check-ins. We first embark on empirical studies to …

An Economic Analysis Of Consumer Learning On Entertainment Shopping Websites, Jin Li, Zhiling Guo, Geoffrey K.F. Tso

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online entertainment shopping, normally supported by the pay-to-bid auction mechanism, represents an innovative business model in e-commerce. Because the unique selling mechanism combines features of shopping and online auction, consumers expect both monetary return and entertainment value from their participation. We propose a dynamic structural model to analyze consumer behaviors on entertainment shopping websites. The model captures the consumer learning process, based both on individual participation experiences and also on observational learning of historical auction information. We estimate the model using a large data set from an online entertainment shopping website. Results show that consumers’ initial participation incentives mainly come …

Quantifying Activity Levels Of Community-Dwelling Seniors Through Beacon Monitoring, Jin Qiang Goh, Hwee-Pink Tan, Hwee Xian Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The ageing population is rapidly increasing, both in Singapore and worldwide. Due to the shortage of healthcare professionals and institutionalized care, there is a pertinent need for seniors to age-in-place-safely and in the familiarity of their neighborhoods. In addition, changing family structures and rising divorce rates, coupled with the desire for more personal space and independence, have resulted in a significant proportion of seniors who live alone at home. In this paper, we describe a scalable and low-cost monitoring system that can help to identify community-dwelling seniors who are at risk of social isolation and/or frailty. This is achieved by …

Climate Risks And Market Efficiency, Harrison Hong, Frank Weikai Li, Jiangmin Xu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Climate science finds that the trend towards higher global temperatures exacerbates the risks of droughts. We investigate whether the prices of food stocks efficiently discount these risks. Using data from thirty-one countries with publicly-traded food companies, we rank these countries each year based on their long-term trends toward droughts using the Palmer Drought Severity Index. A poor trend ranking for a country forecasts relatively poor profit growth for food companies in that country. It also forecasts relatively poor food stock returns in that country. This return predictability is consistent with food stock prices underreacting to climate change risks.

Anomaly Detection In Bacnet/Ip Managed Building Automation Systems, Matthew Peacock

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Building Automation Systems (BAS) are a collection of devices and software which manage the operation of building services. The BAS market is expected to be a $19.25 billion USD industry by 2023, as a core feature of both the Internet of Things and Smart City technologies. However, securing these systems from cyber security threats is an emerging research area. Since initial deployment, BAS have evolved from isolated standalone networks to heterogeneous, interconnected networks allowing external connectivity through the Internet. The most prominent BAS protocol is BACnet/IP, which is estimated to hold 54.6% of world market share. BACnet/IP security features are …

Gamma Irradiation Response Of Photonic Crystal And Standard Optical Fibre Bragg Grating Sensors For Radiation Dosimetry, Desmond Baccini

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the use of Optical Fibre Bragg Grating Sensors (FBGs) for Gamma Radiation Dosimetry. A comparative analysis of responses to gamma irradiation between standard commercial FBGs and new generation FBGs written in Photonic Crystal fibre (PCF) were examined under similar regimes and conditions. Current research suggests that the FBGs performance, when exposed to Cobalt-60 gamma irradiation, can suffer cross sensitivity problems resulting from different external effects such as temperature. However, FBGs written in PCFs may be able to overcome these problems due to their design, flexibility of the shape, and size of the micro-holes in a PCF.

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The Predictive Performance Of Objective Measures Of Physical Activity Derived From Accelerometry Data For 5-Year All-Cause Mortality In Older Adults: National Health And Nutritional Examination Survey 2003-2006, Ekaterina Smirnova, Andrew Leroux, Quy Cao, Lucia Tabacu, Vadim Zipunnikov, Ciprian Crainiceanu, Jacek Urbanek

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Background: Declining physical activity (PA) is a hallmark of aging. Wearable technology provides reliable measures of the frequency, duration, intensity, and timing of PA. Accelerometry-derived measures of PA are compared to established predictors of 5-year all-cause mortality in older adults in terms of individual, relative, and combined predictive performance.

Methods: Participants between 50 and 85 years old from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES, n = 2978) wore a hip-worn accelerometer in the free-living environment for up to 7 days. A total of 33 predictors of 5-year all-cause mortality (number of events = 297), including 20 measures …

Learning To Grasp In Unstructured Environments With Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Using A Baxter Research Robot, Shehan Caldera

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recent advancements in Deep Learning have accelerated the capabilities of robotic systems in terms of visual perception, object manipulation, automated navigation, and human-robot collaboration. The capability of a robotic system to manipulate objects in unstructured environments is becoming an increasingly necessary skill. Due to the dynamic nature of these environments, traditional methods, that require expert human knowledge, fail to adapt automatically. After reviewing the relevant literature a method was proposed to utilise deep transfer learning techniques to detect object grasps from coloured depth images. A grasp describes how a robotic end-effector can be arranged to securely grasp an object and …

Chemical Composition And Toxicity Of Emissions From Burning Five Vegetation Types Of Western Australia Under Experimental Combustion Conditions, T T Trang Dong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigated the emission factors (EFs) for inorganic gases (CO2, CO, SO2, NO and NO2), carbonyls (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde and benzaldehyde), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) from laboratory-based fires of vegetation from five typical vegetation types of Western Australia. Species burnt were three grasslands (Spinifex represented by Triodia basedowii, Kimberley grass represented by Sehima nervosum and Heteropogon contortus, and an invasive grass represented by Ehrharta calycina (Veldt grass)), Banksia woodland and Jarrah forest under different combustion conditions. Chemical composition (water-soluble metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs) and in vitro toxicity …

ความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่น: การวิเคราะห์อภิมานโมเดลสมการเชิงโครงสร้าง, นัฏฐิกา เจริญตะคุ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีจุดประสงค์เพื่อ 1) ศึกษาตัวแปรคุณลักษณะงานวิจัย 3 ด้านคือ ด้านการตีพิมพ์ ด้านเนื้อหาสาระ และด้านวิธีวิทยาการวิจัยที่ส่งผลต่อขนาดอิทธิพลของความฉลาดทางอารมณ์ การรู้คุณ การสนับสนุนทางสังคม รูปแบบการเผชิญปัญหา และการสนับสนุนความเป็นอิสระที่ส่งผลต่อความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่น 2) สร้างและตรวจสอบโมเดลความสัมพันธ์เชิงสาเหตุของปัจจัยความฉลาดทางอารมณ์ การรู้คุณ การสนับสนุนทางสังคม รูปแบบการเผชิญปัญหา และการสนับสนุนความเป็นอิสระที่ส่งผลต่อความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่น ตัวอย่างที่ใช้ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้เป็นงานวิจัยสหสัมพันธ์เชิงสาเหตุเกี่ยวกับ ความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่นที่เผยแพร่ในรูปแบบบทความวิจัยในช่วงปี ค.ศ. 2007-2019 จำนวน 67 เรื่องจากทั้งหมด 61,696 เรื่อง โดยใช้การวิเคราะห์อภิมานโมเดลสมการเชิงโครงสร้างด้วยโปรแกรม R และ Mplus ผลการวิจัยมีดังนี้ 1. คุณลักษณะงานวิจัย 3 ด้านส่งผลต่อขนาดอิทธิพลของความฉลาดทางอารมณ์ การรู้คุณ รูปแบบการเผชิญปัญหา การสนับสนุนทางสังคม และการสนับสนุนความเป็นอิสระที่มีต่อความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่นโดยมีขนาดอิทธิพลเท่ากับ .23-.58 .19-.56 .19-.31 .20-.55 และ .20-.47 ตามลำดับ โดยขนาดอิทธิพลของแต่ละตัวแปรอิสระที่มีต่อความอยู่ดีมีสุขจะได้รับอิทธิพลจากคุณลักษณะงานวิจัยทั้ง 3 ด้านแตกต่างกัน 2. โมเดลความสัมพันธ์เชิงสาเหตุความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่นที่พัฒนาขึ้น ประกอบด้วยปัจจัย 4 ด้านคือ ความฉลาดทางอารมณ์ การสนับสนุนทางสังคม รูปแบบการเผชิญปัญหา และการรู้คุณ ซึ่งอธิบาย ความผันแปรของความอยู่ดีมีสุขได้ร้อยละ 18.3 โดยโมเดลดังกล่าวสอดคล้องกับข้อมูลเชิงประจักษ์ (χ2= 2.518; df= 1; p-value = .113; CFI = 1.000; TLI = 1.000; RMSEA = .006) ทั้งนี้ความฉลาดทางอารมณ์มีอิทธิพลต่อความอยู่ดีมีสุขของวัยรุ่นมากที่สุด รองลงมาคือ การรู้คุณ รูปแบบการเผชิญปัญหา และการสนับสนุนทางสังคม (.249 .245 .116 และ .141 ตามลำดับ)

Front Matter

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

When Magnets Inspire Art: From Psychedelic Artwork To Floating Objects, Loubna El Meddah El Idrissi

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

A Revolting Remedy: A Word About C. Diff And Experimental Treatments, Aaron M. Dolich

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Synapse 19

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Nicollette Mitchell, Rachael Branscomb

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.