Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Front Matter, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors (Ceo)

Research in Outdoor Education

The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a non-profit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations, institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.

This article includes the Editors and Research Committee for Volume 13 as well as the Table of Contents.

Influences Of Resident Camp Experiences On Career Choice: A Case Study Of Female Alumnae, Barry A. Garst, Sarah Baughman, Anja Whittington, Ryan J. Gagnon

Research in Outdoor Education

Few studies have explored the long-term impacts of camp experiences on career choice, although there is a need to better understand how camp experiences may influence this decision to guide staff recruitment and retention efforts. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of camp experiences on future career paths for women. Twenty-two camp alumnae who attended an all-girls camp completed a retrospective online survey. Salient themes related to career impacts included human service career interest, outdoor career interest, leadership and interpersonal skill development, and social-emotional skill development. Considerations for future research include a national study of a …

The Use Of Biomarkers In Outdoor Education Research: Promises, Challenges, And The Development Of Evidence, Alan Ewert

Research in Outdoor Education

While widely used in research connected with outdoor education, self-report data can be subject to a number of issues related to validity and generalizability. This paper argues that biomarkers present another type of evidence that is equally or even more rigorous than self-report data. The paper describes several types of biomarkers that are commonly measured in other disciplines along with how data from those biomarkers are collected. Data from a recent study using two biomarkers commonly used for measuring stress is presented as an example of how the use of biomarkers can broaden the body of evidence being developed in …

“There Was More Out There Than Our Street”: Exploring Summer Camp Programming As A Context To Foster Social Capital And Civic Engagement After Camp, Tracy L. Mainieri, Denise M. Anderson

Research in Outdoor Education

The social capital and civic engagement literature indicate a similar concern: Americans today are less connected to their communities than in the recent past. The purpose of this study was to explore intentional summer camp programming as a possible avenue to engendering social capital and civic engagement in campers' home communities. Eight campers and their parents were interviewed at least three months after the campers participated in a structured camp program designed to increase campers' civic engagement and social capital. Campers experienced post-camp gains in their motivation for civic engagement and their bonding and bridging social networks; however, not all …

Determination Of Total Peroxide Content In Secondary Organic Aerosol Particles, Matthew E. Wise, John Shilling, Ryan Caylor

CUP Faculty Research

Secondary organic aerosol particles (SOA) formed from the oxidation of monoterpenes can impact the Earth’s radiation balance, act as cloud condensation nuclei and negatively affect human health. In the initial Visiting Faculty Program application, we proposed the use of an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer equipped with a liquid waveguide capillary flow cell to determine the extent to which SOA absorb visible light. The inclusion of Concordia University in the Secondary Organic Aerosol From Forest Emissions Experiment (SOAFFEE) laboratory campaign at PNNL necessitated a change in the proposed experiments. An iodometric-spectrophotometric (IS) technique was developed to quantify the total peroxide content in SOA. …

Determination Of The Optical Properties Of Secondary Organic Aerosol Particles, Matthew E. Wise, John Shilling, Felisha Imholt, Ryan Caylor

CUP Faculty Research

The enhanced greenhouse effect is currently considered to be our most important global environmental problem. While the magnitude of radiation absorbed by greenhouse gases is known to a high certainty, the absorption of radiation by atmospheric aerosol particles is not. In the initial Visiting Faculty Program application, we proposed the use of an ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) spectrometer equipped with a liquid waveguide capillary flow cell to determine the extent to which secondary organic aerosol particles (SOA) absorb visible light. Early in the research period, the UV/Vis technique was optimized for three solvent systems (methanol, water and 0.1 M hydrochloric acid). Using …

Nmr Kinetics Of The Diels-Alder Reactions Of 9-Substituted Anthracenes: Development Of An Organic Chemistry Lab Experience, Kira Oyama, Andrew Johnson

CUP Undergraduate Research

NMR spectroscopy plays an integral role in the teaching of organic chemistry. With the integration of conceptual understanding and problem solving, deciphering spectrums of an unknown chemical structure can provide many necessary challenges. The Diels-Alder reaction ([4π + 2π] cycloaddition reaction) is one of the most important reactions in synthetic organic chemistry as it allows for the formation of two C-C bonds and displays good regioand stereoselectivity. The kinetics of the reaction between maleic anhydride and anthracene and two of its derivatives (9-methylanthracene & 9-anthracenecarboxaldehyde) were the main focus of this experiment.

Defeatism Defeated, Max Baker-Hytch, Matthew A. Benton

SPU Works

Many epistemologists are enamored with a defeat condition on knowledge. In this paper we present some implementation problems for defeatism, understood along either internalist or externalist lines. We then propose that one who accepts a knowledge norm of belief, according to which one ought to believe only what one knows, can explain away much of the motivation for defeatism. This is an important result, because on the one hand it respects the plausibility of the intuitions about defeat shared by many in epistemology; but on the other hand, it obviates the need to provide a unified account of defeat which …

Mitigation And Beautification: Placing Rain Gardens In The Keystone Neighborhood Of Rock Island, Illinois, Rosalie K. Starenko

Independent Research Projects

With new stormwater management regulations, cities are looking for strategies to reduce urban runoff, and rain gardens are one of several strategies that capture runoff and encourage infiltration and evaporation. In doing so, pollution from runoff is mitigated and combined sewer systems experience fewer overflow events. I argue as well that the implementation of rain gardens would act as a movement for neighborhood beautification. This research develops a new methodology for placing rain gardens that: 1) maximizes the aesthetic value of the gardens by favoring high-visibility locations and 2) targets locations that would best benefit from reduced stormwater runoff. The …

Cytotoxic Activity Of Triazole-Containing Alkyl Β-D-Glucopyranosides On A Human T-Cell Leukemia Cell Line, E. Davis Oldham, Larissa M. Nunes, Armando Varela-Ramirez, Stephen E. Rankin, Barbara L. Knutson, Renato J. Aguilera, Hans-Joachim Lehmler

Chemistry (Legacy)

Simple glycoside surfactants represent a class of chemicals that are produced from renewable raw materials. They are considered to be environmentally safe and, therefore, are increasingly used as pharmaceuticals, detergents, and personal care products. Although they display low to moderate toxicity in cells in culture, the underlying mechanisms of surfactant-mediated cytotoxicity are poorly investigated.

St. Norbert College As Arboretum: Mapping The Trees On Campus, Jordan A. Mayer, Jason Mills, David Hunnicut

GIS Library

St. Norbert College as Arboretum: Mapping the Trees on Campus - Take a virtual tour of the trees on campus.

The tour is a multimedia ArcGIS Online story map and is available here.

Many of the trees on the St. Norbert Campus were planted by Fr. Anselm Keefe (1895- 1974) in the mid 20th century. It was Fr. Keefe’s vision to beautify the campus by creating gardens that were accessible to the public. This included planting a diverse variety of trees, including one of every tree species native to Wisconsin. It was Keefe’s mission to make St. Norbert College …

A Look At Vanilla Options And Greeks, Kevin Barbian

Mathematics: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Building Cloud-Based Information Systems Lab Architecture: Deriving Design Principles That Facilitate The Effective Construction And Evaluation Of A Cloud-Based Lab Environment, Thomas J. Trevethan

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The problem explored in this dissertation report was that at the time of this study, there were no design principles or methodologies based on design science research (DSR) available to use for artifact construction, implementation, and effective evaluation of cloud-based networking lab environments that can be used to foster hands-on technology skills in students. Primarily based on Hevner’s 7 guidelines of DSR, Peffer’s design science research methodology (DSRM), and Gregor’s IS design theory, this study forms the groundwork for the development of procedures and specifications derived from DSR literature to facilitate the construction, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive cloud-based …

A Study Of Assistive Technology Competencies Of Specialists In Public Schools, Betsy B. Burgos

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Despite the rapid proliferation of assistive technology implementation, studies have revealed that a number of professionals that provide assistive technology services do not have adequate competencies to recommend and deliver assistive technologies in school settings. The purpose of the study was to examine the competencies of assistive technology specialists in Florida K-12 public schools, and identify training opportunities that may have helped them achieve professional competence in the evaluation and provision of assistive technology devices and services across AT service providers from different preparations.

The study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to determine answers to the following six research questions: …

Well-Being Technologies: Meditation Using Virtual Worlds, Laura Downey

CCE Theses and Dissertations

In a technologically overloaded world, is it possible to use technology to support well-being activities and enhance human flourishing? Proponents of positive technology and positive computing are striving to answer yes to that question. However, the impact of technology on well-being remains unresolved. Positive technology combines technology and positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on well-being and the science of human flourishing. Positive computing includes an emphasis on designing with well-being in mind as a way to support human potential. User experience (UX) is critical to positive technology and positive computing. UX researchers and practitioners are advocating for experience-driven design and …

An Empirical Investigation Into The Role That Boredom, Relationships, Anxiety, And Gratification (Brag) Play In A Driver’S Decision To Text, Nathan White

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Texting while driving is a growing problem that has serious, and sometimes fatal, consequences. Despite laws enacted to curb this behavior, the problem continues to grow. Discovering factors that can reduce such risky behavior can significantly contribute to research, as well as save lives and reduce property damage. This study developed a model to explore the motivations that cause a driver to send messages. The model evaluates the effects that boredom, social relationships, social anxiety, and social gratification (BRAG) have upon a driver’s frequency of typing text messages. In addition, the perceived severity of the consequences and the presence of …

Seniors With Diabetes-Investigation Of The Impact Of Semantic Auditory Distractions On The Usability Of A Blood Glucose Tracking Mobile Application, Jose A. Rivera Rodriguez

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. With the population rapidly aging, it is expected that 1 out of 3 Americans will have diabetes by 2050. Mobile devices and mobile applications have the potential to contribute to diabetes self-care by allowing users to manage their diabetes by keeping track of their blood glucose levels. Usability is important for systems that help people self-manage conditions such as diabetes. Age and diabetes-related cognitive decline might intensify the impact of usability issues for the users who need these mobile applications the most. As highlighted by usability researchers, the …

Euclidean Reconstruction Of Natural Underwater Scenes Using Optic Imagery Sequence, Han Hu

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The development of maritime applications require monitoring, studying and preserving of detailed and close observation on the underwater seafloor and objects. Stereo vision offers advanced technologies to build 3D models from 2D still overlapping images in a relatively inexpensive way. However, while image stereo matching is a necessary step in 3D reconstruction procedure, even the most robust dense matching techniques are not guaranteed to work for underwater images due to the challenging aquatic environment. In this thesis, in addition to a detailed introduction and research on the key components of building 3D models from optic images, a robust modified quasi-dense …

Arctic Ocean Bathymetry: A Necessary Geospatial Framework, Martin Jakobsson, Larry A. Mayer, Dave Monahan

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Most ocean science relies on a geospatial infrastructure that is built from bathymetry data collected from ships underway, archived, and converted into maps and digital grids. Bathymetry, the depth of the seafloor, besides having vital importance to geology and navigation, is a fundamental element in studies of deep water circulation, tides, tsunami forecasting, upwelling, fishing resources, wave action, sediment transport, environmental change, and slope stability, as well as in site selection for platforms, cables, and pipelines, waste disposal, and mineral extraction. Recent developments in multibeam sonar mapping have so dramatically increased the resolution with which the seafloor can be portrayed …

Clustering And Classification Of Email Contents, Izzat M. Alsmadi, I. Alhami

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Information users depend heavily on emails' system as one of the major sources of communication. Its importance and usage are continuously growing despite the evolution of mobile applications, social networks, etc. Emails are used on both the personal and professional levels. They can be considered as official documents in communication among users. Emails' data mining and analysis can be conducted for several purposes such as: Spam detection and classification, subject classification, etc. In this paper, a large set of personal emails is used for the purpose of folder and subject classifications. Algorithms are developed to perform clustering and classification for …

A Novel Root Based Arabic Stemmer, M. N. Al-Kabi, S. A. Kazakzeh, B. M. Abu Ata, S. A. Al-Rababah, Izzat M. Alsmadi

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Stemming algorithms are used in information retrieval systems, indexers, text mining, text classifiers etc., to extract stems or roots of different words, so that words derived from the same stem or root are grouped together. Many stemming algorithms were built in different natural languages. Khoja stemmer is one of the known and widely used Arabic stemmers. In this paper, we introduced a new light and heavy Arabic stemmer. This new stemmer is presented in this study and compared with two well-known Arabic stemmers. Results showed that accuracy of our stemmer is slightly better than the accuracy yielded by each one …

Evaluation Of Spam Impact On Arabic Websites Popularity, M. N. Al-Kabi, Izzat M. Alsmadi, H. A. Wahsheh

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The expansion of the Web and its information in all aspects of life raises the concern of how to trust information published on the Web especially in cases where publisher may not be known. Websites strive to be more popular and make themselves visible to search engines and eventually to users. Website popularity can be measured using several metrics such as the Web traffic (e.g. Website: visitors' number and visited page number). A link or page popularity refers to the total number of hyperlinks referring to a certain Web page. In this study, several top ranked Arabic Websites are selected …

Building An Islamic Financial Information System Based On Policy Managements, Izzat M. Alsmadi, M. Zarour

Computer Science Faculty Publications

For many banks and customers in the Middle East and Islamic world, the availability and the ability to apply Islamic Shariah rules on financial activities is very important. In some cases, business and technical barriers can limit the ability to apply and offer financial services that are implemented according to Shariah rules.In this paper, we discuss enforcing Shariah rules from information technology viewpoint and show how such rules can be implemented and enforced in a financial establishment. Security authorization standard XACML is extended to consider Shariah rules. In this research XACML architecture, that is used and applied in many tools …

Climate Change And Human Rights: How? Where? When?, Basil E. Ugochukwu

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Climate change poses a threat to several internationally recognized human rights, including the rights to food, a livelihood, health, a healthy environment, access to water and the rights to work and to cultural life. Actions taken to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change have to be centred on human rights. In negotiations for a binding international climate change instrument, nation states have been called upon to fully respect human rights in all climate-related actions. As important as this demand is, there is also the need to describe and plan how human rights can be integrated into …

Evidence For Transverse-Momentum- And Pseudorapidity-Dependent Event-Plane Fluctuations In Pbpb And P Pb Collisions, Vardan Khachatryan, Vallary Bhopatkar, Marcus Hohlmann, H. Kalakhety, D. Mareskas-Palcek, Tuhin S. Roy, Francisco X. Yumiceva, Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A systematic study of the factorization of long-range azimuthal two-particle correlations into a product of single-particle anisotropies is presented as a function of pT and η of both particles and as a function of the particle multiplicity in PbPb and pPb collisions. The data were taken with the CMS detector for PbPb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV and pPb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV, covering a very wide range of multiplicity. Factorization is observed to be broken as a function of both particle pT and η. When measured with particles of different pT, the magnitude of the factorization breakdown for the second …

Centrality Dependence Of Low-Momentum Direct-Photon Production In Au+Au Collisions At √Snn =200 Gev, Andrew Marshall Adare, Gyöngyi Baksay, László A. Baksay, Marcus Hohlmann, Phenix Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured the centrality dependence of the direct photon yield from Au+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV down to pT=0.4 GeV/c. Photons are detected via photon conversions to e+e- pairs and an improved technique is applied that minimizes the systematic uncertainties that usually limit direct photon measurements, in particular at low pT. We find an excess of direct photons above the Ncoll-scaled yield measured in p+p collisions. This excess yield is well described by an exponential distribution with an inverse slope of about 240MeV/c in the pT range 0.6-2.0 GeV/c. While the shape of the pT …

Effects Of Small Thundercloud Electrostatic Fields On The Ionospheric Density Profile, Mohammad A. Salem, Ningyu Liu, Hamid K. Rassoul

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Small electrostatic fields of values not strong enough to activate electron impact ionization, attachment, and detachment processes can be established in the upper atmosphere by underlying thunderstorms. This paper investigates their effects on the ionospheric densities by using a simplified ion chemistry model. The modeling results indicate that under the steady state condition, the nighttime electron density profile can be reduced by up to ∼40% or enhanced by a factor of up to ∼6 because of the variation of the three-body electron attachment rate constant with the electric field.

High-Altitude Electrical Discharges Associated With Thunderstorms And Lightning, Ningyu Liu, Matthew G. Mcharg, Hans C. Stenbaek-Nielsen

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to introduce electrical discharge phenomena known as transient luminous events above thunderstorms to the lightning protection community. Transient luminous events include the upward electrical discharges from thunderstorms known as starters, jets, and gigantic jets, and electrical discharges initiated in the lower ionosphere such as sprites, halos, and elves. We give an overview of these phenomena with a focus on starters, jets, gigantic jets, and sprites, because similar to ordinary lightning, streamers and leaders are basic components of these four types of transient luminous events. We present a few recent observations to illustrate their main …

Search For Physics Beyond The Standard Model In Events With Two Leptons, Jets, And Missing Transverse Momentum In Pp Collisions At √S= 8 Tev, Vardan Khachatryan, Marc M. Baarmand, Marcus Hohlmann, Himali Kalakhety, Francisco Yumiceva, The Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model in final states with two opposite-sign same-flavor leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at √S= 8 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2012. The analysis focuses on searches for a kinematic edge in the invariant mass distribution of the oppositesign same-flavor lepton pair and for final states with an on-shell Z boson. The observations are consistent with expectations from standard model processes and are interpreted in terms of upper limits on …

Erratum To: Search For New Physics In Events With Same-Sign Dileptons And Jets In Pp Collisions At S√ = 8 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, S. Chatrchyan, V. Khachatryan, Marc M. Baarmand, B. Dorney, Marcus Hohlmann, Himali Kalakhety, Francisco Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We update the parameters of the fitted functions for lepton and jet selection efficiencies presented in section 9 of the original paper. Due to an editorial error, these numbers were wrongly inserted. The corresponding figures, figures 10 and 11 of the original paper, showing the fitted functions, are unchanged.