Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Extent Of Floods In 2022 In Different Land Cover And Land Use Classes In Sindh Province, Pakistan Using Sentinel-1 And Sentinel-2 Imageries, Alina Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Floods are one of the most frequent and most devastating natural disasters, which cause widespread destruction and pose significant risks to human life, infrastructure, and the environment. Advancement in remote sensing technologies and methodologies have demonstrated their efficacy in disaster-related applications, such as the detection, monitoring, and analysis of floods. This study explores the utilization of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical imagery for flood extent mapping and studying the extent of flood over various land cover and land use classes in Pakistan's Sindh province, utilizing the cloud computing power of Google Earth Engine. The change detection method identified extensive …

Artificial Intelligence's Ability To Detect Online Predators, Olatilewa Osifeso

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online child predators pose a danger to children who use the Internet. Children fall victim to online predators at an alarming rate, based on the data from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. When making online profiles and joining websites, you only need a name, an email and a password without identity verification. Studies have shown that online predators use a variety of methods and tools to manipulate and exploit children, such as blackmail, coercion, flattery, and deception. These issues have created an opportunity for skilled online predators to have fewer obstacles when it comes to contacting and …

Exploring The Relationship Between Anxiety And Virtual Reality Sickness, David Wesley Woolverton

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

As virtual reality (VR) becomes more commonly used in education, it is important to understand the technology’s weakness and mitigate any potential negative effects on student success. One adverse side-effect of VR use is simulation-induced motion sickness, known in the context of VR as VR sickness. Previous research by Howard and Van Zandt (2021) found that possessing a phobia had a significant positive correlation with VR sickness, but only if the phobia is triggered by the simulation, suggesting that symptoms are actually connected to the anxiety the phobia induces. This study explored the hypothesized correlation between anxiety and VR sickness, …

Bay Water Level Influences On Inundation And Morphological Changes Of A Semi-Connected Barrier Island During A Hurricane, Sydney D. Goodman

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

This research aims to identify flooding and erosion changes along a semi-connected barrier island system due to varying bay water levels during storm conditions. The numerical model XBeach is used to simulate Hurricane Michael conditions and the resulting inundation and morphological change near Tyndall Air Force Base (Tyndall AFB). The installation is located 12 miles southeast of Panama City Beach along the panhandle of Florida and is vulnerable to flooding due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), Saint Andrew Sound and Saint Andrew Bay. A land bridge connects the barrier island to the mainland of Tyndall AFB …

Microwave Emission Model Parameter Tuning For Surface Soil Moisture Retrieval Using Uav-Mounted Dual Polarization L-Band Radiometer, Santiago Hoyos Echeverri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Surface soil moisture retrieval from L-band brightness temperature has been developed for the past decades due to multiple beneficial characteristics of 1-2 GHz frequency bands for remote sensing of the environment. Numerous microwave emission models have been proposed for tower and satellite-based operations with successful retrieval of surface soil moisture and vegetation water content. As a result of the development of cost-effective and low-mass microwave L-band radiometers such as the Portable L-band Radiometer (PoLRa), surface soil moisture surveying traditionally developed by satellite missions SMOS and SMAP can now be developed at local scales, bringing these operations to commercial small unmanned …

Analysis Of Circular Design Principles For The Sustainable End-Of-Life Management Of Renewable Energy Assets: Investigation Of Illinois And Germany Renewable Energy Policies And Programs., Samuel N. Nimaful

2024 Student Research and Creativity Conference

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of circular design principles applied to the sustainable end-of-life management of renewable energy assets, focusing on the comparative study of renewable energy policies in Illinois, USA, and Germany. As the deployment of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind turbines expands globally, the question of their sustainable disposal becomes increasingly critical. This research delves into how circular economy approaches can be integrated into policy frameworks to ensure that these technologies are sustainable not only in their operation but also at the end of their lifecycle.

The study methodically reviews existing policies and programs …

The Kruger Collection Reimagined: A Case Study In 3d Scanning And Interactive Exhibit Design, Annissa Davis

Anthropology Department: Theses

This thesis examines the use of 3D modeling in museum exhibition to create exploratory exhibits that facilitate unique relationships between the visitors and the collection beyond what is provided by the collection’s in person counterparts. Typical use of 3D modeling in museums is currently often representative rather than exploratory. By employing a Digital Humanities lens to approach the development of a digital exhibition utilizing 3D technology and interactive elements created in a video game engine (Unity), this thesis project evaluates these potential new relationships. Using the Eloise Kruger Collection of Miniatures as a case study, the following text details the …

Resource Scarcity Caused By Environmental Changes: Driving Factor In Terrorism Attacks In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Amaris Bustamante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Climate change, resource scarcity, and terrorist attacks are ever-growing crises that disproportionately impact different states. They are crises that can impact the stability and resilience of humanity in the following decades if they are not addressed and mitigated. This study addresses the impact of resource scarcity caused by climate change that can then serve as a driving force in terrorist attacks in climate-sensitive and conflict-prone states. The objective of this mixed-methods study is to identify the correlation between climate changes that lead to resource scarcity such as rainfall and surface temperatures with terrorist attacks when taking into consideration other demographic, …

Assessing Urban Tree Coverage Along The U.S.-Mexico Border: A Gis Analysis Of Paso Del Norte, Melanie Escobar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, researchers have extensively studied the spatial distribution of social demographics and urban tree canopy (UTC) in urban cities, but very few, to this date, address U.S.-Mexico border cities. To date, there is no research that assesses the distribution of urban tree canopy (UTC) in the city of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, along the U.S.- Mexico border. Leveraging advanced mapping techniques and GIS tools, the study performs comparisons between countries (Juárez vs. El Paso urbanized areas and intra-country (within each country). It compares land cover classifications, assesses variations in UTC distribution across census tracts and …

Deterministic Global 3d Fractal Cloud Model For Synthetic Scene Generation, Aaron M. Schinder, Shannon R. Young, Bryan J. Steward, Michael L. Dexter, Andrew Kondrath, Stephen Hinton, Ricardo Davila

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the creation of a fast, deterministic, 3D fractal cloud renderer for the AFIT Sensor and Scene Emulation Tool (ASSET). The renderer generates 3D clouds by ray marching through a volume and sampling the level-set of a fractal function. The fractal function is distorted by a displacement map, which is generated using horizontal wind data from a Global Forecast System (GFS) weather file. The vertical windspeed and relative humidity are used to mask the creation of clouds to match realistic large-scale weather patterns over the Earth. Small-scale detail is provided by the fractal functions which are tuned to …

Bidding Strategy For A Wind Power Producer In Us Energy And Reserve Markets, Anne Stratman

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wind power is one of the world's fastest-growing renewable energy resources and has expanded quickly within the US electric grid. Currently, wind power producers (WPPs) may sell energy products in US markets but are not allowed to sell reserve products, due to the uncertain and intermittent nature of wind power. However, as wind’s share of the power supply grows, it may eventually be necessary for WPPs to contribute to system-wide reserves. This paper proposes a stochastic optimization model to determine the optimal offer strategy for a WPP that participates in the day-ahead and real-time energy and spinning reserve markets. The …

A Dual-Polarimetric Analysis Of A Large Sample Of Left-Moving Supercells, Ben Schweigert

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Supercells have been researched extensively since they were first described over 50 years ago. They are prolific severe weather producers, responsible for the most severe hail, severe wind gusts, and tornadoes. These rotating thunderstorms require attention from forecasters to protect life and property from their threats, most effectively done with Doppler radars. While extensive amounts of radar-based investigations have been completed, they focused almost exclusively on right-moving (RM) supercells, resulting in a knowledge gap surrounding their counter-rotating (left-moving, LM) partners. This study works to fill the void by developing a dataset of LM supercells and analyzing the dual-polarimetric features observed …

Breathpro: Monitoring Breathing Mode During Running With Earables, Changshuo Hu, Thivya Kandappu, Yang Liu, Cecilia Mascolo, Dong Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Running is a popular and accessible form of aerobic exercise, significantly benefiting our health and wellness. By monitoring a range of running parameters with wearable devices, runners can gain a deep understanding of their running behavior, facilitating performance improvement in future runs. Among these parameters, breathing, which fuels our bodies with oxygen and expels carbon dioxide, is crucial to improving the efficiency of running. While previous studies have made substantial progress in measuring breathing rate, exploration of additional breathing monitoring during running is still lacking. In this work, we fill this gap by presenting BreathPro, the first breathing mode monitoring …

Effect Of Asynchronous Virtual Interviews On Ethnic Minority Matriculation Into A Doctor Of Physical Therapy Program, Conner Clark, Nanea Lagasca, Gladys Miller, Jasmine Puspos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose/Methods: This study examines the impact of the use of asynchronous virtual interviews (AVIs) in the admissions process of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This research aims to examine racial and ethnic subgroup differences in AVI scores, evaluate the influence of AVIs on applicant scores in the admissions process, and assess the AVI inter-rater reliability among faculty evaluators using data from the 2019-2022 admissions cycles.

Results: Significant differences were found in AVI scores among racial and ethnic groups, with Black applicants scoring highest and Asian applicants scoring lowest. Additionally, inclusion …

The Mathematics Of Financial Portfolio Optimization Incorporating Environmental, Social, And Governance Score Information, Ian Driskill

Master's Theses

We numerically investigate the effects that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores have on portfolio optimization with Modern Portfolio Theory assumptions and how ESG scores correlate with the market returns of a rated company's stock. Additionally, we review and analyze a research paper published in the Journal of Financial Economics regarding ESG investing titled “Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier” by Pedersen, Fitzgibbons, and Lukasz. Our overall goal is provide insight for socially responsible inclined investors, to help them understand what ESG scores tell us and how those scores may effect their overall investment returns."

Traffic Sign Extraction From Mobile Lidar Point Cloud, Yushin Ahn, Riadh Munjy, Ziyuan Li

Mineta Transportation Institute

The extraction of traffic signs from Mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point cloud data has become a focal point in transportation research due to the increasing integration of LiDAR technologies. LiDAR, a remote sensing technology, captures detailed three-dimensional point cloud data, offering a comprehensive view of the surrounding environment. Mobile LiDAR systems mounted on vehicles enable efficient data collection, particularly for large-scale road networks. This study aims to develop and refine techniques for extracting traffic signs from Mobile LiDAR point cloud data, essential for enhancing road safety, navigation systems, and intelligent transportation solutions. By leveraging LiDAR technology, new possibilities …

Using Empathy To Shift Climate Change Attitudes., Carson Haller

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

It has shifted from a hunch to an existential threat, it is a harbinger of disaster and bankruptcy, backed by science, and yet a considerable portion of Americans still believe that climate change is a hoax. It is becoming increasingly imperative to convince this portion to join the fight. It has been found that empathy is an effective method of persuasion, prompting the question of whether empathy could be used shift climate change attitudes. The hypothesis of this study was that if a person feels empathy for somebody harmed by the effects of climate change, they will be more willing …

A Little Loud And A Little Alone: A Phenomenology Of Leadership Identity Construction Among Women In Higher Education Technology, Amy Barry

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This qualitative study is an exploration of how women in higher education information technology (IT) positions navigate constructing their leadership identities. This includes the messy, personal, internal identity work that occurs prior to claiming their leadership identities on the public stage, followed by an examination of what the experience of attempting to claim and negotiate a leadership identity is like in the social context of their organizations. This educational and sociological study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach with a series of three interviews per participant that allowed the researcher to deeply explore the personal identity experiences of participants. Findings …

The Use Of Laja In Construction In Ancient Mesoamerica: A View From The Southern Gulf Lowlands Of Veracruz, Mexico, Lauren Smith

Honors College Theses

The archaeology of the southern Gulf lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico is notable for its research pertaining to the Olmec culture (Jaime-Riveron 2016; Loughlin 2012; Pool 2006). The region was home to the Colossal Olmec Heads: large, easily identifiable sculptures crafted from the volcanic rock of the Tuxtlas Volcanic Field. The use of volcanic resources in such grand presentations may instill a bias in the research of some archaeologists, but it is important to consider how these and other volcanic resources might have been used in everyday life (e.g., Jaime-Riveron 2016: 86). The consolidated volcanic ash in this region is referred …

Agricultural Groundcover Update March 2024, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

• In March, over 10% (1,577,000 ha) of the arable farmland in the south-west of Western Australia had less than 50% vegetative groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion.

• The northern grainbelt had the highest risk of wind erosion and over 20% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover.

• About 1.3% (191,000 ha) of arable land had a high to very high risk of wind erosion because groundcover was less than 30%.

Traffic Analysis Of Cities In San Bernardino County, Sai Kalyan Ayyagari

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research offers an in-depth analysis of vehicular traffic within San Bernardino County, California, aiming to spotlight congestion areas and suggest improvements for more efficient and sustainable transportation. Leveraging 2021 data from StreetLight Data, traffic patterns in 15 key cities were examined based on their population sizes, covering various vehicle types to dissect dynamics and flow. The methodology focused on analyzing trip purposes and metrics to calculate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and its influence on congestion and environmental factors.

Findings indicate considerable disparities in traffic volume, purposes, and timings across different urban areas, with population density and intercity connections significantly …

Truck Traffic Analysis In The Inland Empire, Bhavik Khatri

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study undertakes a meticulous examination of truck traffic within the Inland Empire, focusing on the distribution and dynamics of medium and heavy-duty vehicles, to advocate for the region's transition to electric trucks. Utilizing advanced spatial analysis and data from Streetlight Data, it segments the region into six subregions, revealing distinct traffic patterns and environmental impacts. Notably, the research uncovers that the North Center and West zones, integral to the logistics and warehousing sectors, exhibit the highest traffic volumes, significantly influencing air quality and infrastructure.

Quantitative results from 2021 illustrate a pronounced disparity in truck activity: medium-weight vehicles accounted for …

Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm

All Theses

We are living in an era that necessitates adaptation and resilience. The Earth is warming. Our climate has changed (EPA, 2016). Our planet is also rapidly urbanizing. It is predicted that 68% of people will live in cities by 2050. The City of Greenville is a rapidly growing city in South Carolina that has been losing its tree canopy to development(City of Greenville, 2023). The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is a community asset that provides many quality-of-life benefits including improved air quality, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, mental and physical well-being, increased mobility and access, aesthetics, a reduction in energy costs, …

From Tweets To Token Sales: Assessing Ico Success Through Social Media Sentiments, Donghao Huang, S. Samuel, Quoc Toan Huynh, Zhaoxia Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the advent of social network technology, the influence of collective opinions has significantly impacted business, marketing, and fundraising. Particularly in the blockchain space, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) gain substantial exposure across various online platforms. Yet, the intricate relationships among these elements remain largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the relationships between social media sentiment, engagement metrics, and ICO success. We hypothesize a positive correlation between favorable sentiment in ICO-related tweets and overall project success. Additionally, we recognize social media engagement indicators (mentions, retweets, likes, follower counts) as critical factors affecting ICO performance. Employing machine learning techniques, we conduct …

The Conservation Project: An Exploration Of Multimedia In Ocean Conservation, Ilaria Bardini

Honors College

The Conservation Project ties in many elements of multimedia and its possible applications in marine conservation. The purpose of this thesis was to develop new skills in videography, photography, podcast production, and website development through which to deepen my understanding of the multimedia as a tool in science, through the development of a website.

Plant-Plant Interaction In Early- Vs. Late-Successional Varieties Of The Hawaiian Landscape-Dominant Tree, Metrosideros Polymorpha, Tomoko Sakishima

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Plant-plant interactions play an important role in assembling plant communities. Interactions between neighboring plants can vary as a result of the genetic relatedness of neighbors, impacting rates of growth and patterns of resource allocation. When growing alongside close relatives, some species decrease their growth in a form of cooperation, while others grow faster through facilitation. A complication of plant interaction studies arises because decreased growth in the presence of close relatives can also be due to competition for resources, which increases with phenotypic similarity. Further complicating matters, mycorrhizal fungi, through their connections with plant roots, may strongly influence plant interactions. …

Bridging Biological Systems With Social Behavior, Conservation, Decision Making, And Well-Being Through Hybrid Mathematical Modeling, Maggie Renee Sullens

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematical modeling can achieve otherwise inaccessible insights into bio-logical questions. We use ODE (ordinary differential equations) and Game Theory models to demonstrate the breadth and power of these models by studying three very different biological questions, involving socio-behavioral and socio-economic systems, conservation biology, policy and decision making, and organismal homeostasis.

We adapt techniques from Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) epidemiological models to examine the mental well-being of a community facing the collapse of the industry on which it’s economically dependent. We consider the case study of a fishing community facing the extinction of its primary harvest species. Using an ODE framework with a …

Learning To Teach About Climate Justice And Social Justice In Science Methods, Mindy J. Chappell

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In November, the Editors of NWJTE sat down for a conversation with Dr. Mindy J. Chappell, a Science Teacher Educator in the College of Education at Portland State University. Dr. Chappell’s passions include developing teachers who are prepared to disrupt normative science ideologies and provide young people with science instruction that encourages and empowers them to be leaders in their communities. She engages in arts-based educational science research through the methodology of Ethnodance (a term she coined). She places young people and their lived experiences at the heart of her work.

Feminist Political Ecology In The Classroom, Ella J. Yeigh

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

As the effects of climate change are being felt more frequently, discussions on how to combat such a massive issue are increasingly prevalent. Finding solutions to the climate crisis requires an understanding of how mainstream economic systems have led to the climate crisis and using these same principles to get out of the climate crisis is misguided. Economic actions have inherent value biases that have real political effects. Feminist Political Ecology (FPE) as a theoretical model presents a better understanding of how values that are inherent in economic models such as reliance on efficiency, markets, and continual economic growth have …

Supporting Text And Data Analysis Across Campus From The Academic Library, Amy Kirchhoff, Hejin Shin Phd

Digital Initiatives Symposium

The ability to comprehend and communicate with text-based data is essential to future success in academics and employment, as evidenced in a recent survey from Bloomberg Research Services which shows that nearly 97% of survey respondents now use data analytics in their companies and 58% consider data and text mining a business analytics tool (https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/bp_de/doc/studie/ba-st-the-current-state-of-business-analytics-2317022.pdf). This has fueled a substantial growth in text analysis research (involving the use of technology to analyze un- and semi-structured text data for valuable insights, trends, and patterns) across disciplines and a corresponding demand on academic libraries to support text analysis pedagogy and text analysis …