Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Habitat Effects On Chick-A-Dee Call Complexity, Jacqueline Renee Lynch

Open Access Theses

Past studies on the communication systems of species in urban environments (such as Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos Brehm), brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), Southern brown tree frogs (Litoria ewingii )) have shown multiple ways that species change vocal signaling behavior to adjust to urban habitats (e.g. alarm calls and singing). This study further investigates the changes in signaling in relation to the chick-a-dee call of the Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis). A secondary goal of this study was to compare both the amount of information and rate of calling across …

The Rhetorical Constitution Of Online Community: Identification And Constitutive Rhetoric In The Community Of Reddit, Bradley Stephen Ludwig

Open Access Theses

The concepts of online identity and online community within the context of social media have been major research interests in the field of communication in recent years. Questions of interest include how the Internet and social media contribute to the construction of identity both online and offline, and what factors encourage participation in and contribution to online communities. This thesis will address these questions related to online identity and community from a rhetorical perspective to examine the role rhetoric plays in these processes and build on the application of rhetorical approaches to online contexts. Specifically, this project proposes a rhetorical …

Sustainable Development Of Biogas Resources In East Africa Using Transdisciplinary Design Models, Christopher M. Limiac

Open Access Theses

Installation of anaerobic digestion systems in urban developing communities has the potential to address multiple problems related to energy and sanitation in a combined systems approach. Anaerobic digesters are used to generate a relatively clean and rich source of energy in the form of biogas to address energy poverty issues. The design resources available for anaerobic digestion projects must be improved to provide greater technical support and project transparency. In order to develop holistic solutions to grand challenges like energy poverty, engineers must be prepared to operate with the complexities of diverse environments. Globalization and the improvement of transdisciplinary project …

Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Impediments And Challenges In The Process Of Sustainable Reconstruction And Development In Post-2014 Afghanistan, Mohammad Ilyas Payab

Open Access Theses

Armed conflicts have left numerous marks on the history of mankind and still continue to do so. They have resulted in considerable damage to the social and physical fabric of the society. Millions of people both in the past and present have been suffering from the consequences of this unfortunate man-made disaster. Yet we see a continuing trend that seems to be resistant to any change despite efforts on a global level. This study sets out to understand the nature of reconstruction and development after armed conflicts with a focus on Afghanistan. After more than a decade of expended …

Human And Canine Personality Assessment Instruments To Predict Successful Adoptions With Shelter Dogs, Sheryl Lynn Walker

Open Access Dissertations

Animal shelters are often over-crowded with animals, and efforts to match potential adopters with shelter dogs, to improve the quality of adoptions, are increasing. However, a lack of evidence-based practices makes matching difficult. This research was conducted to investigate the role of dog and human personality, using questionnaire-based measurements, on adoption success in two Indiana shelters, Clinton County Humane Society and the Humane Society of Indianapolis. Ultimately, the aim of this project was to assess dog personality, human personality, and satisfaction, to evaluate adoption success in shelter dogs.^ The present thesis contains three studies exploring dog and human personality traits, …

Field To Flight: A Techno-Economic Analysis Of Stover To Aviation Biofuels Supply Chain, Amanda C. Bittner

Open Access Theses

Greenhouse gas emissions have been a growing concern. The transportation sector contributes to one-third of GHG emissions in the United States from fossil fuel burning. The Renewable Fuel Standard set a requirement for 16 billion gallons (ethanol equivalent) of cellulosic biofuels to be used in the market. Aviation biofuels can help to meet both of these problems as well as improve U.S. energy security.

Investment in the biofuel industry carries a lot of risk. The biofuel industry is run by the private sector, but can be incentivized by government. Cellulosic biofuels carry even more risk than first generation biofuels, because …

Assessing Inland Hazards Associated With Hurricanes In The U.S. Atlantic Basin, Dereka Latrese Carroll

Open Access Theses

The skill of tropical-cyclone (TC) track forecasts has steadily improved over the past decades, as has the understanding of TC risk in coastal regions. However, there is still much to be learned about the TC risk in inland regions, which is complicated by the presence of coastal evacuees, and includes hazards such as inland flash flooding and tornadoes. This was exemplified by Hurricane Ivan (2004), which spawned 118 tornadoes and produced significant rainfall amounts contributing to flooding inland. Ivan was responsible for 25 deaths in the U.S. and $18.8 billion (2004 USD) in damages. As part of a larger effort …

Quality Assurance And Quality Control Correlations For The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, Eshan Ganju

Open Access Theses

The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) is a device that is used for the estimation of in situ compaction quality of constructed subgrades and embankments. It is a relatively inexpensive, light-weight and easy to use device that measures the dynamic penetration resistance of the compacted soil, from which an estimate of soil strength and stiffness characteristics can be made. Owing to its ease of use, many DOTs in the U.S. have employed the DCP in their compaction quality control procedures, and over the past few decades, extensive research has been carried out on the development of correlations between the results of …

Development Of A Real Time Bistatic Radar Receiver Using Signals Of Opportunity, Nicholas Rainville

Open Access Theses

Passive bistatic radar remote sensing offers a novel method of monitoring the Earth's surface by observing reflected signals of opportunity. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used as a source of signals for these observations and the scattering properties of GPS signals from rough surfaces are well understood. Recent work has extended GPS signal reflection observations and scattering models to include communications signals such as XM radio signals. However the communication signal reflectometry experiments to date have relied on collecting raw, high data-rate signals which are then post-processed after the end of the experiment. This thesis describes the development …

Resort Vacation Activities And Recovery Experiences: A Case Of Visitors To Thailand, Maneenuch Tanyatanaboon

Open Access Theses

An increase of work demands during workdays and sometime on the weekends can put more stress on individuals and lead to a higher need for recovery. Vacation is a prime candidate of a longer respite that can ensure a more complete recovery process because it allows individuals to temporarily take several days or weeks off without actively engaging in their job. This study thus intends to explore which activities are done upon vacation and how can they influence an individual's recovery experiences. By reviewing the theories related to recovery, vacation activities, and recreation opportunities, the study's conceptual model was developed …

Influence Of Referential Coding In A Choice Task Performed In A Simulated Driving Cockpit, Aiping Xiong

Open Access Theses

Driving and other tasks performed by the driver of a vehicle are spatial. Thus, it is important to understand how the driver represents the spatial environment. In laboratory studies, the Simon task is used to study spatial coding. Participants are to make a left or right response to a nonspatial stimulus feature, but the stimulus can occur in a left or right position. The Simon effect is that responses are faster when the stimulus location corresponds with the response location. That effect is not usually found for a go/no-go task in which only one response is made to one of …

Computer Animation For Learning Building Construction Management: A Comparative Study Of First-Person Versus Third-Person View, Jun Yu

Open Access Theses

In this paper, we have explored the effect of perspective view in educational animations on students' learning of building construction management tasks and on students' preference of perspective views. We conducted a pre-test and post-test and found no significant advantages of computer animation presented in different perspective views across three different groups. Results showed that although students have preference on perspective views, perspective views did not influence learning outcome. The study also investigated the efficacy of animation as a teaching/learning tool in comparison to the traditional textbook. Findings showed that animation enhanced student learning, although the difference was not statistically …

A Cross-Site Study Of User Behavior And Privacy Perception In Social Networks, Yue Zhang

Open Access Theses

While online social networking sites have brought convenience and diversity in people's social lives, they have also been the source for information leakage. Researchers have been looking for ways to balance user privacy protection and information disclosure. However, literature suggested that many users either failed to perceive privacy risks correctly or they failed to behave in accordance with privacy awareness even they have already perceived potential risks. ^ This thesis conducted a survey to measure social network users' privacy attitude, privacy perception and their actual behavior when using social networking sites. The survey targeted at three populations of different cultural …

Relations Between Teachers’ Motivation And Students’ Motivation: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Inok Ahn

Open Access Theses

There is little research that examines impact teachers' motivation on students' motivation due to sparse attention to teachers' motivation. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between teachers' motivation and students' motivation using self-determination theory. Participants were 697 5th and 6th students and 35 of their teachers in Seoul, South Korea. Students completed the questionnaires for motivation, basic psychological needs, and perceptions of teacher's instructional styles. Teachers also answered questionnaires about their own motivation. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Teaching experience was controlled for throughout the analysis process due to its significant …

Introduction, Leah Hinds, Beth Bernhardt

Charleston Library Conference

No abstract provided.

Preface And Acknowledgments, Katina Strauch, Bruce Strauch

Charleston Library Conference

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Beth R. Bernhardt, Leah H. Hinds, Katina P. Strauch

Charleston Library Conference

No abstract provided.

Collection Development In The Context Of Research Data, Michael Witt, Courtney Earl Matthews, Nastasha Johnson, Amy Barton, Charlotte Erdmann, Marianne Stowell Bracke

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

This presentation was given to subject specialist librarians at Purdue University to engage the topic of research data in the context of collection development. The Purdue University Research Repository (PURR, http://purr.purdue.edu) creates opportunities for librarians to interact with researchers, including email notifications when a project is created, when a grant is awarded, and when a dataset is submitted for publication. Next, three subject specialist librarians from Agriculture, Engineering, and Mathematics each shared recent examples of their experiences in working with researchers to acquire new data collections for PURR. Lastly, a discussion of library science principles was facilitated, in particular, including …

America's Missing Link: Educational Reform And Workforce Development, Sharon A. Weiner, Lana W. Jackman, Glen Warren

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation was given at a White House meeting about the potential role of information literacy in Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative on June 18, 2014.

The Purdue University Research Repository (Purr): An Institutional Data Management Service With A Virtual Research Environment, Data Publication, And Archiving, Courtney Earl Matthews, Michael Witt

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The Purdue University Research Repository (PURR, http://purr.purdue.edu) uses HUBzero to provide a free, online research data collaboration platform and data management service platform for the Purdue researcher community. Funding agencies like The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, have begun requiring that researchers describe in their grant proposals how they will manage and share the data that will be produced in their research. The White House’s Office for Science and Technology Policy has also directed federally funded research agencies with research budgets over 100 million dollars to ensure that funding recipients make their research output free and accessible …

Measuring (And Increasing) The Value Of Library Services, Carol Tenopir

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The value of the university library to faculty, students, and administrators has long been assumed. In an era of increasing choices (and sometimes decreasing resources), academic librarians all over the world are faced with finding the best ways to measure and demonstrate the value of the library to all stakeholders, and to gather evidence that helps libraries make the best choices about new directions for the future that will sustain and increase the value. This talk will both describe some methods for measuring value and outcomes and summarize results that measure value to users.

The Future Librarian: A Diverse And Complex Professional, Gunilla Widén, Maria Kronqvist-Berg

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The library professional is an active actor in the information society and the professional identity is affected by societal and cultural phenomena as well as technological changes. The library users’ changing information behavior, different forms of information, and information overload challenge the professional perspective; what is the core expertise of the library profession and what new skills are needed in the future? The library profession meets a growing complexity in its role and it becomes difficult to balance the generalist and expertise level of the profession (Stover 2004). Desirable future skills are related to operating and navigating on the Internet, …

Organisational Changes And A New Media Policy: Meeting User Demands At The Royal Institute Of Technology, Cecilia Heyman Widmark

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

This paper discusses why there is a need for organisational changes and a new policy for acquisitions within an academic library when 96.5 % of the media budget is spent on electronic resources related to the 3.5 % spent on print. At the Library of The Royal Institute of Technology the acquisitions and handling of printed material involved more time and personnel compared to that of licensing and administering electronic resources. Given the economic relation between the two expenditures it was clear that this should be reflected in the organisation.

A new media plan was developed to form a foundation …

Science, Technology, And Library Work: Trends And Milestones, Maria Forsman

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine, what kind of changes research libraries have gone through during the last 40 years. In the 70’s libraries were proud of large collections of printed books and journals. Library automation was mostly in infancy, but some research fields were forerunners in developing library and information services. These fields are those that are economically useful in society. The first and most qualified international databases were in sciences like chemistry and physics, medicine, education and economics. Other sciences – like humanities and most of social sciences – were followers. Databases and different e-services were developed in …

How Does The Information Team Today Become The Information Team Of Tomorrow, Carlo Iacono

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

As the delivery of universities’ information services becomes increasingly virtual and time-honoured library practices are deemed to add less value, literature abounds with discussions about the future of the profession. Academic librarians are generally finding technical and technological expertise is a must and that they need to be aware of emerging learning and research practises to ensure their place and value remains. These new demands create new opportunities and require new skills to be acquired.

In this complex and rapidly changing environment, managers need to remain on top of the requirement for new skill sets. The starting point is understanding …

Problem Lah! Learning To Tell The Story Of Continuous Assessment And Improvement, Tamera Hanken

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

To succeed organizations rely on the purposeful application of the management functions, planning, organizing, leading and controlling, i.e., assessment. Assessment involves the collection and analysis of service and performance data to inform planning, organizing and leading-- opening the door to a culture of assessment and continuous improvement. Like other organizations responding to ever challenging economies and ever changing customer expectations, libraries are examining continuous improvement methods such as Lean, or Six Sigma, to ensure operations and services are customer focused and can be continuously assessed and improved with limited resources. Librarians though, often lack a general understanding of assessment and …

Positioning Academic Libraries For The Future: A Process And Strategy For Organizational Transformation, Erin L. Ellis, Brian Rosenblum, John Stratton, Kathleen Ames-Stratton

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Seeking to more effectively respond to campus initiatives and user expectations, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries underwent a process of significant organizational review and transformation. Guided by a purposeful, open process, a diverse and representative group was elected to serve on the Libraries Organizational Review Team (ORT) to assess the existing organizational structure, determine major functions and cross-functional areas therein, and identify new and vital activities and positions essential for achieving our strategic priorities. Recognizing, too, the trends and challenges occurring within higher education and academic libraries, ORT sought to redefine professional roles and functions to strategically position the …

Change Management In Libraries: An Essential Competency For Leadership, Catherine B. Soehner

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

In this era of shrinking budgets and advancing technology, libraries inevitably need to change to keep up with the times. This is especially true in regards to changes in the Information Technology (IT) services provided by libraries. Some traditional services are no longer used and others must be rearranged so that the library remains a vital component of the campus. Reorganization of personnel often takes place to accommodate these changes. Organizational change may initially appear overwhelming, especially if it involves many people with strongly held opinions and beliefs about maintaining traditional library services. However, a structured process, transparency, and effective …

Unlocking The Potential Of Library Generated Data To Assess Value, Impact, And Influence, Margie Jantti, Brian Cox

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The University of Wollongong Library (UWL) has initiated an innovative and collaborative research project to unambiguously demonstrate the value that can be provided by academic libraries. The project centres on the integration and interrogation of a series of discrete datasets, e.g. student performance, student attrition, student demographic data, and borrowing and electronic resources usage data. The project has enabled UWL to identify whether a correlation exists between usage of Library resources and academic performance (e.g. grades). Findings reveal a strong and sustained correlation; providing a new facet through which to view and understand the student academic experience.The project is different …

Coming Out: Making The Virtual Library Visible In Today's World, Grace Saw, Janine Schmidt

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

This is the age of the virtual customer. A silent virtual revolution has led to tumultuous and disruptive changes in environmental, financial, educational, and information environments. As the Library becomes increasingly virtual, it is becoming virtually invisible – as are library customers. Libraries are redefining their roles, managing their migration from the print past to an online future in a time of spiralling costs and declining incomes, redefining their products and services and refocusing on their customers, many of whom they rarely if ever see. How do we position the Library in the marketplace? What is the message to be …